Maybe. But from outside they are pretty interchangeable. The claims from within the religions that they are vastly different from one another is a bit goofy from my perspective.
There are a lot of things that seem to go hand-in-hand with being better off. Things like “being male” or “being white.” I don’t acknowledge the inherent superiority of males or whites, either.
I’m not comparing anything, merely questioning your statement that “Christians as a group have got it made”. I think they might not completely agree in Moldova, Zimbabwe, Guatemala or The Philippines.
But absolutely. We agree completely. Saudi Arabia is a piece of shit country. Still doesn’t make it true that Zimbabwe has got it made. I can’t remember the statistics, but a very large part of Christians live in third world nations.
Okay then, Christians in the West have got it made. Christians elsewhere don’t, which actually aids my point that it isn’t a difference of religion versus religion. It’s a difference of economics. Where economies are stable and there is opportunity, people are stable. Where economies are not stable or there is no opportunity, people are not stable. That the first category includes a lot of “Christian” countries doesn’t mean that Christianity is somehow more advanced. People of any religion tend to be more settled when there is opportunity.
No, it isn’t particularly surprising but on the other hand, I had no reason to suspect that “Arab Jew” would even be used. And for it to be considered derogatory, it obviously has to be used. If nobody had ever called a black man “nigger” in the USA, using it wouldn’t be derogatory, just surprising.
So, I was wondering who used it, against whom and why. It could have had any number of hidden meaning I was unaware of, like for instance, as I mentioned, “Arab lover”. It might be obvious to you, it isn’t for me, who wasn’t even aware of its existence. Once again, if you hadn’t heard the term “nigger”, even if you were aware of the history of segregation in the USA, you would probably ask. How would you know otherwise if it is used for any black person, or refers to a particular subset of this population, if it has purely racial connotations, or rather social or political ones?
(bolding mine). And I happen not to be a Jew or aware of Jewish culture. It never occurred to me to call someone an “Arab Jew” but it never occurred to me that I shouldn’t, either.
I would also add that even after your first response to my query, I still didn’t understand that it was a term that no Jew would use. At the contrary, I assumed it was a derogatory term used by Ashkenazis against Sephardic Jews. None of the things you’re explaining was blatantly obvious.
Actually, when I think of it, I still don’t understand who uses it. If it’s not Ashkenazi Jews, then who? Who is using derogatory terms targeting specifically what you call “Oriental Jews”?
At what point did I state that it wouldn’t have been said by Ashkenazi Jews?
Of course they’re the ones who use it the most, directing against against Mizrachi Jews (which are not, BTW, the same thing as Sephardic Jews). That doesn’t mean that others can get away with saying it, not without being accused of either ignorance or malice.
When I said that no Jew would use the term, I meant that no Jew would use the term except as an insult. I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear.
I could’ve pictured myself using the term “Arab Jew”, if I was trying to describe someone whose ethnicity was Arabic but whose religion was Jewish, as after a conversion and it frankly wouldn’t surprise me if in the polyglot Middle East there were a few likely examples.
Of course, I’ve never actually been to the Middle East.
Sorry, I didn’t realize that about trolling. As far as piety, I would think it was a pretty central issue to the OP’s question.
In any case, having reviewed his posts, I am no longer suspecting him of trolling or his piety. He seems sincere.
That leaves my question about his living arrangement and his actual belief. Neither issue has received a response, as of now. Like I said, if his faith is weak enough that he can be dissuaded on a board such as this, he should probably give up the idea. If he believes that Mohammad was a prophet, then he has already converted, imho.
As far as evidence for Mohammad being the true prophet, God doesn’t seem to be on his side lately. The Arabs have attacked the Israeli’s five times in this century, and each time they were turned back, and lost even more territory. So, at least this century, it is Yahweh 5 - Allah 0. Or maybe Allah, in his wisdom, is sending the Arabs a message that he does not support their actions.
Should say “in the last century”. Still have a pre- Y2K mindset. :rolleyes:
No, he said that about me. Whether or not I “got game” is irrelevant to whether he should convert, so I ignored the comment. Whether he is having a satisfying life is absolutely germane to his conversion. People who are dissatisfied with their lives are easy prey for these religions. That is what they are looking for: to supply answers to people who are discontented. Their answers. For good or ill. Ill, in my opinion.
It does seem to me that some people have a need for religion and some do not. I count myself lucky to be in the latter group. As to what my advice would be to someone in the former situation, I would recommend a study and understanding of all faiths and an avoidance of organized religion. Come to think of it, I would recommend that to atheists as well. Just because someone doesn’t believe in God doesn’t mean that most religions don’t contain some wisdom.
As someone else has mentioned, the Baha’i come close to this. I have known quite a few of them. Nice people, but highly ineffectual. But, boy, if you like reading, have they got books for YOU!
I would certainly recommend avoiding totalitarian dogmatic faiths such as Islam, Hassidism, Catholicism, Four Square, Jehova’s Witnesses, LDS, Scientology, and surely numerous others. These are just the ones I am familar with and quite certain about. They are all basically cults, in my view.
My girl was raised a Christian, but doesn’t consider herself to be one. She hasn’t given any particular religion serious thought, though she keeps a strong faith in who/what she feels “God” is, and that’s how she’s been for quite some time. We talk about God on occasion, and to tell you the truth, we agree more than we disagree. So, am I going to “throw a burka” on her, no, I’m not. It took me a good while to officially accept Islaam, so why would I expect different from someone else?
If Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States and nobody has been “stoned” yet, I don’t think you have anything to worry about partner, you can relax. I highly doubt you “know” many muslim women, let alone many muslims. Where are you from anyway?
:rolleyes:
I answered the first part of your question in my other post, but as for sexual relations, I’ll be frank and say that I don’t see that stopping anytime soon, but yes, I do plan on marrying her, and raising our children as muslims, if we are to have any, God-willing.
I know a lot of people may have their own conceptions about what Islam is ie; long robes, big beards, veiled women, and ak-47’s, but that’s not how I see it, and definitely not how it should be seen. To “formally convert” to Islam isn’t something drastically elaborate - if you believe in One God, and his Messengers, then you are a Muslim, plain and simple. It is tradition to confess your faith in front of two witnesses, but not obligatory, though recommended.
Perhaps I implied otherwise with the semi-provacative thread title (at least for Stan), but being honest, just wanted to incite a discussion. My apologies. Obviously, I wasn’t expecting to be “convinced” by anyone in this thread, but I doubt anybody else did either.
It’s make-believe. It never happened. The angel Gabriel never dictated anything to Muhammed. It’s as made up as any other religion, from Judaism to scientology.
That, and that alone, is why you shouldn’t convert to Islam or any other religion.
So what branch of Islam attracted you the most, Blinkthrice?
What was so appealing/non-appealing about the other branches?
I suppose you could call an Arab convert to Judaism an “Arab Jew”, if you could find one.
However, Arabic-speaking Jews whose ancestors have lived in Arab lands for centuries do *not * think of themselves as Arabs, and would be insulted if referred to as such. Especially in the Middle East, Jews are considered an ethnicity at least as much as a religion.
Does she plan on raising your children as muslims?
Erm, I’ve met an Iraqi Jew who called himself an Arab. He said his family lived in Iraq for 2500 years…
I’m sure your have.
However, you must conceded that I have most likely been exposed to a much broader cross-section of Middle-Eastern Jews than you have, and while I’m certain there are exceptions (as there are exceptions to everything), the vast majority of them prefer not to be called Arabs.
That just means the phrase “Arab Jew” might be but is not automatically an insult.