Posted on Sep 29, 2014
Is Islam a religion or more of a political engine for world domination?
12.2K
50
77
4
4
0
I am restating a question in a different form from another servicemember. Here is my response, but I would like to hear yours. This is NOT an attack on Islam, but a search for the truth so we can better understand what we are dealing with.
My response: Religion is defined as: re·li·gion noun \ri-ˈli-jən\
: the belief in God or in a group of gods
: an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship God or a group of gods
: an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group
That being said, I would think that many Muslims believe only in the peaceful parts of their religion. A religion should be used to worship a Higher Power (we Christians call Him God) without harm to others. I believe another important part of true worship is that it is of our own free will. Islam is not an option and Muslims who try and convert to other religions are threatened with death. Islam is more of a political engine for world domination than a religion. I develop my personal relationship with God by becoming more Christ-like with each passing day. If I share the Gospel with you, you are free to accept or reject it, and we can still remain friends. In the case of Islam, you are an enemy of all Islam if you do not accept the religion. The Quran calls for ALL Muslims to wage jihad on non-Muslims. The reward for a Christian is everlasting life with God. The rewards for Muslims are more material in nature. With all of this being said, it is my firm belief that Islam is more of a political engine than a religion. Their prophet received more revelations concerning his own desires than any other recorded prophet, telling me that it is not of God.
My response: Religion is defined as: re·li·gion noun \ri-ˈli-jən\
: the belief in God or in a group of gods
: an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship God or a group of gods
: an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group
That being said, I would think that many Muslims believe only in the peaceful parts of their religion. A religion should be used to worship a Higher Power (we Christians call Him God) without harm to others. I believe another important part of true worship is that it is of our own free will. Islam is not an option and Muslims who try and convert to other religions are threatened with death. Islam is more of a political engine for world domination than a religion. I develop my personal relationship with God by becoming more Christ-like with each passing day. If I share the Gospel with you, you are free to accept or reject it, and we can still remain friends. In the case of Islam, you are an enemy of all Islam if you do not accept the religion. The Quran calls for ALL Muslims to wage jihad on non-Muslims. The reward for a Christian is everlasting life with God. The rewards for Muslims are more material in nature. With all of this being said, it is my firm belief that Islam is more of a political engine than a religion. Their prophet received more revelations concerning his own desires than any other recorded prophet, telling me that it is not of God.
Religion
Islam
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 23
0
0
0
Adolf Hitler raised Nazism to a religion, replacing Christ on the cross in churches with a portrait of himself and the Bible with a copy of Mein Kampf in its place, baptizing babies before the swastika, loftily muttering "nazibabble" over that poor child. He used it to brainwash and bamboozle the people with a "superiority mindset", murdering millions in his attempt at domination. Historically, use of religion as a political engine usually come to an horrific end.
(0)
(0)
PO1 Steven Kuhn
When you read the commands of Jesus, He calls for us to love God with all our heart, mind and soul, and love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus also commanded that we make Disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Another important command is that we love one another as Jesus loves us. Not brain washing, but brain and spirit cleaning.
R/
Steve!
R/
Steve!
(2)
(0)
SGM (Join to see)
Funny, I don't recall any story of Jesus going out making disciples (after the first 12.) One guy comes to him and ask to be a disciple and Jesus turns him away. About the only people Jesus ever really goes after are the religious ones (like you?)
"... commanded that we make Disciples of all nations, baptizing them ..." Just how big a step is it to think that "commandment" justifies the Inquisition and baptising Jews by force? It seems to me that if you concentrated on your immediate previous statement, you wouldn't have time to worry about what anyone else believes.
"... commanded that we make Disciples of all nations, baptizing them ..." Just how big a step is it to think that "commandment" justifies the Inquisition and baptising Jews by force? It seems to me that if you concentrated on your immediate previous statement, you wouldn't have time to worry about what anyone else believes.
(0)
(0)
Capt Jeff S.
