what we believe

  What we believe. I have read that Muslims call God, Allah. As a Christian my God doesn't have a name. The Hebrews call God Jehovah or Yahweh. Apparently, the Same God, three religions. Now Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet, along with some of his disciples. Muhammed was also a prophet. Christians believe Jesus is the son of God. Allah talked to the angel Gabriel and told him what to tell Muhammed. He didn't write any of that down as Muhammed didn't know how to write. So, the Quaran was written down by scribes under the employ of Muhammed. Muhammed told them what to write.   The same angel Gabriel as in the Bible. The same Gabriel that is also in the Torah. The Muslims do not assign any author to the Quaran. The Torah is said to have been written by Moses. The Christian Bible was written by over forty authors over a period of 1500 years. God inspired those authors over time. There are those that claim it was simply men that wrote the book. That is, without hearing the words from Yahweh or God or Allah. Well except for the tablets that contain the ten commandments that is, they were written by God but have been misplaced for centuries now. They are in the Ark of the Covenant. Actually, there are two sets in there, the original ones broken by Moses when he threw them down in anger after seeing his people worshipping a golden calf, and the replacement set God gave him afterwards.

 As I understand it most of what the Muslims believe align with biblical teachings with some very troubling exceptions. Often called the "sword" verses there 149 of those in the Quaran. Allah calls for the destruction of the infidels! Quite a stark difference than what the Christian god taught, although in all fairness God didn't mind engaging in battles! Lots of warfare in the Old Testament. I have to confess I'm not much of a Biblical scholar either. I believe I have the basics down though. My God doesn't require I kill anyone if they don't become a Christian. It doesn't say I can't defend myself and fight, when necessary, at least in the Old Testament I can. In fact, God tells me to but that was for the Jews not the Christians because there wasn't any Christians yet.  As I said I'm no scholar when it comes to the Bible but know of no passage in the New Testament saying anyone is my enemy with the exception of the devil. The devil is to be avoided at all costs. In Christianity he is Lucifer, in Islam he is Iblis. Different name same person. In Judaism Satan or the devil or lucifer whatever name you wish to apply isn't a person or a fallen angel. It is what they call Yetzer Hara, the innate ability and desire of man to do wrong.  

 The more I read the more I begin to understand just what is going on here. It is the struggle between the literal and the figurative. The Jewish people, the Christians and the Muslims are all struggling with that. This is what the book says, but what does it mean? Now the Jewish people traditionally proclaim that Jesus was not the Messiah. The arrival of the Messiah would have to be accompanied by a few other occurrences as prophesied in the Torah. Like the rebuilding of the temple and all the Jews returning to their homeland. Christians say Jesus arrived to give us a second chance. For God so loved the world, (his children) that he sent his son to show them the way to salvation. And also, to knock it off with all the wars and violence! The Muslims are saying Muhammed was instructed by Gabriel who told him to kill idolators. 

 That is one point of contention. The Quaran has a lot of verses about defending Islam against invaders and aggression. Muslims will tell you that the Quaran does not say to kill all those that are non-believers. Indeed, some of their scholars that I have read say, it says idolators, not non-believers. So, what is an idolator? One who worships an idol is the answer. What is an idol to a Muslim? Anything being worshipped that isn't Allah. That includes Christians, Jews and anyone or anything else that isn't Allah. But some scholars of Islam say the Quaran also says to give them all a chance to ask Allah for forgiveness and if they do that they are spared. 

 The Muslims "converted" those purchased in the slave trade from Africa to being Muslims. It was that or die for being an idolator. Christian missionaries attempted and still attempt to convert everyone to Christianity but not with the threat of death if they don't. It is just explained that they will burn in hell for all eternity if they don't believe in God. All of that revolves around semantics. This is what the book says, but this is what it means. To be fair about it all religions practice that to varying degrees. There are over two thousand denominations in Christianity. What you can and cannot do depends upon that. It is an ever-changing landscape. The Jewish people are waiting on the Messiah. The Messiah will establish a new world order of sorts. That is, the Messiah will be the King of the world, and everyone will bow to his/her commands and live in peace and harmony forever. Man can't do that on his own. 

  Now those practicing Judaism comprise about .2% of the world population, Christians about 31% and Muslims about 24%. Those numbers are estimates and are changing every year. According to some estimates by 2050 the Muslims will equal the number of Christians. I didn't see any estimates about the Jewish folks. It is interesting to note that since the arrival of Jesus Christianity grew to its' present size while the Jewish population has certainly grown smaller. It could be said that Muhammed made an even greater impact on religious beliefs as the Muslims grow in number and Muhammed didn't show up for another six hundred years after the birth of Jesus. Makes me wonder what the appeal is. What is different about Islam that increases its' popularity? Why adopt that belief system?

  I don't have an answer for that. I do have some thoughts though. It must be in the books we read. After oral tradition that is what we have, written words. Both portray an individual account, a statement of what is believed to be the truth. That's the case with religious documents. Are they biased depending upon the authors? To a degree, I'm certain they have to be, that is just part of human nature. Do all religious texts hide an ulterior motive? If so, what would that motive be? It would have to be control. All religions, by their very nature, attempt to instruct, to direct, and to impose control over the people in some fashion. They tell you how to live your life. It is all in what is promised.

  What is promised? That's the real question behind all of this. The Jewish believe they are promised a land of their own and to live on earth in peace. The Christians believe our reward comes after death, eternal life in heaven. Heaven is really like the Jewish concept of a land of our own and living in peace in that land. The Muslims are promised by Allah forgiveness and a great reward. I'm not sure what the reward is. But they are also promised inheritance of power, establishment of their religion in authority, and Allah's protection. That's what I read about that anyway. So, for me it seems the promise of power could be quite appealing. 

  I do think that all of that, whatever faith you have, whatever religious doctrine you subscribe to, is generally an inherited thing. In general, it is what you grew up with. The religion of your ancestors. That is something that held far more importance in years past. So important in fact that the founding fathers forbid the establishment of a state religion. Today many people reject the idea of any God, any order in the universe and think it is as simple as, things happen. I admit that would certainly free you up to do pretty much as you please. The only rules being civil law. Morality and ethics are quite fluid in that circumstance. The only problem with that being the establishment of order. Or should I say, who wields the power? Seems to me that is what we are all fighting over most of the time. My God can beat up your God. Yes, it is what we believe. 

 I don't profess to having any great knowledge or insight into any of this. I do think it is something to be discussed. It is a very difficult discussion to have with another person. As someone famously said, I've never learned anything from someone that agrees with me. I don't always agree with myself, so I talk to myself. Then I write it down and share it with anyone that cares to read it. In that way those folks can form their own opinion without having to express that to me. Some do anyway but that's alright too. Being a man, I do have selective hearing. Ask any wife about that if you don't understand. What I have written today I don't see as a questioning of faith, it's more of a questioning of what you believe. I know what I believe. But what do we believe?