Would you read the Koran?

[Gideon300]

Would you read the Koran, Buddha's teaching, etc. for educational purposes? If you think Catholicism is another religion, what about reading the Apocrypha? Why or why not?
What does the Bible say about this?

I think it should be okay to read them for educational purposes (not for wisdom, etc.). I think it is helpful in understanding another culture.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable— if anything is excellent or praiseworthy— think on these things." Philippians 4:8 That's much more profitable.

Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism etc. are not just cultural. They are anti-Christ religions that lead people astray. You need to be 100% secure in your own convictions and aware of the risks of deception. Anyone who thinks that they cannot be deceived is deceived already.

 

[iamsoandso]

He will return as a Messenger, not a prophet. He will be a human. Not divine, not a son of Allah (PBTH).

He will pursue the AntiChrist, till the battle of Gog and Magog. Then those followers remaining he will stroke their faces and inform them of their grades in Paradise.

Isa will be a fair judge, then break the cross, literally and symbolically and literally proving once and for all the falsehood of Christianity. On Resurrection Day he will be a witness against the people of the book (Jews and Christians) Isa will call all people to Islam, and Allah will end all religions but Islam.

Safety and peace will cover the earth, the jihad will end. Rancour, envy and hatred will leave the earth.

There's more, but the essential breaking point between Islam, is Christians do believe Jesus is God and Muslims do not. Allah is one, there are no secondary gods. The way to win someone to Christ is to show them how Jesus is God. Further, we can be assured of our salvation, a Muslim cannot!

It can also be pointed out the a Trinity consists of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, not Joseph, Mary and Jesus. Mohammad did not get this simple historical fact right in the Qu'ran. They are many other mistakes like that in the Qu'ran, proving their book is not inspired by God!

I suggest you look into this. There is a lot more end times things that will happen.

Yes as Christians we are awaiting the return of Christ. The Muslims also are awaiting the return of Isa,(Jesus) and the Jews are awaiting an Messiah,(because they refused Jesus) ... This as it seems would make it easy for that Son of perdition to convince them all that he is who they were awaiting in that day. https://biblehub.com/interlinear/2_thessalonians/2-4.htm

 

[Lanolin]

I think reading lots of different memoirs or diaries of people living in other cultures is helpful in understanding them, more so than the religious books themselves.

For example, I just read a book called Dark Emu and it was about the aboriginal culture and how the white australians perpetuated this myth that they were only hunter gatherers when actually there was evidence was all around them that they cultivated and sustained the land for thousands of years before them.

The historians actually looked at settlers diaries of the time of meeting aborignes instead of the whitewashed history of later colonialism. The aborignes did not have a written tradition but they do have their own culture which gets totally ignored and denigrated by white australians because they dont fit in with their ideas of land and ownership and conquest.

I think while its difficult to understand another persons culture if you dont live in that envrionment, reading personal accounts can help. Most people are happy to explain their circumstances to outsiders because they want to communicate that in a book.

while I havent read all the sutras of Buddha for example, I get an understanding of what what like to live in Tibet, India and China by the personal accounts, memoirs etc of people living there..and they might be translations or friends or relatives belonging to that culture not just english speaking expats who write travel diaries.