Does Pope Francis have a fantasy-prone personality disorder?

[Jehanne]

You're absolutely correct, HOWEVER, that came after Muslim rule.  Tell me this, "What was the Battle of Tours, where was it fought and why was it fought?"

Why don't you read up on the battle of Tours yourself? It was a simple raid, aimed to loot the region. I'm well aware of who fought it and what the reasons were. I'm also well aware why the Moors lost. Because the Franks made for their camp and the moorish troops fearing for the booty, left the battlefield. There was no expansionist strategy behind it and certainly no religious motif.

A simple raid????   Are you crazy?!

No, it was two armies, those of Charles Martel, who had 30,000 troops, and an invading Muslim army twice that size, numbering 60,000 troops:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tours

What was a Muslim army doing in northern France 100 years after the death of Muhammad?  They were just there to "raid"??

This is just nonsense.  Armies do not travel 2,000 miles just to "raid".  I would suggest that you read more.

[rexbeccarox]

(bold mine)

I'm sorry, but it is a view I share. I lack a belief in god(s), and I resent the idea that, because I share that one trait with others, I "stand for" something.

You stand for what's real, as opposed to that which is not.

What if I, an atheist, believed I had wings and could fly?

[Jehanne]

You stand for what's real, as opposed to that which is not.

What if I, an atheist, believed I had wings and could fly?

I would say that you were mentally ill.  Of course, you would probably no longer be an atheist at that point.

[GrandizerII]

He's neither completely right nor wrong. A proper reading of the Qur'an suggests that Islam promotes violence (but so does the Bible) but not to the extent promoted by terrorist groups like ISIS.

Of course there are contradictory passages to that too. But it's still in there.

Bingo! It's these passages that counterbalance the more violent ones. And it's what makes these verses so ambiguous.

When I say "a proper reading", it doesn't mean it's the one and only correct interpretation.

[Jehanne]

Here's a great article that should eviscerate any notion that Islam was (or is) a "peaceful" religion:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Muslim_conquests

In late 620s Muhammad had already managed to conquer and unify much of Arabia under Muslim rule, and it was under his leadership that the first Muslim-Byzantine skirmishes took place. Just a few months after Heraclius and the Persian general Shahrbaraz agreed on terms for the withdrawal of Persian troops from occupied Byzantine eastern provinces in 629, Arab and Byzantine troops confronted each other at the Mu'tah. Muhammad died in 632 and was succeeded by Abu Bakr, the first Caliph with undisputed control of the entire Arab peninsula after the successful Ridda Wars, which resulted in the consolidation of a powerful Muslim state throughout the peninsula.

[GrandizerII]

Here's a great article that should eviscerate any notion that Islam was (or is) a "peaceful" religion:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Muslim_conquests

In late 620s Muhammad had already managed to conquer and unify much of Arabia under Muslim rule, and it was under his leadership that the first Muslim-Byzantine skirmishes took place. Just a few months after Heraclius and the Persian general Shahrbaraz agreed on terms for the withdrawal of Persian troops from occupied Byzantine eastern provinces in 629, Arab and Byzantine troops confronted each other at the Mu'tah. Muhammad died in 632 and was succeeded by Abu Bakr, the first Caliph with undisputed control of the entire Arab peninsula after the successful Ridda Wars, which resulted in the consolidation of a powerful Muslim state throughout the peninsula.

I don't have enough knowledge to respond to such specifics, but that's irrelevant anyway. Muslims are generally going to look to their interpretation of what the Qur'an says, not necessarily to what Muhammad did in history past.

[rexbeccarox]

What if I, an atheist, believed I had wings and could fly?

I would say that you were mentally ill.  Of course, you would probably no longer be an atheist at that point.

Why wouldn't I be an atheist? Atheism is a lack of belief in deities; it has nothing to do with a lack of belief in my aviation ability.

[account_inactive]

What if I, an atheist, believed I had wings and could fly?

I would say that you were mentally ill.  Of course, you would probably no longer be an atheist at that point.

wut

[Jehanne]

Here's a great article that should eviscerate any notion that Islam was (or is) a "peaceful" religion:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Muslim_conquests

I don't have enough knowledge to respond to such specifics, but that's irrelevant anyway. Muslims are generally going to look to their interpretation of what the Qur'an says, not necessarily to what Muhammad did in history past.

From the historian's perspective (and, I am not an historian, but am interested in history), the actions of Muhammad certainly reflect his interpretation of the Qur'an.

[Jehanne]

I would say that you were mentally ill.  Of course, you would probably no longer be an atheist at that point.

Why wouldn't I be an atheist? Atheism is a lack of belief in deities; it has nothing to do with a lack of belief in my aviation ability.

I would say that in a world dominated by theistic thought (unless, you're living somewhere in northern Europe) where atheists (at least in the US) are the most distrusted minority that your atheism (whether "weak" or "strong") has its foundation in some underlying principles (or, "stances".)