Is it because they think Islam is the perfect faith?

Post #10,772 by brettj 9/28/01 9:49:52 AM Reply	Is it because they think Islam is the perfect faith? From the Time article posted above, "Roots of Rage" : "In Islamic belief, Muhammad is God's last prophet; he built upon the revelations of Moses and Jesus to propound a superior, perfect faith." This sounds like Islamic arrogance if you asked me. When one religion claims to be the only "True" religion and all others are considered to be false and evil, then pride and arrogance creep in. I've seen this with the Jehovah's Witnesses and it disturbed me deeply. Know I'm seeing the Islamic extremist promote this stance. It is painful to see that type of ignorance and non-tolerance for God's people. Islamics extremists give credit to Moses and Jesus but then kill their brothers and sisters. It makes me sad. All I have left is hope that Muslems will denounce the violence and murder and show themselves to be a loving people afterall. Without hope there is only despair. Is world peace possible? Who wants it?
Post #10,773 by drewk 9/28/01 10:05:19 AM Reply	Same reason other religions do it Ever been to a Roman Catholic mass? There's a "profession of faith" that is recited at each service which includes the phrase "the one true church". I've heard various phrasings of this, including "the one holy Catholic church" etc. But the content is always that this is the only "true" church. Most every organized religion I've bothered to look at has had the same idea. The fervor with which adherents try to promote the singular righteousness of their beliefs seems to vary depending more on the local front man -- priest, minister, imam, rabbi, whatever -- than on the "official" teachings of the religion. But it's there in all of them. We have to fight the terrorists as if there were no rules and preserve our open society as if there were no terrorists. -- [link\|http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/05/opinion/BIO-FRIEDMAN.html\|Thomas Friedman]
Post #10,775 by brettj 9/28/01 10:25:14 AM Reply	Excellent point. I'm fairly new to religion (although I went to church up until age 18 or so.) I suspected that most religions have an incredible amount of pride in their faith and intolerance for others but I didn't realize it was so common. So I guess we don't really want a religious war then, do we? What we probably want is Peace, not war. Which is easier to accomplish - World Peace or World War?
Post #10,802 by jb4 9/28/01 12:52:48 PM Reply	Religion != Faith; Religion != Belief in God; jb4 (Resistance is not futile...)
Post #10,779 by ChrisR 9/28/01 11:12:47 AM Reply	Nicene creed Not that this addresses the point, but the proper phrase of the [link\|http://www.mit.edu/~tb/anglican/intro/lr-nicene-creed.html\|Nicene Creed] is: We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. And it is not particularly limited to the (Roman) Catholic Church, with most Christian denominations also affirming it. (The only notable exceptions that I'm aware of would be the Mormons and the Jehovahs). The argument between catholics, orthodox, and evangelicals is not whether there is a catholic church, but rather one of how that catholic church is composed and conducted.
Post #10,781 by drewk 9/28/01 11:27:13 AM Reply	That's the one, thanks We have to fight the terrorists as if there were no rules and preserve our open society as if there were no terrorists. -- [link\|http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/05/opinion/BIO-FRIEDMAN.html\|Thomas Friedman]
Post #10,784 by ChrisR 9/28/01 11:43:33 AM Reply	Historical note... Just a bit of history... :-) There really ain't that many variations on the Creed in the Christian world. For the most part, the creed reads the same with the notable exception of: who proceeds from the Father and the Son The Eastern Orthodox Church seperated itself from the western church specifically because of the Filioque (and the Son), as it was not part of the original creed. Oddly enuf, there's really never been any unique interpretations or dogmas base on that singular addition, but the Orthodox are quite adamant about keeping the creed exactly as it was originally formulated at the Nicea Council.
Post #10,793 by CRConrad 9/28/01 12:08:27 PM Reply	Hey, in terms of the original question... ..."is it because they think theirs is the only Correct religion?" [paraphrased, from memory], there's an even more basi-- no, let's call it fundamental -- piece of evidence that covers both Christianity and Jewdom: the first Commandment. Established long before any church councils, and probably held to be "God's Own Truth" by a lot more people than have ever even heard of Nicaea. I'm still flabbergasted that Brett could even ask that question in the first place... In words you'll recognize as more definitely my own, what fucking religion isn't bloody well convinced it is "the only Right And True Way"?!? That is, judging from what they all actually say and, above all, do, what all religions are all about. So, still: Sheeesh... Christian R. Conrad The Man Who Knows Fucking Everything
Post #10,799 by ChrisR 9/28/01 12:37:37 PM Reply	Sort of what fucking religion isn't* bloody well convinced it is "the only Right And True Way"?!?* Not all religions believe that they are necessarily the only way, but they all definitely hold that they are the Right and True Way. In either case, both the first commandment and the creed are professions of what an adherent believes in. Both, however, are silent on the question of how to treat non-believers. Otherwise it would read: "I am the Lord your God, you shall have no gods before me" Followed immediately by: "I give you free riegn to maim and murder any who refuse to profess this" The mistake seems to be that too many assume that just because something is worth dying for, it is also worth killing for.
Post #10,805 by jb4 9/28/01 1:00:19 PM Reply	Alternative interpretation? I had always thought that the 1st Commandment was the way that monotheists differentiated themselves from the multitheists of ancient Egypt (for Hebrews), and later of Rome (for Christians). I didn't ever think that it was a way of saying, "We're Right (c), and the rest of you can go pound sand." Weren't the Children of Isreal down in the valley building (multitheic) idols to worship while Moses was on his mountain retreat? jb4 (Resistance is not futile...)

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