www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall I am both Muslim and Christian

The most charitable thing that I can think of is that this woman is taking entirely too seriously the idea that Islam is a christian heresy, specifically monophysite.

Dear Indigo,

Islam is a cult. An angel, (and we know who he was), gave the Koran to Mohammed. Even his wife questioned if the message was truly from God.

I have read that the Koran in Arabic is mesmorizing. It is all in verse, and I believe the Satanists, also use verse. It can be very mesmorizing as can certain music, especially the music of cultures with martial tendencies. I can see where the German music of the Nazi era would arouse my passions if I was German, as well as the chants from the minarets if I was an Arab. In both cases, there is a Satanic element?...or so I believe.

We are seeing the drive towards a unity of all the world religions. All we need is some sort of break down in our society, such as a nuclear war in some part of the world, and a strong person declaring peace, and we have the culmination of all the evil in the world; the Anti-christ. The world is ready for a total control of humanity because of it's interdendancy on all the products needed for survival, as well as our banking system.

That Episcopalian minister, is only the beginning and she seems like a rarity to us. Her beliefs are not so rare in other parts of the world. We in America, are the odd one's out.

God Bless,

Zenovia

Zenovia, reflecting on your post here leads me to ask the question, "is there a difference between Rome and the Orthodox on the question of how Christians should relate to non-Christian religions?" Actually, it is not clear to me what we Orthodox are to think of the non-Christian religions. I've heard everything from positions similar to the Roman Catholic Church's position (that they are ways of salvation that tend toward the truth of Christianity) to the view that you just expressed, that they (or at least some of them)are of Satan. Certainly, none of us here, Catholic or Orthodox, seem to suggest that one can really belong to two contradictory religions at the same time. One is either a Christian or a Muslim, even if one might be able to pull off being a Muslim influenced Christian or Christian influenced Muslim.

Joe

More likely their cigarettes.

if their mind is gone, how would they know they are punished. Having a frontal lobotomy is no different than havin a bottle in front of me.

Eddie

Sometimes being allowed to make a complete fool of oneself in public is a pretty severe punishment. Perhaps part of the punishment could be babbling nonsense without ever realizing the reactions of others.

Actually while working as a correctional officer I used to see individuals who professed to be Muslims at times and other times Christians as the situation changed. Had a good laugh once when the guards caught a group of these wanna-be Muslims who worked in the kitchen pigging out on pork spare ribs at the same time they were demanding certain meals during Ramadan. Not making a joke here but showing one case where they couldn't get away with having it both ways.

You mean there are Muslim hypocrites too? This is unsettling. I am going to have to think about this.

Dear Joe,

You have brought up something quite interesting. I tend to agree with the Pope, and I do believe that the Orthodox have always taken that viewpoint, since the East has never been as black and white as the West.

I know that the Muslims are highly devout, and lovely, humble and charitable people. They tend though to follow their leaders blindly, even to their detrement. They have a group mentality, that could be related to the Germans...although they are so dissimilar in other things. The Muslims for instance, have never been racist nor inflexible, nor have they shown themselves to be a highly productive culture.

I think the movement of Islam itself started as a carry over of the Arian heresy, so it had to come through a spirit of rebellion.. Protestantism also started as a spirit of rebellion, so again we would have to say it had a demonic beginning...although, parts of their cause were just. Again though, it does not mean that it is not a force towards God, although in the case of Islam, it is very incomplete way of going towards God. Yet Islam appears to be a step above Hinduism, or faiths that do not have a belief in one God.

I don't know who said it, but it might have been the Pope, that Judaism led up to Christianity, but Islam doesn't bring us up further in our spritual growth and knowledge, but rather takes us downward.

Also, I think we have to seperate the leaders from the followers. If one is born into an incomplete faith or denomination, even though the founder might have not been too 'kosher', the people are given as much spirituality as that specific denomination or even religion is capable of giving. I guess all humanity has a yearning towards God.

Mind you I am not relating the 'Christian truths' within the Protestant faiths, to the Muslims. The Christian faith and teachings are way superior, but I'm simply using these things as an example.

God Bless,

Zenovia