IMO, most "believers" have very little theological knowledge about their religion.
Whatever instruction they may have received probably came in childhood, and is largely forgotten as adults. Only a small percentage have the intellectual curiosity to think deeply about their belief system, or to study it continually. A very large percentage belong to a particular faith for no better than reason than that they were "raised that way."
Thus, the kind of discussion that goes on here by very knowledgeable people, comparing and evaluating the tenets of different religions, probably has very little relevance to the great majority of religious believers. I'm not saying that intellectual discussion isn't useful, only that it doesn't explain why most people believe what they do or act as they do.
Therefore, I think that the measure of any religion is not so much the validity of its underlying tenets, but more the effect that a religion has on the behavior of its adherents. In that sense, I think it is clear that in the modern world Christianity produces populations that exhibit qualities such as justice, mercy, forgiveness, peacefulness, and charity, while predominantly Islamic societies exemplify qualities such as hatred, vengeance, oppression, and violence.
I'm drawing this broad-brush conclusion not on the basis of prejudice, because I personally do not care what people believe in. I'm drawing it simply on the basis of common-sense observation. Irrespective of theological foundations, I think that Christianity has been shown to bring out the best in people, while Islam has demonstrated that it brings out the worst. It seems to me that in evaluating religions, the results are far more important than the causes.
I'm just saying what I see, and I'm sorry it if causes any offense.
JC |
