Christianity has billions of followers around the world (1 billion in fact are Roman Catholic), and it can be true to assume each Christian may have a slight variation in matters regarding their religion. Some preach love, some preach happiness. However, recently, the Pope in another attempt of provocation attempted to further irritate Muslims by publicly baptising a former ‘Muslim’ which was kept secret until just before the Easter vigil Mass. Currently, the Vatican is attempting to repair relations with Muslims, so why make such a statement? Mr Islam Magdi Allam, the convert to Roman Catholicism could easily have been baptised in any one of the many churches across Rome, but the fact that he is a staunch advocate for Zionism (referred to by Israel as a ‘Muslim zionist’) and writes about Islam stating that‘… the root of evil is innate in an Islam that is physiologically violent and historically conflictual,’ surely has something to do with it.
The Vatican responded to growing questions from the media stating that they did not intend to provoke Muslims across the globe. Well if not, what other explanation could there be? Evidently, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, a fact that generally must worry clergymen and politicians alike. Possible reasons for Allam’s papal baptism are those of supposed ‘religious freedom’ – the Vatican’s explicit disapproval of Islam’s treatment of apostates, the Vatican’s support for Israel and the growing tide of sentiment against Roman Catholicism and consequently the growing converts to Islam. Allam in reality is unimportant, an Italian writer of Egyptian origin, however, the symbolism his conversion carried must have been assumed to be great by the Vatican.
Of course, the da’wah (call) to tawheed (Islamic monotheism) will almost certainly be unhindered by the Vatican’s vain attempts to keep hold of fellow Catholics. It seems that the Vatican as with most other religious establishments have not truly understood the strength and certainty of our call (to Islam). Converts to Islam from all over the world have always maintained that conversion to Islam was always postponed or overlooked due to the wrong information about Islam being disseminated. Once the truth was known, conversion was imminent. Conversely, every ‘apostate’ I have either heard of, come across, or read about always seemed to convert for non-theological reasons, or lacking and inconsistent beliefs about Islam. For instance, Allam converted to Catholicism due to conflicts which took place during Islam’s 1400 year old history – yet did he not consider the Catholic Church’s brutal, violent and oppressive attitude towards non-Christians (and often Christians from other denomination)? The brutality of the Church only began to wane due to the process of secularisation and the decline in Church authority.
Allam in all of his writings and interviews has clearly shown his ignorance in regards to theology, history and politics, and at most times clearly indicating that his conversion was either a result of his Zionistic tendencies, or his rejection of military force (although he contradicts himself with his support for Israel). In all of the interviews regarding his conversion (although his being Muslim formerly is questionable), never once does he manage to provide a clear theological argument as to why Catholicism is theologically correct and Islam consequently wrong. As is the case with most Christian’s, his motives are political, as was the Vatican’s.
The Vatican has always been at the forefront of politics, to the extent that many critics claim the Vatican is more of a political body than religious. Many Protestant theologians have also highlighted that the Vatican’s concern for the numbers of church goers is purely economical, to the extent that commonly it is held that you can be forgiven of your sins ‘by reciting fifty ‘Hail Mary’s’ and donating twenty pounds to the church’. Even when the Vatican actually does manage to address theology, the masses are fed philosophical nonsense, to the extent that Catholics are reprimanded from questioning key theological matters and are told the essence of Christ is ‘mystical’. Thus the multitudes have begun to leave irrational beliefs not contented with mere suggestions or theories of Christ; the truth requires that we delve deeply into scriptural reference and early Christian history to ascertain facts and unbiased conclusions. We must also analyse the steps taken by the early followers of Christ, such as the apostles and those that came after them.
Christianity has taken many turns since Jesus Christ walked the face of this earth. Christians claim he brought the Christian religion, even though he was called a Jew. He taught the torah and preached in the synagogue and the temple of Solomon. He observed the Passover as well as the Sabbath. He was circumcised according to the Jewish rites and claimed: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” (Matthew: 5:17)
The Romans were the first major Christian force. Throughout history, there are a plethora of examples of the Church utilising specific Biblical verses for the justification of wars, inquisitions, and violence against men who do not share the same creeds or tenets of faith (unbeknownst to Allam and other ‘converts’), let alone those of other religious persuasions. The same church now advocates peace and love, attempting to disassociate itself from 18 centuries of ensanguined history.
