What's your experience been like with Christians?

[LaSorcia]

I know a lot of folks here live in the UK or USA, where Christianity is practiced as well. I'd like to ask some questions! I'm sticking to Christians, because that's what I know most about. :statisfie

What has your experience been like with Christians (only if you know they are Christian, far too many people are unbelievers nowadays, even in so-called Christian countries)?

Do you think they have a true understanding of what Muslims think and believe, their faith and practices?

Do you think you have a true understanding of what Christians think and believe, their faith and practices?

Would you be interested in a church or mosque sponsoring an interfaith meeting to promote unity and understanding between the faiths?

Any other comments or thought?

I mean this thread with the best of intentions; I'm not trying to debate, argue or say Muslims or Christians follow God the wrong way. Let's keep it friendly. :shade:

[Serinity]

I've only met pretend christians, they don't take it seriously, they are cultural.

I know tho that they don't represent christianity tho. Idk tho.

[EgyptPrincess]

I don't think Christians fully understand Islam and Muslims do not fully understand Christianity. You cannot understand the other without first learning about it so a lot of people are ignorant to other religions. Just as a scientist may be ignorant about carpentry.

I've met plenty of people who claim to be Christian but do not go to Church, say a prayer before they eat or anything like that. Personally I've not had any problems with them and for the most part they're friendly enough. There have of course been the few who insult me or my faith but these people are typically just racist bigots. I've been inside a Church, it's very different to a Mosque. The coloured glass is incredibly beautiful.

Generally speaking I don't have any issue with someone based on what they believe or the colour of their skin or their nationality of if they have a disability. I never discriminate...

I honestly could not care less as long as they're a kind hearted decent person :)

Majority of my friends at school are not Muslim. As long as you draw the line between doing haram and halal things, something which I struggle with but I'm working on it Inshallah.

[LaSorcia]

I've only met pretend christians, they don't take it seriously, they are cultural.

I know tho that they don't represent christianity tho. Idk tho.

That's sad. :(
Unfortunately, that's a lot of what I've met, too. :(

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[Serinity]

That's sad. :(
Unfortunately, that's a lot of what I've met, too. :(

Well some pretend christians are nice, some are bad.

Some have nice good character, some don't.

Well, every religion has good and bad followers. It is about the religion tho.

But honestly, as long as one has good character and doesn't insult other faiths, one can tolerate that.

I have met pretend christians who are respecting, too.

May Allah SWT forgive me if I said anything wrong. Ameen.

[noraina]

Hmmmm, this is an interesting question.

I would say, living in the UK, my experience with those who practise Christianity has been mixed. For a little while I went to a Christian school to take a couple of examinations, as they accepted private candidates and were nearby, however I found them to be hostile towards Muslims and some racism too as I'm not white.

On the other hand, I had a Christian neighbour who was one of the nicest people I ever met, unfortunately she moved away but she had known me since I was like two years old lol. She was serious about her faith but respected our own faith too. - I miss her.

Overall, I do think we could educate ourselves more about each other's religions - I live in a town with few Muslims, perhaps that is why some of their views can be quite surprising. Here the various communities keep themselves to themselves and tbh I think so few Christians practise their faith as seriously as they should - they find some Muslim's level of practise unusual.

[noraina]

Also, Christians are People of the Book, so I respect their faith and I am for A-levels doing one on comparative religion between Christianity and Islam - it is really fascinating. :) And on IB my experience with Christians has been quite good, lol.

[Aisha]

We've had a couple of interfaith events at our local Masjids and have been invited to churches.. Alhamdulillah everyone gets on well and supports each other. There's a local Interfaith Forum comprising of a Masjid, couple of churches, a synagogue and a Gurdwara. They've come together on a few occasions to build friendships and repel hate (such as when the EDL decided to pay a visit, pretty much everyone was vocal about them not being welcome!)
Of vourse, there are ignorant people on both sides but I like to think that they don't represent the majority :)

[LaSorcia]

We've had a couple of interfaith events at our local Masjids and have been invited to churches.. Alhamdulillah everyone gets on well and supports each other. There's a local Interfaith Forum comprising of a Masjid, couple of churches, a synagogue and a Gurdwara. They've come together on a few occasions to build friendships and repel hate (such as when the EDL decided to pay a visit, pretty much everyone was vocal about them not being welcome!)
Of vourse, there are ignorant people on both sides but I like to think that they don't represent the majority :)

This is great, I want to get something like this started where I live...except no Gurdwaras here lol.

What is the EDL?

Masjid is the word I was looking for in my original post, but couldn't recall how to spell it! Please tell me, what is the difference between masjid and mosque? Is the mosque the word for the building itself and masjid the word for the events/participating?

[EgyptPrincess]

We've had a couple of interfaith events at our local Masjids and have been invited to churches.. Alhamdulillah everyone gets on well and supports each other. There's a local Interfaith Forum comprising of a Masjid, couple of churches, a synagogue and a Gurdwara. They've come together on a few occasions to build friendships and repel hate (such as when the EDL decided to pay a visit, pretty much everyone was vocal about them not being welcome!)
Of vourse, there are ignorant people on both sides but I like to think that they don't represent the majority :)

I've also seen Christians and Muslims working together in the community. There was a flood and I saw Muslims, Atheists and Christians all working together to lay sandbags and get old people from their homes. It wasn't a huge flood but it was nice to see them combining their efforts. I forget the name of the Muslim charity responsible :facepalm:

[EgyptPrincess]

What is the EDL? ?

EDL is your donald trump of the UK. Cancerous scumbags that's who.

EDL = English Defence League. It's a political party with 0 seats LOL

[LaSorcia]

EDL is your donald trump of the UK. Cancerous scumbags that's who.

EDL = English Defence League. It's a political party with 0 seats LOL

So, like the Monster Raving Loony Party but without the funny bits?

[EgyptPrincess]

So, like the Monster Raving Loony Party but without the funny bits?

Pretty much

If ever you are approached by an EDL member just tell them they have 0 seats, it will get the mad :D

Public opinion of the EDL is generally negative. In a 2012 study, 74% of those polled stated they believed the EDL was racist. 85% also stated they would never join the group.^[110][111] 69% of people also stated they do not agree with the EDL's values or methods. A 2013 poll in the aftermath of the murder of Lee Rigby found 61% believed the EDL makes terrorist attacks more likely; just 14% disagreed

Taken from wikipedia

[LaSorcia]

Pretty much

If ever you are approached by an EDL member just tell them they have 0 seats, it will get the mad :D


Taken from wikipedia

And should I tell them they spelled defense wrong, too? :p

[Hamza :)]

Masjid is the word I was looking for in my original post, but couldn't recall how to spell it! Please tell me, what is the difference between masjid and mosque? Is the mosque the word for the building itself and masjid the word for the events/participating?

