Islam & Christian Comparison

from JoeUser Forums
There's been increasing discussion over the differences between Islam and Christianity.  Are they basically the same, just different religions?  Do they worship the same God?  Are their basic tenets the same with just a few variables? 
I see major differences between the Islamic faith and the Christian Faith.     How tolerant is the Muslim faith?  How does it compare to the tolerance of the Christian faith? Are they both equally intolerant of anything outside their faith?  I don't think so. 
To be a good Muslim you must accept the Koran without quesion.  To be a good Christian, you are allowed to question, seek, and sift the scriptures to gain understanding.  Questioning is allowed. 
The Koran says if you decide to leave Islam after having believed, you deserve death.  Sounds pretty serious to me and very intolerant.  How does that compare with Christianity? 
First of all, contrary to many, you don't leave Christianity.  Ya, I know.  I did hear  about the famous author who recently declared she left Christianity (the RC faith) but that's just not a biblical concept.  You can leave any Christian denomination but that doesn't mean you leave the faith if you didn't have it to begin with.   To say you have left Christianity is to say you left YOUR idea of Chrisitianity.   The Apostle John said it best when he said "they left us because they were not of us." 
To be a Christian means to be "born again" into the faith.  It's a spiritual birth that you just don't walk away from.  It's like being born physically.  You don't stop being a human because you decide to.  So to say you're no longer a Christian is like saying, I'm no longer human.  I've decided to be an animal instead.  You may act like an animal but in reality you are not.  Same as saying you're a Christian.  You may act like one, sound like one but in all reality you're really nothing more than a counterfeit.  It eventually gets found out.  It doesn't stand up to the genuine Christian criteria test.  So they leave. 
Anyway, in the Christian denominations, you are free to declare you are no longer Christian without fear of being killed for it unlike the fear instilled in the Muslim to Christian belief switch. 
According to Islam if you are homosexual you should die.  They hate homosexuals and want them destroyed. How does this compare with the Christian faith? 
Certainly we know the Christians are against the homosexual lifestyle but they are equally not for condoning their death just because they are.   In fact, the Christian's duty is to love and help the homosexuals like they would any other person they would meet along the way.  You can love someone but yet not condone their behavior.  That's what the Christians are called to do.  There is truth to the "love the sinner, hate the sin" motto.  It is a biblical concept. 
The Koran orders the belief that women are subservient to men.  Woman have no rights, or very little rights depending on where they live.  In many cases they are treated worse than slaves. 
How does this compare to Christianity?  Everyone knows the one little verse in Ephesians that says that women are to submit to their husbands.  Isn't this the same?  No.  It's made very clear in scripture that women are equal with men.  God has given them different roles and one of the roles for men in scripture is that they are to be leaders of their families and the churches.  But that doesn't mean subservient as the Islam religion teaches.  In context men are to love their wives as Christ loved the church.  For order sake, everything has an order to it. Anything without a head is dead and anything with more than one head not only is abnormal but chaotic. 
According to the Christian faith, woman are to be under the leadership of their husbands as the husbands are under the headship of Christ.  Everything is to be done for the best interest of the one you're leading.  It's to be done with love and best interest in mind.  Christ did a great deal of elevating women when he walked the earth.
The Koran tells its followers not to be a friend of the Christian or Jews.  In fact, it instructs them to kill the infidels (anyone outside of Islam).  They are also to lie to those not of their faith to gain approval before they destroy them.  How nice.  Talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing. 
How does Christianity compare?  We are to go out into the world, being good examples with the goal to win them to Christ.  We are instructed very clearly NOT to lie but to be bearers of the truth.  While we are not to be unequally yoked (in marriage or business) with unbelievers we can be friends with non-believers without fear of going against biblical principles.  Certainly we are NOT to kill anyone.  The instructions are, tell people the truth and if they accept you've gained a brother.  If they don't accept, move on.  Certainly don't preach them to death.
There is no freedom in the Muslim faith.  It's all about bondage and fear.  The followers are to do what they are told and not to stray from their truth or they or their family will be punished severely. 
In the Christian faith it's all about freedom.  We've been set free.  He conquered our soul, invaded the frontier of our lives and set us free.  For the Christian our D-Day was way back during the time when a little baby came into the world to set the captives free.  Just like on D-Day the first ones who recognized this were the enemies.  The captives had no idea their deliverer had come, but the enemy did. 
 The demons did everything they could to stop Him meeting him on the shores of Galilee doing everything they could to stop him from setting the prisioners free.  Even in the beginning  they tried to kill him before he could even walk and talk.  When that failed, they later  put obstacles in his way, ridiculed him, tried their best to kill his character and eventually managed to pull off his death mistakenly thinking they had finally won.  They're still at it even today, trying to influence mankind that they don't need any such deliverer keeping people in bondage even now.   Not unlike the Muslims who are doing it in the open.  The only difference is one is above ground (physically) and one isn't (spiritually). 
To me the real question is why is the American government so tolerant of the Islamic system when they are anything but tolerant of us?  Why is the American government so intolerant to the Christian faith when it was founded on Christian principles to begin with? 
Could it be, as scripture puts it, that in the last days evil would become good and good would become evil. 
I think so. 
 
