Post 240:
Jayshastri, you don't understand something very fundamental. It happens to all Hindus, Buddhists and Jains (and others) when they think of Christianity and Islam. The last two religions work on a concept entirely unfamiliar to us. I'll try and explain. It may seem very trivial to you, but it is <i>fundamental</i> to their religion.
We (non-ChristoIslamics) all tend to think: "they (Muslims & Christians) should only pick and choose the good things in their religion and forego the bad" and "they shouldn't take things literally".
In a typically non-ChristoIslamic manner, we overlook this fundamental thing:
Islam and Christianity base their entire truth claims on being taken literally. When that is taken away from it, these 2 religions fall apart entirely.
- Hence, Christianity: Jesus died (for our sins) and was resurrected and only through Jesus can you reach god and get to heaven. Else you'll go to hell. And, of course a Christian is commanded to spread this Gospel to all nations.
- Islam: Allah is the only god and Mohammed is his Prophet. Mohammed's 'prophetic' writings (well, those attributed to him) are all in the Koran and his life-story (to be emulated by all Muslims) is to be found in the Hadiths.
These two religions base their claims on the fact that their books are supposed to be god's word, and on the main characters who are supposed to be god/appointed by god.
So, if you fault the Bible or Koran, you're faulting their god's word. If you say, don't take it literally, you're effectively saying: you're god was lying/exagerating/spewing nonsense/didn't know what he was saying.
Any rational person reading either of these books (or the Christian apocrypha, or the Hadiths/sayings) will think the contents
- vary from rubbish to disgusting to nonsense to common sense (occasionally)
- and clearly shows sign of human origin (and barely that)
- and nothing divine about them.
But because it is considered god's word, they accept it literally, regardless of whether it says something ridiculous, disgusting, inhumane or demonstrably false.
So when we say, 'don't take it literally' to a Christian or a Muslim, we're effectively saying 'you're god doesn't exist' or 'yours is an incompetent god'. Either way, it's not flattering.
Why do you think the whole evolution thing has not gone down well in the US? Science is contradicting their god's word - either science is wrong or their god/bible is wrong. The Christians have to choose between believing god's word and believing science; and they choose god's word (hell being the punishment for not doing so, in their minds). To support god's word, they've invented the laughable Intelligent Design, formerly known as creationism.
The good 'Muslims' you speak of, are the ones that
- don't know what the Koran wants of them
- know what the Koran wants (but can't reconcile its genocidal commands with their humanity) and have chosen humanity instead. These are a very small number and they often have to explain away to themselves what words like Jihad mean and what exactly should be done to kafirs. In fact, if the Koran were true, they'll end up in Jekinah with the rest of us.
Many of them will live and die good people, no doubt. But they're not Muslims in the true sense of the word. Also, there's no promise that their (often multiple) children won't be brainwashed by dawaganda and turned into aggressors and terrorists.
Jayshastri, you don't understand something very fundamental. It happens to all Hindus, Buddhists and Jains (and others) when they think of Christianity and Islam. The last two religions work on a concept entirely unfamiliar to us. I'll try and explain. It may seem very trivial to you, but it is <i>fundamental</i> to their religion.
We (non-ChristoIslamics) all tend to think: "they (Muslims & Christians) should only pick and choose the good things in their religion and forego the bad" and "they shouldn't take things literally".
In a typically non-ChristoIslamic manner, we overlook this fundamental thing:
Islam and Christianity base their entire truth claims on being taken literally. When that is taken away from it, these 2 religions fall apart entirely.
- Hence, Christianity: Jesus died (for our sins) and was resurrected and only through Jesus can you reach god and get to heaven. Else you'll go to hell. And, of course a Christian is commanded to spread this Gospel to all nations.
- Islam: Allah is the only god and Mohammed is his Prophet. Mohammed's 'prophetic' writings (well, those attributed to him) are all in the Koran and his life-story (to be emulated by all Muslims) is to be found in the Hadiths.
These two religions base their claims on the fact that their books are supposed to be god's word, and on the main characters who are supposed to be god/appointed by god.
So, if you fault the Bible or Koran, you're faulting their god's word. If you say, don't take it literally, you're effectively saying: you're god was lying/exagerating/spewing nonsense/didn't know what he was saying.
Any rational person reading either of these books (or the Christian apocrypha, or the Hadiths/sayings) will think the contents
- vary from rubbish to disgusting to nonsense to common sense (occasionally)
- and clearly shows sign of human origin (and barely that)
- and nothing divine about them.
But because it is considered god's word, they accept it literally, regardless of whether it says something ridiculous, disgusting, inhumane or demonstrably false.
So when we say, 'don't take it literally' to a Christian or a Muslim, we're effectively saying 'you're god doesn't exist' or 'yours is an incompetent god'. Either way, it's not flattering.
Why do you think the whole evolution thing has not gone down well in the US? Science is contradicting their god's word - either science is wrong or their god/bible is wrong. The Christians have to choose between believing god's word and believing science; and they choose god's word (hell being the punishment for not doing so, in their minds). To support god's word, they've invented the laughable Intelligent Design, formerly known as creationism.
The good 'Muslims' you speak of, are the ones that
- don't know what the Koran wants of them
- know what the Koran wants (but can't reconcile its genocidal commands with their humanity) and have chosen humanity instead. These are a very small number and they often have to explain away to themselves what words like Jihad mean and what exactly should be done to kafirs. In fact, if the Koran were true, they'll end up in Jekinah with the rest of us.
Many of them will live and die good people, no doubt. But they're not Muslims in the true sense of the word. Also, there's no promise that their (often multiple) children won't be brainwashed by dawaganda and turned into aggressors and terrorists.