Christianity vs. Islam

There is a fundamental difference between Muslims leaving Islam and the Christians leaving their religion. Most born and raised Christians when leaving Christianity, become critical of the Church and the Bible but still respect Christ. In fact, Christ as described in the New Testament is a loving person. Many Christians also cannot get rid of Christianity because their god is the god of love. At least this is what they are being told and this is the idea they have of their god. Muslims on the other hand believe in Allah through fear. The god of Muhammad is not a loving god but a dreadful and an unforgiving god of vengeance (Q.4:84). When Muslims learn the fallacies of Islam and discover the real face of Muhammad, they hate that religion and despise its founder. Therefore although Christianity in the West, in the last two centuries, has been in demise it has managed to survive and perhaps it will survive for another two or three centuries. Christianity still has spiritual lessons to give. It can still be a source of guidance and inspiration to its followers. Christianity as taught and lived by Christ is a moral religion. Christianity may be logically wrong but ethically it is not. A few letters written by Paul are discriminatory towards women. But that can be easily overlooked when one pays attention to the overall message of love and tolerance taught by Jesus.

None of that can be said about Islam. Quran is replete with intolerance, violence, discrimination and hate. We could have overlooked the logical absurdity of Islam's holy book but how can we fail to see its intolerance and its message of hate? Moreover the person of Jesus as is reported in the Bible, is sanctified from any blemish. Muhammad on the other hand was a violent man. He was a lustful, pervert, ruthless, arrogant and a maniac mass murderer. A man who wishes to emulate Muhammad in this day and age is a man that should be locked in jail. Those who follow truly the example of the Prophet of Islam are terrorists. They are dangers to society. One can be a good Christian and still be a good person. But one CANNOT be a good Muslim, follow all those hate mongering teachings of Muhammad, and be a good human being at the same time.

To compare Islam with Christianity and assume that since Christianity has survived the attacks from its dissenters and enlightened freethinkers, Islam would do the same is a mistake. This is like comparing apples to oranges. The only thing that Islam and Christianity have in common is that both are called religion. But the similarity ends there. To understand the difference between Muhammad and Jesus is enough to compare how they reacted to two very similar incidents.

John 8:3-7

"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught committing adultery, and they made her stand before them all, "Teacher." They said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. In our law Moses commanded that such a woman must be stoned to death, Now what do you say?" They said this to trap Jesus, so that they could accuse him. But he bent over and wrote on the ground with his finger. As they stood there asking him questions, he strengthened himself up and said to them, "Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her." Then he bent over again and wrote on the ground. When they heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first. Jesus was left alone with the woman standing there. He straightened himself up and said to her, "Where are they? Is there no one left to condemn you?"

"No Sir" she answered.

"Well, then." Jesus said, "I do not condemn you either. Go but do not sin again."

Volume 2, Book 23, Number 413:

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar :

The Jew brought to the Prophet a man and a woman from amongst them who have committed (adultery) illegal sexual intercourse. He ordered both of them to be stoned (to death), near the place of offering the funeral prayers beside the mosque."

Now let us compare the teachings of Christ with those of Muhammad:

Luke 5:27

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who ill-treat you.

Q. 9: 23

"O ye who believe! take not for protectors your fathers and your brothers if they love Infidelity above Faith: if any of you do so, they do wrong".

Q. 3:28,

Let not the believers Take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than believers: if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah

Luke 5:37

"Do not judge others, and God will not judge you; do not condemn others and God will not condemn you; forgive others, and God will forgive you. Give to others and God will give to you

Q. 9:29,

Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

It is clear why Muslim dissidents hate intensely Muhammad and his fictitious Allah. It is because the essence of the message of Jesus is love, but the essence of Islam is hate. That is why Christianity, despite its illogicality has survived the age of enlightenment and has been able to adapt itself, somehow, to the changing world. But Islam would not survive the light of reason and will die a quick death. Christianity is illogical but it elevates the human spirit. Islam is hodgepodge of gibberish too, but provokes terror, advocates strife, calls for blood and foments hate. It sinks the human spirit and brings out the worst of the animal instinct of its followers. Once Islam is proven false, there is nothing else left for its followers to cling to. The only thing that keeps Muslims clinging to it is fear. Once the light of knowledge dissipate the darkness of ignorance and the fear of this revengeful monster called Allah is vanished. Islam will die a quick death. I can give this assurance that Islam will not see the next century and even go as far as to say we may see its death in our own lifetime. You may call this a wishful thinking, but I call it a gut feeling.

