but.. are they Christian?

[Albion]

Well there really aren't any skeletons in our closest anymore. In earlier times there were Christian massages of Muslims, Jews, and fellow Christians, under the auspices of royal conquest or religious crusade or ecclesiastical inquisition. But nowadays there are almost no instances of any serious or systematic Christian violence and almost all instances of earlier Christian violence are skeletons that have long since been brought out of the closest.

Alas, this is a big part of the problem. We have put all that behind us while the ISIS types think of everything in 10th century terms--the definition of their own faith and also the notion they have that the Crusades are still underway.

 

[Mama Kidogo]

Alas, this is a big part of the problem. We have put all that behind us while the ISIS types think of everything in 10th century terms--the definition of their own faith and also the notion they have that the Crusades are still underway.

Good point. Seems like a simple subscription to a newspaper would cure that. But they are most likely taboo.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

I recall Obama's saying in the latest news thing about IS/ISIS/ISIL that they were not really muslims. Everytime something on the news has anything on Obama.. I just have to read the comment sections on the article,if any.

I saw comments along the lines of, "Well it doesn't matter what you say they are. They think they're muslim."


What about our extreme branches of Christianity in the vein of ISIS? Are they Christian? They're doing very unchristian things, just like ISIS is doing very un-islamic things.

Please, I request we do not turn this thread into a "well muslims are doing things aligned with their religion!" I wish to discuss the skeletons in our closet. I am just using Islam as an example for comparison as they are making the headlines right now.

Just came across this recently and it surprised me seeing how many were not aware of it:

A Muslim American man carrying a duffel bag that holds six homemade explosives, a machete, and poison spray travels to a major U.S. airport. The man enters the airport, approaches the TSA security checkpoint, and then sprays two TSA officers with the poison. He then grabs his machete and chases another TSA officer with it.

This Muslim man is then shot and killed by the police. After the incident, a search of the attacker’s car by the police reveals it contained acetylene and oxygen tanks, two substances that, when mixed together, will yield a powerful explosive.

If this scenario occurred, there’s zero doubt that this would be called a terrorist attack. Zero. It would make headlines across the country and world, and we would see wall-to-wall cable news coverage for days. And, of course, certain right-wing media outlets, many conservative politicians, and Bill Maher would use this event as another excuse to stoke the flames of hate toward Muslims.

Well, last Friday night, this exact event took place at the New Orleans airport—that is, except for one factual difference: The attacker was not Muslim. Consequently, you might be reading about this brazen assault for the first time here, although this incident did receive a smattering of media coverage over the weekend.

The man who commited this attack was Richard White, a 63-year-old former Army serviceman who has long been retired and living on Social Security and disability checks. He was reportedly a devout Jehovah’s Witness.​

 

[Eph4:26]

Just came across this recently and it surprised me seeing how many were not aware of it: . . .

Mental illness resulting in suicidal behavior isn't national news.

With respects to the lunatics alledged religious affiliation, it doesn't fit the state control medias narrative as to who exactly the bad guys are suppose to be. Hence, it is a non story.

 

[Rick Otto]

You don't have to be Muslim to hate the TSA.

 

[JohnRabbit]

I guess if you want to categorize who is Christian and who is not, you need to clearly define "Christian".

"You will know them by their fruits"

this is exactly correct!

Christians don't kill, steal and destroy, that's what the enemy does. Remember that the Lord warned us about sheep in wolves clothing. These people who kill, steal, and destroy are not Christian extremists, they are wolves.

this is most definitely true!

this however doesn't mean that the "christian" will be perfect, but his desire is to obey God and live by example set by the Christ! the christian won't reach perfection until the Christ returns. (see 1jn 2:29)

I guess it depends on how one defines "christian"; if it is purely a matter of believing and confessing certain doctrines then "yes" is likely the right answer and if it is a matter of both belief and way of life then "no" is likely the right answer.

and thankfully we don't have to rely on anyone's definition but God's!

Romans 8:9(NKJV)
9But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

this is the bible's definition of a christian. if you don't have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, then you are not a christian!


"period". end of story!


you will know them by their fruits as has already been mentioned by abysmul and expressly stated in the scripture!

and paul talks about the fruit of the spirit:

Galatians 5:22-23(NKJV)
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.


so i guess anyone CAN call themselves "christian"...

