For those who have been following my conversations here, and on my Facebook page, concerning Islam, it may or may not be surprised by what I am about to write. For many years, I have given my views, of what it means to worship the God of Abraham, I have argued if, we all would simply focus on our own souls, and let others take care of their own soul, then there would be no reason to care how others worship.
I believe that Christians are the brothers and sisters of the Jewish people, and of the Muslim people, we are all children of Abraham. So why does it matter, if I believe, Jesus is the Messiah? And why does it matter if others don’t? My believing will not save them, and their denial will not curse me.
No where does it say, we will walk, hand in hand, into Heaven. This is what we fight wars over, this is what we hate people we don’t know for.
I have come to believe, far too many Christians are either hypocrites, or simply unable to grasp the depths of faith, beyond following the rules, put upon them by other men, they follow the interpretation of scripture handed down to them, by other people. I wonder how many have actually ever read the Bible for themselves, in context, and allow the word of God to enter their hearts.
You see, “religion”, is not “faith”. Religion is about people attempting to look like they have faith. It’s about getting dressed up on Sunday and going to the club, with all of my fellow club members. We stand around and try to talk about nothing but God, and to glorify his name.
Faith, is believing in that, which you cannot prove. It’s about believing, even when, it seems there is nothing beyond yourself. It’s believing when there is no sign from God, that God exist. It’s about believing there is more after this life, that there is Resurrection. It’s about BELIEVING!
It’s not about being told by the “elders”, what is right and what is wrong. It’s not about the height of your steeple. It’s not about who is right and who is wrong.
I have read, or am in the process of, reading all three books on which the three major religions are based upon. I have read The Old Testament, I have read The New Testament, and I am reading the Quran. I find wisdom in all three, I find the inspiration of God in all three. Is it so hard to believe, there are three families related, from the earliest days? And as they moved apart, they came to God on different paths? But Abraham taught us to worship one God, and if we come to God in our hearts, then we have fulfilled Abraham’s prophecy .
We as Christians have become too caught up in the idea of winning, of being right, of being superior, to all other faiths. The modern Christian is nothing but a different incarnation of the Muslim extremist. They demand religious purity, they demand conformity, and while they don’t cut your head off, they have been known to destroy people.
I have come to believe the Christian “religion” ,as it is practiced today, has absolutely nothing to do with “faith”.
That is why, through my reading of the Quran, I have decided to convert to Islam. In the Quran we are told of a faith, which is faithful to Abraham’s prophecy, and to the one God. For those who have not read it, and who believes that Islam equals terrorism, I would suggest you crawl out of your pews, and stop listening to other men, telling you, to live by their interpretation of scripture, and read the books, and find the one which moves you to God, not because the Pastor in your community church tells you to, but because God speaks to you, as you read the words.
“Peace be upon you.”
Pretty heavy night time reading. Have to admit I haven’t been up-to-date with your Blog and it seems I missed a lot. Keep it coming..
Frank – while I do understand what you’re doing here, I thought I’d throw in a couple of points to ponder on the serious side…
First, I would expand your definition of faith to the following: Faith = Belief + Action. It cannot exist without both of these traits. Anyone can BELIEVE in God and even that Jesus Christ is their savior. However, without ACTING upon that belief, there is no faith and there is no salvation. After all, Satan BELIEVES in Jesus Christ, but that does not change who or where he is.
Second, there are millions of “religious” people in the world. As you say, they go to church regularly, behave “religiously” (at least while on the church property) and espouse their holier than thou message to anyone who will listen. Their hypocritical actions will not get them anywhere near Heaven. We as humans are simply incapable of being perfect, and we are all sinners. We tend to compare ourselves to others and say “I’m not as bad as this person. I’ve never robbed a bank or killed anyone. I’m a good person. I’m nice to others.” The comparison we need to make is to the perfection of Christ, and we cannot even come close. Since God cannot be in the presence of sin, there are no amount of good deeds that we can perform that will get us through the doors of heaven. The singular way is through the forgiveness that we can get through the acceptance of Christ as our personal Savior.