You made alot of good point. Christianity teaches love and faith and what is right. Islam teaches what is wrong.

but let me tell you christiantiy is not illogical, its logical more than you know. The whole point in cming to earth is by faith in God. You can not have faith or freedom of choice with proof. Just because you cannot proof it does not mean its illogical.

Bread of Life
Labour not for the meat which parisith but labour for that food which endurith unto everlasting life.

(For I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him whom hath sent me. And this is the will of him whom hath sent me. That of all that he hath given me I shud lose nothing.)

There is a God and there is God's Son Jesus Christ. You wont find God without Christ.

Originally posted by slymattb
You made alot of good point. Christianity teaches love and faith and what is right. Islam teaches what is wrong.

*ahem*
i'm going to be brief here, but there are many places where you can find the full extent of what is wrong in christianity.

source: the bible (if you cannot get a copy, just google "the bible")

1 John 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

by we it means "Christians"
...so that means that Gandhi was wicked
and Buddha
and Einstein
etc

Deuteronomy 22:23-24 If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.

so, if a woman is raped and was in shock when it happened, she's going to die for being raped
...nice...

Matthew 12:30 He that is not with me is against me

so many things wrong with this statement, but i'll sum it up like this: i agree with many teachings of jesus and strive to live a moral life that helps as many as possible while hurting as few as possible, how does that make me his enemy?

but let me tell you christiantiy is not illogical, its logical more than you know.

believing in that which is contradictory to reality is logical?

The whole point in cming to earth is by faith in God. You can not have faith or freedom of choice with proof. Just because you cannot proof it does not mean its illogical.

the irony is that the entire statement you have just made lacks logic
Bread of Life
Labour not for the meat which parisith but labour for that food which endurith unto everlasting life.

(For I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him whom hath sent me. And this is the will of him whom hath sent me. That of all that he hath given me I shud lose nothing.)

this is one of those statements that doesn't make sense when the trinity comes into play
how can god have opposing wills when jesus and god are both omniscient?

There is a God and there is God's Son Jesus Christ. You wont find God without Christ.

says you



ok, my thoughts
both christianity and islam are atrocious on many levels, but both are also good in many ways.

reply to post by Belinquest


oh, and one more thing: nice quote mining. you're taking only the bad stuff from the koran and comparing it to only the good stuff from the bible.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


Oh, the duality.

Don't you love those type of people. Like a car salesman telling you what is best about the vehicle he's trying to sell you, while only bringing up the worst aspects of the vehicle you're considering. People refuse to let others just "be." The life these people believe follows this one isn't dictated by some sort of convoluted game of "convert 'em." Could they possibly believe they're doing any good for themselves by constantly trashing their brother's beliefs? Points in heaven? Some sort of penance?

Personally, I believe it has less to do with dissecting and disagreeing with another's religion than it does with fortifying one's own shaky beliefs in the religion of their choice. I couldn't see it being anything else, unless people are entirely that arrogant. King of like the closet homosexual calling everybody a "homo." I don't see how anybody could possibly believe they know the first thing about what follows us. Not even us "Atheists."

Thank you: 'slymattb, 'madnessinmysoul, 'DeadFlagBlues for your points, perhaps your criticisms are correct but I cannot help feeling that the overwhelming message from Christianity and Jesus is one of good will.

Whilst I am no longer a believer, "Love your neighbour as yourself" is all pervasive where the prevalent message I get from Islam is "hate your neighbour if he is not like yourself".

I am thinking of verses like:

Quran 47:4
"Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers , smite at their necks..."

Quran 5:51
Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends. They are friends with one another. Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall become one of their number. Allah does not guide the wrong-doers.

Many more verses dripping with hate...

We are commonly called Kafirs, pigs, monkeys, dogs, on the other hand I cannot think of a dispregiative name for Muslims.
Maybe Muzzies? Still very mild.