 
   
 
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Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

hmmmm what happened to my paragraph breaks? 

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

I'm confused by several comments in this. 

1) You may be free to question the holy text but are you free to do opposite to it?  If you have to obey it, even after questioning it there is very little functional difference

2) Practice as opposed to theory

There are numerous verses in the bible talking about killing people, whole towns etc for things that are against gods law (including merely being in a town were somebody is trying to convert a believer of your god) .  Where is the verse in the bible saying that they are no longer valid?

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Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

1) You may be free to question the holy text but are you free to do opposite to it?

What I'm saying is, even if you do go against the bible, there's nobody out there who is going to kill you for it like what happens if you don't obey the Koran fully. 

Where is the verse in the bible saying that they are no longer valid?

All thru the NT the weapons of the Christian faith are love, peace, and mercy.  If you remember, Peter cut off the ear of a Soldier before they carted Jesus away.  Christ healed the ear on the spot as an example of how we are to behave.  The book of Romans and Galatians are filled with the differences between being under the law of the OT and under grace in the NT. 

There are numerous verses in the bible talking about killing people, whole towns etc for things that are against gods law

you're talking Judism and the OT, not Christianity which is another topic.  Also you'd have to be more specific for me to reply to what you're referring to. 

Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top

For example

If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives."  (Leviticus 20:13 NAB)

Because the LORD considers it a holy day, anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death.'  (Exodus 31:12-15 NLT)

OT and Christianty - I thought the NT was built on the OT, for did jesus not say 'Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.' also see “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law" (John7:19)

I know he said something that has been assumed to re-write the food laws but where is the evidence that all the other things are gone?

Supplemental question - if the laws are gone how do you know which ot the moral laws in the OT carry on - is it just the ones that are mentioned explicitly?

Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top

There are lots on internal contradictions in the Bible that scholars have been trying for centuries to reconcile.  There's also the matter of practical conduct of society necessarily requiring certain Biblical proscriptions be ignored, but those proscriptions are not central to 'being a Christian'.

Trying to argue the minutiae of internal contradictions as 'proof' of the moral equivalence of Christianity & Islam 1) misses the point and 2) diverts attention from the obvious.  Claiming that Christians are no better than (or just as bad as) Muslims because the Bible has some passages calling for the killing or death of certain individuals or groups fails to recognize the differences in their behaviors.  And in the interest of keeping it real, don't bother with the argument about the Crusades, yada yada.

Arab (and some non-Arab) Muslims routinely publicly call for the destruction of the state of Israel and the Jewish people.  They've repeatedly demonstrated the conviction of those calls in actual attacks on Israel and its citizens, and on other 'infidels'.  They have more in common with the Aryan Brotherhood in that regard.  I'm unaware of any Jewish or Christian entities publicly advocating the destruction of any Arab state or the righteous murder of its citizens, let alone Muslims specifically, and let alone actually killing any.

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top

There are lots on internal contradictions in the Bible that scholars have been trying for centuries to reconcile.

Actually Daiwa there are NO contradictions in the bible. It's the non-believers who say there are.   A well known bible scholar was challenged in his classroom at a seminary with an accusation about contradicitions.  The scholar challenged the young student to come back, after studying the bible, with his contradictions.  After a good 48 hours of getting no sleep the student came in with one or two admittedly weak contradictions on his part after being able to figure out what he originally thought were  contradictions.   Basically he studied himself right out of the supposed contradictions. 

