Quote Originally Posted by Tacitus View Post
Like you, it gets my hackles up when I hear Christians lamenting all the violence in Islam. Have they ever read Joshua? Methinks not. If that is an accurate portrayal of the will and actions of God, then He is a God to be feared and dreaded, not loved. Sort of like a kidnapper pointing a gun at your head telling you that if you don't tell him you love him, then he'll kill you. Sure, you'll tell him you love him (anything to get him to put the gun away), but you won't really mean it down deep inside. And you will be awfully uneasy about His presence.
Tacitus,

If an alien were to land from another planet and read only the book of Job, would they have a comprehensive understanding of Christian theology? I don't think they would. If the same alien expanded his knowledge by reading the book of Job and excerpts from every example you provided in your previous post, would they then have a comprehensive understanding of Christian theology? Even with the added information from your excerpts, I submit they still would not have a comprehensive understanding of Christianity. The point I am making is that religions should be criticized and judged in total, which is why I was asking Sarajevo for some insight. At no point did I insinuate that the history of Christianity is devoid of any evils. I was comparing one of its many teachings, Christ's command to love one's enemy, with any similar texts in Islam. In the responses I have read so far, I have yet to find, though I believe it exists, one example of this kind of dictate emanating from Islam. I have only seen attacks on inquisitors, crusaders, and Christianity in general, none of which have anything to do with my original inquiry. Sarajevo did offer examples of the kind actions of individual Muslims, but I am looking for doctrinal teachings that can be used in an IO campaign against radical salafists, for they use theology to justify much of their violent actions. It is their appeal to theology that gives them strength and resilience in the ideological arena. They justify their acts in the same way that Eric Rudolph used Christianity to justify his violent actions. However, because I am from a Christian background, I better understand, though I do not agree with, Rudolph's actions. Anyway, I just wanted to clarify those couple of points.

Also, in reference to your comments on Christianity and suffering, there are several people a lot smarter than you and I who have lucid and logical explanations for this apparent contradiction. C.S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain is a good start. I mention this knowing that you probably have already this book.