The saints of Christendom such as Augustine adopted platoic views along with many other secular Greek philosophers making their mark on the religion. The ‘champion of Christianity’ – Emperor Constantine, was known as the agent establishing Christianity as a firm authority in the 4th century A.D., however, it is not factually confirmed that he ever affirmed his faith as a Christian and some claim he died a pagan. Many turning points occurred in the history of Christianity, including the collection of approximately 100 different gospels which were in circulation, of which only four that echoed the Church’s innovated beliefs were chosen, as well as the Ecumenical councils in which fundamental decisions were made, such as the status of Christ and other aspects of the Bible. Many tenets were rejected and much innovation was accepted on the basis of consensus among the European Catholic scholars and leaders in the 4th century A.D.
The Bible went through the process of translation many times, originating from the Aramaic and Hebrew scriptures, into the Greek, then onto Latin, and finally into a number of modern languages, conclusive of the English language. Once translated into English, the bible came forth as different versions. Contemporary Christians contend the authenticity of their individual versions. Additionally, many people were killed or burnt in the name of heresy and apostasy during times of ‘purging’ such as the inquisition. Hundreds of millions of free and innocent people were enslaved in a brutal fashion from Africa, using Christianity as an excuse for atrocious acts.
Contemporarily, Hollywood’s portrayal of Christianity has been one of which merges religion and fantasy. They commonly produce a movie depicting the ‘hero figure’ as a white westerner, often a Christian, and the ‘villain figure’ a non-Christian and usually from a different ethnic group. Such scenes are projected across televisions and cinema screens in a bid to ‘Americanise’ us with a process of globalisation. It is unfortunate that many Christians actually acquire major parts of their religion through this medium. The result is the merger between Christian doctrine and racial/cultural thought, thus every person believing in an exclusive divergence based on their own ignorant understanding.
Religious experience has a defining role within Christian thought, in the sense that the common man has come to depend on religious experience and feeling, due to the lack of theological knowledge and understanding. As well as this, many people have exceeded class boundaries and have come to be more learned through educational institutions, and thus the lack of rationality in scripture causes people to rely on experience. Another major contributing factor is the spirit of ‘secularisation’. The masses have moved away from the communal sense of religion and made it more individualistic. Many new denominations were created in order to satisfy religious differences, and Christianity took a step away from its original fundamentals in order to satisfy the rising secular demands.
But was this, and is this, the whole point of Christianity? To what degree is Christianity practised and understood as it was preached by Jesus (upon him be peace)? There are many aspects of the life of Jesus that are acted upon which are based on scriptural and traditional literature as well as the assumptions and interpolations. The person of Jesus (and not his belief and understanding) seems to be the de facto agent within contemporary belief, and early Christian history is related from a biased standpoint, favouring the trinitarianists. However, to get a holistic view, we must analyse it from a neutral viewpoint. Let us look at who Jesus was, where he came from what he taught, compared to contemporary views, and the fact of how Christianity changed over the first seven centuries.
In order to look at Christianity, we have to evaluate all aspects of the religion. It is impossible to understand such a subject by assuming its components are separate entities. The message of Jesus Christ cannot be separated from his works or actions, thus it is pertinent to evaluate how important the historical account of Jesus is, in the context of what he preached. From the way he ate and prayed, to his thoughts, perceptions and actions. Every aspect of his life is of importance in order to uncover the face of Jesus Christ from the mask we currently know. The New Testament claims to deliver all worthy information based on Jesus, yet Christians as well as critics cannot deny the existence of scriptural contradictions and interpolations. Contrary to popular belief, the gospel writers were not the apostles of Jesus Christ, so who were they and when did they write the gospels?
Christianity has been open to much criticism through the centuries on the account of its creeds, scripture, history, and interpretation, as well as many other things. Interpretation of scripture and tradition is vast, and the methodology can range. However, in order to effectively deduce the correct interpretation, we must look to the historical account of Jesus and examine the way he applied it into his daily actions. Only then can we come as close to objective interpretation as possible deduced from scripture and prophetic application. Once this has been achieved, we will see with corroborating evidence (from Christian sources) that aspects of Islam that Christians seem to disdain such as Jihad also in actual fact have a basis in Christianity.
If only apostates and converts to Christianity were privy to the facts, but then again Allah the Most High does indeed state, “And there are among them people who have no real knowledge of the divine writ, [following] only wishful beliefs and depending on nothing but conjecture.”1
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source: www.islam21c.com
1. al-Baqarah 2:78
peace be upon anybody who will follow the true guidance
@ David.
