General

From: Andreas Krennmair <ak@synflood.at>
To: ron@christianministriesintl.org, jason@christianministriesintl.org
Subject: Regarding your article "Islam: a beautiful and peaceful religion?"

Hello,

I came across your article "Islam: a beautiful and peaceful religion?" and would like to comments a few things you mentioned in there.

First of all, your article seems to imply to Christianity is a religion that leads to freedom, justice and prosperity. This is definitely not true. Freedom, justice and prosperity started to develop in the western world during the Age of Enlightenment. This was the time when first signs of religious freedom together with the idea of separation of church and state came up.

But comes up when state and church more or less build on each other can be seen in the terror and arbitrariness in the middle ages, when Christiany was at its peak (at that time), and acts like witch burning and the four inquisitions were established. At his time, not a single "society characterized by freedom, justice and prosperity" could be produced, at least not in the Western world.

The Islamic world just hasn't got into their Age of Enlightenment yet. Nor did the Christian world when it was as old as the Islamic world is now.

I would also to comment on the "hatred of Jews and Christians" you claim the Islam to spread. Well, you're taking the view of a few extremists whose interpretation of Koran is worthy of discussion (as with many religious writings, Koran contradicts itself several times in several places) and lump together all Muslims.

Please make yourself familiar with the situation before and after the "Reconquista": before the reconquista, most parts of Spain were part of an Islamic Emirate/Califate, and Jews, Christians and Muslims lived together with basically no religious clashes. Then, when Spain was reconquered, the Jews and Muslims living in the reconquered parts were either dispelled or evangelized by force. So, within a few years, and open, multi-ethnic and tolerating society turned into a brutal, intolerant, anti-semitic and anti-islamic society.

If you say now "yes, but that was only Roman-Catholic church", I would like to point to the anti-semitic writings of Martin Luther, who was a hate monger against the Jewish minorities.

Christianity is not the final solution to all problems in the world, nor is any other religion, nor produced Christianity any freedom-, justice- and prosperity-loving societies. Without the triumphal possession of Rationalism and the Age of Enlightenment, the Western World would still be at about the same level as the Islamic world you like to criticize so much.

Regards,
Andreas Krennmair