Genesis I agree that butterfly got a bit carried away with her quotations and false prophet chat but I think one thing we would like to see is at least a semblance of realistic evaluation of the religion.
The blind unquestioning faith which currently characterises islam is unfortunately the source of many of its problems with the outside world.
Butterfly has her faith and it is clearly strong but that said she is open to a few obvious ideas...
1) If she was brought up in an islamic country by islamic parents she would most likely be a muslim. This is because religion is (like you say) often a way of life and is culturally based. Therefore to suggest there are right and wrong religions silly
2) The bible is not the word of God. Even if you come to eventually decide that the Koran is in fact directly from God this should not just be taken for granted. There is much (but not enough due to the penalties for blasphemy etc) good scholarship which suggests that the koran is far from being a direct translation. There is even good historical evidence for Mohd not being that involved in the creation of the religion. Neither of which, if true, should damage the religion at all.
Modern religion should not be about wowing the masses with fanciful myths and miracles. It is about appealing to educated people's sense of right the true way to live life.
This would be the way I would like to see Islam move. The codes and lifestyles and customs of islam are wonderful additions to the world's creeds. The religion should be honoured for these rather than the magic tricks
Genesis I agree that butterfly got a bit carried away with her quotations and false prophet chat but I think one thing we would like to see is at least a semblance of realistic evaluation of the religion.
The blind unquestioning faith which currently characterises islam is unfortunately the source of many of its problems with the outside world.
Butterfly has her faith and it is clearly strong but that said she is open to a few obvious ideas...
1) If she was brought up in an islamic country by islamic parents she would most likely be a muslim. This is because religion is (like you say) often a way of life and is culturally based. Therefore to suggest there are right and wrong religions silly
2) The bible is not the word of God. Even if you come to eventually decide that the Koran is in fact directly from God this should not just be taken for granted. There is much (but not enough due to the penalties for blasphemy etc) good scholarship which suggests that the koran is far from being a direct translation. There is even good historical evidence for Mohd not being that involved in the creation of the religion. Neither of which, if true, should damage the religion at all.
Modern religion should not be about wowing the masses with fanciful myths and miracles. It is about appealing to educated people's sense of right the true way to live life.
This would be the way I would like to see Islam move. The codes and lifestyles and customs of islam are wonderful additions to the world's creeds. The religion should be honoured for these rather than the magic tricks