Rick Warren's Islamic Overture

Mr. Parham, I think your conclusion was excellent and well-warranted. We need to build bridges, not show up at a Muslim event and tell them all to become Christian, as it seems some of these bloggers want.

Abhab,

Thee, re Muslims:
"What I imply is simply to be aware of how they think of non-Muslims and what they teach their children about us “infidels”."

Careful with that broad brush you wield, Abhab. You may tar yourself.

I am already well aware of *texts of terror* and their potential. They work on minds ruled by fear and loathing.

Many Christians teach their children that Muslims fall under the judgement of God for not *believing* correctly in Christ Jesus. I could dredge up Christian material as uncompromisingly ferocious as your *Pact of Umar*. And, as Farnaz has pointed out, there are plenty of historic instances of goodly Christian savagery.

We could play such ping-pong till Judgement Day...and found wanting.

Thee:
"I suggest that before you fake this indignation to what I simply had quoted from their organizations, you and your daughters study what type of treatment their ideology is having in store for you as institutionalized in the so-called Umar Pact."

Don't threaten me with your fear and loathing, Abhab. I teach my daughters to respect goodwill, no matter what the source. As for my faux *indignation*, I *suggest* that you examine your own.

Metanoia, Abhab. Or you too will be *Umar*.

Thee:
"Read it and see if you would like to be treated that way and if you do go and live among them in their Muslim majority societies."

Have you / do you live in such a society, Abhab?

If the name of the author is "manufactured", then what does it say about the contents of the book itself?

The site that ABHAB cites is anti-Islam websites.

If ABHAB is interested in getting his questions answered then he should go on ISLAMONLINE website.

or read books on Islam by Joseph Esposito, Karen Armstron and many authentic writers.

abhab:

Whatever the website you cite, SYED KAMRAN MIRZA is a "manufactured" name.

Syed and Mirza can not go together.

There are numerous anti-Islam websites, well organized and well funded whose agenda is to spread misinformation and disinformation. The name SYED KAMRAN MIRZA is a good example of this.

Someone posted here that these people are paid bloggers whose job is to discredit Muslims and Islam and spread misinformation and disinformation about Islam.

"I did not see any of these bloggers' names. And, please, I beg of you, let us not start a witch hunt.
Posted by: Farnaz1Mansouri1 | June 24, 2009 10:36 AM
Report Offensive
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

No, it was not meant as a witch hunt. It meant the message(s) and even the vocabulary of these people were not only similar, but sometimes even identical?

Thank God, CCNL1 is no longer posting here.

Zebra :
Instead of answering the questions I pose you try to discredit me thus;
“Just a few weeks ago someone posted a passage from a book written by author he named: Syed Kamran Mirza. I and others challenged this person that a person's name can not start with Syed and end in Mirza at the same time”

I am the one who quoted Syed Kamran Mirza.
Read about this author at Islam-watch.org or better read his book “Roots of Terrorism in Islam.

”Islam Watch - ""Honor Killing" is Absolutely Islamic" by Syed Kamran Mirza
01 Jul, 2005 (Updated 16 Jan, 2008) ... Syed Kamran Mirza is the author of Roots of Terrorism in Islam. ...
http://www.islam-watch.org/SyedKamranMirza/honor_killing.htm - 101k - Cached.

Zebra4:

All those who have been on these threads for more than a year, do you recognize these:

A. Kafir, Ibrahim Mahfouz, Arif, Arif1, Arif2, ABHAB, Captain ABHAB ???

Are there any more that I don't remember?
It may or may not be relevant.
_________________________________
I did not see any of these bloggers' names. And, please, I beg of you, let us not start a witch hunt.

Zebra4:

I will have to do a lot of backtracking to answer your question about the identity of the mysterious Syed, and I will, but I cannot do it right now. I'll get back to you.

There is enormous fear of Muslim extremism among certain segments of the American Hindu population, and, sadly, this has manifested itself in ways one would wish it had not. The same is very much the case among Christians. A little creative googling will reveal scores of such sites. Ironically, or perhaps not so ironically, one wll not find nearly the same number, not nearly, among Jewish web sites.

In the interim, one signal case I might mention is that of the brilliant scholar, Ayesha Jalal. Because she faught against Columbia's accepting a Hindu Fundamentalist funding source, she was not granted tenure at Columbia University. This was a disgrace, and many of us fought long and hard for Ayesha, but to no avail. Thankfully, she went on to have a glorious career. You can read about her on the web.