“peace be upon anybody who will follow the true guidance” (Moses said that when brought to Pharoah’s presence to give dauwa to him..
Islam is a very no-nonsense religion. So this bla bla about love is typical hypocrisy. the fact is that we humans cannot tolerate slaps to both cheeks for long. So when war shall be waged, it shall be waged. If one is oppressing the other and the oppression cannot be checked or halted then let there be war.
In the case of lying to promote religion, this is not carte-blanche! Its not a general rule but the exception. Similar is the case for espionage, its forbidden but how can a war be waged or won without espionage? so we Muslims have nothing to hide, when we have to spy we have to spy. When we have to fight we have to fight… Islam is very practical. Christianity as it appears today looks more like a bloated philosophy than a religion.. forgive me for judging but..
Prophet muhammad even to the end of his life, remained true to what he preached and acted upon it. He lived among dessert hardened men who cannot easily be conned. these were dessert Arabs who were not well versed in literature or philosophy. they knew to war and cheat, steal and kill. So they would have wasted no time exposing a false-prophet had they ever found a flaw in the lifestyle of prophet muhammad. But he never relaxed. Even on his death bed, he prayed, fasted and weeks went by without fire in any of his wives kitchens. Surely an old man successful in forming a vast religion could make small allowances for himself .. but he never did. Hardly the image of a false one!
you mentioned that Quruan was collected in one book after many years since the death of prophet.. This is true. But quruan was written by his Prophet Muhammad’s companions when he was alive. Only that there was not one book compiled. the companions wrote the verses on anything they can find, bones, leaves etc.. and there were the companions who memorized the whole book. So many of them! so in the time of abu-bakru they collected all the materials to one book and we have the quruan we now know. Surely this couldn’t have escaped you if you have read more about islam..
Anyways…
truth
السلام عليكم I am going to assume that you all, as I, want to know and serve the truth God. If that be the case, we must all love that God (Arabic – Allah), and the truth of Him, more than we love our religions, our Imans, pastors, mothers, brothers, friends, etc… If not, we dishonor the very God we propose to be serving. So, regarding the information from the Author of this post, wow!? Where do I start? There is so much correct information, historically regarding those doing things in the name of Christianity. However, you have completely missed the heart and msg. of Jesus. Anybody that can deny that their religion has less hypocrites and fewer contraditions than the other, especially any of the major religions such as Hindu, Christian (Catholic and Coptics included), and Islam is either lying or does not want to know the truth. I for one, believe that there is a God. One God. I want to know and live for that one true God. As you mention, Christians don’t want to know their churches history, neither do Muslims want to be honest about their history, and present in many cases. I, for one, am in search of truth, want to know the history of my faith. I want to know the “truth” of it. We don’t have a very long life. And, if we settle for one of the many, many lies that this world has to offer and not seek God with all of our hearts, we have wasted the life that God has given us. I know of the history of the Christian church. And, I know of the history of Islam. Both, contrary to what the author is saying, have committed many horrific atrosities to people throughout their history. Even to people of their own faith. How shameful. How evil. Muhammad started off by saying to Love and not to harm anybody. He also started off saying that people should not lie (please correct me if I am wrong). However, Muhammad did not continue practicing this. As, in Islam, it is okay to kill and lie to further Islam…? So, when a Muslim does this it is okay because he is practicing what his religions has told him. With Christianity, Jesus, and his “peaceful” disciples and the apostles of the 1st century, said to “turn the other cheek” and to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” which is contrary to much of the Christian churches history ~ rather those doing things in the name of Christianity. Shame on them, shame on us. As far as different versions of the bible… There are those that condemn others if they don’t read the same version. Though they may mean well, shame on them. I have read a few different versions. Though the wording is different, the message is the same. That God loves us and he originally made us in the Garden of Eden to have a relationship with him. That God has a plan of salvation for all who have sinned ~ and, we all have sinned. Even you, as Muslims, know that we all disappoint the one God (Allah) and need to be forgiven. One difference between Muslims and Christians (practicing what Christ taught) is that we can know we have forgiveness. That God’s grace and plan of salvation is all that call on Jesus. Another is that as a Muslim you can kill the unbeliever in hopes of securing a place for you in paradise (again, please correct me if I am wrong). As a Christian, you are called to love everybody in hope that you both will find the truth of God and go to paradise (this does not contradict that the Christian already has assurance of salvation through Jesus). Keep in mind that everyone of the disciples and the apostle Paul spread the Gospel in peace and honesty. Each one was tortured. Imprisoned. And, all died terrible deaths (except John). The author of this stated the the Gospels were not written by the disciples (?). I am confused if he is purposefully being misleading to the readers or just does not know. The Gospels were written within 70 years of the life of Christ (some believe within 50). Any that may not have been written by the “hand” of its author were written by narration. The Quran was writtenput-together over 500 years after Muhammad. I know many Muslims. One I love as a brother. My pray is for him and all, that we find the truth of/to God. Don’t let people deceive you or tell you to stay ignorant to truth. Love God more than you love everything and everybody else. He is worth it and desires you to prove you love for him by not settling. Jesus (Issa) said that we are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” And, to “love your brother (all people) as yourself.” السلام عليكم
Maybe
Possibly so, however any follow up would inevitably be quite long as it will expound on the points made,thus it will take abit of time – so please watch this space!
