ta00est@unccvax.uncc.edu (elizabeth s tallant) (01/19/91)
This morning I got a rather nasty letter from a s.r.i reader berating me for not responding to previous postings. I am presuming that he is talking about postings related to forgiveness. If there are other postings on other subjects, I have not seen them. News runs out very quickly from my sight, and there are many articles that I do not see. Here is my reply related to forgiveness. First, I would like to thank the people who have gone to the trouble to point out places in the Koran which related to fairness, forgiveness, etc. As I recall, the original discussion came from the question of ,"Why do Moslems not practice forgiveness in the same manner that Christians do?" Several people then wrote that Islam does practice forgiveness. Well, I know that Islam practices forgiveness to a degree, but it does not even come close to advocating the kind of forgiveness and love that Christianity does. While there are many Koranic passages relating to "just treatment" of others, not a single one of these passages tells people to love their enemies. I am basing this discussion on the passage in Matthew in which the Son of God says: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you. For the Father sends rain on the good and the bad, and His sun shines on both the good and the bad. Therefore, be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect." And of course, there is the passage, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." This applies in any circumstances. And John 3:16 "For God so loved the WORLD that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in hiim should not perish, but have everlasting life." Note here that the passage says that God loves the entire world, not just a select few. God loves everyone, even the people that you may consider to be your utmost enemies. Therefore, God wants you to the love the people that he loves, and if you do not love everyone, including your enemies, you are committing sin. So, unless someone can come up with a passage from the Koran that clearly tells us to love everyone, including our enemies, then we will simply have to agree that the Bible teaches a higher forgiveness than does the Koran.