Masjid is mosque in arabic

[EgyptPrincess]

And should I tell them they spelled defense wrong, too? :p

Spelled wrong? Haha Americans speak English, invent your own language! :D

Technically Americans are British anyway ;)

[Futuwwa]

I've experienced so many Christians that the experiences kind of average out.

[Cpt.America]

Spelled wrong? Haha Americans speak English, invent your own language! :D

Technically Americans are British anyway ;)

I was actually discussing this with a friend.
We were surprised that apparently the British actually consider us ...
well actually like "cousins over the pond" or something.

I've never known any Americans to share that same sentiment. I wouldn't say we'd feel insulted to be called related to the British, but we might consider you a touch crazy.

At least on the West coast and Midwest.

East Coast culture still has British trappings I guess. And Southern gentry has European traditionalism in certain customs.

But idk. Just still feels weird to know that's a thing. Americans in general don't think about the UK as being related to us.

[EgyptPrincess]

I was actually discussing this with a friend.
We were surprised that apparently the British actually consider us ...
well actually like "cousins over the pond" or something.

I've never known any Americans to share that same sentiment. I wouldn't say we'd feel insulted to be called related to the British, but we might consider you a touch crazy.

At least on the West coast and Midwest.

East Coast culture still has British trappings I guess. And Southern gentry has European traditionalism in certain customs.

But idk. Just still feels weird to know that's a thing. Americans in general don't think about the UK as being related to us.

I'd suggest this is probably due to you having fought and shed blood to get independence so naturally no longer consider yourselves "one of us" so to speak. There is a lot of friendly banter between the UK and US but ultimately I think the UK and the USA have the strongest relationship of any pair of countries in the world, despite being at war with each other once upon a time.

I think it's the underlining truth that when it's all said and done, Americans are British and Britons are American. We're the same people but the US still likes to remind us that they're different in their own way. Morbid obesity, rampant crime, firearm addiction and street gangs ;) xD

Essentially we're the same people but often like to demonstrate our differences. I suspect the relationship between our two countries will never waiver. I've not personally been to the US so I have no idea what the people there are like. They seem friendly enough, apart from the bigots of course but we have those here too.

[Cpt.America]

I'd suggest this is probably due to you having fought and shed blood to get independence so naturally no longer consider yourselves "one of us" so to speak. There is a lot of friendly banter between the UK and US but ultimately I think the UK and the USA have the strongest relationship of any pair of countries in the world, despite being at war with each other once upon a time.

I think it's the underlining truth that when it's all said and done, Americans are British and Britons are American. We're the same people but the US still likes to remind us that they're different in their own way. Morbid obesity, rampant crime, firearm addiction and street gangs ;) xD

Essentially we're the same people but often like to demonstrate our differences. I suspect the relationship between our two countries will never waiver. I've not personally been to the US so I have no idea what the people there are like. They seem friendly enough, apart from the bigots of course but we have those here too.

Sorry I took this thread off topic.

You are right though, we are all the same people.
We are all Muslim, so regardless of where we are, what language we speak, and what food we eat,
we are one Ummah with the same rules, regulation, beliefs, and values. And it is our love for Allah and His Prophet Muhammad SAWS that binds us together as a peoples.

[Bhabha]

My experience... let's see. I don't go and try to shove my religion down people's throats. But apparently, because my focus is on Islam and Politics, and because I dress "Muslim", I am shoving my religion down people's throats... says my mother who thinks i will be a failure because i dress "muslim" and I should dress less like a Muslim so I can be accepted... LOL talk about "freedom and religion" yeah right

[fschmidt]

I've only met pretend christians, they don't take it seriously, they are cultural.

I know tho that they don't represent christianity tho. Idk tho.

Traditional Anabaptists are the only real Christians left. I like the Conservative Mennonites quite a lot.

The main difference between modern Christians and atheists is that modern Christians violate the third commandment and atheists don't.

[Pygoscelis]

Traditional Anabaptists are the only real Christians left. I like the Conservative Mennonites quite a lot.

The main difference between modern Christians and atheists is that modern Christians violate the third commandment and atheists don't.

Thou shalt not take the name of thy lord God in vain? Or are you thinking of something else as the third commandment?

As an atheist, I find it interesting to read about how Muslims and Christians regard each other because I am am outsider to both. I wonder if Christians in general are more tolerant of muslims or atheists. The first is pushing a different religious message and the second is disregarding religion outright. Which do they see as worse? Which do they feel more allied with and more common ground with?

I think the outright bigotry from Christians goes more against Muslims, but I think antagonism towards atheists is more widespread amongst Christians than antagonism towards Muslims.

Interfaith and nutual acceptance can happen with highly conservative Christians and Muslims, but I dont think that is so with either highly conservative set of religious folks in relation to atheists.

So I think you folks get the harshest hatred from them, but more of them are against us than you. In national polls we are less liked than you by them as a general group, but in extreme cases of hatred it goes against you (ie trump, edl etc).

Do you folks have the same impression? Opposite impression?

[Zafran]

EDL is your donald trump of the UK. Cancerous scumbags that's who.

EDL = English Defence League. It's a political party with 0 seats LOL

They are a protest group and not a political party. You might be thinking of the BNP or Britian first.

[Zafran]

Thou shalt not take the name of thy lord God in vain? Or are you thinking of something else as the third commandment?

As an atheist, I find it interesting to read about how Muslims and Christians regard each other because I am am outsider to both. I wonder if Christians in general are more tolerant of muslims or atheists. The first is pushing a different religious message and the second is disregarding religion outright. Which do they see as worse? Which do they feel more allied with and more common ground with?

I think the outright bigotry from Christians goes more against Muslims, but I think antagonism towards atheists is more widespread amongst Christians than antagonism towards Muslims.

Interfaith and nutual acceptance can happen with highly conservative Christians and Muslims, but I dont think that is so with either highly conservative set of religious folks in relation to atheists.

So I think you folks get the harshest hatred from them, but more of them are against us than you. In national polls we are less liked than you by them as a general group, but in extreme cases of hatred it goes against you (ie trump, edl etc).

Do you folks have the same impression? Opposite impression?

I think its very complicated in the UK. For example the hatred for Islam from..... lets say right wing "Christians" isnt religious but more ethnic/migration/ political issues.

The Atheists on the left are more accepting of non christian groups not because of religion but because of their views on migration and ethnicity/liberalism.

