A forum for discussing matters of moment, from a curmudgeonly perspective. (The ideas posted here do not necessarily represent those of any organization with which I am a part). Rude and insulting remarks will not be published, but civil disagreement is welcome.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Kill the Apostates
Iran is moving toward requiring the death penalty for male converts from Islam to other religions. Females would get life in jail. This, of course, is consistent with Islamic (sharia) law, and converts from Islam are commonly killed in Islamic countries, either officially or through "honor killings." When Mark Gabriel told his own father of his conversion to Christianity, his father pulled out a gun and tried to shoot him. Read this in Jesus and Muhammad by Gabriel.
I recently watched a well-done documentary on the rise and motivation of Islamic extremism called "Obsession".
ReplyDeleteYou can find more information here:
http://www.obsessionthemovie.com/index.php
It shows a lot of footage from Middle Eastern TV and other propoganda mediums to show how "the word is spread."
There was a part where they tried to make the case that this extreme movement is similar to the Nazi uprising in Germany. They make a thought provoking case, both from an ideological standpoint and from the similarities in tactic and motivation.
Dr. Groothuis, if you are going to criticize Islam for killing apostates, you must also criticize Yahweh for commanding the murder of apostates. This is very inconsistent. I'm sure you will say something about how that was in the OT, but it was still Yahweh.
ReplyDeleteBen McFarlane
The cases are disanologous. In the OT theocracy (a very special situation, a covenant known to the people), blasphemy was punished by death. But this penal sanction was not perpetual; it should not be applied today. The NT knows nothing of it. Moreover, Islam is killing people for converting to the true religion. In the theocracy, apostates could be put to death (with the proper evidence being produced) for defecting from the true religion.
ReplyDelete