The melting pot threatens to boil over, Zebra4, and all of us must work together to see that that doesn't happen. And right now, my country, the US, may have set back the cause of freedom for a nation that it, along with the UK, has oppressed for generations.

I think we need to recognize who the real oppressors are, the ones who get us fighting each other. Some very wise men have recommended asking, "Who benefits?"

Not ordinary Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, et al. Not ordinary people. Who benefits?

bevjims1,
i totally agree with your gist. but, you said,
"Christ pointed out actions, not religion, as the path to heaven, and the actions should be based on christian beliefs"

i wish that were true, but i think "belief" was more important than actions for jesus. bad people can get to heaven if they believe, bit i don't know of any verse that says good people who disbelieve get to heaven.

you said,
"My question is if this is the case why do christians living in a free, majority christian nation feel so threatened?"

you're onto something here. they feel (their) god is threatened by gay marriage and removal of "ten commandment plaques" amounts to persecution. i think it's because they enjoy feeling persecuted - like they're railing against unjust society. it relates to what i mentioned in my previous post about christian scripture being written from the perspective of an oppressed minority.

All those who have been on these threads for more than a year, do you recognize these:

A. Kafir, Ibrahim Mahfouz, Arif, Arif1, Arif2, ABHAB, Captain ABHAB ???

Are there any more that I don't remember?
It may or may not be relevant.

Farnaz and Onofrio:

First, Onofrio: Thank you for your post. Short, but moving. You asked a relevant question for ABHAB.

Franaz: Thank you too for a nice post. I am going to read more about Zionism.

I will admit I have been concerned about Human Rights of the Palestinian people and understood that Zionism was promoted to establish Israel at the expense of the Palestinians. I firmly believe that the life of a Jewish child is as precious as the life of a Palestinian or a Christian or anyone else.

I was not aware of a web site where Hindus come out against others. Can you give us more? Is clearthinking on it?

Bevjims:

I meant to include this quotation in my reply to you:

"I also see Jews and Muslims not holding up their religious tenents."

Bevjims:

I have noticed many people who call themselves Christian not acting very christian
_______________________
Thank you for your reply. I hope you will check back here later on as I would like to respond to you in some depth and in such a way that will not evoke defensiveness.

In the intermim, you say, "I have noticed many people who call themselves Christian not acting very christian. I also see Jews and Muslims not holding up their religious tenents."

This is surely a fair statement when we view the case on at the level of the individual. However, historically, it pans out differently does it not?

I have read student essays expressing horror at how the "christians" (during the historical period in question, the word was not upper case), in this case, the "Pilgrims" could behave in such an "unChristian manner." Generally, the manner in question, concerned William Bradford's Biblical rejoicing whilst watching the Pequot Indians burn to death. This incineration was principally engineered by John Winthrop, leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, he who prophesied, "and we shall be as a City on a Hill...."

The unChristian doings of the Christians dates back in the "New World" to Columbus, in the world to Constantine.

At the level of macro-history, we either end up saying that the Christians never behaved as Christians, or that something is amiss in Christianity....

In other words, there is some begging of the question, some beggaring of the question.

More to come. In the meantime, I look forward to your reply.

Farnaz

i had a friend who offered this improvement(?):

"do unto others as THEY would have done to THEM."

seems "nicer" because the frame of reference is shifted outside one's self. "do unto others as you would have done to you" is more self-centered.

the fortunate thing about christian scripture is that it was written by a minority group. seems to me like jewish* and islamic scripture were written from the perspective of those in power seeking to consolidate/retain power - jewish priest/kings and general muhammad's followers. also jewish/islamic scripture is interested in "earthly" kingdoms (as well as heavenly ones).

i'm not aware of any new testament scripture that boasts anything like "we destroyed all idolatrous temples". sure there's that do not "yoke yourself" with unbelievers, but that's nothing like "slay idolators".

you could say i'm misinterpreting or taking "slay idolators" out of context but the fact is it's there for muslims to misinterpret too.

i suppose, probably since i don't know of any religion i think is true, i judge them all by their "worst parts". all the good parts of all religions will never do me any harm, it's the bad parts i worry about.

*farnaz, this may/may not be true for jewish scripture not in the old testament. i've never read that stuff. is it dramatically different from the o.t.?

