Is Quran Biased?

[Iain Sparrow]

The only unpardonable sin is polytheism.

... and what of us atheists, those who believe in no Gods?

btw, how many times was Muhammad married?.. how young were these girls he married?

At least with the myth of Jesus Christ, one can find virtue and exquisite sacrifice. Even an atheist can appreciate a good story well told. Muhammad, even taking into account a different historical context; was a child molester with a gift for hellfire rhetoric.
There is no place for the Muslim religion in any modern society.

[Jackson Richardson]

It is nice to hear even Iain recognising the possible virtues of Christianity. It is pity he has to do it at the same time as crudely insulting followers of another creed rather than making courteous criticism.

Here in the UK there are many Muslims in public positions, members of both houses of parliament, judges, mayors, councillors etc, only too keen to demonstrate their support of society. I'd far rather have them than the irresponsible fundamentalist evangelicals who have such an alarming following in the US.

[JCamilo]

Why would be married more than once be relevant to an atheist?

And your claims are absurd. The Quran is an exceptional book, a very well written story and Muhammad is linked with several good stories. He may be not a great character as Jesus in the gospels, but his story is quite awesome and filled with virtue. I have no idea what has place in the modern world, but you should notice Islam is already a major part of it. The ignorance towards it is a bigger problem than the age of consent 14 centuries ago.

[Jackson Richardson]

I understand that although Muslims say that the style of the Arabic of the Quran is matchless, they would not say it is "well written" as they believe it is not a human composition.

For Christians the revelation of God is the person of Jesus Christ (the Word became flesh) and the witness to that revelation is the Bible. For Muslims it is the other way round, the Quran is the revelation of God and the witness is the Prophet.

The chapters (suras) are not presented in the order of a continuous narrative but in order of length. I wouldn't say it was a well written story therefore.

However Islam has provided a way of life and an imaginative framework that has sustained thousands of good people through their lives, often in difficult circumstance.

[HCabret]

... and what of us atheists, those who believe in no Gods?

btw, how many times was Muhammad married?.. how young were these girls he married?

At least with the myth of Jesus Christ, one can find virtue and exquisite sacrifice. Even an atheist can appreciate a good story well told. Muhammad, even taking into account a different historical context; was a child molester with a gift for hellfire rhetoric.
There is no place for the Muslim religion in any modern society.

what is "the myth of Jesus Christ"?

[HCabret]

Why would be married more than once be relevant to an atheist?

And your claims are absurd. The Quran is an exceptional book, a very well written story and Muhammad is linked with several good stories. He may be not a great character as Jesus in the gospels, but his story is quite awesome and filled with virtue. I have no idea what has place in the modern world, but you should notice Islam is already a major part of it. The ignorance towards it is a bigger problem than the age of consent 14 centuries ago.

Jesus is the second most commonly mentioned person in the Quran. Jesus is an extremely important part of Islam.

[Jackson Richardson]

what is "the myth of Jesus Christ"?

Iain Sparrow is an atheist and I am a catholic Christian so we disagree on very important issues. But I'll try to answer for him. "The myth of Jesus Christ" means the story of Jesus as presented in the Christian scriptures: God is known to us in the life of an itinerant wonder working rabbi in C1 Palestine under Roman occupation who is put to death. His followers then believe he has overcome death and in some way this give them new energy and a sense that they are reconciled to God despite all their sins, inadequacies and mortality.

Iain has called that a myth because it is historically unprovable.

I accept that the Incarnation (the Word was made flesh) and the Resurrection are not historically provable facts. But I put my faith in them.


I know Jesus and his mother are held in high esteem in Islam. At the house of Mary at Ephesus I've seen Muslim women making their prayers. But for Islam, Jesus is the penultimate prophet. For Christianity he is the revelation of God, "the express image of the Father", "the Word made flesh" (to quote our scriptures). The account of the birth of Jesus in the Quran is inconsistent with the stories in the New Testament.

[HCabret]

Iain Sparrow is an atheist and I am a catholic Christian so we disagree on very important issues. But I'll try to answer for him. "The myth of Jesus Christ" means the story of Jesus as presented in the Christian scriptures: God is known to us in the life of an itinerant wonder working rabbi in C1 Palestine under Roman occupation who is put to death. His followers then believe he has overcome death and in some way this give them new energy and a sense that they are reconciled to God despite all their sins, inadequacies and mortality.

Iain has called that a myth because it is historically unprovable.

I accept that the Incarnation (the Word was made flesh) and the Resurrection are not historically provable facts. But I put my faith in them.


I know Jesus and his mother are held in high esteem in Islam. At the house of Mary at Ephesus I've seen Muslim women making their prayers. But for Islam, Jesus is the penultimate prophet. For Christianity he is the revelation of God, "the express image of the Father", "the Word made flesh" (to quote our scriptures). The account of the birth of Jesus in the Quran is inconsistent with the stories in the New Testament.

It is scholarly consensus that Jesus actually existed.

Unitarian Christians reject the idea that Jesus was a god. They believe that he was only human. The idea that Jesus was a god is not consistent with most human's outlook in either religion or history. Trinitarians don't have a monopoly on Jesus.

[Jackson Richardson]

Of course Jesus existed. Whether he was God incarnate and was raised from the dead are not historically provable. The gospels, our only source for the life of Jesus, are not straight biography. They are written in the light of belief that in the life and death of Jesus "God was in the world reconciling it to himself".

I'd be interested in Iain Sparrow's version of the story of Jesus which he finds so moving.

[Soul cu Item]

One must remember that the Christian religion has developed over time and has adjusted to the modern world. I fail to see this in Islam.

If that is the case, then how did many offshoots, deviant sects branched out of Islam?

[Soul cu Item]

It seems to me Mohammed should have forced her to live as her purification penance. By having her stoned he set a precedent that others would follow.

It doesn't work like that. Islam is not about whims and desires, he (Muhammed) was only following the divine law.

[Soul cu Item]

Muhammad, even taking into account a different historical context; was a child molester
.

Searched in google for this and it took just 0.77 seconds for the links refuting this misconception. You can try too.

[YesNo]

It is scholarly consensus that Jesus actually existed.

Unitarian Christians reject the idea that Jesus was a god. They believe that he was only human. The idea that Jesus was a god is not consistent with most human's outlook in either religion or history. Trinitarians don't have a monopoly on Jesus.

Bart Ehrman calls people who claim that Jesus did not exist "mythicists", I assume, because they are trying to generate myths themselves: http://www.npr.org/2012/04/01/149462...makes-his-case

For what it's worth, I even think Krishna existed, although one has to go back even further the Jesus. Whether either of these people were incarnations of a deity is a matter of faith.

[Soul cu Item]

What about people that are not muslim? isnt the Quran biased towards muslims? can non-muslims reap the promised rewards of the Quran?

Need some clarifications. Are you asking about the non muslims that existed before the advent of Islam or non muslims as of today?

[HCabret]

Need some clarifications. Are you asking about the non muslims that existed before the advent of Islam or non muslims as of today?

either or. Both groups of people are not Muslim. Both groups are able to reap the benefits of being Muslim.