I've been studying the book for almost 40 yrs now and what I've found is that if I think there is a contradiction it gets settled later by reading another passage that sheds light on it.  I've pretty much come to the conclusion as many scholars before me that it's not that the bible has contradictions it's that we have faulty reasoning.  The problem is with us, not the scriptures. 

Basmas..no time to answer you fully but keep in mind the NT is NOT a continuation of the OT but is consistent with it.  That's why it's called a New Covenant. 

The rest of the verse you didn't quote was that he came to fulfill the law.  The whole law was like a shadow with Christ being the body. The law pointed to the Messiah that would come.   There is no need to look at the shadow anymore when you have the body present with you.  Once we were under the law but now we are under grace.  That's what the Apostles found out.  The whole law pointed to Christ and now he's come.  He fulfilled it. 

Answer you more fully tomorrow. 

 

 

 

 

Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top

Thanks for paying attention to the pertinent stuff.

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

Claiming that Christians are no better than (or just as bad as) Muslims because the Bible has some passages calling for the killing or death of certain individuals or groups fails to recognize the differences in their behaviors

There's also the matter of practical conduct of society necessarily requiring certain Biblical proscriptions be ignored, but those proscriptions are not central to 'being a Christian'.

I don't understand the comparing what happened during the days of Moses and Joshua to what is happening today.  There is about 4,000 years difference between the cultures.  It's the whole apples and oranges thing again.  Let's compare today with today.  Let's compare the Muslims of today with the Christians of today.  Let's not compare the Muslims of today with the Jews of yesteryear.  It's nothing more than an argument of rationalization.   

There were good solid reasons for what happened during the days of Moses and Arron.  Many choose not to try and understand the times but just rattle off (out of context) certain instances of what they don't understand. 

I'm unaware of any Jewish or Christian entities publicly advocating the destruction of any Arab state or the righteous murder of its citizens, let alone Muslims specifically, and let alone actually killing any.

exactly.  There isn't any.  This is really a one sided war.  Kill the infidels and all will be right with the world. If they didn't have that mentality, there would be no Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq wars going on today. 

Acknowledging there are lots of good peaceful Muslims out there but if it comes down to it, they will eventually be forced to follow their fellow Muslims in the end to prove their allegiance. 

Everything you say Daiwa is pertinent stuff :) 

 

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top

for did jesus not say 'Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.' also see “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law" (John7:19)

You're putting two scriptures together from two diff books even.  Context means everything.  If you read John 7 as you quoted above you'd see that Jesus is calling them out for their disobedience.  He's telling them Moses, gave you the law and you say you revere Moses but then you're wanting to murder me?  Killing Christ is violating the sixth commandment "thou shall not murder." 

He's showing them they are blind to their own scriptures and proving they were unworthy descendants not only of Moses but also Abraham (See John 8).  His sentence on them came in his question to them "why do you seek to kill me?"  showing them they were not of God in the first place but of Satan. 

I know he said something that has been assumed to re-write the food laws but where is the evidence that all the other things are gone?

 Though the Jews revered the Law of Moses and sought to keep it and acquire their salvation by their careful efforts at obeying and honoring the law, nobody has EVER entered the kingdom by means of obeying it.  That's not the purpose of the Law.  This is the unmistakable teaching of the NT.  There are many passages I could give you. Here's just one: 

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."  Rom 10:4

There is to be no more striving for perfection, for righteousness.  Christ made the law obsolete because we no longer have to work to establish our own righteousness.  We are saved by his righteousness, not our own. 

Here's another:

"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.  But after faith has come we are no longer under a tutor."  Gal 3:24

No longer under the law.  This is where the "justified by faith" comes from.  We are no longer under the law but under grace (saved by faith).  Doesn't stop many denominations from trying to put the yoke of the law back upon our shoulders unfortunately. 

Supplemental question - if the laws are gone how do you know which ot the moral laws in the OT carry on - is it just the ones that are mentioned explicitly?

Moses brought in the law and Christ brought in Grace.  Grace is higer than the law.  Today, as Christians we are not enslaved by the law anymore.  Christ took that burden away by fulfilling the law completely.   But that doesn't make the law totally null and void. 