However if we look at faith schools, religion in public then the christian and the Muslim have a lot more in common then the Atheist.

The rise of Richard Dawnkins type of atheist compared to the old lefty/socialist Atheist have very different approaches to Islam and Christianity as well. The former being christian friendly and the latter more Muslim friendly.

Very complicated and the change of the political environment changes stances of different groups to each other.

[Samiun]

We are majority Muslim country, but I would say I get well with Christian/Catholics, my primary and high school school was a Catholic one. High school was more or less I guess though a few christias did start questioning about Islam when I was on my final year and we had this awful debate in class. But in general, its A Okay.

Oh! I learned a few things from them like don't say God's name in vain. We used to use OMG and someone would say "Don't say God's name in vain!". So I said the same thing when my mum said it :hiding:

[fschmidt]

Thou shalt not take the name of thy lord God in vain? Or are you thinking of something else as the third commandment?

Yes but since "in vain" isn't used much in modern English, a better translation today is "You shall not misuse the name of Yehovah, your god". The actual Hebrew seems to mean not to use God's name for "emptiness", meaning for nothing. And this is exactly what modern Christianity does.

Note that I am not Muslim, so I, like you, am an outsider. Tolerance today is at an all-time low because people don't seem to understand the concept. The concept isn't accepting what you disagree with. Rather it is tolerating what you disagree with without having to accept it as part of your life. Muhammad, to his credit, understood this. Modern atheists and modern Christians do not understand this.

[Pygoscelis]

I would say that is so of modern muslims as well, but not universal to any of those groups.

[Pygoscelis]

I think its very complicated in the UK. For example the hatred for Islam from..... lets say right wing "Christians" isnt religious but more ethnic/migration/ political issues.

The Atheists on the left are more accepting of non christian groups not because of religion but because of their views on migration and ethnicity/liberalism.

However if we look at faith schools, religion in public then the christian and the Muslim have a lot more in common then the Atheist.

The rise of Richard Dawnkins type of atheist compared to the old lefty/socialist Atheist have very different approaches to Islam and Christianity as well. The former being christian friendly and the latter more Muslim friendly.

Very complicated and the change of the political environment changes stances of different groups to each other.

Thank you for this insight. I find this fascinating and you have a perspective on it that is fresh to me.

[drac16]

I think that christians are good people, generally speaking. I'm a regular user on a christian site called Catholic Answers, so I interact with christians all the time. They tend to think that the Qur'an was the result of Satan [or other demonic figures] influencing prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him]. They seem to think the same thing about Joseph Smith, who was the main prophet of Mormonism (after all, both Muhammad and Joseph Smith claimed to have seen an angel). I don't think christians make an effort to understand Islam from Islamic sources-- they typically get their arguments from people like Robert Spencer, Sam Shamoun or David Wood. That's unfortunate. I wish they would make an effort to learn about Islam as it is understood by muslims; just like how they would want me to learn from christian sources, as opposed to basing my understanding of Christianity from people like Richard Dawkins or the late Christopher Hitchens.

Christians seem to be pro-life, which is pretty cool because I am too. I've never been part of an interfaith activity. Hypothetically, I would be OK with a protest outside of an abortion clinic. If a church got together and decided to go protest, I would have no problem joining them. We may be pro-life for different reasons, but we are allies. I am of you and you are of me.

[ardianto]

Greeting LaSorcia.

Although I live in Muslim majority country I am very familiar with interaction with Christian people. Some people in my maternal family are Christian, I studied in Catholic elementary school, I have many Christian friends.

My view on Christian people?. Honestly, I cannot generalize with, Christians are like this, Christians are like that, because like other people, Christian people have various character and various personality. And like other religious people, Christian people have various level of piousness and various level of tolerance. I have ever met few intolerant Christians. But I also have ever met many kind-hearted Christians who tolerant toward people from other religions.

Should mosque and church build interfaith relationship?. Of course. But actually we can build interfaith relationship in personal level with our neighbors, our colleagues, our friends. Building good interfaith relationship is not difficult. The key is understand and respect the difference. I believe that Islam is the only right religion. You believe that Christianity is the only right religion. But since we are able to understand and respect our difference, we can interact peacefully, like in this thread.

:)

[eesa the kiwi]

Mainly negative. Tell you to do one thing while they practice the other. Commit heinous crimes throughout the week then go to church on Sunday and sing about how they believe they are saved

Christians are shayateen who act like they think they are angels.
And I'd say I would have had more exposure to them than most here as I was raised one. Too much hypocrisy in the church but I guess when stealing a cracker is considered as much of a sin as murder according to church teachings we shouldn't expect any better.

[ardianto]

Tell you to do one thing while they practice the other. Commit heinous crimes throughout the week then go to church on Sunday and sing about how they believe they are saved

Hypocrite people like that exist in every religion, not only in Christianity. I have seen many Muslims with behavior that similar as those Christians.

Everyone is different, everyone has his own character and personality. So we cannot generalize all Christians are like that, all Hindus are like that, all Buddhists are like that, just because some of them behave like that.

[eesa the kiwi]

Hypocrite people like that exist in every religion, not only in Christianity. I have seen many Muslims with behavior that similar as those Christians.

Everyone is different, everyone has his own character and personality. So we cannot generalize all Christians are like that, all Hindus are like that, all Buddhists are like that, just because some of them behave like that.

She asked for experiences. I gave mine. I wasn't going to sugar coat it because a let's all sing kum baya together response was wanted

[sister herb]

As I am living in the Christian majority society, I meet them of course daily. My family, friends (well, mostly) and workmates are Christians (one is Muslim but we aren´t in same shift often). In the most of cases there isn´t any problems at all. Sometimes I have met some Christians whose try to impose their faith but not only to me but to everybody. In my society such thing is normally viewed in strictly negative as people feel that religion and faith is everyone´s personal matter, not the public matter. Some Christians have came to critize Muslims in general and whine why they don´t follow their religion as they (of their minds) should. Then I usually have asked do every Christians follow at least the Ten Commandments in their lives and if so, why here is still murders, adultery, robberies etc. so much.

Basicly most of my contacts to the Christians have been positive but as you know, people are all different.

About interfaith meetings, my Islamic community has arranged few already. Members from different religion communities have gather together and discussed about some theme like the racism in the society. Later we have drunk some coffee, eat sweets and chat together. Nice, relaxing and surely it has increased understanding between different religion groups.

[BeTheChange]

Hi LaSorcia,

I don't think i've met any practising Christians...

A lot of 'westerners' that i meet are very secular and are not interested in religion...

