Converting to Islam

Originally posted by dystoniac
One must pray that they are in the right church, and God will do the rest.

I am sure that a lot of people pray that they are in the right Church. So since God has not moved them all into the same Church I would assume that being in the 'right' church is not all that important to God.

Originally posted by dystoniac
Just like a true leftist, you misinterpret truth for hate speech.

Well, you apologized for your hatespeech. So we know, deep down, you are aware of your communication problem, and the impact your emotions have on it.

Originally posted by dystoniac
I know because God has shown me that my worship of Him is acceptable in His eyes. One must pray that they are in the right church, and God will do the rest. God does speak to the heart, therefore, I have no need to learn about other religious institutions/sects. I would be wasting my time.

This appears to be all about certainty. Meanwhile the slightly hapless ex-Catholic in the OP is seeking to hedge his bets while continuing to do God's bidding. He spent half of his adult life in the Christian 'realm' and the more recent half in a multi-faith environment located squarely in the Muslim 'realm'. He has reached the conclusion that Muslims are more CERTAIN, generally speaking, than Christians. You talk about how certain you are. You talk about it all the time. One could, in fact, argue that your 'certainty' is all you've got. If it does, indeed, turn out to be the case that Muslims 'certainty' outweighs yours, doesn't that mean YOU might be wrong, and they might be right?

Originally posted by dystoniac
Well, then, I'm happy for you at the present. I know what struggling with faith is like, so I can empathize. I can also see how it can be liberating for you. I only wish you peace, and hopefully one day you will give Jesus another chance because he is always knocking at your heart; you just have to willing to open up.

Thanks for the kind words, and for the discussion. Best to you and yours as well.

Originally posted by twhitehead
I am sure that a lot of people pray that they are in the right Church. So since God has not moved them all into the same Church I would assume that being in the 'right' church is not all that important to God.

Not everybody prays with a sincere heart; therefore, they are led astray. If one prays sincerely to God, He will direct one's path to the right church. Faith is what it takes, and God does not forsake the faithful, so to answer your question, no...it IS important that people find the right church because many churches proclaim to preach the truth when, infact, they teach not the truth.

Originally posted by FMF
Well, you apologized for your hatespeech. So we know, deep down, you are aware of your communication problem, and the impact your emotions have on it.

I am not aware of any communication problem on my part. If you are having trouble interpreting my meaning, it seems that you, not I, have the communication problem.

Originally posted by SwissGambit
Thanks for the kind words, and for the discussion. Best to you and yours as well.

Likewise, to you and yours.... 🙂

Originally posted by dystoniac
Not everybody prays with a sincere heart; therefore, they are led astray. If one prays sincerely to God, He will direct one's path to the right church. Faith is what it takes, and God does not forsake the faithful, so to answer your question, no...it IS important that people find the right church because many churches proclaim to preach the truth when, infact, they teach not the truth.

So can we conclude that in the Church you are currently in are all the people in the world who prayed with a sincere heart? Or am I missing something?

Originally posted by FMF
This appears to be all about certainty. Meanwhile the slightly hapless ex-Catholic in the OP is seeking to hedge his bets while continuing to do God's bidding. He spent half of his adult life in the Christian 'realm' and the more recent half in a multi-faith environment located squarely in the Muslim 'realm'. He has reached the conclusion that Muslims are more C ...[text shortened]... inty' outweighs yours, doesn't that mean YOU might be wrong, and they might be right?

Logically speaking, yes, but I have faith that Christianity trumps Islam. Christianity is 600 years older than Islam. Christ came down to earth and sinless. Mohammad was a simple human and was sinful. Christ died and was seen by hundreds of witnesses after His death and resurrection. Muhammad died and did not rise from the dead. Islam split because of rivalries between one party wanting to keep the leadership in the 'family' while the other group simply splintered off from the family-sect. Islam was born of violence . Christianity was born of sacrifice on God's part-His only begotten son. Great social movements from Mathatmas Ghandi to Martin Luther King were based on the Christian tenent of non-violence. Every Islamic country in the world today is rife with suicide killings...even against each other. Christianity is tolerant od other faiths. Islam is not-Saudi Arabia forbids Christianity; Sudan and Nigeria Islamists are killing Christians non-combatants; The US and Europe are tolerant of Islam to the point of bending over backwards. No Islamic country is doing the same for Christianity. Why are you in Indonesia? Are you going to convert to Islam?

Originally posted by twhitehead
So can we conclude that in the Church you are currently in are all the people in the world who prayed with a sincere heart? Or am I missing something?

LOL...you must have missed something, I think. No, not ALL of the people in the world praying with a sincere heart are in My church, but they are in churches similar to mine. The Bible clearlt states that if one prays and has faith, God will direct his/her paths.

Originally posted by dystoniac
I am not aware of any communication problem on my part.

You are the worst advertisement for Christianity I have ever come across. I truly believe you turn people away from the faith you profess. That - in my book - is what we call a "communication problem".

Originally posted by dystoniac
No Islamic country is doing the same for Christianity.

What makes you think that?

Originally posted by dystoniac
Christianity is 600 years older than Islam.

First you say that Christianity is 600 years older than Islam, then later you compare only current examples of Christianity with current examples of Islam.
What happened to Christianity over the past 2000 years? Why are you ignoring all the people in that period claiming to be Christian who were just as violent if not more so as the current more violent Muslims?

The rest of your argument rests on the assumption that what you say about Jesus is in fact true, so it is really a non-starter as you don't give equal credibility to Islams claims.

Originally posted by dystoniac
Not necessarily. In the same sense, I am not very familiar with other 'Christian' sects, except Catholocism, which I was raised in until my eyes were oponed when I was 20 years old. I reckon that I would have to say that if other Christian sects are preaching the truth, as long as it is according to the Word of God and reveals the way to salvation through Jesus Christ in New Testament, then they are true.

I have the impression that a Baptist, an Anabaptist, a Lutheran, a Presbyterian, an Orthodox, an Anglican, a Pentecostal, a Roman Catholic, a Congregational, an Adventist, a Trinitarian and a Nontrinitarian amongst else they all base their beliefs on New Testament and also in Old Testament, however their beliefs are quite different.

Therefore, how can all the followers of those different religious doctrins act according to the so called "word of god" when their interpetration is so different that it became the reason why they decided at last to establish all these denominations?

Originally posted by dystoniac
LOL...you must have missed something, I think. No, not ALL of the people in the world praying with a sincere heart are in My church, but they are in churches similar to mine. The Bible clearlt states that if one prays and has faith, God will direct his/her paths.

How similar? You made it clear that many Churches are the 'wrong' Churches. So what proportion of Churches do you estimate are the 'right' ones? What approximately is the proportion of Christians who are therefore not sincere in their prayers?