On one occasion an expert in theology stood up to a speaker of radical religious ideas and said, "What do you think one must do in order to get to heaven?" To which the radical replied, "What does your bible teach you?"

The theologian responded, "It says we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength and with all our mind; and, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves." To which the radical responded, "You have answered correctly, if you do these things you will have eternal life."

Not satisfied, the theologian attempted to trap the radical by inquiring, "But just who is my neighbor?"

Accepting the theologian’s challenge, the radical replied:

"A man was hitchhiking from New York City to Topeka, Kansas. Two-thirds of the way into his journey he was assaulted on the side of the road, robbed of all his money, stripped of his clothes, and left for dead. A Christian minister happened to be driving down the same road shortly thereafter and, when he saw the man, he shook his head and continued onward. Later, a Jewish rabbi came along and he too saw the man and passed him by. Finally, a Muslim immigrant came upon the beaten man and when he saw him, he took pity on him as commanded by the Qur’an. He went to him, bandaged his wounds, and then placed him in his car and drove the man to the nearest hospital. The next day he came back to the hospital and said, ‘Please look after him for as long as it takes and mail me all the bills.’"

The radical continued, "Now I ask you, which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was assaulted and left for dead?"

The theologian replied sarcastically, "I suppose you would say that the Muslim was his neighbor because he had mercy on him."