[ardianto]

Different than in the West, majority of Christians in Indonesia are practicing Christians, not secular. Few of my Christian (Protestant) relatives are church caretaker.

But, frankly, from what I have noticed, the percentage of practicing Christian in Indonesia is higher among Catholic than among Protestant. I don't know what's the cause of this.

[noraina]

I have found myself that Catholics tend to be more serious about their faith then other Christians. This is a general observation, perhaps because Catholicism is more conservative than other denominations?

btw, @Pygoscelis I agree that conservative Muslims and Christians can relate to one anther on more common ground as compared to atheists - unfortunately I would find it more difficult to relate to an atheist in matters of religion. At least with Christians we have something to relate to one another - a faith and belief in God and certain guidelines - even though they do differ fundamentally.

Having said that, criticism and attacks against Islam are more aggressive both because of the current state of world affairs and because, for some Christians or people of faith, Islam has always been more 'threatening' than atheism, perhaps in terms of its doctrines and the primary importance and influence Islam has in our life as Muslims.

[Serinity]

Tolerance is tolerating what you do not accept or like.

we can't go out and insult other religions, that'll just generate enmity and stuff, and is counterproductive.

if we all were intolerant, we'd argue every night till the day of Judgment.

There is some degree of tolerance, but there is a limit.

For example I'd never obey a christian / kafir in disobedience to Allah SWT, or have such tolerance as to compromise my deen, and perhaps even losing it.

There are 2 extremes: being completely tolerant, and completely intolerant.

One has to have it balanced.

[EgyptPrincess]

They are a protest group and not a political party. You might be thinking of the BNP or Britian first.

Ah yes, thank you for the correction. I always get these bigoted entities mixed up. Britain First is the party I was thinking that has 0 seats in parliament.

[Delphi]

We've had a couple of interfaith events at our local Masjids and have been invited to churches.. Alhamdulillah everyone gets on well and supports each other. There's a local Interfaith Forum comprising of a Masjid, couple of churches, a synagogue and a Gurdwara. They've come together on a few occasions to build friendships and repel hate (such as when the EDL decided to pay a visit, pretty much everyone was vocal about them not being welcome!)
Of vourse, there are ignorant people on both sides but I like to think that they don't represent the majority :)

The interfaith makes me hopeful of the future, that we can all find a way to live together in peace.

[LaSorcia]

I want to thank everyone for their responses. I had intended to respond more, but I've been ill and solo-parenting while the husband is on a business trip. So not much energy left over!

[Scimitar]

Red letter Christians are lovely people.

The Pauline camp are absolute trolls.

Scimi

[Scimitar]

The interfaith makes me hopeful of the future, that we can all find a way to live together in peace.

I already do, in London. What are you talking about exactly? :D

Scimi

[noraina]

Assalamu alaykum,

My Christian neighbour gave us a lemon drizzle cake for iftaar - it was delicious. :)

[AboBakar]

what I get is that its do not like christianity itself , and its are from goneisme .

[greenhill]

My experience has been with people. Religious denomination is always secondary. In other words it is like the saying islam is perfect.. the people aren't..

I have many good friends who are not muslims. Some are Christians although not church goers but believe in Christianity and the spirit of doing good.

They are also amongst the people who have shown very high intergrity and care.

I have very close friends of other religions too like Hinduism and Buddhism. Some of them, in character, I hold in higher esteem than some of those I know as muslims.


:peace:

[popsthebuilder]

Red letter Christians are lovely people.

The Pauline camp are absolute trolls.

Scimi

Scimi,

Respectfully.

Could you explain "red letter Christian" to me?

I have had positive and negative interactions with self proclaimed Christians and with self proclaimed Muslims.

I think all can be universally(Catholic) submissive to the Will of GOD(Islamic) by following the will of GOD that is written in both the Qur'an and bible.

That last part is just in general. Most definitely not directed towards you.

Peace friend. Brother?

With humility.

[Scimitar]

Sure brother,

If you go into a Bible store (normally known as The Good News bookshops) ask for a "Red letter Bible", in this, everything that Jesus pbuh supossedly said is in red letters, and you will find that he calls himself "the son of man" not the son of God... Jesus pbuh was a strict monotheist.

With regard to trinity, I have a very logical debunk which to date I have not seen anyone else notice:

If Trinity polytheism is warranted theology stemming from the Old Testamen mental gymnastics the Trinitarians claim, then before Jesus's pbuh birth on earth, there must have beena duality of theology - in the vein of "God and Holy Spirit" being worshipped together... yet in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is not an object of worship, so how did the Christians get from 1 God to 3 and miss out the 2???

You follow?

I'll tell you how.

Constantine the Roman polytheist who was of the trinitarian cult of "Mithraism" canonised the bible (read as butchered it) in order to interpolate a tinitarian theology. You may ask why he did such a thing? It was to consolidate an already dwindling empire but factoring in the Christians as part of the Roman empire, so as to increase their numbers and therefore, taxes. it was sheer pragmatism on his behalf. Circa 325CE.

Paul (who was alive around and after the time of Jesus pbuh and was a Roman citien) was rejected not only by the apostles of Jesus pbuh but also the Jews, (paul was hitman, a mercenary hired to kill the early Christians and then became a Christian himself and claimed to be an apostle of Jesus pbuh when he never even met Jesus pbuh once in his life).

The Jews of Jerusalem tried to kill Paul for his blasphemies (oh did he blaspheme) and the Jews and the Christians were united in their hatred of him, guess who came to his rescue? The Romans - they shielded him and told him to "preach to the gentiles", another corruption seeing as Jesus pbuh was only "sent to the lost sheep of Israel.

Hope this clarifies for you why the "red letters" are important.

Scimi

[ardianto]

Red letter Christians are lovely people.

Not the version of Bible that make a Christian being lovely or not lovely, but how he practices the teaching of Christianity.

Whatever version of Bible that a Christian read, if he practice Christianity with love in his heart, he will be lovely. But if he has lost the love in his heart, then he will not different than radical Muslims who commit violence in the name of God.

[Scimitar]

Not the version of Bible that make a Christian being lovely or not lovely, but how he practices the teaching of Christianity.

Whatever version of Bible that a Christian read, if he practice Christianity with love in his heart, he will be lovely. But if he has lost the love in his heart, then he will not different than radical Muslims who commit violence in the name of God.

Bro, all holy books teach us moral codes, I'm no denying this - but your moral codes mean nothing if you are sponsoring a deviated theology.

Any Christian who does his homework will find that Islam is the perfection of the theological grounding since the time of Adam pbuh to Muhammad pbuh, with all the prophets and messengers saying the same "there is no deity worthy of worship except for the ONE GOD".

