ryanbouma wrote:Previously in this thread, we've discussed that many Muslims don't actually read their Quran or take their religion very seriously, thus they're duped into their beliefs out of convenience or upbringing or what ever. However, these conversions are very odd to me. These people actually claim to seek God, in the same way we rejoice over people coming to Christ, and eventually come to believe in Islam. Some even come from a Christian background. We can't really say these people are just lazy Muslims who don't know how corrupt their text is. We can't really say these people are guilted into it because of their parents. We can't really say they haven't had some kind of emotional experience they attribute to God, because these same kinds of experiences happen to new Christians and we praise God for that, so it would be a double standard to dismiss their experiences.
There seems to be , implicit in your paragraph above, the belief that a convert to Islam is just like the born again experience of the Christian. Nothing could be further from the truth. I think the problem comes from the following belief of yours:
ryanbouma wrote:PS. Many [converts to Islam] seem to appreciate the structured prayer and fasting among other requirements. Almost like Christianity is too easy so it can't be right.
Christianity isn't easy. It never was and never will be. This is why Jesus said that many are on the broad road that leads to destruction but few -
few! - find the narrow road that leads to Life. As a former atheist, I can assure you that the last thing I wanted to become was a Christian: giving up Lordship of my life to God was not something easy to do.
Muslims, nominal Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, any
religion or proto-religion* provides a comforting framework to honor some man-made god, and to placate that god with good deeds, martyrdom, candles, money or whatever. These, rather, are the easy beliefs to have because the faithful remains in control of his righteousness. Perhaps I should restate my last sentence:
These, rather, are the easy beliefs to have because the faithful remains in control of His righteousness. Yes...that's better.
FL
*I'm thinking of Environmentalism here.
Hold everything lightly. If you don't, it will hurt when God pries your fingers loose as He takes it from you. -Corrie Ten Boom
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If they had a social gospel in the days of the prodigal son, somebody would have given him a bed and a sandwich and he never would have gone home.
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