Excellent summary until near the end. Couple of problems : ( 1 ) for the sake of honesty is should be admitted that Christians also selectively read the Bible. This is because the immensity of the Bible itself does not --to say the least-- allow for a simple reading of all the texts in it. How do you come up with an easy to understand interpretation of both Song of Solomon and Joshua, or , say, Acts and Revelation ? But it also is because Christians have competing interests, hence divide into groups which stress some passages and ignore others. That is, we have Baptists, Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Lutherans, corner church Evangelicals , and many others. ( 2 ) while I personally agree that the love which Jesus exemplified is the best remedy for many of the ills of life, indeed, in a sense is indispensable, how does that become a universal solvent ? In other words, it is safe to say that a marriage not based on love is no marriage at all, regardless life is not so simple. What happens when kids are involved despite the fact that mommy and daddy no longer can stand the sight of each other ? What happens when either mommy or daddy ( or both ) make stupid decisions that land the family in incredible debt ? And you can easily think of many other problems that require "other" than love, like high order level knowledge of finance, that require legal expertise, etc. Hence the ending of the otherwise superlative article strikes me as missing the boat, oversimplifying life to make a perfectly valid point. But if you oversimplify, while the point remains true, then the issues you most want to address become questionable / unconvincing. My view anyway Billy ===================================================== In a message dated 6/17/2010 8:55:26 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
Hi Ernie, Yes, indeed - thank you for posting that. // Lennart On Thu, Jun 17, 2010 at 10:44 AM, Dr. Ernie Prabhakar <[email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) > wrote: A brilliant, concise summary. -- Ernie P. (http://disciplenations.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/great-mosque-5004.jpg) Four kinds of adherents comprise Islam as religion. The silent majority are Pragmatists who want to live in security. Whatever objections they may have about Islamic violence, they don’t rock the boat. The Reformers, a small and courageous minority, embrace an Islam of peace. They are natural allies of their fellow monotheists, Jews and Christians. The Fundamentalists, one of the largest groups, eschew engagement with the world. They indict the moral bankruptcy of the West and want to see Islam restored to its glorious past. They may give sympathy and support to their passionate Jihadist brothers. The Jihadists are Fundamentalists with firearms. They believe that all good Muslims must raise the sword and destroy Israel and the West. Each of these groups—those who embrace dialogue with Christians and those who want to kill them—follow Muhammad’s teachings. Islam is a religion of peace. It is a religion of war. Islam is, in some ways, two religions, divided by the two eras of Muhammad’s life. In Mecca until age 52, the prophet tried to persuade Christians and Jews of the truth of Islam. When few converted, Muhammad moved to Medina and changed his tactics. Persuasion had produced little fruit. It was time for a new strategy: coercion. Christians and Jews became infidels to be converted through warfare. The Qur’an—revelation to Muhammad from the angel Gabriel—reflects these two periods of his life. The angel’s words received in Mecca summon Muslims to enlightenment, while those he heard in Medina call for more strident behavior. All Muslims read the Qur’an, but they tend to read different parts. Reformers read the Mecca texts. Islam is a religion of peace, Jihad an internal struggle. Jews and Christians are converted through persuasion. Freedom, peace and enlightenment in a pluralistic society are valued. The Fundamentalists and Jihadists read the Medina texts. Islam spreads by conquest. Non-Muslims are to be conquered and forced to choose from three options: become Muslims, submit to absolute Muslim rule and taxation, or be killed. As for discrepancies in the Qur’an, “[W]hen there is a contradiction between verses in the Koran, the later verse supersedes the earlier verse.” _[1]_ (http://disciplenations.wordpress.com/Users/Gary/Documents/Wholism/DNA/Blog/Is%20Islam%20a%20religion%20of%20peace.docx#_ftn1) Since the Medina texts came later, they take priority. So, Jihadists have the edge. Conquest trumps persuasion. Followers of Jesus Christ are called to be “as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves.” Toward moderates we can be doves, winsomely engaging in dialogue with a view to upholding Christ as the unique Savior of (http://disciplenations.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/three-crosses1.jpg) the world. Towards all Muslims we are to demonstrate God’s love. There are growing numbers of stories where both Fundamentalists and Jihadists are transformed when confronted by sacrificial love and service. As Jihadist form terror cells, Christians can form radical love cells to minister to the needs of their Muslim neighbors. - Darrow Miller ____________________________________ _[1]_ (http://disciplenations.wordpress.com/Users/Gary/Documents/Wholism/DNA/Blog/Is%20Islam%20a%20religion%20of%20peace.docx#_ftnref1) Ibn Warraq as quoted in Brigitte Gabriel, Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2006), 152 (http://disciplenations.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/islam-religion-of-peace-or-religion-of-war) (http://disciplenations.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/islam-religion-of-peace-or-religion-of-war) _http://disciplenations.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/islam-religion-of-peace-or-religion-of-war_ (http://disciplenations.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/islam-religion-of-peace-or-religion-of-war) _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Centroids mailing list: [email protected] http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com Archives at http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/
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