Episcopal Priest wants to be both a Christian and a Muslim at the same time

[Caliga]

As a side note the Old Testament/Torah even recognizes other Gods by the Commandment that followers should "have no other Gods before Me".  Islam absolutely demands not only that followers worship no other Gods but that there are no other Gods.

Interesting... you know, I've never thought about it but it seems like the ancient Jews were quasi-polytheistic in that I think they did acknowledge the existence of other gods, but just refused to worship them because Yahweh had given them that commandment.

Nowadays, I doubt any Jews believe in the existence of other gods.  I wonder when that changed, and if Christianity's uncompromising monotheism had something to do with it?

[crazy canuck]

As a side note the Old Testament/Torah even recognizes other Gods by the Commandment that followers should "have no other Gods before Me".  Islam absolutely demands not only that followers worship no other Gods but that there are no other Gods.

Interesting... you know, I've never thought about it but it seems like the ancient Jews were quasi-polytheistic in that I think they did acknowledge the existence of other gods, but just refused to worship them because Yahweh had given them that commandment.

Nowadays, I doubt any Jews believe in the existence of other gods.  I wonder when that changed, and if Christianity's uncompromising monotheism had something to do with it?

Just a reflection of the cultural realities.  The ancient Jews were surrounded by more powerful cultures having different Gods and the Jews themselves worshipped other Gods - read the rants against Jews who worshipped the Queen of Heaven for example.

As you already noted the main religions in the area of Medina were Jews and some Christians.  Easy enough to create a religion proclaiming only one God with deference to the other religions of the Book.

[Malthus]

Can't think of any contradiction theologically.  But I dont think one can be a Muslim and a follower of any other faith.  I have a vague recollection that one of the worst sins in Islam is for a believer to embrace another faith.

Yes, the very wording of the shahadah suggests to me that Muslims are absolutely expected to be exclusively loyal to their faith.

I agree that it seems possible to be a Muslim and a Jew simultaneously.  I've never heard of any Jewish texts explicitly stating that Muhammed was NOT a Prophet, nor any laws that make it impossible for him to have been one, though I suppose Jews wouldn't believe a non-Jew could be a Prophet of God.  On the other hand, it's a bit unclear whether or not the Arab (and clearly Semitic) tribes of western Arabia would be viewed as belonging to the Chosen People or not... and IIRC alot of the Arabs of that region were Jews around the time Muhammad was born.

Not true - you don't have to be Jewish to be a prophet: there are at least seven non-Jewish biblical prophets:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaam

In rabbinic literature Balaam is represented as one of seven gentile prophets; the other six being Beor (Balaam's father), Job, and Job's four friends (Talmud, B. B. 15b). In this literature, Balaam gradually acquired a position among the non-Jews, which was exalted as much as that of Moses among the Jews (Midrash Numbers Rabbah 20); at first being a mere interpreter of dreams, but later becoming a magician, until finally the spirit of prophecy descended upon him (ib. 7).

And this doesn't even count such figures as Noah (sometimes considered a prophet as well).

Not that you don't even have to be a good guy to be a prophet - Balaam is considered a villian in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, but a prophet none the less. 

[crazy canuck]

Not true - 

And you said you didnt learn anything at that youth Torah camp.

[Caliga]

Wow, interesting.

[Malthus]

Not true - 

And you said you didnt learn anything at that youth Torah camp.

Though here's something I don't know - an explaination as to why there are not new prophets in Judaism.

[Caliga]

Though here's something I don't know - an explaination as to why there are not new prophets in Judaism.

There *can* be new ones, right?  I think there just haven't been any for a while.... unlike in Christianity, where it says explicitly in the New Testament someplace that there can be no more prophets, which is why I find it endlessly amusing when Christian cult leaders and the like proclaim themselves prophets.

[Malthus]

Wow, interesting.

In the OT, prophecy is more like an affliction than an exalted status - it is something God does to you, poor sucker, for reasons of His own, and you can't escape even if you want to - look at Jonah: the whole bit with him and the whale was God's way of making this clear.

[Syt]

I'd like to see a caricature depicting Jesus as a son of a same sex couple consisting of Jahweh and Allah. 

Nah Joseph and Jahweh were getting it on.  That is why Mary was a virgin, being Joseph's beard.

Nah, Jesus's dad was probably Matthew the Idol Carver or Marcus the Weaver.

"No Joseph, I have no idea how this could have happened, me being a virgin. Must be a miracle!"

[Malthus]

Though here's something I don't know - an explaination as to why there are not new prophets in Judaism.

There *can* be new ones, right?  I think there just haven't been any for a while.... unlike in Christianity, where it says explicitly in the New Testament someplace that there can be no more prophets, which is why I find it endlessly amusing when Christian cult leaders and the like proclaim themselves prophets.

I simply don't know. The only religion I know for sure has ruled out new prophets is Islam, where Mohammed is said to be the "seal of the prophets" (i.e. the very last).

[Caliga]

I simply don't know. The only religion I know for sure has ruled out new prophets is Islam

and Christianity

(unless you consider the LDS Church to be Christian)

[Malthus]

I simply don't know. The only religion I know for sure has ruled out new prophets is Islam

and Christianity

(unless you consider the LDS Church to be Christian)

Never investigated the matter - but where in the NT does it discuss this?

[The Minsky Moment]

Would Jews have a problem with Muhammad being the "seal" of the Prophets?  Wouldn't the Messiah be another prophet?

Yes but the very concept of Messiah is not within the Torah - it is not "core" in that respect and there is room for disagreement about what the messianic concept means and how to interpret it.

[garbon]

Nope.  Islam has proclaimed Christianity for being polytheistic for that very reason.  Changing that view would go to the most important teaching of Islam that there is only one God.

So you bend around and say that God isn't really more than one person although he can manifest himself in the body of a person called Christ (after all, he is all powerful or something). You can also see that as being more than one person, whilst one God.

[Caliga]

Never investigated the matter - but where in the NT does it discuss this?

I forget where, but Princesca likes to quote it (the passage goes something like "the time for Prophets and speaking in tongues has passed") all the time to annoy my mother-in-law, because one of the white trash losers at her Church claims to be able to speak in tongues.  My mother-in-law maintains she isn't faking, but somehow thinks it's not a contradiction of this passage.

I guess to at least a handful of Christians two diametrically opposed notions CAN be true at the same time.