this board sux

[hskwarrior]

it all just makes me hate religion altogether. too many grey area's.

[EarthDragon]

THE best thing i have ever heard someone say was Swami Muktenanda, when asked which religion is right as far as God words to be followed... his response was, religion is simply the ignorance of man.................. spirituality is the way of God

[Drake]

For most of the history of Islam, Jews and non-Catholic Christians were actually BETTER OFF in the Islamic world than those living in Europe under intolerant Catholic rule

What is going on in Somalia and Afghanistan (and Yemen) has nothing to do with Islam. This is Galula/COIN 101. Think about this... take out the religion, and do you see a couple of other, perhaps more relevant causes for terrorism to take root there? Say, a large, disproportionate number of young males? Say, a single, or even no single export? High levels of poverty? Maybe an ineffective central government?

Yet everyone blames the religion. The Inquisition was a land grab, not a religious movement. The Crusades were a way to distract Europe to avoid its implosion. Holy War? You believe that, and I have a bridge to sell you.

[Drake]

THE best thing i have ever heard someone say was Swami Muktenanda, when asked which religion is right as far as God words to be followed... his response was, religion is simply the ignorance of man.................. spirituality is the way of God

That's stupid. He indirectly becomes that which he berates. Dumb.

[lkfmdc]

I agreed with you, did you not understand that?

[Drake]

I agreed with you, did you not understand that?

I did understand. I was continuing with my train of thought.

[Syn7]

The Crusades were a way to distract Europe to avoid its implosion. Holy War? You believe that, and I have a bridge to sell you.

word... give the knights a common enemy and all the glory they could stomach... kept em from fueding and strutting like peacokcs at home... but it also gave hugh de peyens and his lil crew a great cover story to dig dig dig...........

[Scott R. Brown]

For most of the history of Islam, Jews and non-Catholic Christians were actually BETTER OFF in the Islamic world than those living in Europe under intolerant Catholic rule

The Inquisition was a land grab, not a religious movement. The Crusades were a way to distract Europe to avoid its implosion. Holy War? You believe that, and I have a bridge to sell you.

The Spanish Inquisition was different than the Inquisition in greater Europe. When Ferdinand and Isabella finally kicked the Muslim rulers out of Spain they insisted that all remaining Muslims and Jews either convert or give up all their possessions and leave with nothing.

After some time there was a nutty, and as I recall, under-educated Bishop who was jealous of the Jews that converted, so he encouraged investigating the new converts in order to see if they were true Christians or just pretending.

The Inquisition, while probably not a good idea, was not as bad as history makes it out. It was not totally fair, but it was not as bad as people make it out to be. First you had to be accused by someone. Unfortunately you never learned who that person was. This was because during the first Inquisitions you did learn who your accusers were and they had a funny habit of ending up dead.

So....you never learned who your accuser was. But you could confess your error and do a small penance and be on your way. The problem was if you did not know what your offense was you didn't know what to confess too. So you had to guess and confess everything you could think of. However, you also had the opportunity to name everyone who had something against you and demonstrate why they disliked you. If the people who had accused you were on the list, and you could demonstrate why they would dislike you, you automatically went free. One guy named over 1,000 people who had something against him and demonstrated it too!

You also had your own lawyer, although he did work for the Inquisitors. The purpose was to find those who did not believe or practice Orthodoxy and give them the chance to repent.

While we look at it as an evil, you must consider their point of view. They thought they were protecting the person from eternal d@mnation and those the person may have influenced. They were ignorant along the lines of thinking illness was caused by your personal sin or mental illness was possession by demons. They were well meaning. but ignorant. They also didn't do anything that wasn't being done in the secular courts

The Inquisitors actually did everything they could to keep from having to torture people and everything they could to protect the innocent from being punished. If you falsely accused someone the penalities were just as bad as if had been tortured

Again, that is not saying it was right. I am just trying to offer a more realistic perspective here.

