ptown_trojans_1;466635 wrote:Debatable, as the Bible was written by fallible men and translated by fallible men. There were also books left out or changed to fit the churches view at the time. Many of the stories come from oral tales that were passed along that could have been altered over time. It is still a Holy Book, but I wouldn't call it harmonious.
The one thing the Qur'an has over the Bible is it has not changed since it was written down shortly after the death of Mohammad. It is also rooted in pre-Islamic poetry, so it has a rhyme and rhythm. The Arabic has not changed since the revelations and the Arabic is considered "perfect", meaning it has perfect grammar, syntax, style, and rhythm, which I'll agree to as it is beautiful Arabic. So, the Bible has changed over time, depending on the will of the church and translations, whereas the Qur'an has had the same grammar and structure since its inception.
But, I'll agree that both books have had many people take the translations to mean many things over the years, both good and bad.
Christians hold the same view of divine inspiration for the Bible as Muslims do for the Quran. As for the Bible "changing", yes the OT probably went through some additions over the centuries, but the text itself was settled by the time of Christ, and the individual books were pretty much all agreed upon by then. Jews were very meticulous at copying their scriptures. As for the NT, early manuscripts match later ones to an amazing degree (considering the sheer # of them- unmatched by any other ancient literature). The individual books were pretty much settled by the 2nd century, and the ones left out were obvious frauds.
Yeah, Muslims accept Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Moses, etc. but just disagree on the nature of the crucifixion. Your view on that is your own faith.
But, I'll add how are we sure they are both wrong or right? Is it not possible that there are numerous paths to heaven, and perhaps accepting God as the ultimate power and living a good life is one way, even if one does not see Jesus as Christ? Or, maybe he is Christ, but perhaps Mohammad was another prophet needed to bring in the Bedouins in the Arabian desert? But, that goes down to faith really. I'm just open to many different views of religion and do not see thing in black and righ
Islam and Christianity, for all their similarities, are at odds with the person of Christ. Christians, and their Scriptures, regard Christ as fully human and fully divine, as the very Son of God. While Muslims regard him highly as a prophet, the issue is-
prophets don't normally call themselves the Son of God and predict their own resurrections three days after dying. If Christ was right, then Islam is wrong about him being simply a prophet. If Christ was wrong (and Islam is right), then he's a terrible prophet because he lied (multiple times) about himself. There is no possible way both religions can be right on this issue.
dwccrew;466636 wrote:
You're entitled to your opinion, I just happen to disagree. I don't find it insensitive, if anything, I think it is great. It would be even better if non-muslim Americans embraced the mosque and showed the radical muslims that here in the US we embrace all cultures, races and religions.
Unfortunetly, this is not happening. People are not embracing this and conflict is being created. Radical Islam is winning because of that. I think it would go a long way if we showed radical Islam that we will not hate or discriminate against others as they do.
We already embrace multiple cultures, races, and religions. I think we set the standard in that area, in fact. I don't think we need to prove anything, and I don't think radicals will change their ways no matter what we do.
I Wear Pants;466739 wrote:The Bible has been rewritten more times that you or I can count. Unless you're one of the people that think that god gave King James the perfect version of it.
The Bible is not infallible because the men who wrote it definitely weren't. Same with the Koran. Although it is a bit more difficult for them to disguise revisions because of the syntax, style, and rhyme that ptown described.
Translated, yes. Rewritten, not so much.
ptown_trojans_1;466840 wrote:That's not the point. The point is to further promote interfaith dialogue, further engage moderates in the Islamic community and dissuade them from not only joining radical groups, but also being active against the groups.
You are right that the radicals may not care, but the moderates in key country's may take as one data point in the fact that the U.S. is not as evil as the radicals say. Instead, the issue is providing a data point for the radicals.
We disagree on that point. Interfaith dialogue can be expressed in multiple ways other than building a mosque next to Ground Zero.