...

 BK>>  Ah, you are ahead of the pack on that last.

 GP> I read the Bible with an open mind, and with all the talk

 Dangerous. That might lead to independent thinking... you know
 how evil that is.

 GP> of Islam, it got me interested in learning more.  So, I
 GP> read up on Wikipedia quite a bit, and started reading the
 GP> Bible again for the first time since I was a child.  I
 GP> found out through Wikipedia that Islam and the other
 GP> Christian religions have a common root, and that Muhammad
 GP> came several hundred years after Christ, and that Islam
 GP> even considers Christ to be a prophet.

 Not only a prophet, but Muhammed said Jesus was a greater
 prophet.

 GP> I went on to read many of the requirements of Islam, then
 GP> went to the Bible.  I keep it in my bathroom and read when
 GP> I'm on my throne... ;) It looks to me like Islam is simply
 GP> a more rigorous and spiritual religion, whereas what most
 GP> of us follow now has simply done away with most of our
 GP> rituals.

 Uh... not the Catholic Church. Rituals are part and parcel of
 it.

 Islam is not more rigorous or spiritual. The greatest
 commonality between the religions is, how many claimed adherents
 don't pay much attention to the teachings of their religion.

 Much of the practice of Muslims actually is not Islamic, and
 often is opposed by Islam.

 Christianity and Judaism are just as rigorous and spiritual,
 when someone actually looks into them. Christians and Jews tend
 to skate on their faiths as much as Muslims do.

 BTW, if you are interested, watch a program on Canadian TV,
 Little Mosque on the Prairie. If you can get any Canadian TV. I
 believe it is also available on BBC TV, if you can get any of
 that. I get a Canadian station on my cable, but have to pay
 extra for the BBC.

 GP> I recently received a translated Quran in the mail (you can
 GP> get one free from freequran.com), so I'm looking forward to
 GP> reading it directly.

 It's also available from Project Gutenberg.

BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

... Homonyms are a reel waist of thyme.
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