In my 1 and a half years of being a Christian I have been actively reading the Bible and growing in faith.
Of course I havn't been ignorant towards other religions, however Christianity is to me; the most beautiful faith I have come across.
After watching countless video's from Christian apologists and Islamic apologists, I kinda get the feeling that any point of view can be made 'correct' by lengthy explanations and impressive vocabulary.
Of course if Islam was true I would accept it
But I have my reasons for believing in Christianity, one of my main reasons is because of the beautiful verses that emphesise love, forgiveness, relationships.
Reading the Gospels was the most shocking book i ever read, the verse that suprised me most was 5:39 "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also"
I think the fact that it was so against the notion of 'eye for an eye' and 'if you're mean to me, i'll be mean to you' which today's society seems to accept.
Jesus really spoke against the norms, in shocking ways, and I've read some verses in the Quran about Jesus but in there he never says to love another.
So, I was just wondering if the Quran can match the universal beautiness of these verses from the New Testament:
1 Corinthians 13 - "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."
Matthew 18:37 - "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the Phrophets hand on these commandments"
Luke 6:27 - "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you"
John 13:14 - "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him."
Galatians 2:16 - "know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith inChrist and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified."
Ephesians 4:26 - "in your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold"
Philippians 2:3 - "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing"
2 Timothy 2:24 - "And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth"
James 2:14 - "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead"
James 4:11 - "Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?"
1 Peter 3:15 - "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect"
1 John 4:8 - "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love"
Of course I havn't been ignorant towards other religions, however Christianity is to me; the most beautiful faith I have come across.
After watching countless video's from Christian apologists and Islamic apologists, I kinda get the feeling that any point of view can be made 'correct' by lengthy explanations and impressive vocabulary.
Of course if Islam was true I would accept it
But I have my reasons for believing in Christianity, one of my main reasons is because of the beautiful verses that emphesise love, forgiveness, relationships.
Reading the Gospels was the most shocking book i ever read, the verse that suprised me most was 5:39 "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also"
I think the fact that it was so against the notion of 'eye for an eye' and 'if you're mean to me, i'll be mean to you' which today's society seems to accept.
Jesus really spoke against the norms, in shocking ways, and I've read some verses in the Quran about Jesus but in there he never says to love another.
So, I was just wondering if the Quran can match the universal beautiness of these verses from the New Testament:
1 Corinthians 13 - "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."
Matthew 18:37 - "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the Phrophets hand on these commandments"
Luke 6:27 - "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you"
John 13:14 - "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him."
Galatians 2:16 - "know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith inChrist and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified."
Ephesians 4:26 - "in your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold"
Philippians 2:3 - "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing"
2 Timothy 2:24 - "And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth"
James 2:14 - "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead"
James 4:11 - "Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?"
1 Peter 3:15 - "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect"
1 John 4:8 - "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love"