When 1+1+1=1 we have a basic math issue that butchers the theology of the true creed which Abraham pbuh preached.

Scimi

[popsthebuilder]

Sure brother,

If you go into a Bible store (normally known as The Good News bookshops) ask for a "Red letter Bible", in this, everything that Jesus pbuh supossedly said is in red letters, and you will find that he calls himself "the son of man" not the son of God... Jesus pbuh was a strict monotheist.

With regard to trinity, I have a very logical debunk which to date I have not seen anyone else notice:

If Trinity polytheism is warranted theology stemming from the Old Testamen mental gymnastics the Trinitarians claim, then before Jesus's pbuh birth on earth, there must have beena duality of theology - in the vein of "God and Holy Spirit" being worshipped together... yet in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is not an object of worship, so how did the Christians get from 1 God to 3 and miss out the 2???

You follow?

I'll tell you how.

Constantine the Roman polytheist who was of the trinitarian cult of "Mithraism" canonised the bible (read as butchered it) in order to interpolate a tinitarian theology. You may ask why he did such a thing? It was to consolidate an already dwindling empire but factoring in the Christians as part of the Roman empire, so as to increase their numbers and therefore, taxes. it was sheer pragmatism on his behalf. Circa 325CE.

Paul (who was alive around and after the time of Jesus pbuh and was a Roman citien) was rejected not only by the apostles of Jesus pbuh but also the Jews, (paul was hitman, a mercenary hired to kill the early Christians and then became a Christian himself and claimed to be an apostle of Jesus pbuh when he never even met Jesus pbuh once in his life).

The Jews of Jerusalem tried to kill Paul for his blasphemies (oh did he blaspheme) and the Jews and the Christians were united in their hatred of him, guess who came to his rescue? The Romans - they shielded him and told him to "preach to the gentiles", another corruption seeing as Jesus pbuh was only "sent to the lost sheep of Israel.

Hope this clarifies for you why the "red letters" are important.

Scimi

I see what you are saying about the red letter bible with what Jesus said in red. But red letter from a Christian stance generally refers to a time that Jesus spoke of that was yet to come. Namely the second coming of the Christ.

The problem with traditional Trinitarian doctrine is that they place Jesus the Christ as being wholly equal to GOD even as man. As you know; no where in scripture is this actually said. Especially not by the Christ himself.

To view the Holy Spirit as eternal and of the same substance of GOD as we are allowed to perceive GOD isn't polytheism. They are one and the same. To say that the same Holy Spirit filled the man Jesus utterly that he deviated not from the will of GOD is not blasphemy or polytheism.

Son or sons of GOD isn't to be misconstrued as equal to GOD, yet fully of GOD. This pertains to all as the Christ; the Holy Spirit of GOD that was before the creation of the world that dwelled wholly in the man Jesus of Nazareth was destined to be the light of the world shining light on the path that leads to GOD.

The way is the actual teachings, example and self sacrifice of the man Jesus.

I know that according to Islam Jesus didn't die exactly, and I agree. Though his flesh perished, his spirit and will that was not of his own yet fully of GOD returned from whence it came. The self sacrifice, in this day, is that of greed, and want for self of any sort, but that which is the will of GOD.

There are many problems that stem from the doctrine that man, any man is the utter fullness of GOD.

There are even more when you actually consider it as most Christians believe; that GOD sacrificed himself to appease himself, that man can go about freely sinning while vainly imagining that they are safe and will have an eternal bliss. Sadly, this is what most "Christians" believe due to the deception of man nearly 2000 years ago. Through opened minded unbiased reading of scripture, any scripture, we can see that this is not what is taught by Jesus the Christ or any of the disciples.

Thank you for the clarification brother.

Peace.

All praise, thanks, faith, love, fear, supplication, and submission are to GOD alone.

In scripture it states that any who refute Jesus aren't of GOD. Unfortunately, most Christians think this is those of Islam, all while unknowingly being guilty of it themselves.

This will not always be the case though.

[Scimitar]

Thank you for your reply bro Pops,

I agree mostly with what you say and though I may have certain issues regarding some points, I will not make this thread any more about theology as I understand this was not the intent of the OP nor a thread which should be taken off topic.

Suffice it to say that I agree with a lot of what you have said, and that which I do not agree with is at this point, not my concern.

God bless,

Scimi

[cooterhein]

I know a lot of folks here live in the UK or USA, where Christianity is practiced as well. I'd like to ask some questions! I'm sticking to Christians, because that's what I know most about. :statisfie

Great! Thanks for asking.

What has your experience been like with Christians (only if you know they are Christian, far too many people are unbelievers nowadays, even in so-called Christian countries)?

It's been varied, but for the most part quite good. I am an Evangelical Christian and that means there's a wide range of Protestant Christians that I can get on very well with, even if there are some doctrinal differences we can easily ignore them or have good conversations about them. It's even been pretty good with Catholics, except- and this is important- on the Internet. In my experience, discussions pertaining to religious differences have always gone vastly better in person than they have online (with a few exceptions, but this is the general rule).

Do you think they have a true understanding of what Muslims think and believe, their faith and practices?

No. Unless they're from a mostly-Muslim country originally, and even then there's a range of opinions. For Christians who are from the US or UK originally, there's basically no chance of a decent understanding.

Do you think you have a true understanding of what Christians think and believe, their faith and practices?

Me personally? I would hope so. I am one, and I've gotten around to a pretty good extent.

Would you be interested in a church or mosque sponsoring an interfaith meeting to promote unity and understanding between the faiths?

Maybe, are Muslims comfortable meeting with people whose main goal is to convert them?

Any other comments or thought?

One comment working off the last question- if you're wondering whether we'd consider a cessation of attempts to convert Muslims in the interest of doing something else, my comment is we will not consider that (Evangelical Christians, at least, other types of Christians might be more open to that). So if this type of meeting is going to happen, that's going to be a part of the picture. Either that or you'll have to pick and choose which kinds of Christians you reach out to. Catholics might be ok with it, but you'll have to be very delicate when you're trying to explain why you think Jesus was a Muslim and Peter and/or Paul essentially took a religion into apostasy. You know what Peter and Paul mean to the Catholic Church, right? And to a similar extent, also to mainline Protestant churches like the Anglicans and Lutherans.

Actually, you might do better by looking to certain parts of Marginal Christianity if you want some good conversation that gets past misunderstandings. Jehovah's Witnesses would not be a good option- they're fairly hostile- but generally, I think Mormons and Christadelphians would be more inclined to get into that. They can relate, they're also working to get past hostility and being misunderstood.

