Is Christianity the religion of peace and love or the religion of revenge and terror?

[عثمان أحمد الشيخ]

Dear Pandora,

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* God abhors evil this is obvious. God does not act against His nature and therefore will not guide people astray.

-- By the way God is called " Allah" in The Holy Bible and in the Holy Quran in all Arabian versions , in all Arabian countries. All Christians and Muslims say "Allah" not God. Allah (pbth) created us free to believe or not believe. If Allah wanted all people of that world to worship him only ,he would have forced them to do that and that is very easy for him. But Allah wanted his creatures to come to him voluntarily with all love and satisfaction. Allah said in the Holy Quran :
29. Say, "The truth is from your Lord": let Him who believe, and let Him who will, reject (it) (18/29)
256. Let there be no compulsion In religion: truth stands out Clear from error: Whoever rejects evil and believes In Allah hath grasped the Most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. and Allah heareth and knoweth all things.(2/256)
-- Allah (pbth) sent prophets and messengers one after other to teach people the way of astray and the straight way.Also he descended his Holy Books to be constitution for them and gave them the freedom to choose their way .He granted them the grace of mind In order to distinguish between right and wrong. Wheat from the chaff..They have to use these graces to choose but he said :
3. We showed Him the way: whether He be grateful or ungrateful (rests on His Will).
4. For the rejecters we have prepared chains, yokes, and a Blazing Fire.
5. As to the righteous, They shall drink of a cup mixed with Kafur,-(76/2-5)
-- He (pbth) also said: 15. Who receiveth guidance, receiveth it for His own benefit: who goeth astray doth so to His own loss: no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another: nor would we visit with Our wrath until we had sent an apostle (to give warning) (17/15)
-- Then every one is responsible for himself and should bear the result of his deeds in that world although He (pbth) can guide who he wants to astray or to straight way . Allah is not unjust to his slaves (or his servants as you like).

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* Christians are not slaves, we are children of God, humble servants but never slaves. How do you know what Allah accepts as justification or who he considers liars?

-- You say that you are children of God . Why do you claim that Jesus is God because they called him "the son of God" equals completely what you said that you are the child of God .Is there any differences beteen the two phrases? Why did not you call "Adam" God as he is a son of god in the Bible and he does not have a father or a mother ?
Why did not you call Soloman or Israel or David Gods although they are sons of God in the Bible?
Why did not you call peacemakers Gods athough they are sons of God in the Bible? (Mat 5/9)
Why did not you call those who are led by the spirit of God (Gods) although they are sons of God in the Bible (the exambles are many )
-- Is this son-ship actually or metaphorically ? I think they never be actually.What is your point of view ?
--- You said " Christians are not slaves" " humble servants but never slaves."
I appreciate the sensitivity of the word slave . In fact it is written "slave" in the Arabic Bible and in the Quran too. The slavery to human is a state of humiliation and indignity but the slavery to the Almihgty Allah is pride, dignity and sublimity. The messenger of Allah said :" Those who humble themselves to Allah , Allah will lift them".(means Allah will lift their values and bring them closer to him (pbth) .
-- In fact we are proud that the Almighty Allah is our Beneficent and Merciful Master. We Muslims are proud that we are slaves of that great and dignity Holy master .He is more beneficent and more merciful than our fathers and mothers. No human master in that world equals him in his compassion , generosity and tender. Have you ever seen a master feeds his slave if he is hungry , drinks him if he is thirsty ,heals him if he is ill, grants him housing ,wife and children as he had granted him before mind , eyes ,ears, one tongue and two leps.hands ,legs. Allah says in the Holy Quran : 34. And He giveth you of all that ye ask for. but if ye count the favours of Allah, never will ye be able to number them. Verily, man is given up to injustice and ingratitude.(14/34)
-- Dear Pandora, be humble and modest to Allah and be good slave to Good Master . Mohammad (pbuh) taught us to call him "the slave of Allah and him messenger "Jesus (pbuh) was a model of the great slave to Allah . He used to pray prostrating to Allah ,putting his face on the dust begging to the Almighty God asking him what he wants with all humbly and love. The Holy Bible says :
A) And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.(Mat26/39)
B) And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.(Mar 14/35)
C) And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.(Lu 6/12)
--- To whom was Jesus putting his face in dust praying ? to his God and our God or to himself? To whom was he begging to pass the cup from him? I think that he was praying to the only true God that he sent him to mankind .The God that no one saw him or heard his voice .Is he god .Have you ever heard about god who puts his face on dust asking other to help him? little mind Please.
Thank you and may Allah guide me and you to the straight way.Peace be with you and your family.