Farnaz1Mansouri1 wrote: "Speaking as a Jew, I confess I have often questioned how Chrisitans "treat non-Christians." I still do."

Its not the actions, its the lesson. I have noticed many people who call themselves Christian not acting very christian. I also see Jews and Muslims not holding up their religious tenents. What Lhale3 was refering to is Christ's lessons, that christians don't respond in kind, they turn the other cheek, they should be pacificists. Now when you look at the most vocal Christians today they are hardly pacificists, backing indefinite detention, preemptive war, and basing it all on what others would do to us. Christ was constantly teaching against this. Religious men walked by the injured man on the road until a good samaritan, a non-religious man, stopped to help. Christ pointed out actions, not religion, as the path to heaven, and the actions should be based on christian beliefs, not a mirror of those who would do us harm. But in all religions the beliefs tend to go out the window once they feel threatened. My question is if this is the case why do christians living in a free, majority christian nation feel so threatened? Because a guy in a cave is sending threatening videos? I grew up with the Soviets threatening us daily with thousands of nukes! What wimps these scared christians are who let their fear overcome their beliefs.

Thomas Baum,

Good morning! I hope you are well!

Farnaz

Abhab,

Can you tell us truthfully about your own religio-ethnic background, at some point? That would be interesting for us to learn about.

Farnaz

Lhale3 writes:

"The question for us Christians is not how non-Christians treat us, but rather how we treat non-Christians"

Speaking as a Jew, I confess I have often questioned how Chrisitans "treat non-Christians." I still do.

Zebra4:
A DISINFORMATION AND MISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN does not add to the credibility of any one.
----------------
This is quite true. More to the point, I did a significant amount of research since you first posted on this, discovered a couple of web sites run by Hindus whose goals are questionable.

May I suggest that you take these words seriously yourself? Have you not frequently thrown with the carelessness of the wind the word "Zionist" as if, in itself, it communicates whatever you wish it to?

The word has precise meanings. The number of Zionism(s) extant could fill a library, so much has been written of it. Abusing it as you do, and you are not alone, does not pave the way for rational discussion.

It is being used like "Islamics." It is being used offensively. Bear that in mind. Please do the relevant research, and either use the word properly, or do not use it at all. Otherwise, you come off like the proverbial kettle and lose credibility.

Reality and honesty are at a premium right now. In my native country the US/UK has set up what could be a disaster, what could be a triumph for those desperately seeking freedom from repression. See my many postings on Susan Jacoby's thread.

This is surely the time when we must all hang together or be prepared to hang separately. AND that means ALL of US: You, me, Onofrio, Athena, Thomas Baum, Ahbab, ALL OF US.

Just a few weeks ago someone posted a passage from a book written by author he named: Syed Kamran Mirza.

I and others challenged this person that a person's name can not start with Syed and end in Mirza at the same time.

It was obvious that this person is "manufacturing" things about Muslims and Islam to meet his agenda.

It was also pointed out that this person along with others create web site(s), write on them and then quote from those websites in support of their agenda.

Beware!

Any one who singles out all people of any group as a monolithic group is without credibility.

A DISINFORMATION AND MISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN does not add to the credibility of any one.

Abab, you still don't get it. The question for us Christians is not how non-Christians treat us, but rather how we treat non-Christians. Jesus specifically endorsed the idea that we are to treat others AS WE WOULD HAVE THEM TREAT US, not as they treat us. The Umar Pact is just not relevant if your goal is a the standard of the gospel is your goal.

BTW, you may want to consider a line in the web-site you provide concerning the fairness of the Pact: "This compares well with the treatment meted out to non-Christians in Christian Europe."

Onofrio addresses me thus:
“What are you implying that we non-Muslims should do about those jihad-plotting neighbours?”

What I imply is simply to be aware of how they think of non-Muslims and what they teach their children about us “infidels”. I suggest that before you fake this indignation to what I simply had quoted from their organizations, you and your daughters study what type of treatment their ideology is having in store for you as institutionalized in the so-called Umar Pact. Read it and see if you would like to be treated that way and if you do go and live among them in their Muslim majority societies.
http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-kills-pact-of-umar.htm

"*Athena pops some popcorn and watches the show."

Mind your aegis as you munch, O Pallas! Medusa's glare may cease to petrify if her serpent locks are full of crumbs...

Abhab,

What are you implying that we non-Muslims should do about those jihad-plotting neighbours?