I mean this thread with the best of intentions; I'm not trying to debate, argue or say Muslims or Christians follow God the wrong way. Let's keep it friendly. :shade:

And for that, we thank you.

[cooterhein]

With regard to trinity, I have a very logical debunk which to date I have not seen anyone else notice:

If Trinity polytheism is warranted theology stemming from the Old Testamen mental gymnastics the Trinitarians claim, then before Jesus's pbuh birth on earth, there must have beena duality of theology - in the vein of "God and Holy Spirit" being worshipped together... yet in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is not an object of worship, so how did the Christians get from 1 God to 3 and miss out the 2???

You follow?

I'll tell you how.

Constantine the Roman polytheist who was of the trinitarian cult of "Mithraism" canonised the bible (read as butchered it) in order to interpolate a tinitarian theology. You may ask why he did such a thing? It was to consolidate an already dwindling empire but factoring in the Christians as part of the Roman empire, so as to increase their numbers and therefore, taxes. it was sheer pragmatism on his behalf. Circa 325CE.

Paul (who was alive around and after the time of Jesus pbuh and was a Roman citien) was rejected not only by the apostles of Jesus pbuh but also the Jews, (paul was hitman, a mercenary hired to kill the early Christians and then became a Christian himself and claimed to be an apostle of Jesus pbuh when he never even met Jesus pbuh once in his life).

The Jews of Jerusalem tried to kill Paul for his blasphemies (oh did he blaspheme) and the Jews and the Christians were united in their hatred of him, guess who came to his rescue? The Romans - they shielded him and told him to "preach to the gentiles", another corruption seeing as Jesus pbuh was only "sent to the lost sheep of Israel.

Hope this clarifies for you why the "red letters" are important.

Scimi

Ok, three things. One- I have heard exactly this argument before, although it's not all that common outside of Islam. An incredibly similar argument was made to me by a Christadelphian. That would be a non-Trinitarian restorationist group that began in England and was initially made up of ex-Anglicans. This particular Christadelphian church just happens to be situated right next door to an as-yet-partially-built (but somewhat functional and in-use) mosque. Not your kind of mosque though, it's an Ahmadi mosque. It's quite an interesting situation.

Second. There are certain phrases in the Old Testament that hint and suggest at some sort of plurality when it comes to God (let us make man in our own image is one), and up to a certain point there were some reasonably well-developed schools of thought within Judaism (not just a comment or two here and there) considering some different possibilities of how that could be interpreted. As soon as Christianity came along though, that ceased to be a place of lively debate and things were clamped down pretty quickly. Something more orthodox was settled on, and that discussion was no more. But at one time, there was something happening there.

Third, Constantine was not a theologian, nor was he very much of a Trinitarian (although his points of view shifted a bit over time). Constantine, on the whole, was more sympathetic to Arianism than he was to the Trinitarian formula, and the First Council of Nicea affirmed the Trinity in spite of his preferences rather than because of them. Here are some quick facts. Constantine was converted to Christianity by an Arian. Constantine had some family that was Arian, one of which was an Arian priest. Not that Arians had formally broken away from the Catholic Church, of course, he would have called himself a Catholic. But he did believe in Arian doctrine. And that slightly distant family member, the priest who was Arian, is the priest that baptized Constantine just hours before his death (because Constantine wanted to save it to the end, which is something that the Catholic Church would now consider a problematic way of handling the sacraments). Also, after initially exiling Arius at the behest of the Council that reached a conclusion he didn't really like, Arius wrote a letter to Constantine and tried to change his mind about the exile. It worked, and Constantine recalled Arius and exiled Athanasius instead (he's the main defender of the Trinity). It wasn't until he died that other rulers arranged for Athanasius to return and for Arius to be exiled again, but then Constantine's son, Constantinius, followed the example of his father (his son leaning toward Arianism as well) and he recalled Arius from exile for the second time and exiled Athanasius for a second time. (After Constantine the empire was initially split into three parts under the rule of three different sons, one who supported the Trinity, one who supported Arius, and one who was pretty much indifferent, but then it later came entirely under the control of the Arian supporter....which is one main factor that necessitated Nicea II....)

Anyway, the point is that the emperors of this time period, even speaking more broadly than this, did not determine the outcomes of these councils. They had their preferences, these preferences are known to us, but they actually didn't get what they wanted. At least not when it came to the Trinity. The Arian controversy (which hinged on the question of Jesus' eternal existence more than anything else) was principally decided by bishops from Egypt, Turkey, and Syria, if we're going to use modern-day countries. And it took almost a century of arguing and controversy before everything was pretty well settled- and that was due in part to the fact that Constantine, Constantinius, and quite a few others (not necessarily all emperors) either did not support the Trinity or felt that it shouldn't be trying to suppress other ideas or they just liked the Arian ideas better. In the specific example of Constantine, he didn't know very much about it at first (and never became anything close to an expert) but he did like the Arian perspective better, and he did plenty to act that way as well.

So basically, this idea that Constantine made the Trinity happen is a common idea that you'll hear a lot from non-Trinitarians, but it's a lot more complicated than that and it's basically inaccurate when you really get down to it.

Here's a link that shows you a timeline of the Arian controversy. http://ecole.evansville.edu/arians/arianchr.htm

[Scimitar]

I've wondered how many Christians claim to have the holy ghost - yet contradict each other in theology and other matters pertaining to the "personally interpreted dissemination of the NT"... I do not believe God is the author of confusion, humans are - and the proof is in your camp.

This debate - For another thread mate :)

Scimi

[LaSorcia]

All debate for another thread lol. I wanted to see what experiences Muslims had had with Christians; if they were nice, rude, whatever. Not debate theology here.

Where I live, I never met a Muslim until I was at university! I only occasionally see a few sisters; I never see brothers, unless they just aren't wearing the beard, and then I wouldn't know they are Muslim.

The experiences I've had with all Muslim women has been good. It's not been as great with Muslim men. As I mentioned elsewhere once, a man on a bus in London asked me to commit zina with him. We had not even been conversing, he just came out and asked me! And given it was January, I was dressed more than modesty requires! But this might have been due to nationality issues. He did say he was Muslim and how horrid Americans were, but I got that from atheists and pagans as well. I got tired of telling people that I was not responsible for where I was born or what the government of the country I lived in acted like.

[cooterhein]

I've wondered how many Christians claim to have the holy ghost - yet contradict each other in theology and other matters pertaining to the "personally interpreted dissemination of the NT"... I do not believe God is the author of confusion, humans are - and the proof is in your camp.

This debate - For another thread mate :)

Scimi

Ok, sorry about that. I'm still getting a handle on which sub-forums are for debating, thanks for pointing that out.