The Qu'ran is just as any other religious book. There's so many contradictory passages in them, it leaves it's believers and non believers stumped. This is where human interpretation plays a role, and this is where people decide for themselves what is truth, what is just, what "feels" right. Angry people will side with those passages, as the peaceful ones will side with ones like...

What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of a human being, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the wrongs of the injured.

To gladden the heart of the weary, to remove the suffering of the afflicted, hath its own reward. In the day of trouble, the memory of the action cometh like a rush of the torrent, and taketh our burden away.

Kindness is a mark of faith: and whoever hath not kindness hath not faith.

Shall I not inform you of a better act than fasting, alms, and prayers? Making peace between one another: enmity and malice tear up heavenly rewards by the roots.

A Muslim who mixeth with people and putteth up with their inconveniences, is better than one who doth not mix with them, and bear with patience.

Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.

The majority of "prophets," even Muhammad, as some of his sayings shown here will indicate, wanted the best for those around them. It's pretty obvious that men around them have turned their words around to fit their own trivial agendas. Hate is the work of man, not gods. All good books are filled with hate from men, contradicting the few sentiments left by their very own prophets. Take the good from the good and move on with it.

And yet Jesus preach Gods kingdom and salvation. What Jesus said he did not brake his own laws.

Maybe you're both wrong.

reply to post by slymattb


he also preaches intolerance and extremist ideas... "he who is not with me is against me" is kind of rough there...
the bible as a whole is entirely contradictory, preaching genocide and love side by side...

so...it's kind of hard to see which book is better, they seem to be equally absurd in this regard

MIMS, I still don't understand your difference in attitude when discussing or comparing Christianity and Islam.

You appear almost apologetic and sympathetic towards Islam yet virulently anti-Christian.

As an avowed Atheist, shouldn't you oppose both equally?
You may say you do but, as an Agnostic with no particular axe to grind at all, it's certainly seems to me that your posts display a noticeable anti-Xian slant.

(Unfortunately, without the POSTS facility it is hard to provide examples)

I have voiced my opinion on this subject in several threads here on ATS; organised religion, of any brand, is the bane of mankind.

Christianity seems to have advanced since the dark days of The Crusades, Spanish Inquisistion etc, Islam seems to have regressed since then, (when it was a relatively tolerant religion), and extreme interpretations of it now pose the single biggest threat to the advancement of mankind.

Originally posted by Freeborn
MIMS, I still don't understand your difference in attitude when discussing or comparing Christianity and Islam.

You appear almost apologetic and sympathetic towards Islam yet virulently anti-Christian.

As an avowed Atheist, shouldn't you oppose both equally?

...um, i never said the koran was good
i actually said that both the bible and koran are absurd in how contradictory their messages are.

in a thread where christianity is being put on a pedestal and islam is being demonized, i try to provide balance.
i'm in no way saying that islam is good while christianity is bad, my point (which often sails right over people's head) is that both are just about equally bad.

Christianity seems to have advanced since the dark days of The Crusades, Spanish Inquisistion etc, Islam seems to have regressed since then, (when it was a relatively tolerant religion), and extreme interpretations of it now pose the single biggest threat to the advancement of mankind.

ah, but that's not actually true
christians have advanced
muslims have regressed
the religions themselves remain the same. it's the culture of the areas in which you find the religion that is different.
islam in the west is pretty much the same as christianity in the west, is it not?
the religions themselves are exactly as they were, the people practicing them have either gotten more mature and enlightened or more isolated, desperate, and ignorant.

if the only things you changed about the areas where they practice islam heavily and those where christianity was practiced was the religion by switching the two, i doubt there'd be that much of a difference.

I never said that you thought The Koran was good, only that as an avowed Atheist I would expect to see much more of an even assessment and criticism of Islam as that which you give to Christianity.

The difference in approach and attitude is most noticeable and very suprising from one obviously so informed.

reply to post by Freeborn


it's a simple matter of audience. we have a much, much larger audience of christians than we do of muslims, especially in the FST and CiR sections.

Islam says Jesus is Mohammed's sidekick, his gofer, his 2nd in command. Christianity says God will make Mohammed kneel before Jesus and call him Lord. Therein is the difference. Therein is the key to the death of many Christians in the days to come. Just don't hold a sword to my neck and say I am the one who is the murderer - it just does not have the ring of truth you see, and I cannot therefore believe you.