Sin in changing the religion or keeping 2 of them

[nomanshake]

I'm a muslim, but few past days christianity has sort of excited me and I really have a interest in that, but I have never really known that is there a sin in changing the religion or is there a sin in keeping 2 religions ? Would it be a sin if I change my religion and come back to it again!

[I, Brian]

Lol!! You make it seem as if you have to subscribe to any and every religious ideal and concept you have an interesting to discover more about.

If you think about the exclusion clauses within both Christianity and Islam, I can see real problems with trying to concilliate both under a single embracing of both.

However, I don't believe that there's anything to say you have to be a Christian to explore Christianity, or be a Muslim to explore Islam.

[presser_kun]

Originally Posted by nomanshake

is there a sin in changing the religion or is there a sin in keeping 2 religions ? Would it be a sin if I change my religion and come back to it again!

Christianity states rather explicitly that it is the only true religion. Christian fundamentalists are militant, almost violent about this; mainline Christian denominations believe this, but are less likely to denounce you.

I don't know what the faith of Islam says about this, but I'd be interested to know.

I myself grew up as a Christian fundamentalist (Southern Baptist), then moved to a mainline Christian denomination (Presbyterian Church USA), and now am seeking to understand God in larger, more comprehensive terms.

What I say above is no more than stating the official policy, so to speak, of most Christian denominations, if not all of them. This is based on a statement attributed to Jesus Christ, found in the New Testament:

I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I say attributed, because many biblical scholars and theologians today doubt that Jesus actually said that.

Now, for my own opinion.

There is nothing wrong with searching for God. Most religions insist that their way of understanding God is the correct way, and that others are wrong.

But I say that God honors the honest seeker. Learn from Muslims what they have to say about God; learn from Christians, too.

I believe that God is bigger than any one religion. He speaks to those who are willing to listen.

That's an idealistic view, of course. If you want to learn about Christianity but do not want to be preached at/to, then find an interfaith dialog in your city. Look at Episcopal, Lutheran, or Presbyterian churches.

And, of course, continue posting here.

Hope this info helps you.

Peace,

Gregg

[dayaa]

hello/salam
don't rush into changing....it's a complex subject. take your time to study and think about it carefully. i'm sure God knows who's decent and who's not...and it hasn't got much to do with religious labels. no rush

[StarshipEnterprise]

I think you don't need to be a "christian" or a "muslim", there is nothing wrong with having your own beleifs that may or may not agree with any one religion inparticular. God will not judge you based on what label you fall under.

[presser_kun]

I heartily agree. Unfortunately, many of us do not see it that way.

[Thomas]

Hi -

The three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, have a common root and much more besides, but also have aspects of doctrine which are exclusively their own, and which thereby excludes all others.

Islam denies the Doctrine of the Trinity for example, and Judaism denies the Incarnation, Christianity holds that salvation is through faith in Christ alone.

One can sense the sacred in one or more traditions, but one cannot 'believe' in the sense that one cannot commit and conform oneself to both without believing in a contradiction. Judaism says Christ was a blasphemer; Christianity says Christ is the Son of God; Islam says Christ is a prophet - which one are you going to believe?

Again, the 'depths' of a tradition are revealed through faith, through the heart, the breadth of a tradition through knowledge, and the mind, so one can draw from a religion only as much as one invests oneself in it, as it were.

In the end, I believe, one tradition will 'talk to you' more directly than any other - let your heart lead you.

Thomas

[truthseeker]

If I can respectfully piggy-back on the profound comments of this thread...

Sin is defying God. All the other stuff of religion is cultural. If you want to step into a religion that does not reference God, then sin is not part of the vocabulary. But if you are still seeking God, I don't see how exploring other faiths can be a sin. We can not put the religion before the Creator.

[Thomas]

I agree with the proviso that religion is rightly between us and the Creator, and is founded on a revelation or disclosure of the Creator - it is a Royal Road, an expression of "the way, the truth and the life."

"Neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal him," that is how Catholicism understands Matthew 11:27 and most of the Gospel of St John.

I agree with you, in reference to the Pharisaical nature of man whose tendency is 'to put the cart before the horse,' (that was, after all, his original sin) and that is, as you say, a cultural failing and the tragedy of the (fallen) human condition. In this sense I view the Fall as a self-inflicted wound.

Thomas

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by nomanshake

I'm a muslim, but few past days christianity has sort of excited me and I really have a interest in that, but I have never really known that is there a sin in changing the religion or is there a sin in keeping 2 religions ? Would it be a sin if I change my religion and come back to it again!

I am reminded of the Movie "Robin Hood" (staring Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman)...the "Christian and the Muslim Moore", working side by side, learning to understand eachother, and learning from eachother.

I think you should keep what you have, but learn what you can. After you have gleaned what you can, then pray about it, Nomanshake. I would not go to a Christian minister or a Mulim cleric for "guidance". This is a choice you must make. However I believe God answers all who sincerely enquire of Him His will for each of us...hmmm?

At least here you can ask all the questions you want, without having to suffer the "critical eye" (you know what I mean).

v/r

Q