I read the article you referred to and it was enlightening! I agree with all the reasons you chose Islam. I lived in a Muslim country for a couple of years and loved it, as did the other Americans living there. In fact, I revisited it many years later. Perhaps I'll try reading the Quran again. I tried several years ago, but only got half-way through. The first half was, to me, full of violent imagery to which I couldn't relate. I read that the earlier writings are towards the back, so maybe I should start with the last half! By the way, I read that in translations of our New Testament into Arabic, the word for 'struggle' is translated as 'jihad.' Most people assume that a jihad is a violent confrontation, but I know Muslims who say it mostly refers to a personal struggle for self-improvement. "They" say that Muhammed may have had some influence from the Jews and Christians in Arabia. I don't know about the Jews, but the Christians in Arabia would not have been in the Western/Rome tradition, but in the Eastern/Jerusalem tradition. They would have been close to what today are called the Gnostics. I don't know if they would have revealed their belief in karma and reincarnation to Muhammed; they were not supposed to disclose their secret teachings to John Doe!

Thanks for putting us onto this link!

I am a Christian.

Your point about jihad is appropriate. Jihad refers to the struggle, the inner war, to live a godly life.

I just read your add-on, Islam encouraging people to think. In the Gospels, Jesus often says that his message is for those who have the eyes to see, the ears to hear. Obviously...except to modern Christians/literalists...the message was to scratch around beneath the surface! Too bad so many people mess up perfectly good spiritual messaging!

We can all pick things from every book, from every history, to show that people are not perfect.

you might have a point. Instead we are discussing how great the Koran is by picking bits of text from it. Did you like the bit of text I picked?

And I understand that you apparently feel the need to do so. If you do not wish to discuss the article, feel free to start your own.

Good hustle. Better luck next time.

You are absolutely wrong. Again.

His fancy new toy is to throw "whataboutism" at his detractors whenever they say something he doesn't want allowed. Same purpose as all the other pathetic ones in his toybox, like the "choir" or the "11th commandment" - to try and shut down dissent. His frustration with being exposed to other ideas and points of view is palpable.

your response was inevitable.

YEAH BOI!!!!

Congratulations.

I provided?

...but say nothing about why you think the underlying religion is "true".

And I am a Christian.

And your behavior is what you believe good Christianity is all about.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard some religious person say something like, "Do you really want to believe there's nothing after you die?" or "Do you really want to believe there's no eternal justice?" or "Do you really want to believe everything is a matter of chance?"

And I think, what the hell does what I want to believe have to do with anything?

Apparently some religious people are able to decide to believe something just because they want it to be true. Maybe the author is one of those people.

The honesty of the article—that the author chooses to believe because they like it—is almost refreshing.

How the hell do religious people do that?

We play video games, watch movies, read books... we consume media whereby we briefly experience the world as we'd like it to be (you knnow, fun) rather than how it actually is (well, shitty). Religion isn't any different. It's escapism, but without the reality check.