Christians: Why aren't you Muslim?

[Shiranui117]

Oh, believe me, I've thought about converting to Islam many, many times. Some of the biggest things preventing me are:

1: Uncertainty about whether or not the Qur'an is in fact free from all error and contradictions, as well as uncertainty about whether or not it is in fact in its original form as allegedly revealed by God to Muhammad;
2: I still accept that Jesus died and rose from the dead;
3: I still hold Jesus to be more than just a mere man, but both man and God (even though the Trinity and the Hypostatic Union, admittedly, make no logical sense);
4: Let's face it, I'm the product of a society where Christianity still has a strong hold culturally speaking, and adjusting to a faith often viewed as foreign, strange and even sometimes dangerous would make life difficult, as well as the fact that finding an Islamic center--along with someone who can give me a ride there-- is Mission Impossible in my part of the country. Explaining it to my Christian friends and family is also not something I would look forward to doing.

 

[Pegg]

Jesus is the Messiah...i believe even Islam agrees with that. So we have the account of the Messiahs life, we have his teachings and his instructions on how to be his followers...we are seeing the fulfillment of his prophecies and the prophecies of his apostles thus proving their writings are true....

If we have submitted to Christ, why do we need Mohammad? What can Islam teach about the Messiah that the Christain Scriptures cannot?

 

[Pastek]

.
If we have submitted to Christ, why do we need Mohammad? What can Islam teach about the Messiah that the Christain Scriptures cannot?

It's like saying "we believe in Moses, why listening to other prophets who came after him ?"
If a prophet was sent by God you just have to believe in him, right ?

 

[Man of Faith]

Of course I am a Christian originally because I was raised that way. Now I have experienced God and I know God personally through his son Jesus and Islam says that God is unknowable and has no son. I can't reconcile that.

 

[Muffled]

'Christian'........One who believes that when Jesus spoke it was the Word of God that was heard?

That's me.
Baha'i.
Believer in the authority of the instruction of Jesus.

Happy to be "inferior" to all other like believers.

I believe that is basically cultural Christianity. It is also sometimes called Legalism in Christianity. In that frame of reference it isn't much different from Judaism or Islam.

Please understand I believe that it isn't you that is inferior but a belief that falls short of the glory of God.

 

[Muffled]

Your definition of "baseless" is as baseless as your claim to Xy...

I take him at face value but my experience is that there isn't much difference between a Muslim's attitude toward jesus and a Bah'ais attitude.

 

[Muffled]

Well, there are pros and cons going both ways IMO, it depends mostly on the denominations of Christianity and Islam, though generally I would say the liberalism and tolerance of Christianity.
Now, obviously there are instances anf history that show that Christianity is not always liberal & tolerant, however the doctrine allows for it quite readily, and liberal communities that I'm aware of, my religious heritage to some extent, shows this.

I believe there is liberality within Chrisianity but there is no liberality outside of it. ie If a believer desires to act oustside of the spirit of God (desire to do someting evil) Jesus will oppose such a desire and so will His community.

I believe those who act outside of Christianity are actually anti-Christ such as those who vote for abortions or to legalize gay marriage.

 

[Pegg]

It's like saying "we believe in Moses, why listening to other prophets who came after him ?"
If a prophet was sent by God you just have to believe in him, right ?

no, you dont 'just have to' believe him. There were many false prophets that misled people in the days of Isreal as we read in the bible. Not all who claim to be prophets were promoting the righteousness of God.

Jesus warned about false prophets who give “signs and wonders to lead astray,” their fruits would prove them “workers of lawlessness.” Matt 7:15-23; Mark 13:21-23

So you can't just follow anyone who claims to be a prophet.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Obviously, I'm not going to worship a god that's a different race than me, so why would I worship Mohammed when I can worship Jesus who is white?

 

[ChristineES]

There are differences between Christianity and Islam. They may be similar and the might have the same God, but they are, by no means, the same religion.

 

[ChristineES]

Obviously, I'm not going to worship a god that's a different race than me, so why would I worship Mohammed when I can worship Jesus who is white?

Jesus is white? I didn't know that- I thought he was born in the Middle East.

 

[Desert Snake]

Jesus is white? I didn't know that- I thought he was born in the Middle East.

I think Jesus looked like how he was most portrayed, a long haired Nazarene.

 

[ChristineES]

I think Jesus looked like how he was most portrayed, a long haired Nazarene.

Did you mean Nazarite- like Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist were? (among other prophets)

Num 6:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:
Num 6:3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
Num 6:4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
Num 6:5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.

 

[Desert Snake]

Did you mean Nazarite- like Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist were? (among other prophets)

Num 6:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:
Num 6:3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
Num 6:4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
Num 6:5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.

Yes, and these views were different from Pharisee views, though they did not separate themselves entirely from the Pharisees.

 

[sojourner]

What is about Christianity that you believe makes it more plausible than Islam?

Because it's relational and not compulsory.

 

[Desert Snake]

Many Christians come from a background that views various "rules" listed in the OT and other scriptures as primitive and outdated to modern life, some listed
1.Circumcision. Especially relating to a 'religious' belief, it is a primitive and to most of the world a strange practice in and of itself, combine it with religious meaning and it becomes very foreign and strange to anyone who isn't wrapped up in pseudi-magical rites.
2.Strict dietary laws. In the ancient world something like the forbidding of pork and crustacean consumption may have made so me sense, if the meat had a tendency for contamination etc. However in the modern age and the introduction of foreign or more advanced methods of curing meats etc. we are able to avoid many of these problems. If the dietary law is in reference to a magic/mystic meaning we are once again dealing with the situation that people superceded these beliefs, or never had them, and it is a foreign concept to them
3.Religious Authority. Unlike many of the Muslim countries or Israel, many Christians come from countries that have a strong idea of freedom of religion and don't /or aren't supposed to/ have too much religious influence in secular society. That itself is big jump for many Christians, as they might take these concepts of religious freedoms seriously.

There are other more detailed reasons, also.

 

[Muffled]

It's like saying "we believe in Moses, why listening to other prophets who came after him ?"
If a prophet was sent by God you just have to believe in him, right ?

I don't have any problem with the Qu'ran or Mohammed and consider myself Islamic in the true meaning of it (Hearing and obeying God). However what Jesus has supplied me through the Paraclete is far better than anything that the Islamic religion can provide.

 

[Muffled]

Because it's relational and not compulsory.

The Qu'ran states that there is no compulsion in religion. If anyone is teaching a religion of compusion it is contrary to true Islam. Islam is also relational but not as Children of God as I believe Chrristians are.

 

[Pastek]

However what Jesus has supplied me through the Paraclete is far better than anything that the Islamic religion can provide.

Can you please explain me why ?

 

[dantech]

no, you dont 'just have to' believe him. There were many false prophets that misled people in the days of Isreal as we read in the bible. Not all who claim to be prophets were promoting the righteousness of God.

Jesus warned about false prophets who give “signs and wonders to lead astray,” their fruits would prove them “workers of lawlessness.” Matt 7:15-23; Mark 13:21-23

So you can't just follow anyone who claims to be a prophet.

But isn't this precisely what Jesus did?