...who falls before my balefull eye...

I've been looking over this blogging thing. Never took a look before. Very odd. Found mileswar -- 12-year-old kid with a sharp sense of humor. And an Islamic site styled plaintruthandjustice. Youssef quotes a Canadian convertrix who extols the security of the veil. To which I replied:

Greetings, Y. Don't share your faith, but understand your fervor -- it is like my own, for another God. I'd just point out that a mere accoutrement (scarf) has no part in "spirituality," but only in emotion. We all need such things, of various descriptions (crosses, menorahs, begging bowls), but they're hardly an evidence of the truths of our positions. Apologetics must be of sterner stuff.

Every world religion says God loves. This is as much as to say that fathers love. But not every father is God. And not all gods are God. There are those who would say that the various religions worship the same god, under different names. Clearly not true.

Allah says of himself that he is "omnipotent" (Sura 2:284). The God of the Bible is not. God is limited by his character -- there are things he cannot do: He cannot lie, or forswear himself, or tempt or be tempted (putting aside ill-considered objections, that Jesus was "tempted" in the wilderness -- the Greek is, of course, "tested").

The Koran flatly states that Jesus is not the Son of God: "the Christians call Christ the Son Of God. That is a saying from their mouth; (In this) they but intimate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth." (Sura 9:30) Ouch. In any case, this is in flat contradiction to the historic Christian faith.

Islam has Jesus a created being from dust (Sura 3:59), whereas John 1:3 has it that "All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made" -- thus, if made, he made himself -- therefore, not made.

The New testament is unambiguous re the fact of the crucifixion. The Koran is also utterly clear, and contrary: speaking of Jesus, "they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of surety they killed him not. (Sura 4:157)

And so on. We can agree or disagree as to which is correct. But they can't both be correct. The contradiction is irreconcilable. Only our own maturity and tolerance bridges the gap. This is why graciousness and courtesy are necessary. Between informed loquitors, there can be only civil disagreement.

Of course not all adherents of Islam are responsible for the terror of a few, any more than Christianity is to be held for the butcheries of barely-civilized European lords 900 years ago. (That Jihadists invaded Christian lands, such as Syria and Egypt, 450 years before any Crusade was ever mounted to reclaim those lands, may be passed over as old news. Of course, the oppression of dhimmitude is current news, but we'll observe this embarrassment in silence.) The cowardice of contemporary Moslems, in their near-universal failure to denounce in unambiguous terms current atrocities (eg, beheadings of three Christian school girls in Polo Kota, Indonesia, the last week of October), is understandable, given the threat of imminent retaliation.

Where does this leave us? Every religion has merit. All are marred by the stains of their practitioners. But only one can possess the merit of capitalized Truth. And it isn't dogmatic assertion that establishes that truth. It isn't faith in whichever received scriptures, gospels or suras. A thing must be true in itself, to be ultimately true, regardless of whether we agree with it.

I am Christian not because I was born one. As they say, God has no grandchildren. It is evidence and reason which brought me here. Others can and will say that, of other faiths. The matter, then, resolves on one fact: some choose truth, and some choose delusion. Who's right? I think I know. But I wouldn't kill you, for being wrong.

:-)

Best,

JH

End quote.

My, I do go on, don't I. But pretty good for off the top of my head. Which is on my neck. Still.



J

ps -- Youssef commented on a glib characterazation I'd made, and I've removed it. But so much of what what I do is glib -- I mean, look at that "on my neck" crack. No offense meant, but I get myself into more trouble, this way. I am, after all, a bloated monster -- or is it "bloatedmonster?"

J