 

[Dave-W]

ISIS is composed of Muslims. But that doesn't make what they are doing representative of the global Muslim community. In the same vein that those groups that bomb abortion clinics and murder doctors are made up of Christians, but what they are doing is not representative of the global Christian community.

But that is not really the question. The question of whether a group is "true" or not is how well it lines up with its holy scripts.

Do clinic bombers line up with New Testament teacings? No.
Do the liberal churches that embrace abortion and gay marriage? Again, no.

Do the peacefull muslims that are the majority of islam, worldwide conform to the koran? No.
Do the militants of Al Keida or Isis or Hamas or Hezbola? Yes. What they do is EXACTLY called for in the koran.

The fact that the koran calls for violent jihad is why many are so easily radicalized.

 

[Dave-W]

Mental illness resulting in suicidal behavior isn't national news.

Tell that to the media covering the suicide that crashed a plane into the French Alps ......

 

[SpyderByte]

Nm

 

[SpyderByte]

Once again the voice of reason. I see what you're saying.

We also can't seem to reign in our fanatics either. What is a christian solution for dealing with our fanatics? Rebuking them? Some sort of excommunication of them wouldn't do anything I would imagine, and they would just do what my argument fallacy is doing : claim that the excommunicators aren't really christian themselves.

You say we can't "reign in" our fanatics, then use a 40 year old example... You may also note, that Christians immediately denounce evil things done in the name of Christianity. This is very slow, if ever, in happening in Islam. Know why? Because in Islam, if you call someone un-muslim, who is actually muslim, you go to hell...

 

[ChristsSoldier115]

Who the heck.. gxg![ not lloj for once]

Why do people immediately have to compare Christianity to Islam whenever this discussion is brought up? Why deflect the problem? it doesn't matter how minor it is now, it still persists.

 

[MoreCoffee]

I recall Obama's saying in the latest news thing about IS/ISIS/ISIL that they were not really muslims. Everytime something on the news has anything on Obama.. I just have to read the comment sections on the article,if any.

I saw comments along the lines of, "Well it doesn't matter what you say they are. They think they're muslim."


What about our extreme branches of Christianity in the vein of ISIS? Are they Christian? They're doing very unchristian things, just like ISIS is doing very un-islamic things.

Please, I request we do not turn this thread into a "well muslims are doing things aligned with their religion!" I wish to discuss the skeletons in our closet. I am just using Islam as an example for comparison as they are making the headlines right now.

Just came across this recently and it surprised me seeing how many were not aware of it:

A Muslim American man carrying a duffel bag that holds six homemade explosives, a machete, and poison spray travels to a major U.S. airport. The man enters the airport, approaches the TSA security checkpoint, and then sprays two TSA officers with the poison. He then grabs his machete and chases another TSA officer with it.

This Muslim man is then shot and killed by the police. After the incident, a search of the attacker’s car by the police reveals it contained acetylene and oxygen tanks, two substances that, when mixed together, will yield a powerful explosive.

If this scenario occurred, there’s zero doubt that this would be called a terrorist attack. Zero. It would make headlines across the country and world, and we would see wall-to-wall cable news coverage for days. And, of course, certain right-wing media outlets, many conservative politicians, and Bill Maher would use this event as another excuse to stoke the flames of hate toward Muslims.

Well, last Friday night, this exact event took place at the New Orleans airport—that is, except for one factual difference: The attacker was not Muslim. Consequently, you might be reading about this brazen assault for the first time here, although this incident did receive a smattering of media coverage over the weekend.

The man who commited this attack was Richard White, a 63-year-old former Army serviceman who has long been retired and living on Social Security and disability checks. He was reportedly a devout Jehovah’s Witness.​

Who the heck.. gxg![ not lloj for once]

Why do people immediately have to compare Christianity to Islam whenever this discussion is brought up? Why deflect the problem? it doesn't matter how minor it is now, it still persists.

Brother ChristsSoldier115, my friend, it looks like the story told by brother Gxg (G²) is about one of Jehovah's witnesses who lost the plot and did something that most folks associate with terrorism and that seems to fit the original post's theme very well indeed. But perhaps I am misunderstood the original post ...