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I am 18 years old and have been raised as an Arab-Christian. My father is Orthodox and my mother is Catholic. Both sides of my family are very old fashioned and strict. I am very conservative and have old fashion morals myself. All of my friends are Arabic, some of them being Christian and some of them being Muslim. Lately, I have been thinking about converting. I think I am valid in saying that I want to convert because I see the difference between Christian and Muslim families. Not to say that Arab-Christian families can't be strict, but I feel like my morals and values lean more towards the Muslim side. I don't mean this as far the religion goes, just the morals and values that go along with it however. If that makes any sense?? I feel like religion is just something that you are born into and I feel like people should get to chose their religion. I do have some family that is Muslim and I have talked to them about this and they support it because they think I am doing it for the right reasons. My father however is a very strong Christian and I am afraid that he would be very angry with me and not talk to me. I'm scared of what my Christian side of the family and my Christian friends will think. Please give me as much advice as you have.
First, I think you need to do some more research. The morals and values of Islam are pretty much the same as Christianity. Both are based on the Ten Commandments and what's referred to as the Judeo-Christian ethic. Some Islamic extremists aside, moraly and ethicly, there is not much difference.
The major difference between the three major religions is the rules that govern their daily lives and how they worship. As far as I know, Islam is the strictest of the three. It requires greater control of what one can eat and drink. How and when one worships. How it deals with many other issues. For example, I was reading recently that Muslims cannot borrow money. Therefore they cannot be come home owners unless they save enough to pay cash. This also means they can't use credit cards etc.
So I suggest you need to learn more about what you would be letting yourself in for.
If you feel that religion is just something you are born into, trust me, you are not a Christian. You may call yourself one, but you are not. So instead of kidding yourself further, maybe just call yourself a muslim. Religion isn't the issue, its personal relationship with God. Without that everything else is meaningless.
I was referring to your statement about what being a Christian means. I think he's correct that religion is something you are born into. Whether you decide that its for you or not should be a personal choice. But being a Christian involves believing in a set of values, and believing in the people who set those values. Those are things that are taught to us from our families who practice their religion. But it should be clear that were ARE born into our religions.
well you might be born into a religious family, that is a family who does some religious things, but that doesn't make you a Christian. And you can choose a religion to "practice" but "practising" a religion is meaningless as far as salvation is concerned. Only the one true God through His only Son Jesus can save you, and not because of your family or your practising of some religion or adhering to some rules, it is, as Scripture clearly says, "...by faith alone, and that not of yourself less anyone should boast."
Religion is completely something you are born into and I think that it should be a personal choice. And don't judge me and say that I am not a Christian or that I have no personal relationship with God. It's just that I am in a culture where I can clearly see both sides of both religions and basically whatever religion you are born into, is what you believe. But thats always been a weird thought to me because I don't feel like one of them is the "wrong" religion. I don't think that all Muslim people are going to hell because they aren't Christian or vise versa. Religion is a weird thing to me, but I feel like regardless of anything, it is a personal choice. And as far as I can see things, the difference between the families that I grew up with is that Islam is much more strict. I just feel like my conservative ways are more associated with Islam then Christianity.
Yes inaz4sun, you are a Christian and you believe there is no other way to happiness besides through Lord Jesus Christ, but how do you explain someone who is truly truly happy but is Muslim? I feel like if you grew up seeing things both ways like I did, you would be curious too.
Whether you feel more akin to Islam than Christianity or vice versa, is up to you. The problem I have with your initial post, that your reasons for feeling closer don't make a lot of sense.
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