I have had several arguments lately with non-christian co-workers who do not believe Christians have the right to point fingers over violence and war justified by religious doctrine. The Pope's use of a medievel quote criticising spreading Islam by the sword has been the catalyst for violence and demonstrating by fundamentalist Muslims around the world. In a way, the violent rhetoric and actions by these fundamentalists strengthened the Pope's arguement that war and violence is not justified by God. Not having studied the Koran and Islamic texts enough to form a decisive opinion, I had until now been reduced to defending Christian theology. The New Testament sets a new covenant and Jesus Christ clearly outlines God's expectations of Christians - non violence is a key component.
I came across an excellent piece by Mark Durie, Creed of the sword,In the Weekend Australian. This article raises several questions that the Islamic world needs to ask itself. Muslims are taught that Mohammed is the last in the line of prophets that extend from Abraham to Jesus. Jesus is reduced to just a prophet, and not the son of God. Mohammed and the Koran is the last 'definitive guide' - much as Christians consider the New Testament as the definitive text over the Old Testament, or Torah. To me a lot of the Islamic teaching seems to be closer to Old Testament convenants, stepping away from the personal, non violent message of Jesus Christ. Read the article and see what you think...
Another excellent piece on the failure of Australian Islamic leaders to address the key issues raised in the recent debate, this time by Paul Kelly....
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