Force them to convert? Exile them? Imprison them? Draw first blood? Nongod knows these have all been tried before, on many peoples.

So Abhab, spit it out. What do you want to do to Muslims, before they do it to you?

As I walk my two daughters home from school, I regularly see a Muslim mother pick up her three sons by car. They attend the same school as my daughters. The woman's little five-year-old son calls out to my little five-year-old daughter, and waves cheerfully from the car window. My daughter waves back, and tells me with a smile that Ahmed is always laughing, joking...

Perhaps the parents should learn from the children. The five-year-olds have trumped us fearful *realists*. I'm not pretending there aren't great fissures between the Muslim and Christian worlds. But you and others here seem intent on widening them.

We may all fall in.

If we wake up in *hell*, it will be one of our own making (thank you, Thomas Baum).

Before this Baptist blogger proceed to pontificate to us about how Jesus- like we should be in treating our Muslim neighbors, let him first study what the Muslim neighbors are planning for the rest of us.

Below is a part of a memorandum cited below and circulated by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the parent of most, if not all, the Muslim organizations in the USA.

“The process of settlement [of Islam in the United States] is a "Civilization-Jihadist" process with all the word means. The Ikhwan (Muslims) must understand that all their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and "sabotaging" their miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim's destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who choose to slack.”

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/columnists/rdreher/stories/DN-dreher_09edi.ART.State.Edition1.4235f88.html

Thomas Baum is a Catholic. Perhaps, some of you consider yourselves to be his superior, but this atheist wonders. You see, this Jewish atheist has never detected the slightest amount of bigotry in Thomas Baum; too bad, she can't say the same for others posting on this thread.

Obviously the old adage is coming true - the mountain is going to Mohammed.

*Athena pops some popcorn and watches the show.

ThomasBaum:

Your life and thought revolve around a few phrases which are empty rhetoric. These are:

"God is Love and God cares for ALL of His Creation, God became One of us to let us know and invite us to become active participants in His Plan."

"God became part of His Creation and being Omnipotent does not mean being manipulative, God's Plan is God's Plan and one day you will know and be appreciative that God has and has had His Plan since before Creation."

"we are responsible for how we use our gift of "free will". Have you ever thought about "Mercy"? "Forgiveness"? "Love" beyond our comprehension?"

"we are responsible for how we use our gift of "free will" and we will all go thru "judgement" and we will have no one but ourself to blame for what we have done."

"God did not create "hell", if someone were to die and wake up in "hell", so to speak, they will come to the realization that they built it themself."

"Jesus won the keys to both "hell" and "spiritual death", physical death is just part of life.(Was there a raffle in which Jesus won these things?)

"God becoming One of us is not a "license to sin", it is part of God's Plan for ALL to be in His Kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth."

Catch phrases of ThomasBaum:

"God is love."

"God's plan"

"God became part of Creation" (Isn't He the Creator?)

"Gift of free will"

"We will all go through judgement" (Why judgement when Jesus already took care of our sins?)

"So to speak"

"spiritual death"

"God's kingdom"

Note: "God became part of us" (He did not create us?)

Can some psychiatrist here shed light on this rhetoric?

Seeking common good with one's neighbor is the right thing to do -- unless it involves going against one's beliefs. Which common good, exactly, will Warren seek with the Islamist ISNA? Surely, this common good needs to be defined. Otherwise, we are left with sugary words which create the impression of a common good when, in fact, there is none. What common good can Christians have with Moslems who consider that all non-Moslems are less than human, who consider that all non-Moslems are open enemies to Moslems, who believe that Moslems should be kind to one another but harsh toward non-Moslems, who consider it Allah;s commandment to make war on non-Moslems until Islam reigns supreme in the world, and who consider all Christians to be, not only lost for eternity, but also to the most monstrous of blasphemers right here on Earth?

jitl wrote: "savage NOT a race.. but a person or persons who live a life of adutery,lie,...and so on! religion and christian are oppsites... the people you call christian were relgious people."

So that would make many professed Christians to be savages, even today. Just how is one to know? Rely on the pavoratzi to catch them in a lie or adulterous situation? Who today are the christians and who today are the savages?

hey BEVJIMS1:
savage NOT a race.. but a person or persons who live a life of adutery,lie,...and so on! religion and christian are oppsites... the people you call christian were relgious people.