If we do revisit this on a different thread, please be aware that I'm going to focus on Athanasius being exiled a total of four different times in his life. That's likely to be a starting point.

[AhmedGassama]

Ok, sorry about that. I'm still getting a handle on which sub-forums are for debating, thanks for pointing that out.

If we do revisit this on a different thread, please be aware that I'm going to focus on Athanasius being exiled a total of four different times in his life. That's likely to be a starting point.

Since you are here, you try to find out any negative point about Islam and Muslims, you are here just to spread problems and hate!

If i register to a Christian forum, the first thing i starts with, is showing the common ground between Islam and Christianity and not by sneaking in the forum and looking for any subject which can bring division and hate !!!

[cooterhein]

Since you are here, you try to find out any negative point about Islam and Muslims, you are here just to spread problems and hate!

If i register to a Christian forum, the first thing i starts with, is showing the common ground between Islam and Christianity and not by sneaking in the forum and looking for any subject which can bring division and hate !!!

I acknowledge your frustration, this is a bit of a work in progress as it is whenever someone is new to a forum. Perhaps I should have commented on a few threads before jumping right in and starting one of my own, that may have been a good idea.

I'm curious, do you have a particular connection to the Amed Gassama Productions channel on YouTube?

[kritikvernunft]

I mean this thread with the best of intentions; I'm not trying to debate, argue or say Muslims or Christians follow God the wrong way.

My own personal history is that I was born into the Holy Apostolic Church, but that like so many other people, I soon started rejecting Christian doctrines.

If I had been born 200 years ago, I would probably, just like anybody else in that situation, have picked atheist naivism as an alternative to Christianity. So, with the French revolution we managed to get rid of the French clergy, and in fact, the entire western European Christian clergy, often just by putting them in jail or summarily executing them. Napoleon never managed to occupy Russia. Therefore, it took more than a hundred years to knock out the Russian Christian clergy as well, and to finally send them to where they belong, i.e. the gulag. I am still a great fan of the 6th sector of the OGPU, which is a sister organization of the Cheka, which later became the KGB, and is nowadays called the FSB. The 6th sector was specialized in manhunts, aimed at locating, singling out, and knocking out Christian clergy. It was a great success. These people were heroes.

Of course, these days we are in the long run of the short-term decision to roll out atheism instead of Christianity. It does not work whatsoever. Atheism is not the answer. Atheism is the question and the answer is no. We have ended up with a state apparatus that sticks their noses into people's private lives, disturbing the relationship between men and women, and parents and children. The atheist/secular State is a false god. The atheist/secular state is a Satanic w.h.o.r.e that wants to suck you dry and incessantly tell you what to do. One of is most obnoxious ideologies is its rampant feminism. Therefore, we are going to have to do all the hard work all over again, because the atheist/secular cure has turned out to be several orders of magnitude worse than the Christian disease that it was supposed to cure.

There is no time and actually not even an inclination to design another ideology. We are not prophets. Therefore, it makes much more sense to repurpose a time-tested approach for this purpose. Islam is clearly sufficiently time-tested now. Therefore, we actually do have a ready-made solution available as an alternative to the atheist/secular State, that obnoxious Satanic w.h.o.r.e. Now, it is just a question of thoroughly burning down the atheist/secular state and put a final stop to her rampant depravities. I am telling you that the Satanic w.h.o.r.e is going to leave. She is going to go back to her master, Satan. Otherwise, there is going to be trouble in the house. Sick and tired. Seriously. Enough is enough. That thing has to go, or else, will be made to go.

By the way, the Christian feudal State is not coming back either. Therefore, let's restore the gulags, and use them again, because otherwise, the Christians may get the wrong idea. If they believe for one second that we are going to tolerate them again, they are dreaming.

[Scimitar]

I'm curious, do you have a particular connection to the Amed Gassama Productions channel on YouTube?

He is the one and the same, yes, my little bro Ahmed. MashaAllah.

[cooterhein]

He is the one and the same, yes, my little bro Ahmed. MashaAllah.

Well how about that, good to know, thank you. I've been watching a few videos.

[Scimitar]

He will be releasing a very cool video after ramadhan in sha Allah about the return of greenery to Arabia in sh Allah. Info never before known and based off some research I handed to him.

Enjoy,

Scimi

[AhmedGassama]

I acknowledge your frustration, this is a bit of a work in progress as it is whenever someone is new to a forum. Perhaps I should have commented on a few threads before jumping right in and starting one of my own, that may have been a good idea.

I'm curious, do you have a particular connection to the Amed Gassama Productions channel on YouTube?

Yes i'am, it's my channel and it's Ahmed not Amed

[cooterhein]

Yes i'am, it's my channel and it's Ahmed not Amed

Ok, thank you. My mistake, I saw it the correct way in two different places and still missed a key while typing.

I'm just now noticing you're from Damascus, I know a guy who's originally from there. He was raised Muslim then became an atheist, his wife is still Muslim but she didn't leave him or anything. He's in the US now, it was interesting talking to him about the decision to leave all religion while living in a city that's so important to all the Abrahamic religions.

He did a radio interview about that decision and about his life experience in the middle-ish part of the US. Of course he's aware of how Islamic law prohibits apostates from speaking publicly about this type of thing but it's not against US law and he figured no one would give him trouble within the listening area. He did get some death threats though, from Muslims who apparently feel that they've been appointed as law enforcement on behalf of Islam with universal jurisdiction....he was a bit surprised and not at all happy about that.

Do you have any comment on this sort of situation, specifically when it comes to the Muslims who phoned in their death threats? Do you have anything negative to say about those threatening people, or is this a situation where you overlook that and chide an atheist for refusing to pay much attention to Islamic law?

There's also some question as to whether he will ever be able to safely make plans to return to Damascus for any length of time. Apart from the instability from the actual war, do you think he'll ever be able to make such plans? Specifically, if the terrorist threat is brought under control and it's not an active war zone on account of there being a civil war....if the only people he might have to worry about are regular civilians that are also devout Muslims (for example, you and almost everyone you know in Damascus)....will he ever be able to safely travel in and through Damascus without worrying about being targeted? Again, I'm asking you to set aside any type of terrorist threat and just evaluate the threat from regular Muslim residents of Damascus, exactly like you and including you. I've never been there and the only person I know from there is now an atheist, so I'm in no kind of position to evaluate.

