04-13-2010, 06:11 PM
Quote:if you've been around Christianity for so long, you should know that the proper way to confront personal issues with another individual is to contact them privately first, and if no response is made, then to take other believers with you. if you haven't done that in this case, then you really should. i don't know what exactly you expect out of Paul or why, but that should be the way you handle this personal situation.
judging a man's eternal destiny based on your sole interaction with him over the web is a hugely mistaken route, in my opinion. i've disagreed heatedly with individuals before over the web, but who are we to judge another's acceptance into Paradise based on our sole interaction over the web? you don't know the factors that bear on each individual with whom you interact. you can disagree until you're blue in the face, but judging one's salvation based on your sole interaction is not mature, and, i would venture to surmise, a gutsy action before the Holy One.
First, it is well known that Christians believe that they are eternally "saved" because of their faith. In effect, the priest who dedicated his life to unrelenting service, the Christian who consumes the wealth of orphans and widows, and the atheist who uttered a deathbed confession in midst his anxious family will all enter the same gate to an abode of bliss upon death, since they are all sprinkled with the "blood of the lamb."
I was referring to this strange concept in regards to Paul and his actions. I, as a Muslim, showed him the utmost brotherly love and respect by performing the act of communion with him at a church service while he was in LA. I, as a Muslim, would have defended him and his church onto death. So to turn his back on me while I was in need constitutes betrayal.
Perhaps he can fashion rings for his dogs with the pieces of silver in his satchel.
Secondly, although I am well-acquainted with Christianity, are you seriously disappointed that I did not follow Christian protocol in regards to this issue? As I do not expect you to wash your feet and hands before church service and actually place your face in the dust, while praying, before the Lord of all worlds, please respect my difference as well.
Thirdly, and this is to Rafa, if yours is the "One True Faith," then why has there been so much dissent amongst Christians in regards to basic issues, ranging from the great to small, such as the nature of Jesus or what the canon of acceptable books should be or if the Holy Spirit is masculine or feminine or if faith is more important than works? As a reference point, consider Christianity in the second and third centuries. Do you remember the Ebionites? Do you remember the Christians who believed that Jesus was only a man? Can you hear a single whisper of the Christians who professed that Christ was only a man temporarily inhabited by God or that there were two Gods or that God did not create the word or that Jesus never died? These men, each with a legitimate interpretation of an infant scripture, were eliminated when "the majority" decided that they were heretics. Ironically, this "majority" itself splintered into many christological sects.
But of course, yours is the "One True Faith."
Furthermore, if either you or Paul want to debate Christianity and/or Islam with me, throw the first staff. But be warned, as Peshitta primacy is your territory, this is one of mine. I'm so confident that you'll drown in such a discussion that I'll debate you at your own church in front of the Patriarch himself on national television. In such a discussion, textual evidence will not save you.
Oh and be sure not to let the "countless Muslims," whom you've converted, see our exchange. They might get an itch to wash their hands and feet again.