[pandora]

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Dear Pandora,

-- By the way God is called " Allah" in The Holy Bible and in the Holy Quran in all Arabian versions , in all Arabian countries. All Christians and Muslims say "Allah" not God. Allah (pbth) created us free to believe or not believe. If Allah wanted all people of that world to worship him only ,he would have forced them to do that and that is very easy for him. But Allah wanted his creatures to come to him voluntarily with all love and satisfaction. Allah said in the Holy Quran :
29. Say, "The truth is from your Lord": let Him who believe, and let Him who will, reject (it) (18/29)
256. Let there be no compulsion In religion: truth stands out Clear from error: Whoever rejects evil and believes In Allah hath grasped the Most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. and Allah heareth and knoweth all things.(2/256)
-- Allah (pbth) sent prophets and messengers one after other to teach people the way of astray and the straight way.Also he descended his Holy Books to be constitution for them and gave them the freedom to choose their way .He granted them the grace of mind In order to distinguish between right and wrong. Wheat from the chaff..They have to use these graces to choose but he said :
3. We showed Him the way: whether He be grateful or ungrateful (rests on His Will).
4. For the rejecters we have prepared chains, yokes, and a Blazing Fire.
5. As to the righteous, They shall drink of a cup mixed with Kafur,-(76/2-5)
-- He (pbth) also said: 15. Who receiveth guidance, receiveth it for His own benefit: who goeth astray doth so to His own loss: no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another: nor would we visit with Our wrath until we had sent an apostle (to give warning) (17/15)
-- Then every one is responsible for himself and should bear the result of his deeds in that world although He (pbth) can guide who he wants to astray or to straight way . Allah is not unjust to his slaves (or his servants as you like).

Of course God is known as Allah by Christians living in Arab lands. Allah is an Arabic word for God, why would this be unusual? Yet, you may understand when they pray to their Allah they have in their minds YHWH, God of the Bible, they pray the same way as Christians worldwide pray, whichever language used the prayers are the same. I have no issue with the term Allah for God as long as you mean it is the same God as YHWH, the same God as all the prophets knew. If you prefer I can use the term Allah instead of God if you are more comfortable with that.

Yes, I agree that Allah grants us grace to choose freely to accept Him as he has revealed Himself to us or to reject Him the gain or loss is for our own choice to make. There is no compulsion. So it would be better to desist from Dawah and instead respect the choice of others to accept God/Allah that has been revealed to them. God wishes us to come to Him through love because worship offered from any other standpoint is empty and worthless. What use to God/Allah prayers from hearts devoid of love? This is obvious for all to understand regardless of religion.

Christians see prophets as having a greater role than simply showing us a right path. As I see it Islam is about the seeking of God/Allah... Christianity is about God/Allah seeking to establish community and relationship with mankind, which was always the intention for mankind before the fall of Adam changed our direction. God has shown how this is possible through the Christ. You have chosen a different path, I can hope and pray for you that it is the right path and I truly believe that God shows mercy and compassion for all who worship Him from sincere hearts and from love.

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-- You say that you are children of God . Why do you claim that Jesus is God because they called him "the son of God" equals completely what you said that you are the child of God .Is there any differences beteen the two phrases? Why did not you call "Adam" God as he is a son of god in the Bible and he does not have a father or a mother ?

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Why did not you call Soloman or Israel or David Gods although they are sons of God in the Bible?
Why did not you call peacemakers Gods athough they are sons of God in the Bible? (Mat 5/9)
Why did not you call those who are led by the spirit of God (Gods) although they are sons of God in the Bible (the exambles are many )
-- Is this son-ship actually or metaphorically ? I think they never be actually.What is your point of view ?

We use the term children of God because those saved through Jesus and accept the in dwelling of the Holy Spirit thus becoming part of the living Gospel of Christ Jesus become children of God.

Romans 8:14–17
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

There are many references to the term "Son of God" in the Bible. However, we see that the term son when used in relation to Jesus is unique. I attach a link which explains very well what the differences are and why we hold the Son ship of Jesus as different from for example Adam. Adam was a creation... Jesus is eternal.

http://www.gotquestions.org/eternal-Sonship.html

Please do not imply that we see "son" as actual. This is blasphemy... And I am not happy with that. I do not understand why the Quran seemingly misrepresents Jesus as son of God, and implies a physical union. Which is abhorrent to Christians.

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--- You said "

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Christians are not slaves" " humble servants but never slaves."
I appreciate the sensitivity of the word slave . In fact it is written "slave" in the Arabic Bible and in the Quran too. The slavery to human is a state of humiliation and indignity but the slavery to the Almihgty Allah is pride, dignity and sublimity. The messenger of Allah said :" Those who humble themselves to Allah , Allah will lift them".(means Allah will lift their values and bring them closer to him (pbth) .
-- In fact we are proud that the Almighty Allah is our Beneficent and Merciful Master. We Muslims are proud that we are slaves of that great and dignity Holy master .He is more beneficent and more merciful than our fathers and mothers. No human master in that world equals him in his compassion , generosity and tender. Have you ever seen a master feeds his slave if he is hungry , drinks him if he is thirsty ,heals him if he is ill, grants him housing ,wife and children as he had granted him before mind , eyes ,ears, one tongue and two leps.hands ,legs. Allah says in the Holy Quran : 34. And He giveth you of all that ye ask for. but if ye count the favours of Allah, never will ye be able to number them. Verily, man is given up to injustice and ingratitude.(14/34)

Then if it is seen as an honour to be thought of as slave then that is fine for you, I respect that. I have no experience of slaves, but from cases I have read about slaves they were rarely treated well.