Maybe
Possibly so, however any follow up would inevitably be quite long as it will expound on the points made,thus it will take abit of time – so please watch this space!
Nice
hey Muhammad thanks, is there going to be a follow up?
Nice
hey Muhammad thanks, is there going to be a follow up?
Hypocrisy? if you say so!!
thats exactly the problem, you have changed – your beliefs/creed, your methodology and even your understanding of God. The joke is that you criticise war which is waged against tyrants yet the whole Old Testament is full of them. Moses slaughtered the philistines and David fought numerous nations. Many prophets fought thus if you claim that fighting is wrong I guess you need to re-evaluate your faith. Additionally, the author does not claim that Muslims did not wage war, or that war is evil – but he discussed the Church’s oppression upon others. An example is that of Jerusalem, look at the difference between the way the cruaders shed blood mercilessly and the way Muslims strove to save as many lives.
Hypocrisy? if you say so!!
thats exactly the problem, you have changed – your beliefs/creed, your methodology and even your understanding of God. The joke is that you criticise war which is waged against tyrants yet the whole Old Testament is full of them. Moses slaughtered the philistines and David fought numerous nations. Many prophets fought thus if you claim that fighting is wrong I guess you need to re-evaluate your faith. Additionally, the author does not claim that Muslims did not wage war, or that war is evil – but he discussed the Church’s oppression upon others. An example is that of Jerusalem, look at the difference between the way the cruaders shed blood mercilessly and the way Muslims strove to save as many lives.
hypocrisy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t understand the authors qualm, is he supposing the Islam has had a peaceful history? The difference with Catholics is that we have accepted our wrongs and changed to be exttremely peace loving – can the same be said about Muslims – never!!
The fact of the matter is that Muslims have been waging war their entire history and will continue to do so, especially in light of the koranic verses (chapter repentence). Offensive jihad is prescribed in Islam and therefore even if you are a ‘disbelieving’ PEACEFUL nation, the Muslim empire will still attack you in the name of ‘jizyah’. Peace be upon you? Only if you’re Muslim!
hypocrisy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t understand the authors qualm, is he supposing the Islam has had a peaceful history? The difference with Catholics is that we have accepted our wrongs and changed to be exttremely peace loving – can the same be said about Muslims – never!!
The fact of the matter is that Muslims have been waging war their entire history and will continue to do so, especially in light of the koranic verses (chapter repentence). Offensive jihad is prescribed in Islam and therefore even if you are a ‘disbelieving’ PEACEFUL nation, the Muslim empire will still attack you in the name of ‘jizyah’. Peace be upon you? Only if you’re Muslim!
it is about time christianity was questioned – the problem with christians is that they will never answer your questions directly, they know that they will be intellectually pounded!!
The ‘scholars’ who are discussing a relationship with the vatican should keep this article in mind – we can never accept falsehood
it is about time christianity was questioned – the problem with christians is that they will never answer your questions directly, they know that they will be intellectually pounded!!
The ‘scholars’ who are discussing a relationship with the vatican should keep this article in mind – we can never accept falsehood
very good points which any Catholic (and Christian) will find hard to deny
very good points which any Catholic (and Christian) will find hard to deny
Planning
Well written article – this clearly shows us that THEY will never be happy with you until you follow their way.
Planning
Well written article – this clearly shows us that THEY will never be happy with you until you follow their way.
good summary of Christianity
good summary of Christianity