The law of Moses was made to REVEAL sin, NOT to SAVE us from sin.  The Jews had perverted it to be the means of salvation and refused to be indicted by it and driven to the mercy of God in the manifestation of the Messiah.  No matter how they studied and tried to apply the Law it was clear they failed.  The refused to allow the Law to do its intened work of convicting them and humbling them and driving them to repentance and faith in Jesus.  He was the end of the Law (Rom 10:4).  But they were so far from understanding the Law's purpose they reject the ONLY one who could saved them from the Law's condemnation and sought to kill him. 

 

Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top

The Koran says if you decide to leave Islam after having believed, you deserve death. Sounds pretty serious to me and very intolerant. How does that compare with Christianity?

for approximately 1200 years the paramount punishment imposed on residents of christian europe was excommunication which often preceded execution.  what changed?  we hadda renaissance--a rebirth--of humanism.  islamic culture differs from ours in one critical aspect that manifests itself in their expression 'inshallah'.  

There is no freedom in the Muslim faith.  It's all about bondage and fear.  The followers are to do what they are told and not to stray from their truth or they or their family will be punished severely.

galileo, auto-de-fe, witch burning, heresy, monarchic tyranny by virtue of divine right.  

are you not a proponent of what's sometimes referred to as dominionism?

otherwise, you could not seriously claim this:

According to the Christian faith, woman are to be under the leadership of their husbands as the husbands are under the headship of Christ. Everything is to be done for the best interest of the one you're leading.

Why is the American government so intolerant to the Christian faith when it was founded on Christian principles to begin with?

it isn't and it wasn't. 

According to Islam if you are homosexual you should die. They hate homosexuals and want them destroyed. How does this compare with the Christian faith?

you have any idea what's happening in uganda right now as a direct consequence of american evangeligal christian influence?

check it out here

in nigeria, evangelicals are equally focused on wiping out child witches.  but that's whole other spike driven through some kid's skull.

Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top

you have any idea what's happening in uganda right now as a direct consequence of american evangeligal christian influence?

check it out here

That's pretty freakin' obtuse, kb.  From your link (Wikipedia, but even so): "In May 2010 the committee recommended withdrawing it."  I think we're long past that here.

in nigeria, evangelicals are equally focused on wiping out child witches. but that's whole other spike driven through some kid's skull.

What's with the commas & periods?

If you or anyone else can identify the modern Christian equivalent of Al Qaeda, you'll win the debate.  Till then...

Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top

the modern Christian equivalent of Al Qaeda

several come to mind immediately--at least in terms of extremist views and a demonstrated propensity for terrorism: christian identity, fred phelps and his westboro baptist church and the lord's resistance army.

not on the same scale?

all they need is a messianic multimillionaire and a failed nation state from which to coordinate operations.

john brown's body may be moulderin in his grave but...

Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top

all they need is a messianic multimillionaire and a failed nation state from which to coordinate operations.

Promise me I'll be the first one you call when that happens.  I'll keep the light on for ya.

Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top

remember a guy named tim mcveigh, blew up a courthouse in oklahoma city?  a gang of christian identity patriots who robbed banks to fund their planned separatist white christian state in idaho?   how bout them christian warriors from michigan and indiana who were arrested earlier this year before they launched their holy war? 

for that matter, how about the ira and their ulstermen opponents? 

are any of the above more or less representative of their professed religion than wahabbis of islam?

 

Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top

for approximately 1200 years the paramount punishment imposed on residents of christian europe was excommunication which often preceded execution. what changed? we hadda renaissance--a rebirth--of humanism. islamic culture differs from ours in one critical aspect that manifests itself in their expression 'inshallah'.

You're talking RELIGIONISM in the name of Christianity but it's NOT Christianity.  The bible warns us about those that will come in the name of Christ but they are anti-Christs that have come into the world.  There are many of them.  Whenever you have a genuine anything there are MANY counterfeits.  That's why it's so important to know the truth (sets you free) so you can recognize the lie the minute you see it.   If you don't know the truth, you will NOT be able to recognize the lie because it will mimic the truth tweaking it just a little to make it seem authentic.  Remember the best lie has some truth in it. 

how about the ira

remember a guy named tim mcveigh, blew up a courthouse in oklahoma city?

KB..the IRA and Timothy McVeigh had NOTHING to do with Christianity.  I'm talking Christianity vs Muslims.  I'm talking the Holy Bible vs the Koran here. 

A Chrisitian is NOT going to blow up or murder ANYONE.  The mark of a Christian is Love.  That's how you tell the difference.  The FRUIT of the spirit of God is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness etc. 

