Scholars of Comparitive Religion

Deedat was a very nice speaker who radiated confidence.

format_quote Originally Posted by Keltoi

I don't personally find much value in the brand of debate in which one person tries to convince others that the other religion is wrong. Most of it is preaching to the choir, so to speak.

You are against examining the scriptures and deciphering truth from falsehood? If it is preaching to the choir, lets see people step up and refute it then? A contradiction is a contradiction, an inconsistency is an inconsistency. Dismissing theological debates is one way of trying to hide the truth.

format_quote Originally Posted by Keltoi

Truth? I love that word in the context of religious faith. Truth in the context of religion is a matter of faith. Muslims believe that Muhammed recieved a book from an angel, and that this book contains the literal message of God. That cannot be proven, but is still considered to be the "truth" by Muslims. If it wasn't the "truth" the book would be meaningless. The same goes for the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If Christ was not crucified and resurrected, then the message contained within the NT would be meaningless.

We are talking about faith issues, and "debating" about which religion is the "truth" seems a losing and more or less pointless exercise. I find the practice of discussing particular faiths in the context of understanding them to be much more constructive and effective than chest pounding about who has the "truth".

It certainly isnt useless when people have converted when they see the contradictions and mistakes in their books. The false book will have problems, inconsistencies and generally be well false. We are provided with the criteria for determining truth from the Quran. Thus, so many debates have exposed the inconstitencies in the Bible and etc but I am not a debater but I could link you to some.


Simply put, using your own book, people have explained why some of your beliefs are wrong and some are right.

I honestly think Sheikh Hamza Yusuf speaks in a way that will convince people of the American culture and are familiar with a Christian background... because he not only speaks from an obvious vast amount of knowledge, but also speaks to the heart of people, and is able to teach even born-Muslims to look at their faith in a new way. I can honestly say I've been Muslim since late 2000, and every time, every single time I listen to one of his lectures, I learn something new...and that is something that has continued to this very day.

But if we are talking about people who deal specifically with Christians and so on, as in interfaith dialogues and debates and whatnot... Ahmed Deedat is a good reference for Muslims, and very funny, and has a stunning stage presence... but I would NEVER give one of his debates/lectures to a non-Muslim, because they will walk away feeling like they got punched in the face... wallahi. For stuff like that, if your idea is to give it to a non-Muslim to watch, I would suggest Shabir Ally if you can find something that is good enough quality, or for someone a little more well-known... Jamal Badawi who also has an extremely vast amount of knowledge not only about Judaism and Christianity, but Islam as well, particularly seerah.

Salaam

~Me.