I don't think you understand what discipleship is SGM (Join to see). It's a form of committed, close mentoring. You can't mentor 200 people very effectively as your time is finite and your ability to maintain close personal relationships likewise is limited.
But do the math: If every person mentored just 10 people. And those 10 went on to mentor 10, and those 10 mentored 10. In just 3 interations (degrees of separation) you have reached 10^3 or 1000 people. You can see that the spread of influence is not only close and personal, but rapid as well.
But do the math: If every person mentored just 10 people. And those 10 went on to mentor 10, and those 10 mentored 10. In just 3 interations (degrees of separation) you have reached 10^3 or 1000 people. You can see that the spread of influence is not only close and personal, but rapid as well.
(0)
(0)
SGM (Join to see)
Capt Jeff Schwager, I suspect you are more in line with what PO1 Steven Kuhn said about, "we make Disciples of all nations", which certainly sounds like more than the 10 people you mentioned in your response. Be that as it may, I don't disagree with your concept.
What I do have a problem with is intolerance, particularly telling someone else what they believe. If a Moslem says Allah is not the same as Yahweh, God, or whatever a Christian or Jew chooses as a name, that's fine. But NO ONE should be so unbelievably arrogant as to tell someone else what they believe.
The God of Abraham is the God of Isaac and Ishmael. I didn't say it - the Bible did. If you want to say that's a lie, that's YOUR problem. I don't have sufficient arrogance to tell you that what you believe contradicts what your scriptures say.
Let me add, that I find it ludicrous that an officer thinks a successful NCO doesn't understand discipleship, especially given that you compared it to mentoring. Let me also add that the topic as originally presented by PO1 Steven Kuhn (Is Islam a religion or more of a political engine for world domination?) is aggressively confrontational, disrespectful, divisive, and unbecoming of an officer or NCO. We have Moslems in our military, our country, and our allies, and they do not deserve to be treated this way.
There are between 1.3 and 1.5 billion Moslems in the world, and you are deliberately pushing them into al Qaida's camp. We need to find a way to separate the peaceful ones from those who are disparaging Islam through terrorism. As I said, I'd like to see more from the peaceful Islamic world, but given some of the hateful statements of evangelical Christians, I'm not sure I blame them for keeping silent.
Let me add one more thing. EVERYTHING that is done to separate the peaceful people of the world from eachother, helps terrorism. So every time an innocent victim is killed, part of that blood is on the hands of people who aren't trying to bring us together. In short, when you push away peaceful Moslems, you are contributing to lengthening this conflict and some of that blood is on your hands. (Primarily that's to PO1 Kuhn, but when your right to disparage someone else in the name of your religion is more important than the lives of innocent victims of terrorism, then you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.)
Who was it who said, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world?"
What I do have a problem with is intolerance, particularly telling someone else what they believe. If a Moslem says Allah is not the same as Yahweh, God, or whatever a Christian or Jew chooses as a name, that's fine. But NO ONE should be so unbelievably arrogant as to tell someone else what they believe.
The God of Abraham is the God of Isaac and Ishmael. I didn't say it - the Bible did. If you want to say that's a lie, that's YOUR problem. I don't have sufficient arrogance to tell you that what you believe contradicts what your scriptures say.
Let me add, that I find it ludicrous that an officer thinks a successful NCO doesn't understand discipleship, especially given that you compared it to mentoring. Let me also add that the topic as originally presented by PO1 Steven Kuhn (Is Islam a religion or more of a political engine for world domination?) is aggressively confrontational, disrespectful, divisive, and unbecoming of an officer or NCO. We have Moslems in our military, our country, and our allies, and they do not deserve to be treated this way.
There are between 1.3 and 1.5 billion Moslems in the world, and you are deliberately pushing them into al Qaida's camp. We need to find a way to separate the peaceful ones from those who are disparaging Islam through terrorism. As I said, I'd like to see more from the peaceful Islamic world, but given some of the hateful statements of evangelical Christians, I'm not sure I blame them for keeping silent.
