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My point had nothing to do with Islam and everything to do with a fact that a couple quick snippets from the Koran doesn't not justify an entire viewpoint - for all I know, those are just quotes of leaders...certainly don't have to be commands from Allah -

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Those verses aren't the quotes of various leaders, Whiskey--they are the direct instructions of Allah to mankind for all time, written down by Mohammed as the exact message told to him by the Archangel Gabriel (on behalf of Allah).

The Koran contains the direct instructions of Allah, to mankind, for all time.

You used to study the Bible, as I recall.

Many verses in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, are given in the historical sense. This is especially true of many of the violent passages.

This is not the same case with the Koran. Nor does the Koran have various authors, and doubts of authorship; nor was it selectively pieced together from many books as was the present-day Bible. It is generally acknowledged by scholars that Mohammed was the sole writer of the Koran.

Also please notice that the Biblical passages referenced in comparison thus far, throughout this thread, are from the Old Testament. The Old Testament mostly relates to pre-Christ history and theology.

Christianity is more of the New Testament than the Old Testament.

If someone wants to compare Islam to Christianity (or actually, to the belief in and followings of the teachings of Jesus Christ), they should be digging out verses from the New Testament. There they won't find verses comparable to the myriad verses in the Koran enjoining present day Muslims to terrorize, kill, torture and subjugate non-believers (remember, the Koran is a book of Allah's instructions good for all time).

There is however ONE verse, to my knowledge, in the New Testament that is is any way comparable to the dozens of such verses in the Koran--and that line exists only in ONE of the Gospels (Luke) and is not corroborated in any other of the Gospels.

So before you or anyone else should presume that Islam is no more violent or totalitarian in nature than Christianity, it might make some sense if you did some research before grabbing on to such a easy and natural opinion.

Another aspect of difference between the two religions is that Jesus did not insist on ruling this Earth, or on forcing people to follow God's law. If someone wanted to go down an evil path, Jesus would let them (though perhaps he might speak to try to dissuade them or make them think twice). Jesus also instructed followers to lay up treasures in heaven rather than on this Earth.

The Koran on the other hand clearly instructs believers that they should rule all of the Earth, thereby carrying out Allah's will--and using force wherever necessary to achieve their goal.

Jesus was a man of peace, not resisting even his own tormentors and executioners. Jesus advised loving one's enemy and turning the other cheek.

Mohammed, by contrast, was a warrior-king: leading over a dozen military expeditions of conquest in his lifetime and participating in dozens more. He promised his soldiers the twin rewards of booty in this world and sensual delights in the next.

Islam is highly concerned with forcing the world to submit to its rule, to God's law. "Islam" in fact means submission (to Allah's will). That part is OK, but the part that is not OK is the philosophical basis and instructions throughout the Koran of forcing others to do so also.

So, before forming a conclusion about the comparison of two religions, it might make sense to know a fair bit about both religions--not just about one.

I say this not to be critical of you, but rather because it is a common mistake I see many otherwise educated Westerners making today. It is more natural to presume the two are roughly equivalent, of course--and that is also a more hopeful presumption. Deeper inspection of the religious texts and philosophical bases of the two religions will however reveal some monumental dissimilarities.

All this of course may mean little when men are predisposed to do evil based upon ANY sort of perceived philosophical or religious justification. However it is still worth discerning what the underlying messages of each religion really are teaching. It is also worth noting the drastically contrasting personal examples of the lives of the founders of both religions.

All of this doesn't mean that Muslims are inherently more violent than Christians. However it does indicate that Islam is inherently more violent than Christianity.