On a separate topic, thanks for the work that you put into your YouTube channel. I've looked at some of your uploads and you seem to have some nice access to some people who have impressive Islamic expertise along with being English-speakers. I'd be interested in finding out how a Muslim from Damascus winds up putting together a YT channel geared toward the Anglosphere. In the entirety of the MENA region, there can't be all that many people who are doing this- not that there's so few English speakers there, I'm talking about English speaking Muslims who also have consistent access to English speaking experts on Islam. I'm curious about something, actually- is there anyone else that you look to as a role model, someone who's been doing this type of thing for some time and you're following their example? Or is this pretty much your own idea, without having much of that to go on?

[cooterhein]

He will be releasing a very cool video after ramadhan in sha Allah about the return of greenery to Arabia in sh Allah. Info never before known and based off some research I handed to him.

Enjoy,

Scimi

That's very interesting, I wonder if it has any similarities to the massive tree-planting efforts in Israel. There aren't very many countries in the world that are planting more trees than they're cutting down, and Israel is one of them. It would be really good news if Saudi Arabia- or any other country on the Arabian peninsula- was able to to something similar.

I'll be keeping an eye on it, thanks for the heads up.

[Scimitar]

There will be no need for the planting of new trees, as the Arabian sands already hold the seeds of ancient trees, which, when the Phison is rediscovered and the aquifer damn broken - will see the Phison run once more in sha Allah, and all those seeds buried and preserved under the sands, since the time of Noahs (pbuh) flood will once more - grow, in sha Allah.

Scimi

[AhmedGassama]

On a separate topic, thanks for the work that you put into your YouTube channel. I've looked at some of your uploads and you seem to have some nice access to some people who have impressive Islamic expertise along with being English-speakers. I'd be interested in finding out how a Muslim from Damascus winds up putting together a YT channel geared toward the Anglosphere. In the entirety of the MENA region, there can't be all that many people who are doing this- not that there's so few English speakers there, I'm talking about English speaking Muslims who also have consistent access to English speaking experts on Islam. I'm curious about something, actually- is there anyone else that you look to as a role model, someone who's been doing this type of thing for some time and you're following their example? Or is this pretty much your own idea, without having much of that to go on?

Well, first of all, i thank you for your interest. But i want you to know that i'm from Tunisia, i don't live in Damascus, i have lots of friends there though and i love Syria a lot and i will always support its people.
I'am a student, and i study everything which has a relation with the west (Language, history, literature...) especially France, England and Usa...

As for my work on Youtube, yes i have a role model and a leader and a hero and someone that i look up to, he inspired me and helped me for five years and he always supported me, his name is Scimitar. :statisfie

As for your Syrian friend, everyone has the freedom to choose any path he wants and there is no one who can threat him or fight him for his beliefs. Because in Islam we believe in freedom.
I would like to invite you to take a look at these videos to understand more about how Muslims need to treat non-muslims

[Tim_the_Plumber]

From my atheists perspective Christians (the real ones, those who actually believe, go to church, whatever, not the "Well, christian I suppose type") are less open minded, less willing to think about the real world and generally much more obviously deliberately ignoring reality than Muslims.

[Tim_the_Plumber]

Well, first of all, i thank you for your interest. But i want you to know that i'm from Tunisia, i don't live in Damascus, i have lots of friends there though and i love Syria a lot and i will always support its people.
I'am a student, and i study everything which has a relation with the west (Language, history, literature...) especially France, England and Usa...

As for my work on Youtube, yes i have a role model and a leader and a hero and someone that i look up to, he inspired me and helped me for five years and he always supported me, his name is Scimitar. :statisfie

Hi, I am a UK citisen, white, atheist etc, and when I vist Islamic lands and talk to people I find that there is a great gulf of understanding beteen us.

This is not exactly a religious or even political distance but just a lack of knowledge about our different cultures and lives.

If you are doing these videos please have a look at this;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNV4t6-JDG4

It's a 1980's British TV programm which was the Rough guide to the world where the "Back packing" style traveling thing was done. The above is for Vietnam but you will get the idea.

I would like there to be a similar-ish, not a junkie presenteer etc., version for the Muslim world as to what the rest of the world is like. Just a what goes on in Brazil, for example, how people work, what is it about etc.

This is partly after I was asked by an Egyptian if there were deserts in Britain. And a Palisinian family had the idea that the Americans don't work hard, they do.

Should you want to do anything at all in this direction please give me a PM or whatever and I would love to help.

[Tim_the_Plumber]

There will be no need for the planting of new trees, as the Arabian sands already hold the seeds of ancient trees, which, when the Phison is rediscovered and the aquifer damn broken - will see the Phison run once more in sha Allah, and all those seeds buried and preserved under the sands, since the time of Noahs (pbuh) flood will once more - grow, in sha Allah.

Scimi

Or maybe the real world will be better understood and us humans can make the desert bloom.

[Scimitar]

Or maybe the real world will be better understood and us humans can make the desert bloom.

...If God wills, yes...

Scimi

[LaSorcia]

Wow, this really got discursive lol.

[Reader]

I know a lot of folks here live in the UK or USA, where Christianity is practiced as well. I'd like to ask some questions! I'm sticking to Christians, because that's what I know most about. :statisfie

What has your experience been like with Christians (only if you know they are Christian, far too many people are unbelievers nowadays, even in so-called Christian countries)?

Do you think they have a true understanding of what Muslims think and believe, their faith and practices?

Do you think you have a true understanding of what Christians think and believe, their faith and practices?

Would you be interested in a church or mosque sponsoring an interfaith meeting to promote unity and understanding between the faiths?

Any other comments or thought?

I mean this thread with the best of intentions; I'm not trying to debate, argue or say Muslims or Christians follow God the wrong way. Let's keep it friendly. :shade:

I live in a city that is mostly atheist, the churches are mostly empty here :( I met only a few in my years I guess. I don't tend to engage in religious discussion much but one much older woman and I were talking...she didn't know much about the Bible and didn't attend church but had much to say about Jesus. I enjoyed that discussion a lot, we agreed on many things.

I think I understand Christianity from a Catholic perspective because a lot of material I've viewed in the past promotes that sect of Christianity, moreso than Unitarians, Protestants, Lutherans, etc. In terms of Jesus, I think I understand their views but as to practices, etc I have a long way to go before I can fully claim to understand the doctrines of most of the main sects. I find the bit I know about the Lutheran faith, and history to have many similarities to Islam, many in regards to foundations of belief, etc.

I think young believers, regardless of faith should support each other. If you go to school or university these days, other people will try to make you feel lowly, or less of a person for believing in a higher power and it can really have an effect on you sometimes. I saw a guy preaching Bible outside my school a few times and ppl were giving him a hard time. He was really nice, didn't deserve that treatment at all.

Just my two cents :)