I get how confusing it is with genuine and counterfeits worshipping in the same building even.  That's what Jesus meant when he said the wheat and tares will grow together until the harvest.  That's when it will be revealed who is who. Until then we have an instruction book and a Holy Spirit that helps us determine who is genuine and who isn't. 

 

Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting KFC, reply 15
for approximately 1200 years the paramount punishment imposed on residents of christian europe was excommunication which often preceded execution. what changed? we hadda renaissance--a rebirth--of humanism. islamic culture differs from ours in one critical aspect that manifests itself in their expression 'inshallah'.You're talking RELIGIONISM in the name of Christianity but it's NOT Christianity.  The bible warns us about those that will come in the name of Christ but they are anti-Christs that have come into the world.  There are many of them.  Whenever you have a genuine anything there are MANY counterfeits.  That's why it's so important to know the truth (sets you free) so you can recognize the lie the minute you see it.   If you don't know the truth, you will NOT be able to recognize the lie because it will mimic the truth tweaking it just a little to make it seem authentic.  Remember the best lie has some truth in it. how about the iraremember a guy named tim mcveigh, blew up a courthouse in oklahoma city?KB..the IRA and Timothy McVeigh had NOTHING to do with Christianity.  I'm talking Christianity vs Muslims.  I'm talking the Holy Bible vs the Koran here. A Chrisitian is NOT going to blow up or murder ANYONE.  The mark of a Christian is Love.  That's how you tell the difference.  The FRUIT of the spirit of God is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness etc. I get how confusing it is with genuine and counterfeits worshipping in the same building even.  That's what Jesus meant when he said the wheat and tares will grow together until the harvest.  That's when it will be revealed who is who. Until then we have an instruction book and a Holy Spirit that helps us determine who is genuine and who isn't.  

 

No true scotsman fallacy.

Regardless of whether he was, wasn't,or was a red headed leprechaun in disguise. You can deny all you want, that McVeigh was a "true" Christian, but that is (was) between him and his God, not you, or your (human) opinion.

 

Reply #17 from Stardock Forums Top

A tree is known by his fruit.  You can say all you want that an apple tree is a pear tree until it starts producing apples. 

True, that only God judges the heart.  We are not to judge a person's heart. It's not our job.   But we are to be fruit inspectors. 

"By their fruits they will be known."  Jesus

"The world will know that you are my disciples by the LOVE you have for one another."   Jesus

 

 

Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top

Again, it's between him and his God. All you have is supposition based off of what you are told.

Reply #19 from Stardock Forums Top

it's not about being told, it's about seeing what was done.  Actions speak louder than words. 

You can say anything.  You can profess anything.  It's all in the evidence.  You know..proof is in the pudding? 

That's why Christ himself said:

"many will SAY in that day, Lord, Lord, we did this in your name and I will say to them, "I don't know you." 

So those bombing anyone or anything in the name of Christ are severely deceived. 

 

Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top

Certainly we know the Christians are against the homosexual lifestyle but they are equally not for condoning their death just because they are.   In fact, the Christian's duty is to love and help the homosexuals like they would any other person they would meet along the way.  You can love someone but yet not condone their behavior.  That's what the Christians are called to do.  There is truth to the "love the sinner, hate the sin" motto.  It is a biblical concept. 
The Koran orders the belief that women are subservient to men.  Woman have no rights, or very little rights depending on where they live.  In many cases they are treated worse than slaves.
You are absolutely right when it comes to the religions as they are lived today.
However, you are really referring to specific interpretations. On the one hand you have the current fundamentalist interpretations of Islam and on the other hand you use your own very liberal (if you can believe the term) and open-minded version of Christianity.
I can point you to Islamic scholars who think about homosexuality and women's rights as you do and I can also point you to (supposed) Christians who are not far from current Islam (think Uganda).
But the important point is how we can stop this. How can we help women? And how can we (you) argue that there is anything wrong about homosexual practices if the most extreme opponents of it are so clearly much much more wrong?
Whenever I want to learn something about Islam, I don't go to the Khomeinis and Sauds of our world, I go to liberal Islamic scholars who quote the Quran more often than they  "interpret" it.
Reply #21 from JoeUser Forums Top

What's wrong with paragraphs in this thread???