Ha! Warren's a Muslim now. I thought you had to be a black or a democrat. In the unlikely event Warren ever makes an overture to gays, I'm sure these "Love of Jesus" Christians would call him all their hateful names for gays, too.

In his grave Abraham must be shouting: Oh, people! Why has it taken you so long!

ThomasBaum wrote: "No need to worry, one day you and the rest of humanity will know that God is Real and that God is a Being of Pure Love and Is a Trinity."

Been waiting for that day for 2000 years. But any day now, right? By the way, where is the Trinity mentioned in the bible and how can you have a trinity and a monotheistic God? Seems redundant.

ThomasBaum wrote: "God is God of ALL Creation and is a searcher of hearts and minds, not of religious affiliations or lack thereof, it seems as if this will come as a shock to some."

Maybe so, but why did this God of ALL Creation order the Hebrews to kill every man woman and child in some cities? Killed all, including the unborn, un Sodom/Ghamorrah? Why did he destroy the earth in the flood and how do you explain how Australia got populated with animals from the ark after the flood?

I don't have a problem with the moral lessons gleened from the bible, but I do have a problem when people telling me that they are more then lessons, that they are orders from an omnipotent being who will punish me with eternal hellfire if I don't do as the bible orders me to, in their interpretation of it of course.

ThomasBaum wrote: "Take care, be ready."

In a Dante Alighieri sense or a George Tiller sense?

jitl wrote: "atheism is BS! atheism was invented by SAVAGES to live like savages."

You mean "savages" like the American Indians who helped the first settlers to survive by providing food and showing them how to grow it in the new world? The same Indians the Christians then began slaughtering over land rights? Or maybe you mean the savages in Africa who the Christians enslaved and then bred? Or the African savages who were forced to work in the mines?

And if you think Christians are such civilized people why is it that Christians are a higher percentage of the jailed population than the regular population? Why do Christians kill people like Dr. Tiller? Why do Christians sign up in droves for military service? Why is it that in "God's country" the slogan is "God, Gun And Country"? Where does it say to carry a gun in the bible?

Before you go calling people "savages" you really ought to think about what makes a person a savage, then examine which people act like savages.

blah,blah, blah.

Arguing about the one true god is the best way to waste a day...a week...a year...a lifetime. If you are a follower of Christ then live your life according to his teachings. If you are a follower of Mohammad then live your life according to his teachings. If you do, you will find out quickly how easy it is to love your neighbor.

To Ingrid Schleuter: It must be so nice to KNOW that your God is the only true one. I have no problem with religion as a belief system. But those who insist that their beliefs are knowledge are, to put it politely, deluded. To put it not so politely, they're ignorant. This holds true for all religions. I believe in a higher power but I insist that the only way to KNOW that power is to live every second of the life you've been granted. Religion should be a comfort for devout individuals in difficult times. The way you practice Ms. Schleuter, you turn religion into one of the difficulties of life. I shudder to consider the values that your KNOWLEDGE have led you to live your life by. You add nothing.

Thomas Paul Moses Baum,

You wrote:

"Ask God when you meet Him."

I've read that you have already met god; maybe you can set up an appointment so that "hsnkhwj" can also meet god and be saved.

Don't worry, be happy.

Insincerely, Peregrine Bartleby Rumpelstiltskin Solus

adrienne najjar:
atheism is BS! atheism was invented by SAVAGES to live like savages.

colinnicholas

You wrote, "Arguing my god is better than your god is so medieval. As far as we know ALL gods are imaginary. Try proving that they're not."

No need to worry, one day you and the rest of humanity will know that God is Real and that God is a Being of Pure Love and Is a Trinity.

God is God of ALL Creation and is a searcher of hearts and minds, not of religious affiliations or lack thereof, it seems as if this will come as a shock to some.

Take care, be ready.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

adrienne_najjar

You wrote, "Religion is BS. Realize that, and your life becomes instantly better. Religion was invented by ignorant savages to explain the inexplicable. Admit that the inexplicable is as such, and move on, marveling at the wonder of it all without inferring irrational and unsubstantiated drivel like the virgin birth and other nonsense."

This is your opinion and it is wrong.

Take care, be ready.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

hsnkhwj

You wrote, "There must have been a trillion people since Jesus. How could have Jesus died for the sins of all of them?"

Ask God when you meet Him.

You then wrote, "God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Why did He have to be born and then die for our sins?"

