my church, the one i go to when i need spiritual guidance, encourages me to learn about other religions, because the pastor feels that many other religions have important messages to deliver. Are Buddhists really that different from Christians? they both believe in peace on earth and loving your fellow man, the only real difference is that Buddhist refer to the greatest power being the universe and the Christians call that same power God. or in your case Jehovah. Of course Buddhists also believe in heaven and hell, although they say that people are reborn if they are found lacking, to give them another chance. I could never be Buddhist myself, because i love eating meat, but i also could not be a Christian, because i object to calling someone evil simply because they don’t believe in the same thing as you. And its not really the religion i dislike, its the people who use that religion as an excuse for violence.
People say that the Koran tells muslims to kill all who are not muslim, but it doesn’t, only a certain kind of Koran, the one used by the extremist, say that. The original words of Mohammad are “Pity the infidel for he knows not his crime, do not slay him, but instead bath his feet in warm water and help him to see the light of Allah”
For Muslims touching another person feet is very touchy indeed, as feet are seen as dirty. towash another persons feet is the ultimate sign of respect or mercy. It is only done for the ill and for lost travelers who have suffered greatly from the road they travel.
When i was homeless for a few months the catholic run homeless shelter turned me out because i was filthy and acting possessed. (i was in the midst of psychosis, because homeless jobless people cant afford meds) I was trying to sleep by the dryer vents of a laundromat, when a man in tradition hijab walked over to me, helped me to my feet and took me. I was terrified he was a terrorist because i was crazy at the time, he brought me to his mosque and asked the imam to let me stay in the temple. They helped me bath and got me clean clothes. For the next three months i was treated like i was one of them, and while i did not convert, i learned much of their culture and religion.
I have been both treated well and badly by people of all kinds of different faiths. Imam Abdiah (not sure on spelling but that’s how it sounded) was a very kind man. and i must say those robes were incredibly comfortable.
My point is, every religion has a few in it who are not worth the dirt they stand on, those who truly believe must not let the actions and words of others dictate how they worship. Be it members of their own community or people who are outside of it.
And just so you know, the J.W s who visit my home once a week know about my time at the Mosque, and tell me i was very lucky. I have also gone with the Witnesses to a camp thing a few months back, and i learned some interesting things then. There was only person i didn’t like at the whole place, he was an elder, and he was kind of jerk, he kept threatening to kick people out for asking questions about other religions. One kid asked him WHY muslims were bad, the elder told him to be quiet or he would find his whole family ‘out of the circle’. Then launched into a twenty minute rant about how muslims don’t believe in Jesus. I may have made that man my enemy when i pointed out that Muslims DO believe in Jesus, but they believe he was simply a prophet, not a messiah.
Their belief in a messiah is a little hard to put to words and is actually open to interpretation. Some say no human woman could carry God’s Son, the sheer power of it would kill her. Others say God would not defile himself by places his essence in a sinful human.