For people who adamantly keep on expressing the opinion that all religions are the same:
Imagine, for a moment, that you wake up one morning feeling very sick. You cough and cough. And it is not an ordinary cough: you are coughing up blood.
What do you do?
You go the emergency department of the nearest hospital, or, at the very least, you go to see a doctor.
You do not think to yourself, "Ah, this is just something that has happened as a result of the movie I saw yesterday. I am fully convinced of it, and I will not listen to anyone who says otherwise."
Or, "Ah, this is just something that has happened as a result of the red car that my friend drove when he came to see me yesterday. I am fully convinced of it, and I will not listen to anyone who says otherwise."
Why do we not say such things? Because we know that they are ridiculous. Only someone who has spent time studying medicine is qualified to say what is going on with us when we get sick. We do not waste time diagnosing ourselves; nor do we collect a bunch of medically-illiterate friends and see what they have to say about our condition.
However, when it comes to religion, many of us want to do exactly that. That is, many of us want to give out opinions on religions without reading up on the religions. I am not talking of getting an advanced degree in those religions, mind you. No, I am talking about not even bothering to go over the basics of those religions.
We say Islam is a religion of peace without bothering to look ap the basics of Islam. The Qu'ran is on the web. The Hadith is on the web. Still better, and more convenient, both of these, in bullet point form, along with real-life testimony from ex-muslims, are on the web (www.faithfreedom.org). If what you read in there--the incitement to murder, loot, dominate-- is too hard for you to believe; well, look at the newspapers. Every day some muslim kills tens of people, and says he did it for Allah, as has been prescribed in the Qu'ran. You can see the sermons on the web inciting muslims to kill. If you really have to.
We say Christianity is a religion of forgiveness and hope. Of salvation. A look at what christian missionaries are doing today, and the modus operandi of christianity (www.christianaggression.org) will disabuse us of all that high-sounding rhetoric. Tens of millions of native people were wiped out by Inquisitions and Conquistadores. Tens of thousands did not even get to die a swift, painless death.
Take a look at what is going on in India today. Remember, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, there is a pretty good chance that it *is* a duck. But even if you do not realize that it is a duck, well, the duck will not kill you! But some religions, if you are too late in recognizing their true nature, will kill you.
Imagine, for a moment, that you wake up one morning feeling very sick. You cough and cough. And it is not an ordinary cough: you are coughing up blood.
What do you do?
You go the emergency department of the nearest hospital, or, at the very least, you go to see a doctor.
You do not think to yourself, "Ah, this is just something that has happened as a result of the movie I saw yesterday. I am fully convinced of it, and I will not listen to anyone who says otherwise."
Or, "Ah, this is just something that has happened as a result of the red car that my friend drove when he came to see me yesterday. I am fully convinced of it, and I will not listen to anyone who says otherwise."
Why do we not say such things? Because we know that they are ridiculous. Only someone who has spent time studying medicine is qualified to say what is going on with us when we get sick. We do not waste time diagnosing ourselves; nor do we collect a bunch of medically-illiterate friends and see what they have to say about our condition.
However, when it comes to religion, many of us want to do exactly that. That is, many of us want to give out opinions on religions without reading up on the religions. I am not talking of getting an advanced degree in those religions, mind you. No, I am talking about not even bothering to go over the basics of those religions.
We say Islam is a religion of peace without bothering to look ap the basics of Islam. The Qu'ran is on the web. The Hadith is on the web. Still better, and more convenient, both of these, in bullet point form, along with real-life testimony from ex-muslims, are on the web (www.faithfreedom.org). If what you read in there--the incitement to murder, loot, dominate-- is too hard for you to believe; well, look at the newspapers. Every day some muslim kills tens of people, and says he did it for Allah, as has been prescribed in the Qu'ran. You can see the sermons on the web inciting muslims to kill. If you really have to.
We say Christianity is a religion of forgiveness and hope. Of salvation. A look at what christian missionaries are doing today, and the modus operandi of christianity (www.christianaggression.org) will disabuse us of all that high-sounding rhetoric. Tens of millions of native people were wiped out by Inquisitions and Conquistadores. Tens of thousands did not even get to die a swift, painless death.
Take a look at what is going on in India today. Remember, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, there is a pretty good chance that it *is* a duck. But even if you do not realize that it is a duck, well, the duck will not kill you! But some religions, if you are too late in recognizing their true nature, will kill you.