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It depends on the circumstances, Dave. In general, I try to recognize both the similarities and the differences. Otherwise, I'm just getting an inaccurate picture about people's beliefs. Sure there are similarities between Christianity and Islam, but if we ignore the differences, we're just not understanding Christianity and Islam. The same goes if we ignore the similarities. But when I see someone overemphasizing the similarities between, say, Buddhism and Christianity, especially on a message board dedicated to the discussion of ideas, I'm going to tend to emphasize the differences to provide a bit of a corrective.
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"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."
"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
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