Why do christians ever convert to islam?

[EGross]

Check out JewsForAllah.org if you think Christian converts are weird!

http://www.youtube.com/user/JewForAllah

I wish there was an animated head banging icon!

[KichigaiNeko]

Your wish.... EGross

[Confused Ape]

Just adding some confusion here.

List Of Christian Terms In Arabic

Allāh (الله)
literally "God"; is also used as a religious term by Arab Muslims and Arab Jews.
Roman Catholics in Malta call God Alla in the Maltese language. The name Allah is also used by Christians in predominantly Islamic countries and countries where both faiths exist side by side regularly such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Israel (part), Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Iraq

[EGross]

Weird.

[Confused Ape]

Weird.

I think the word for God just depends on which language is being used. For example, it's Dieu in French and Deus in Latin. If you want real confusion, try Chinese.

[Muslim Scholar]

As far as i can tell the punishment for shirk in islam is hell, forever, and will not be forgiven by allah.
Also that christianity is a form of shirk.
This being the case why would any christian convert to islam? Surely for a christian realizing the quran is the ultimate truth it would be a pretty depressing time, you just realized you're definitely going to hell forever.

Your question is very strange
A Christian who convert to Islam is no longer a Christian, He will be a Muslim so he will not be in hell

The most converts to Islam are Christians because they already believe in God and his prophets (Noah, Moses, etc.)
When they read the bible and Jesus story they can realize easily it is not conforming with the old testament (One God, has prophets, good and bad)
While the new testament is talking about salvation, three gods, God has a son, etc.

[DeistPaladin]

This is perplexing for me as well, not just why a Christian would convert to Islam but why anyone not indoctrinated from childhood would convert to Islam. To be frank, the sales pitch seems rather crude in comparison.

Everyone familiar with my posts knows I won't defend Christianity but I have to give it credit for presenting a slick marketing package that could take in the unwary and those uneducated in the true history of this faith. They've got a ton of faux history, elaborate folklore, forged documentation and supposed "eye-witness accounts" handy to close the deal. They've managed to intertwine their mythology into the historical timeline to give the impression their god walked the earth within relatively recent history. This is an accomplishment that no other religion shares. As a businessman, I have to admire the accomplishment and competitive edge they have over other faith product lines.

Now let's compare that sales pitch to the one Islam offers. Actually, I can sum it up in seven words:

Some guy claimed God spoke to him.

That's it, pretty much.

While he was alone in a cave, no less. I can go down to the nearby insane asylum and probably find a dozen inmates who'll tell me the same story with just as much evidence.

Oh, but wait, it gets better.

You see, it turns out that Jesus never told his followers he was the Son of God. He was actually a forerunner of Muhammad. The Christians got that nutty idea from Paul. As if Paul could come along only a few years after Jesus flew up into the sky and tell his followers to pay no attention to anything Jesus preached but to instead worship him as a divine intercessor. And his followers just went, "Duh, OK"?

And you also get...

Special pleading taken to a whole new level not seen by other religions. You see, not only did Muhammad know Jesus better than the Christians but he knew Jesus better than the only people he could have learned about Jesus from. He knew Jesus better than the sources he had on Jesus who he insists got it all wrong.

Is your head spinning yet?

Again, please don't get me wrong. The story of Jesus is crap but if I WERE to choose between the two religions, it would have to be based on who I think got the story right:

1. The people who knew Jesus, who established a church based on his teachings, who had all manner of faux history and forged documents and dubious eye-witness accounts but at least had something to offer.

OR

2. Some guy who came along six centuries later in another country who could only have heard about Jesus from group #1 and who claims group #1 got it all wrong and really Jesus was a forerunner for him.

Sorry Islam but you guys need a better marketing department.

[EGross]

@DeistPaladin:

I used to help a friend of mine, an ex-director for Jews for Judaism, in Ohio outside of a place called, and I kid you not, "Messiah College". No, they did not teach you to be the Messiah, just how to spread the word of his coming to the world. Outside, one could put up a booth and set nick nacks and things. He was marketing that Jesus never existed, and was selling buttons, and usually got a bit of a crowd. I handled the change.

Everyone wanted to share their storied of how they found the Lord.

And believe it or not, the majority of them all found Jesus in their bathroom. They were taking a shower, going potty, shaving, or whatever. They came to their bizarre acceptance of a life changing faith that Jesus was their lord, while being on or by the crapper.

I always found that amusing.

[DeistPaladin]

@DeistPaladin:
...And believe it or not, the majority of them all found Jesus in their bathroom. They were taking a shower, going potty, shaving, or whatever. They came to their bizarre acceptance of a life changing faith that Jesus was their lord, while being on or by the crapper.

Since the story is total crap, I can't imagine a more appropriate place to come to believe it.

[Mystic]

I think the reason people follow Islam is the psychological appeal it has on many levels but they aren't aware of it.

First if a religion should give direction and attempts to do so, none does so as much as Islam. Islam gives direction from spiritual structure in life, to social structure, to political structure.

If you are looking for structure and organization in your life, none does so as much as Islam.

If you want God to interfere in your life to a very thorough degree, then none does that as much as Islam.

Therefore people seeking structure in life, they will be inclined to Islam. People looking for direction will be more inclined to Islam.

Quran and Sunnah is said to contain everything needed by humanity. Modern issues like healthcare, drugs, etc, have shown that Islam didn't cover all things, but never the less, this is what people believe.

The next appeal is that the Quran is more eloquent then any Arabic literature out there, and as far as I know, more eloquent then any literature out there.

There is so many Surahs where there is over 100 verses that rhyme one after another.

It's not only that it rhymes, there is something unique in eloquence, about the Quran.

Now this is not a rational reason to convert to Islam, but the Quran emphasizes that it's unique, and it seems if it challenged all of humanity to bring something like the Quran, then humanity ought to be have been able to.

This argument is focused on my Muslims. Basically the Quran has an advance Artist of that time, and now the taste in literature has changed, and no one is able yet to write like Quran.

The other appeal it has is constant devotion in one's life to God. Five prayers a day.

At any rate, while these are not "logical" reasons to convert to Islam, they are not "illogical" as well.

To many people it seems like God exists and that he would sent guidance. This feels innate in them.

Think about having a loving father, and imagine if that father never communicates to you, or trying to influence you in the right direction. Not much of a loving father if he can communicate.

Deism is cold. Atheism doesn't justify our instincts of value, purpose, praise, right and wrong...

Religion seems like the rational answer to many. And as far as what religions are suppose to do, it feels like Islam exceeds in that.

You have direct communication from God, his own words, instead of words of "inspired" humans.

Try to give the benefit of doubt to your fellow humans. They aren't all being idiots or dishonest.