The only place that Christians and Jews were treated all that well was Muslim Spain. They were not treated all that well in the rest of Muslim controlled lands. The legal system favored the Muslims and justice for a non-Muslim against a Muslim was not anywhere near equal treatment. Remember that the muslims converted by the sword. In some cases it was convert or die. The Quran also calls Jews apes and pigs and less than human. Mohammad killed over 30,000 Jews after making a treaty with them. Muslims are also permitted, by the Quran to lie to any non-Muslim. That is, make an agreement and not keep it.

[Scott R. Brown]

Concerning the Crusades:

First, remember the Muslims gained control of the Holy Lands by conquering them, so no one is innocent here.

The original purpose of the first Crusades was to get back the Holy Lands, but it was also meant to occupy the Knightly class as the political situation was changing in France and there was an excess of knights with not enough to do.

It got out of hand when the Pope promised something along the lines of what some Muslims are offered. A straight line into Heaven without going through the judgment. So they ended up with way too many peasants that were not all that controllable. They wreaked havoc in Europe and Byzantium, before they ever made it to the Middle East and most died along the way.

[ittokaos]

The Muslim religion actually stresses tolerance and understanding towards other religions. The goal is to persuade you to join by simply showing you how kind and generous they are.

Bear in mind, most of these radicals are illiterate, and are being taught by illiterate imams, who learned all they know by word of mouth. Most of their beliefs are either contrary to the muslim faith, or a result of cultural, not religious beliefs.

Nowhere does the Quran suggest beheading non-muslims.

Several answers(to questions no one really asked) and several questions (for my own understanding)

1. This board does suck and the first response shows exactly why.

2. HSK A mason against religion? Shocking! ;D

3. No beheadings? Have you read the actual non americanized Quran? How about a non americanized Haddith? Ever read up on Mohammad? The history of Islam? No?!? Crazy! (Yes, I know I am being a jerk here and it is purely for my amusment)

4.Islam was created by the Catholic Church in order to make that land grab that was talked about. Most anti arab/muslim stuff (that is still around even today) came about after the Catholic Church realized that they created a monster that refused to play nice.

5. Whatever happened to Jolt Cola?

[Syn7]

Concerning the Crusades:

First, remember the Muslims gained control of the Holy Lands by conquering them, so no one is innocent here.

The original purpose of the first Crusades was to get back the Holy Lands, but it was also meant to occupy the Knightly class as the political situation was changing in France and there was an excess of knights with not enough to do.

It got out of hand when the Pope promised something along the lines of what some Muslims are offered. A straight line into Heaven without going through the judgment. So they ended up with way too many peasants that were not all that controllable. They wreaked havoc in Europe and Byzantium, before they ever made it to the Middle East and most died along the way.

its not like saladin and his hoarde were any more civilized... but atleast the muslims bathed... franks were disgusting where hygene was concerned... killed alotta people... western europeans were so dirty compared to desert dwellers...

[Scott R. Brown]

its not like saladin and his hoarde were any more civilized... but atleast the muslims bathed... franks were disgusting where hygene was concerned... killed alotta people... western europeans were so dirty compared to desert dwellers...

Well they didn't call it The Dark Ages for nothing!

It is also because of the Muslim preservation of Aristotle's works that Europe came out of the Dark Ages. When Spain went back to the Europeans they gained access to centuries of commentaries by Muslim thinkers on Aristotle as well as his extant works. Today we have about 1,000 manuscripts, if I remember correctly, attributed to Aristotle and those represent only about a third of his production!

[Violent Designs]

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4u...le-shower_sexy

[Hardwork108]

it's not just that man. i'm never gonna become a muslim. they're gonna have to cut my head off cause i will NEVER convert.

Don´t let them cut your head off, and just convert. Conversion is meaningless as you will be replacing one none existant fantasy, with another. It is like converting from a belief in Santa Clause, to a belief in the Easter Bunny.

If you don't believe in these man made fantasies, then "converting" will do nothing but save your life, as the case may be. So, no need to lose your life because of largely meaningless fantasy belief systems.

[Hardwork108]

4.Islam was created by the Catholic Church in order to make that land grab that was talked about. Most anti arab/muslim stuff (that is still around even today) came about after the Catholic Church realized that they created a monster that refused to play nice.

Do you have any sources and links I can check out regarding this theory?