Reply #22 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting KFC, reply 9

 Today, as Christians we are not enslaved by the law anymore.  Christ took that burden away by fulfilling the law completely.   But that doesn't make the law totally null and void. 
 

This has confused me.  Does that mean that all the laws and guidance in the OT are not valid?

 

don't understand the comparing what happened during the days of Moses and Joshua to what is happening today.  There is about 4,000 years difference between the cultures.  It's the whole apples and oranges thing again.  Let's compare today with today

But it is the same god now as then isn't it?  The god of the bible ordered gays to be killed and villages put to death because of what one person did.  Did god change his mind between the OT and the NT?  Did god change or is the god you worship not the same one that moses dealt with?

 

Reply #23 from JoeUser Forums Top

The god of the bible ordered gays to be killed and villages put to death because of what one person did.  Did god change his mind between the OT and the NT?  Did god change or is the god you worship not the same one that moses dealt with?

The people that god ordered dead are dead. And nobody was ever condemned to death by G-d just for being (or even acting) homosexual.

We don't know why G-d doesn't interfere any more or how exactly the deaths you mention happened.

 

Reply #24 from Stardock Forums Top

However, you are really referring to specific interpretations. On the one hand you have the current fundamentalist interpretations of Islam and on the other hand you use your own very liberal (if you can believe the term) and open-minded version of Christianity.

There's not much interpretation when it comes to homosexuality and what the bible says.  It's pretty clear, very clear.  A man is NOT to lie with a man and a woman is not to lie with a woman.  It's called an abomination.  In Jude it's called "strange flesh."   If people are interpreting it differently then it's because they want to believe what they want despite what scripture clearly outlines. 

I don't call myself open-minded when it comes to the Scripture.  I just read it at face value and have to be honest with what it says.  I'm not an extremist if that's what you mean.  I believe in Grace where some may take the legalistic approach and come down hard.  But then we have to ask ourselves, how did Jesus react to sin when he was faced with it?  He always reacted with love but he never let them off the hook.  He always addressed their sin issue sometimes even bluntly.   

But the important point is how we can stop this. How can we help women? And how can we (you) argue that there is anything wrong about homosexual practices if the most extreme opponents of it are so clearly much much more wrong?

We can help them by teaching the men about the love of Jesus and what he wanted.  Jesus elevated women to their proper position.  The homosexual practice is very wrong in God's eyes, called an abomination which is very strong language in scripture.  The reason is because God created man and woman to be untied in marriage to reflect his image.  A man and a man cannot do this.  Neither can a woman and a woman.  In God's plan it takes both a man and a woman to reflect God and that was his desire for marriage.   Homosexuality is a perversion of the image of God and what Satan is promoting.  Remember he does everything the opposite;  he twists, deceives and perverts to influence mankind away from the true God.   

The marriage analogy is very prevelant in scripture.  The church is called the bride of Christ.  She is to be pure, holy and waiting for her bridegroom.  She is not to play the harlot but to wait for husband to claim her.  That's what the church is supposed to be doing, waiting and watching for the bridgroom to come and take his bride.   

This has confused me. Does that mean that all the laws and guidance in the OT are not valid?

It's not so much that they're not valid as we're not under the law today but under Grace lke I outlined earlier here.  The law shows us God's heart.  We are still not to murder, steal, covet ect.  Those commandments are not only written down in the Torah but also they are called natural laws written on the hearts of mankind.  The law in it's totality is much more than just 10 commandments.   The law was fulfilled in Christ.  The law pointed to the Messiah who would come.   

The god of the bible ordered gays to be killed and villages put to death because of what one person did.

The people that god ordered dead are dead. And nobody was ever condemned to death by G-d just for being (or even acting) homosexual.

What dead people are we talking about here?  >_>

There are absolutely no stories of homosexuals being killed off in the bible.  None. 

If you care to show me, go ahead.  The closest I can come to thinking of an occurrance is when Noah's son Ham looked at his father's nakedness.  Many believe it was more than just a passing glance and think maybe there might have been a homosexual overture there but not only is that not clear, Ham was NOT ordered killed although he did receive a curse from God over it. 

God is always about grace and second chances, even in the OT. 

Reply #25 from Stardock Forums Top

God did command they were put to death. 

As for killings - why did god kill the first born of all families in moses times?  Babes in arms will have been included - innocents that were killed by god from the crimes of their dictator.  Delibratery killed children doesn't sound like love to me.