God is Love and God cares for ALL of His Creation, God became One of us to let us know and invite us to become active participants in His Plan.

You then wrote, "Since He (G-d) is omnipotent, He did not have to die. Only living things die. He could order things to happen. That is what omnipotent means."

God became part of His Creation and being Omnipotent does not mean being manipulative, God's Plan is God's Plan and one day you will know and be appreciative that God has and has had His Plan since before Creation.

You then wrote, "If Jesus died for the sins of trillions of people, where is the concept of responsibility?"

As I have written many times, we are responsible for how we use our gift of "free will". Have you ever thought about "Mercy"? "Forgiveness"? "Love" beyond our comprehension?

You then wrote, "If I commit a sin, then I am the only one responsible for it."

As I have said, we are responsible for how we use our gift of "free will" and we will all go thru "judgement" and we will have no one but ourself to blame for what we have done.

Then you wrote, " Why did (G-d) create heaven and hell, then?"

As I have said many times, God did not create "hell", if someone were to die and wake up in "hell", so to speak, they will come to the realization that they built it themself.

Jesus won the keys to both "hell" and "spiritual death", physical death is just part of life.

You then wrote, "Do I have a license to commit that or any other sin again, since Jesus already died for my sins?"

God becoming One of us is not a "license to sin", it is part of God's Plan for ALL to be in His Kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth.

Take care, be ready.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

Convert or pay tribute are the terms you are offered by Islam . The outreachers are already paying a form of tribute by continuously apologizing for being American .

Your-God-Our-God is what gets in the way of people dealing with each other as people on an equal level. Christ was right, Love thy Neighbor. He did not say Love Thy Neighbor Who Believes In The One True God. Religion is the paint that results in painted birds, a concept where one paints others to distinguish themselves from the others, or paints themselves to exclude themselves from others. But anyone can be religious without painting it all over themselves.

Consider the good samaritan. He was no christian, he was no jew. We don't really know what he was, yet Christ pointed him out as an example when others who we would consider religious passed the injured man by. Religion, though it may help people to be good, does not itself define being good through membership. Being good is determined by your acts. If Muslims are to be considered different and our enemies then fine, but Christ said to love your enemies. Those who consider themselves to be religious and paint themselves in religion and point hatefully at others are doing exactly the opposite of what Christ asked of them. Evangelicals who have followed misguided pastors in this direction should repent and reread Christ's words, or stop calling themselves followers of Christ.

Anyone who follows Rick Warren must be either ignorant, uneducated, or were deprived of oxygen as children.

Religion is BS. Realize that, and your life becomes instantly better. Religion was invented by ignorant savages to explain the inexplicable. Admit that the inexplicable is as such, and move on, marveling at the wonder of it all without inferring irrational and unsubstantiated drivel like the virgin birth and other nonsense.

Arguing my god is better than your god is so medieval. As far as we know ALL gods are imaginary. Try proving that they're not.

There must have been a trillion people since Jesus. How could have Jesus died for the sins of all of them?

God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Why did He have to be born and then die for our sins?

Since He (G-d) is omnipotent, He did not have to die. Only living things die. He could order things to happen. That is what omnipotent means.

If Jesus died for the sins of trillions of people, where is the concept of responsibility? If I commit a sin, then I am the only one responsible for it. Why did (G-d) create heaven and hell, then?

Do I have a license to commit that or any other sin again, since Jesus already died for my sins?

Interfaith dialogue is not about differences in faith. It is about developing an understanding and tolerance.

Throughout history, the matter of being “right” had been of great concern unique to the Christian religious thought. There was nothing more important than affirming the proper belief about Jesus and God. The many groups who existed in early Christianity died out not because of lack of theological appeal but because of the many weapons used against them. Annihilating heretics and heresies was of great importance to the proto-orthodox Christians who wanted uniform belief system.

When it comes to other religious beliefs Christianity does not fare any better. There is no other way to be right with God “if the one and true God had given one way of salvation, and that the only way to be right with God was through this way he had provided-the death and resurrection of the god man Jesus. This exclusivity breads intolerance toward religious diversity. Since there is only one way of salvation, all other religions by default are in error.”

To these Christians, Jesus and his teaching about love and respect is not of great importance. What matters first and foremost is what one believes.

I'm sure there is some reason why we must be forever harangued with evangelical opining. Just wish someone would explain the motive for this continual verbal spillage.