ugmug
Member
Islamic Christianity
Recently I've been involved with individuals of the Catholic faith defending their veneration of Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. The specifics are not important. But the manner of their defense of Catholic doctrine struck me as similar to other discussions of religion that I have had with other people defending their religious doctrine.
I have seen other such displays of people defending their religious doctrine in a manner similar to those who defend the Catholic doctrine, such as individuals defending Islam.
It struck me like a lighting bolt that those individuals who defend Islam, particularly Muhammad, are like those who defend Catholicism, particularly Mary the mother of Jesus and the worship of Saints. You get volumes of scripture and arguments all justifying the 'shoehorning' of disparate religious points into an increasingly vague theology.
When God made man he first made the body, representing our flesh, and then he breathed the breath of life into him, representing our spirit. So man is two parts, flesh and spirit. Likewise here in this world we have many religious persuasions representing the flesh and/or spirit, both of which are locked in an eternal battle for supremacy.
Islam desires to have supremacy over the flesh with its Islamic law while Catholicism, and other Christian doctrines, want to have supremacy over the spirit. One religion wants to control our actions, while the other our thoughts. Each religion has as its focal point and justification defending a revered holy figure or behavior. For Islam it is Muhammad, and for Catholicism it is Mary the mother of Jesus Christ and all the Saints. Other Christian doctrines have embraced gender and social issues as their idol of choice.
Whichever faith becomes a weapon of choice the defense of an established religious icon of that faith, like Muhammad or Mary, will become the sole purpose of that belief. Jesus said that this world is not his kingdom which is why nobody came to his defense. Jesus did not use any physical force, or clever religious rhetoric, to defend himself when he was on trial. He became as silent and gentle as a newborn lamb waiting to be our sacrifice to have all of our sins placed upon him on the cross. We should do the same and let God's word do all the talking rather than the clever wording of a religious doctrine or the forceful defense of one's faith in a religious icon.
Whenever I engage in a religious debate with an individual of the Islamic faith, or the Christian faith, the manner and tone of their fierce loyalty is similar. God created his bible to speak to the individual to hopefully bring about a personal salvation with a simple belief in his son Jesus Christ. In the case of religious doctrine, like Islam or Catholicism, groups try to build a religious 'Tower of Babble' to bring salvation to the whole group with obedience over our 'collective' actions and thoughts, ie, or flesh and spirit.
Thankfully God the Father sent his son to die for all of our sins and accomplish the salvation of our individual person irrespective of our own actions or thoughts. We are all contaminated with 'original sin' and therefore we cannot cleanse our thoughts or our actions enough to please God for we are enslaved in this sinful body. Once we believe in Jesus Christ we will receive a new body in heaven which will need no religious doctrine in order to please God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit!
God Bless
Recently I've been involved with individuals of the Catholic faith defending their veneration of Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. The specifics are not important. But the manner of their defense of Catholic doctrine struck me as similar to other discussions of religion that I have had with other people defending their religious doctrine.
I have seen other such displays of people defending their religious doctrine in a manner similar to those who defend the Catholic doctrine, such as individuals defending Islam.
It struck me like a lighting bolt that those individuals who defend Islam, particularly Muhammad, are like those who defend Catholicism, particularly Mary the mother of Jesus and the worship of Saints. You get volumes of scripture and arguments all justifying the 'shoehorning' of disparate religious points into an increasingly vague theology.
When God made man he first made the body, representing our flesh, and then he breathed the breath of life into him, representing our spirit. So man is two parts, flesh and spirit. Likewise here in this world we have many religious persuasions representing the flesh and/or spirit, both of which are locked in an eternal battle for supremacy.
Islam desires to have supremacy over the flesh with its Islamic law while Catholicism, and other Christian doctrines, want to have supremacy over the spirit. One religion wants to control our actions, while the other our thoughts. Each religion has as its focal point and justification defending a revered holy figure or behavior. For Islam it is Muhammad, and for Catholicism it is Mary the mother of Jesus Christ and all the Saints. Other Christian doctrines have embraced gender and social issues as their idol of choice.
Whichever faith becomes a weapon of choice the defense of an established religious icon of that faith, like Muhammad or Mary, will become the sole purpose of that belief. Jesus said that this world is not his kingdom which is why nobody came to his defense. Jesus did not use any physical force, or clever religious rhetoric, to defend himself when he was on trial. He became as silent and gentle as a newborn lamb waiting to be our sacrifice to have all of our sins placed upon him on the cross. We should do the same and let God's word do all the talking rather than the clever wording of a religious doctrine or the forceful defense of one's faith in a religious icon.
Whenever I engage in a religious debate with an individual of the Islamic faith, or the Christian faith, the manner and tone of their fierce loyalty is similar. God created his bible to speak to the individual to hopefully bring about a personal salvation with a simple belief in his son Jesus Christ. In the case of religious doctrine, like Islam or Catholicism, groups try to build a religious 'Tower of Babble' to bring salvation to the whole group with obedience over our 'collective' actions and thoughts, ie, or flesh and spirit.
Thankfully God the Father sent his son to die for all of our sins and accomplish the salvation of our individual person irrespective of our own actions or thoughts. We are all contaminated with 'original sin' and therefore we cannot cleanse our thoughts or our actions enough to please God for we are enslaved in this sinful body. Once we believe in Jesus Christ we will receive a new body in heaven which will need no religious doctrine in order to please God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit!
God Bless