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Dear Pandora, be humble and modest to Allah and be good slave to Good Master . Mohammad (pbuh) taught us to call him "the slave of Allah and him messenger "Jesus (pbuh) was a model of the great slave to Allah . He used to pray prostrating to Allah ,putting his face on the dust begging to the Almighty God asking him what he wants with all humbly and love. The Holy Bible says :
A) And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.(Mat26/39)
B) And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.(Mar 14/35)
C) And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.(Lu 6/12)
--- To whom was Jesus putting his face in dust praying ? to his God and our God or to himself? To whom was he begging to pass the cup from him? I think that he was praying to the only true God that he sent him to mankind .The God that no one saw him or heard his voice .Is he god .Have you ever heard about god who puts his face on dust asking other to help him? little mind Please.
Thank you and may Allah guide me and you to the straight way.Peace be with you and your family.

I have always been humble before God, Jesus was never a slave but forever the loving son and obedient servant. Jesus taught us how to pray, and we do so according to His teaching. Jesus usually prayed alone in a quiet place, he often knelt and sometimes prostrated, Christians do so also, Jesus also taught that it did not matter which direction we faced as God was everywhere and would hear our prayers from wherever we are if our prayers are sincere and from the heart. Of course Jesus prayed to God... Jesus was always subordinate to God the father God the father is all powerful, all mighty and all worship is for Him alone.

May God continue to guide you and bless you.

[عثمان أحمد الشيخ]

Dear Pandora,
-- I would like to say that Jesus (pbth) used to pray prostrating putting his face on dust with all humbly and surrender to the Almighty Allah .Have you ever followed him in your praying ?.Have you ever tasted the thrill of prostration to the Almighty Allah who no one has seen him or heard his voice ?. It is the true happiness to do that. The messenger of Allah "Muhammad" (pbuh) taught us that when the slave is prostrating , he is being in the closest state to Allah.

-- In regards to what you quoted from John 1 /5/10/14/15/17 to prove that Jesus (pbuh) is Allah ( God Forbid ) .What you quoted are outside the text ( as you always say ) , But trust me if anyone reads all these chapters with his simple own mind and easy own thought away from the complicated thoughts of his fathers and his priests he will discover that these chapters deny the divinity of Jesus .Jesus (pbuh) was so clear to prove his humanity. He (pbuh) was talking about two, he and Allah the only true God who sent him. I hope that you reread them but without any background or any preivous ideas.I can comment on every chapter if you would like.
-- In fact a lot of priests deceive you and plant unreasonable ideas in your mind (Taking the chance that you look at them as angles) as they do in your ancestors when they persuaded them that they can buy parts of lands in Paradise versus taking their money. Historically that was known as " Deeds of forgiveness ". Their immorality reached to persuade people to buy land in Paradise for their dead relatives.
-- Excuse me . I will tell you something in present . I saw a video about a big priest who wanted to persuade a large audience of Christians that The Holy Quran admits that Jesus is god . What did the priest do ? . The Holy Quran talked about the Miracles that God gave to Christ (pbuh) .Allah said :-
110. Then will Allah say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favour to Thee and to Thy mother. Behold! I strengthened Thee with the holy spirit, so that Thou Didst speak to the people In childhood and In maturity. Behold! I taught Thee the Book and Wisdom, the law and the Gospel and Behold! Thou makest out of clay, As it Were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and Thou breathest into it and it becometh a bird by My leave, and Thou healest those born blind, and the lepers, by My leave. and Behold! Thou bringest forth the dead by My leave. and Behold! I did restrain the Children of Israel from (violence to) Thee when Thou Didst Show them the Clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: 'This is nothing but evident magic.'(5/110)
-- The priest read these verses but he hided or removed the phrase (by my leave ) .Then he said to people : " Allah only who is able to do that , then Jesus is God" . Of course , the man deceived all people because Jesus (pbuh) did all these deeds by the leave of Allah only.

to be continued

[pandora]

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Dear Pandora,
-- I would like to say that Jesus (pbth) used to pray prostrating putting his face on dust with all humbly and surrender to the Almighty Allah .Have you ever followed him in your praying ?.Have you ever tasted the thrill of prostration to the Almighty Allah who no one has seen him or heard his voice ?. It is the true happiness to do that. The messenger of Allah "Muhammad" (pbuh) taught us that when the slave is prostrating , he is being in the closest state to Allah.