Let me add one more thing. EVERYTHING that is done to separate the peaceful people of the world from eachother, helps terrorism. So every time an innocent victim is killed, part of that blood is on the hands of people who aren't trying to bring us together. In short, when you push away peaceful Moslems, you are contributing to lengthening this conflict and some of that blood is on your hands. (Primarily that's to PO1 Kuhn, but when your right to disparage someone else in the name of your religion is more important than the lives of innocent victims of terrorism, then you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.)
Who was it who said, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world?"
(0)
(0)
0
0
0
If anyone is interested, on the CNO's reading list is a book titled "The Crisis of Islam". It is a good read and speaks to some of the points that all of you have brought up. It is especially informative when discussing why it can be difficult for us in the US to understand how Islam can very much dominate the societies of which it is a part.
(0)
(0)
0
0
0
Islam is a religion but in its execution by humans it is acceptable to corruption derived from ego, greed, and other malignant behaviors. The real root source of extremist ideology within the Muslim faith I feel has been fostered by a long history of repressive political regimes. The anxiety and frustrations caused by vicissitudes of life in this region have allowed some to cultivate and amass a radicalized following. Additionally I feel that the caliphs have failed their faith as they are emphasizing and encouraging the jihadist mindset. However I would concur that the process and forces at work in the militarization of the religion are political in nature.
(0)
(0)
SPC David S.
COL (Join to see) there was a report from an NGO that surveyed many components of different religions and from this they concluded that Islam was the most corrupt or along those lines. Certainly how these conclusions were formed should be done with some scrutiny. This correlation might be due to other factors that cause this attitude or perception of corruption but the norms formed in a Muslin nation help to perpetuate this belief.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174773
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174773
(0)
(0)
COL (Join to see)
First of all I would take any survey that estimates an entire nations' tendencies for corruption with a grain of salt. Second, that is not a direct correlation to a failure on the part of religion. In fact I read the article and saw little correlation to religion other than to say some arab countries were high on the list, as were N Korea, Afhgan, etc No surprise. We left two very unstable places when we left, I would expect corruption was high when we got there and off the charts now. US and Israel were like 19 and 36, by no means claiming the moral high ground. Additionally, this article is from an Israeli publication, which may have some bias, no?
On a side note - I appreciate the debate without the personal attacks that some on this forum have resorted to. I enjoy having debates when people keep it classy lol
On a side note - I appreciate the debate without the personal attacks that some on this forum have resorted to. I enjoy having debates when people keep it classy lol
(0)
(0)
SPC David S.
Certainly sir, Personal attacks serve very little purpose other than to make one feel good about being closed minded. The NGO is out of Germany but yes a non-biased Israeli media source talking about Muslims is a rather naive thought. I certainly feel that opportunity for corruption is a more pivotal component than religion. Any environments experiencing the level of unrest that these regions have had the opportunity for negative influences such as black markets and drug trafficking has to be higher. However the question I pose is this. Since in Islam law and religion are one in the same does this attribute inadvertently weaken the religion. Many may not know this but our legal system was derived from the Christian faith. However it is now separate. Does this separation help protect our laws and or religions? As if you corrupt a religion you will still need to corrupt the law.
(0)
(0)
PO1 Steven Kuhn
The Quran plainly states to hunt the non-Muslims down and persecute them until they convert or they pay the slave tax. It calls for the deceit towards and the murder of non-Muslims. Since this is the most recent (earlier verses called for reaching out in peace but later verses to precedence over the earlier verses and the penalty for not accepting Islam and the Prophet are death in many countries. The Quran plainly calls for the conversion of the entire world by force to Islam, thus it is a political engine. Worship is mandatory and thus it is not a personal relationship and worship of a higher power. There is no shades of gray in Islam, only black and white (and red from all of the beheadings)
r/
Steve
r/
Steve
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google