Finally, while I do attend a bible believing and preaching church and enjoy a wonderful pastor that is an exceptional biblical scholar and teacher, I do not hold my beliefs simply because of what he preaches. I have read completely through the bible three times and am working on my fourth. That will seem like a lot to some and a pittance to others. No matter – the answers to all of life’s questions can be found in the Good Book if we are only willing to seek and respond to them. And no matter how many times I read it in my life, there will always be more to learn and to understand.
So…I would say the real question to folks, especially those “religious” people is this:
Christ gave HIS life for you on the Cross. What will you do with your life to honor HIM?
Linda, it is the hypocrisy within Christianity that has led me to this decision. The fact that they will preach love on Sunday, and yet hate on Monday for people they don’t know and judge the faith of others with no knowledge of that faith beyond sound bites from political wannabes.
I suggest you broaden your reading beyond what you believe, you might find your eyes opened.
Many Christians practice the Old Testament while espousing the New Testament. Regardless, I have asked myself that in the absence of the bible,would my faith continue to exist. My answer has always been that if my faith is dependent upon the bible it is by definition not faith, because faith is belief In the absence of evidence.
As a Catholic we are taught that the bible can inform our faith, but it is not the crux of our faith. Pope Francis said “Whom am I to judge?” Much of Christianity and Christians seem to spend considerable time judging. Much of Islam seems to judge as well.
I do think that you have discovered the crux of the Christian identity that exists for many- hypocrisy. I listen to Chritians and watch them act. Any hypocrisy is immediately apparent. That’s especially evident in Sussex County. Once I discover the hypocrites, I know that those are the people who do not live in accordance with their principles and values. Which means those are the one that cannot be trusted. I’ll take an honest atheist over a hypocritical Christian any day.
We as Christians have become too caught up in the idea of winning, of being right, of being superior, to all other faiths. The modern Christian is nothing but a different incarnation of the Muslim extremist.
Do modern Christians fly passenger airliners into skyscrapers? Do modern Christians put non-Christians into cages and lower them into water? Do modern Christians line-up a row of non-believers, and then behead them?
You also seem to confusing American Christians with the state. George Bush or Barack Obama do not represent Christianity. They were/are the Commander-in-Chief of the United States. They are politicians, not theologians.
So you’ve decided to submit to Islam. Who cares? I’ve always thought that you’ve gone off the deep end, and now I know it.
“The modern Christian is nothing but a different incarnation of the Muslim extremist.”
There are only two, maybe three, possible explanations to this outrageous statement.
1. It was almost April Fools Day in the Eastern time zone when you posted it. Perhaps you were celebrating a little early?
2. I heard you on the radio talking with Dan the other day about how much pot you had smoked in your younger days… Apparently, you must have made Cheech & Chong look like amateurs….
3. You really have lost it….
To compare beliefs from one faith to another is one thing, but to actually say that there is nothing different between a modern Christian and a Muslim Extremist is completely delusional.
“Do modern Christians fly passenger airliners into skyscrapers? Do modern Christians put non-Christians into cages and lower them into water? Do modern Christians line-up a row of non-believers, and then behead them? “ – rick
“Modern Christians” prefer drone strikes like the latest, killing 150 people, in Somalia or our white phosphorous in Fallujah, to say nothing of fire bombing Dresden and Tokyo, nuking Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Not to mention napalming Viet Namese peasants. All very modern and “Christian”.
You could use you some Allah yourself, rick.
Frank has inspired me on this first day in April. I will also convert.
“Modern Christians” prefer drone strikes like the latest, killing 150 people, in Somalia or our white phosphorous in Fallujah
It has been estimated that radical Islam has murdered 28,000 people in 2015. And the government of the United States does not represent “Christianity.” Iran is a theocracy, the United States isn’t.
…to say nothing of fire bombing Dresden and Tokyo, nuking Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Yes, let’s compare WWII – which the Germans and Japanese started- to flying passenger airliners into skyscrapers. Typical moronic Obama voter, aka, useful idiot, to quote Stalin (another “liberal” Socialist).
