Scholar compares violence in Koran, Bible

Of course, the main point of this article is correct. But according to my limited knowledge of the Qu'ran and Islam, I believe there is a principle for interpreting verses, which says that if 2 verses 'seem' to be conflicting on the same topic, the latest, the more recent, is the more authoritative. And i have heard that the tendency of the jihadist verses goes from less to more violent, whereas, taking the Christian Bible as a whole, Old to New Testament, the flow would be from more to less violent.

I can't disagree with the point and spirit of Jenkins's comments, which make clear from a strictly _textual_ standpoint, that Islam does not stand out as a particularly violent tradition, that some recent pundits and politicians have used a broad brush to smear the Koran unfairly and possibly for their own gain, and that Christians and Jews should educate themselves and exercise caution and restraint when it comes to generalizing about Islam. However, it does seem a bit misleading not to point out that the _interpretation_ of holy writ by some Muslims is positively out of step with the times. Modern Christians tend not to interpret the "terror texts" in the Bible as mandates to martyr themselves in personal acts of violence.

This author's claim is downright silly in the way it takes these sacred texts completely out of their historical contexts.

Islam is a 7th-century AD repudiation of Christianity (and was from the outset viewed by the Church as a Christian heresy), and the Quran is held to be the final revelation of God. Its call for worldwide violent jihad for the purpose of establishing global Islamic dominance must be positioned against the Christian New Testament it purports to correct, which nowhere calls for any violence whatsoever, but instead urges love of friend, neighbor, and enemy - and calls for the worldwide spread of the faith through the proclamation of the gospel, and baptism.

Even the so-called "terror texts" of the Hebrew scriptures, describing an age some 2,000 years prior to the rise of Islam, were directed only toward purging the promised land of idolatry, not toward global conquest - and had at any rate long ceased to serve as any kind of literal blueprint for Jewish national ambitions, having been largely reapplied in a spiritualized sense for contemporary purposes as belonging to the struggle against personal and social sin.

The premise of the author's argument is extremely disingenuous. The Old Testament certainly does contain many horribly violent passages - and I have read them all - but there is no hint of a suggestion that such practices should be carried out today; no implication, at all, that these passages should inform practical morality. Furthermore, I think it would be extremely difficult to use any of the words ascribed to Jesus to justify violence. The consistent moral tone of Jesus' words is one of tolerant, nonjudgmental peace.

The Koran, on the other hand, explicitly orders and condones violence against and the oppression of non-Muslims. Don't believe me? Read it, as I have, and decide for yourself. It's almost impossible to argue that suicide bombers aren't following an entirely reasonable interpretation of the Islamic faith.

Let study the bible before we accused the Quran
http://www.evilbible.com/Murder.htm

What history teach about Christianity religion of " Peace" which were missed in college

http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1137511050

Christians riot, damaging shops and cars to protest Bibles burned in Afghanistan -- no, wait...
Actually, it wasn't Christians protesting the Bible-burning. It was Muslims protesting an alleged desecration of the Qur'an.

"Muslims protest alleged Koran destruction in Greece," from Reuters, May 21 (thanks to Alexandre):

Hundreds of Muslims marched through central Athens on Thursday, damaging shops and cars, to protest what they said was the destruction of a Koran by a Greek policeman.
The president of the Muslim Union of Greece, Naim Elghandour, said that during police checks at a Syrian-owned coffee shop on Wednesday, an officer took a customer's Koran, tore it up, threw it on the floor and stomped on it.

In response, about 1,000 immigrants, many from Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, marched to central Omonia Square, smashing several shop windows and five cars, a police official said....

The author is completely missing the mark. The New Testament wipes out the Old Testiment, and Jesus' teachings were 100% peaceful. I agree with Alaskan. Read the Koran and decide for yourself. I did, and it came across as a guy with a big chip on his shoulder against Christians and Jews, which obviously carries through to their followers today. Just look at all the violence in the name of Islam today. Anyone who has any respect for women would be appalled at how women are treated. They can't even go outside their home without a male escort in many areas of the world. If they're raped, they need two votes to one man's vote, which makes it nearly impossible to convict a rapist. Instead, they call the woman a whore. That makes lots of sense, doesn't it?

sir--obviously your not a christian or a servant of jesus the christ of god---the koran exudes violence and there is little about giving the guilty the chance to repent and start over--they murder people for silly things----the old testament of the bible---yes---is full of violence and it is god's angel dealing with the jews and unbeleivers but after jesus rose from the dead and paid the penalty for our evils the bible (acts to jude)no longer justifies killing others---it admonishes to us that god will repay his eniemies and true christians are not to harm others.. if your not serving jesus and reading st pauls gospels then you arent qualified to judge the bible.todays christians use the new testament---god is love---jesus came to save and not to destroy people.