Jews closer to Muslims than Christians

[aegsm76]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I've noticed that rabbis can get together and debate Torah and traditions all day long. They shout, laugh, "argue", and then... they hug each other's necks as brothers. For the most part, Jews can radically disagree with various interpretations and understandings... yet we rarely see synagogues claiming absolute truth and that other synagogues aren't really Jewish. Those claiming to have absolute pure truth are viewed as being on the margins.

In Islam, it's much the same. Some accept various hadiths as authorative while others don't. However, to main stream Islam, a Muslim is a Muslim. Those claiming to have absolute truth are viewed as being on the radical fringe, and are seen as a danger to even fellow Muslims.

But in both religions they are for the most part united in their diversity.

In Christianity, we don't see such unity (accept in ecumenical circles). It is not uncommon for a church to denounce every other church in town as being in grave error if they have different interpretations of the Scriptures or even different standards of dress. Christianity itself seems like a fragmented mess with each shard claiming absolute truth. They aren't willing to admit that their position is simply their opinion or interpretation.

What this does is it sets the entire "Christian" community into conflict and division. To the seeker, it's like walking into a bar fight. Seekers don't know which church is right or which one is wrong, and each church has a very passionate explanation as to why they are absolutely right and every other church is wrong. Sometimes seekers get so frustrated they just don't know what to believe, so they just quietly walk away and watch the infighting from a distance.

Also, American Christians see Christianity as a social tool to reconstruct society. They use the Christian religion to advance their agenda in politics and nearly all social structures. Western Christians have ceased to embrace Christianity as a deeply personal spiritual path that is disconnected from the world.

Those are my initial thoughts.

A - I would strongly disagree. Orthodox Jews regard non-orthodox Jews almost the same as they regard Gentiles.
And the Shia and Sunni's believe that the other camp is heretics.
Therefore it is ok to kill them.