It is wrong of you to claim to know how Jesus prayed, do you know how many verses in the Bible refer to prostration before The Lord? Or do you just use the example from Matthew...

~ 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”~

you are also wrong and intrusive into a personal privacy as to how I choose to commune in prayer with God. Jesus taught we do not make a "show" of praying, that our prayers are a private matter between oneself and God the father. In this we may choose to kneel, we may choose to bow our heads or we may choose to prostrate.
Some Biblical prophets heard Gods voice.. And YHWH also revealed in part His glory to them. You know nothing about the closeness of Christians to God, we live our life through the guidance of His Holy Spirit and by the truth of His Word, Jesus. If we don't ask ourselves each day what can we do to the glory of God? Then we are lacking.. I am here now, by Gods will.. Because the still small voice of The Lord my God tells me to be true to my heart and try and bring understanding to others. By understanding I do not mean.. Think as I do.. Or take up thy cross and follow Christ, only God decides such things, for small people like ourselves we can only share the Word. If nothing else we reach a better understanding of each other and can meet as friends with a shared love of God between us.

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-- In regards to what you quoted from John 1 /5/10/14/15/17 to prove that Jesus (pbuh) is Allah ( God Forbid ) .What you quoted are outside the text ( as you always say ) , But trust me if anyone reads all these chapters with his simple own mind and easy own thought away from the complicated thoughts of his fathers and his priests he will discover that these chapters deny the divinity of Jesus .Jesus (pbuh) was so clear to prove his humanity. He (pbuh) was talking about two, he and Allah the only true God who sent him. I hope that you reread them but without any background or any preivous ideas.I can comment on every chapter if you would like.

No offence to your good self but nothing would be proved or gained by any commentary you could offer on Bible verses, as a Muslim you cannot hope to understand them in the same way as a Christian does. If you think we sit around and wait for some priest to come along and interpret them for us, then you are mistaken. The Bible is not all there is to God. Quite frankly I find it astounding that you feel you can offer a greater understanding of scriptures you have scant regard for and believe to be corrupt. Have you noticed I do not criticise or judge the Quran? Even though there is much that seems wrong to me and at odds with a Holy God. I have more respect than that, because the Quran is your Holy scripture and if you as muslims believe it to be divine then that's good enough for me.

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-- In fact a lot of priests deceive you and plant unreasonable ideas in your mind (Taking the chance that you look at them as angles) as they do in your ancestors when they persuaded them that they can buy parts of lands in Paradise versus taking their money. Historically that was known as " Deeds of forgiveness ". Their immorality reached to persuade people to buy land in Paradise for their dead relatives.

who are you talking about here? ... Catholics? Do your research not all Christian denominations hold to such nonsensical ideas. In fact I would be very surprised if today's Catholics hold to such nonsensical ideas and would not be so foolhardy to believe that money can hold any sway when it comes to Paradise.

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-- Excuse me . I will tell you something in present . I saw a video about a big priest who wanted to persuade a large audience of Christians that The Holy Quran admits that Jesus is god . What did the priest do ? . The Holy Quran talked about the Miracles that God gave to Christ (pbuh) .Allah said :-
110. Then will Allah say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favour to Thee and to Thy mother. Behold! I strengthened Thee with the holy spirit, so that Thou Didst speak to the people In childhood and In maturity. Behold! I taught Thee the Book and Wisdom, the law and the Gospel and Behold! Thou makest out of clay, As it Were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and Thou breathest into it and it becometh a bird by My leave, and Thou healest those born blind, and the lepers, by My leave. and Behold! Thou bringest forth the dead by My leave. and Behold! I did restrain the Children of Israel from (violence to) Thee when Thou Didst Show them the Clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: 'This is nothing but evident magic.'(5/110)
-- The priest read these verses but he hided or removed the phrase (by my leave ) .Then he said to people : " Allah only who is able to do that , then Jesus is God" . Of course , the man deceived all people because Jesus (pbuh) did all these deeds by the leave of Allah only.

to be continued

I would like to see such a video. Because I find it odd that any Christian priest... (I'm thinking he must be catholic, as they use the term priest.) that firstly, would use the Quran at all in reference to Jesus because there is very little in the Quran about Jesus. Secondly, that any Christian priest would use something from a gnostic gospel, that Christians believe lacked provenance and was highly likely that it had nothing at all to do with Jesus. I admit the fact that this fable does in a way offer proof of the divinity of Jesus, even with the words.. ~By my leave ~... Left in. as it shows Jesus creating life, Christians believe only God can create life. Jesus raised the dead on many occasions but He never created life.. Because He knew that creation is in the hands of God the Father only.

Peace to you.