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It would be more proper to classify Islam as a Christian sect or group of sects, since the word 'Christian' properly designates all of the innumerable sects that attribute divinity to the Jesus who is the protagonist of the 'New Testament,' although, of course, there is naturally great hostility between competing sects, each of which claims to represent the 'true religion' and even tries to deny the term 'Christian' to all of its competitors in the salvation-business. It is true that Mahomet claimed to be the successor of the Jewish Jesus, whom he, like the Christians, regarded as not having been a christ in the strict sense of that word (i.e., a divinely appointed king to lead the Jews to dominion over the whole world), but as a Saviour who, like Zarathustra, could bestow a pleasant immortality on anyone, regardless of race, who believed the right dogmas while keeping his reason in abeyance.

Revilo P. Oliver#17

ReligionFaithChristianityIslamTheology

About this quote

What does it mean?
Islam should be classified as a Christian sect because it shares key theological elements and claims regarding Jesus.
In plain terms
Islam is like a Christian sect as it shares beliefs about Jesus and salvation.
What can you take from it?
Religions may share core claims despite naming differences.

Where it applies

  • studying theology
  • comparing faiths
  • interfaith dialogue

Putting it to work

  • compare religious claims
  • study Jesus in traditions
  • analyze sects

Questions to consider

  • What defines a sect?
  • How do religions overlap?

Another view

Classifying Islam as a Christian sect ignores major theological divergences.

More from Revilo P. Oliver

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  2. With the exception of some early Christian sects that were exterminated when the Fathers of the Church wormed their way to power and could start killing their …

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  3. Indeed, I greatly fear that for most of our people those implanted 'humanitarian' hallucinations are so deep and inveterate that they can be broken, if at all,…

    Permalink to quote #15

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