It's a pity that you read it as criticism of Islam as a whole when it was, in fact, criticism of a god that promises 72 virgins. Though somewhat related, those

It's a pity that you read it as criticism of Islam as a whole when it was, in fact, criticism of a god that promises 72 virgins. Though somewhat related, those are orthogonal concepts. Having grown up Mormon, I 100% agree with him and am capable of realizing the basis of fear inherent to the common gods. You, like many in this thread, are personalizing something that Paul didn't actually say because it's important to you and you're ready to defend it. Objectivity is not a strong point when it generally comes to the religious; I'm sorry to paint with so broad a brush, but that's on display here. The mere mention of a-god-like-concept has put a number of folks here into a tizzy, and it's sad.