Trooper

As im sure you can tell its really a moot point to get into a debate with someone who has that many warped views on Christianity and teh world. First to say Muslims are about war, is just down right ignorant and ignores all the history that religion has created. A MINORITY are for war the rest are an amazingly smart and peaceful group.

Second remind her that Hitlers parents and linage were jewish. Third dont take what some one else decides when it comes to Christianity or religion for that matter. Go out find out what being a Christian means to you and do it. Why do you think there are so many demoninations, and none of them agree on the same thing. Except the one thing they all have in common.

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that sounds like a good idea trooper.
-Vulcan

Buck Fush

I did not intend to paint all Christians with the brush of violence. I was just trying to highlight the fact that EVERY religion has radicals.

Trooper

And what is sad is those radicals are the ones most people see and make generalizations about the rest of them. A few muslins are radicals and now the rest of their group is labeled a terrorist and is watched.

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that sounds like a good idea trooper.
-Vulcan

Doktor Goku

While sad, it's kind of the reality.

There is a very intelligent guy I know of who lost his fiancee in the WTC attacks. He now hates Islam with a passion.

Can you really blame him? You can show him all the statistics you want- you can show him that the majority of followers of Islam are non-violent- none of that changes the fact that the love of his life is dead now because she was viewed as an "Infidel". (Oddly, this guy is also an atheist, and has been for a while.)

I'm sure it's the same issue with people who were, at the time, victimized by the Inquistion, etc. They've been there, they've seen that, and I'm sure that at least a few of them hated Christianity after that- despite a world of evidence to the contrary.

I'm not saying it's an excuse for anybody to commit any revenge crimes, of course. I do note, however, in day to day life that a lot of people would consider the man I know of to be ignorant- YOUR reality changes everything.

ScratchMonkey

A similar thing occurred with Mrs. Brady after her husband was shot alongside Reagan. And you see lots of anti-cigarette zealots who've lost family to lung cancer.

I lost my dad to emphysema, and yet I remain a staunch foe of any war on addictive mind-altering substances. I believe in individual responsibility and a citizenry of adults who don't need nannies looking after them.

Tarenth

Um...huh

Correct me if I'm wrong with a few specifics, but I have some slightly different information.

From my understanding a 'jihad' isn't a holy war, but a sturggle or hardship imposed upon yourself in order to make a difference. You can have a jihad to give up an addictive habit or to self improve. I suppose self improvement could be considered holy and a struggle could translate to war, but the difference in meaning between a struggle and war are vast.

Also, while Osama Bin Ladin is the leader of the Muslism fundamentalist group, his reasons for 9/11 were in no way related to that religion. I believe he organized the attack in order to target Americans, not infidels, so that the US would change its stance and foreign policy. It was a purely political stunt and included some demands. Granted, its probably easier to get suicide actions out of religious fanatics then logical and rational people, but the attack was not religious in nature.

The whole Muslims vs Christians slog came about from protests of Afganistan as prople saw the whole majority muslim vs majority christian conflict as a war between religions.

Going a bit off the track of the conversation there are a few more problems. A heratic, heathen, and infidel are basically the same thing and used by all religions to denote someone who is offensive to their beliefs by not being a beliver. Though the extact usages are somewhere along the lines of a heratic is a nonbeliver because they believe in something against doctrine, a hethen believes in a higher order than the doctrine, and an infidel doesn't care about the doctrine at all. To clarify 'higher order' it would be something that surpasses the authority granted to figures in the religious chain of command. So if you were to pray to a spirit or god you would be bypassing Jesus who is the son of god.

Another perplexing thing I never figured out is why Allah and Jesus are lumped together. If anything it would be the Prophet Mohammed and Jesus as both brought the word of Allah and God (or Jove if Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is accurate concerning the name of god...which I doubt) to the people and founded religion. Then again Allah is refered to directly without a middle man and I can never figure out if Christians want to talk to Jesus or his goddly father.

Ah well. Religions give me a headache. There's a lot of good in them and good people. However I find the corruption people bring with them as they twist their beliefs to their own framework of the world somewhat sickening.

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My sanity is not in question...
It was a confirmed casualty some time ago.

tHa_KhAn

How dare you suggest the government doesn't always know what is best. I much rather have an elected official make all my daily decisions.

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