I personally do not appreciate "leaps of faith".

Encouraging someone to take a "leap of faith" or have "extreme faith", as some ministers call it, is the equivalent of telling them to shut down their rational minds and become brain-dead automatons.

You have a brain capable of logic and reason, and whether it evolved over time or was created in a single day, it is there for your use.

Believing in the completely irrational is a recipe for disaster. We have seen what this kind of faith has wrought around the world.

It is always interesting to ask a christian whether it would be wise and prudent for a muslim with "extreme faith" to self-reflect upon such faith. Some of these poor people have taken such "leaps of faith" that they are unquestionably willing to die and kill for a "God" described by a book from 653 A.D. that they also, interestingly enough, interpret literally.

They are undoubtedly certain that their beliefs are correct, that their actions are holy, that their deity is the true one, and that "he" will lavish them with unimaginable pleasure in paradise because of their unadulterated, pure faith. (Hmmm, sounds like Christianity doesn't it).

Some of these people have a faith so strong that it is culminated in martyrdom and the cold-blooded murder of innocent people.

The christian may say, "Yeah, but Christians don't kill people." Then it becomes necessary to recount the brutal history of militant christianity. Here is a brief list (by no means comprehensive)- The thirty years war, the crusades, the inquisition, and the centuries of inhuman torture and ultra-violent persecution of so-called "heretics." And more recently let ius not forget about violence between the catholics and protestants in Ireland and the fundamentalist's propensity to support Isreali military action against Palestine.

Yes, these are very real dangers of taking "leaps of faith" and believing in something for no other reason than that your faith demands it. Extreme faith is dangerous and an utter cancer (one of many) that has spread through humanity.

Another interesting question to ask Christians (and other religions with a history of belligerence) is simply this- what if you're wrong? They honestly don't think that there is any remote chance that they might possibly be wrong in their beliefs? No. Their extreme faith prevents thoughtfully reflecting upon their irrational beliefs. They simply cannot question anything because "leaps of faith" don't question anything. And here you have the makings of an inextricable, largely self-imposed, mind trap.