Bob- I hadn’t thought of “April Fools Day.” Good call.
Lol. If most Republicans were as open minded as this post portrays, some of their good ideas might get listened to instead of being rejected out of hand as one would at being “Rick”rolled ^ Ha, ha.
The simple fact is that most of the world’s religions have a pretty sordid history when it comes to malice towards none, charity towards all. That’s because religion is organized in a tribal structure and the purpose of all tribes is to survive, mostly at the expense of other tribes. Except for the era, radical Islamists do not act much different than Christians did at some points in history. Arguments that it’s different because that was then, this now, are fallacious because the Islamic world has not socially matured or evolved. You might say, they are now what we once were.
Even so, one should not conflate faith with religion, nor should one conflate spiritual writings with the instinctive knowledge of right and wrong. The Bible does not specifically condemn the practice of slavery, but we instinctively know it’s wrong. Do we follow our conscience or our holy book? And if we choose the sections that are convenient, what are we saying about that book. Biblical literalism cannot be defended because like everything else written by man, we are flawed (even with divine inspiration) ditto Quran literalism, or any literalism.
Faith is an inherent belief in something greater than ourselves – a supreme being as it were. Coupled with an instinctive knowledge or right and wrong that should constitute a sufficient blueprint on how we live our lives. Churches that structure themselves around the bible seem to focus on the parts of the bible that conform to their beliefs and without the bible their faith is tenuous at best.
Okay, so it wasn’t the most subtle or believable April Fools Day, but really the only part of the post that was an April Fools prank, was the last paragraph, where I say I am converting to Islam, obviously I wouldn’t do that not having completed my reading of the Quran. The rest is my true feelings.
So now I will address some of the comments above.
Damn Rick, I wish you would disappoint me just once. Rick said, “Do modern Christians fly passenger airliners into skyscrapers? Do modern Christians put non-Christians into cages and lower them into water? Do modern Christians line-up a row of non-believers, and then behead them? ”
Well Rick once again ignores what was actually written, so as to make his point. Rick as you know, what I said was, ” The modern Christian is nothing but a different incarnation of the Muslim extremist. They demand religious purity, they demand conformity, and while they don’t cut your head off, they have been known to destroy people.” So you see rick, I had already addressed your anticipated “go to” response.
Rick also said, ” And the government of the United States does not represent “Christianity.” But Rick, what about this being a Christian nation? You know how it was founded upon Christian values?
Dave says, ” And if we choose the sections that are convenient, what are we saying about that book. ” Dave, it says nothing about the “book”, what it says is, people are imperfect. The word of Christ, in my opinion, is perfect. If you can point to the teachings of Jesus, to anything that would cause someone harm, please quote it here.
The word of God, as taught to us by Jesus, is perfect, people are imperfect, so of course we can’t adhere to every word. We are sinners, one and all, even the stuck up super Christians, who sit in judgement of others, which brings me to the comments of Bob Mitchell.
Yes Bob, I have been a drug user in the past, I was once a sinner of the highest order, I admit this freely. I ran women, got drunk and high, and had no idea what God was, beyond what I had been told in Sunday School, Pentecostal Sunday school by the way.
And then I hit bottom, it was lose everything I had worked for, or quit drugs. I tried on my own, but couldn’t do it. Then I found a Gideon’s Bible which my niece had left at my home. I began reading it from beginning to end, it occupied my mind and kept me from thinking about getting high. By the time I finished reading it, I have accepted Jesus as my savior. Not because someone stood on a polished altar, telling me I should, but because God had spoken directly to me through the words of the Bible.
You see Bob, I admit freely, I witness my Savior, as I am instructed to do.
But I am drug free for 26 years, I drink an occasional adult beverage, but not to access, (usually after winning, I am looking forward to my next beer), and I have been married to the same woman for 33 years, and am blessed with a wonderful daughter. So I relish my sins, because they brought me to God, and God saved me.
So if you want to criticize, and mock my weaknesses, feel free, because your judgement matters little in this world, and not at all in the world to come.
