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In reply to the discussion: Many millions of Muslims 'fundamentally incompatible with the modern world', says Tony Blair [View all]LiberalLovinLug
(14,164 posts)I grew up in such a fundamentalist household.
But one thing different about Christianity and Islam is that there is no Jesus equivalent in Islam. There is no "son of Mohammad" that comes later and says basically, ..pay no heed to that old book you called the Old Testament, I'm bringing the new laws for you, and those laws are all about love. About doing unto others as you'd want done to yourself. About loving your enemies. About doing good to those that despise you. About turning the other cheek.
Then the Old Testament became a book of stories, and whenever there was a passage on say the Israelite's massacring whole towns and all the women and children too, like Jericho, Christian scholars could always have a New Testament asterisk on every story like that. So they have the best of both worlds. They can use the Old Testament as stories of the power of God the Father and that one must fear him or you'll go to hell. But they have the out in that Jesus came along later and said....I (or We the trinity) changed our minds, and now we are going to be less aggressive and live by example believing that its the meek that will inherit the Earth.
Of course tell that to the new American Prosperity right wing military-stroking Christian church. I always am astounded at how far from Jesus's actual teachings about turning your cheek, loving your enemies, feeding the poor etc..the American Christian Church has drifted from and yet they still fervently call themselves "Christ-ian", using the name of the supposed Messiah that told them all that Old Testament stuff was BS.
And that is the point. This new American church proves that it only takes a number of leaders, over time, to indoctrinate their flocks into believing their own religion says something different than what it was intended to say. Islam, like all religions, can be used over time, by more aggressive violent leaders to shift the purpose and meanings of the Koran. But even more so with the Koran in that there is no "New Koran" that came later telling them that Mohammad loves the Gentiles as much as his own chosen peoples.