Ahhh, Frank… once again you make these wild statements, without any regard to truth, and then when someone calls you on it, you try to twist it all around to make it appear as if you are the harmed innocent party… Your act is really wearing thin…
You threw out a comment comparing modern Christians to Muslim extremists and then try to chastise someone for pointing out your gross error?? Really… You’re like the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf… making outrageous statements that are not true in any sense just to get attention. It’s getting old and the townspeople are tired of your noise and have stopped believing you…
“Do modern Christians fly passenger airliners into skyscrapers? Do modern Christians put non-Christians into cages and lower them into water? Do modern Christians line-up a row of non-believers, and then behead them? “ – rick
The answer is “no” of course…but only because Rick over-specified the questions, making no other answer possible. If instead he had asked whether Christians have committed atrocities in modern times against non-Christians, then “yes.” The Sabra and Shatila massacres in Lebanon and the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia come to mind.
Ahhhh! Bob, says, “Ahhh, Frank… once again you make these wild statements, without any regard to truth, and then when someone calls you on it, you try to twist it all around to make it appear as if you are the harmed innocent party… Your act is really wearing thin”.
Well Bob, since I am giving my opinion, of people’s behavior, I am not sure how you can qualify that as either true, or untrue, you may disagree, but my opinion is my opinion.
But please clarify for me how your statement above, “2. I heard you on the radio talking with Dan the other day about how much pot you had smoked in your younger days… Apparently, you must have made Cheech & Chong look like amateurs”, has anything to do with the discussion of Muslims v. Christians? Are you without sin Bob? Seems like a personal attack for the sake of making a personal attack.
I am also intrigued by this statement, “It’s getting old and the townspeople are tired of your noise “.
What townspeople would that be Bob? And is that a threat that people with pitchforks and torches will show up to ride me out of town on a rail? Sounds a bit vigilantly to me. So because I have a point of view of modern Christians that is counter to yours, then I should shut up?
Kind of lends credence to my statement, “The modern Christian is nothing but a different incarnation of the Muslim extremist. They demand religious purity, they demand conformity, and while they don’t cut your head off, they have been known to destroy people.”
You see Bob, I didn’t compare Christians to terrorist, but to Muslim extremist. I didn’t accuse them of killing people, but of demanding the same purity that Muslim extremist do of Muslims. And your townspeople remark sounds a lot like an attempt to destroy someone.
Frank. Do a little homework… The townspeople originally came to the shepherd boy’s aid when he cried “Wolf”. But the boy just laughed at them because there was no wolf. After a few of these false alarms, which were quite amusing to the little dolt, the good townspeople stopped playing his silly game. Then one day there really was a wolf that came and destroyed his sheep, but, cry as he might, no one came because of all of his previous lies. When the truth was revealed, no townspeople came to harm the boy because his loss of his sheep and his Credibility was punishment enough.
Wikipedia says this about the story: The moral stated at the end of the Greek version is, “this shows how liars are rewarded: even if they tell the truth, no one believes them.”
So you see, Frank, there are no “pitchforks”, no “running anyone out of town”. There is only an echo in an empty room for the boy who cried wolf, because no one believed him anymore…
As to my comment about your previous drug use – that was only to somehow offer a possible explanation for your delusional comment that compared modern Christians to Muslim extremists….one more example of “wolf crying”…
And finally, you are absolutely entitled to your opinion, but it doesn’t make it true. Truth is not subjective, nor does it require your agreement with it to be true. Your comment comparing modern Christians to Muslim extremists is an example of your opinion being untrue. You are still entitled to believe it, state it, and even publish it, but it doesn’t make it true.
The Emperor believed that he was clothed in the finest spun gold fabric, and he even convinced others to say that he was. But he was naked, and the truth was evident to everyone.
(You may want to look up The Emperor’s New Clothes” before commenting incorrectly on this one too….)
Bob,
Recognizing an extremist in Christian clothing, is not “crying wolf”.
My God is a militant black lesbian God and she loves me till it hurts