I love God, but what religion?

[mackbrislawn]

Please leave this line alone. I have very recently read in other posts on CAF that bibleOT and NT admit the word slave. It is used by prophets. There is no harm in being a slave of God. The Mater / Servant relationship also tells us that we are to serve God. True service needs LOve and good faith. The best faith cannot be proved except to become a slave. The being a slave of God is not in the same sense as we may have about slave/ master relation in this bad world. God is not the bad Master.

…

Yes, Christians are slaves of God in the sense we want to serve Him. But Christians think of themselves more as obedient children who want to serve their Father from love and family.

When a slave runs away, the master hunts him down and drags him back. But not so with a son. When a son leaves, the father sadly lets him go away, and is afterward always scanning the horizon waiting for his son to return. When the son returns, he is welcomed with a fatted calf. That is the story of the prodigal son. And why Christians think of God as Father.

The slave master forces his slaves to remain and serve, the father does not, and relies on love for his children to remain and serve.

 

[Ad_Gentes]

A_Lion_Of_Islam:

Out of the 1000 religions that exist that you are aware of, common sense will tell you (if you learn them enough) that completely submitting to God is the true religion… Follow that which asks you to do that

Fair enough.

In and of itself, that statement is not entirely incorrect and makes much sense. The problem is that to Muslims Islam is the only religion where one submits to God. But that would not be correct since Judaism and Christianity also require one to submit to God. So the question really is: what is God’s will so that we may submit to it? Well, as a Christian I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that through His ministry and that of his apostles, He revealed to us God’s will. So, who would know more about the will of God? His only begotten Son or a “prophet”? Again, as a Christian the answer to me is obvious. Of course, for a Jew or Muslim it may not be so.

 

[SteveVH]

Please leave this line alone. I have very recently read in other posts on CAF that bibleOT and NT admit the word slave. It is used by prophets. There is no harm in being a slave of God. The Mater / Servant relationship also tells us that we are to serve God. True service needs LOve and good faith. The best faith cannot be proved except to become a slave. The being a slave of God is not in the same sense as we may have about slave/ master relation in this bad world. God is not the bad Master.

Whatever your definition of a slave is, it is certainly different than being a son or daughter of God.

That is your belief. Islam does not support such ideas. Islam does not support the original sin being found in the present day men and woman. The original sin theory of the church tells us that even a new born baby is a sinner. We Muslims do not believe in such things. We believe that Adam made a mistake (say sinned). Our Quran tells us that he repented. God forgave him.
Once forgiven, there is no sin to be carried forward in all the mankind.

The state of mankind throughout history is evidence enough that our nature was changed due to the fall of Adam and Eve.

The father (living) in the son and son (living) in the father is not understood. There is a complication and serious contradiction.

If God is eternally a family and perhaps you mean that we are a part of that family, then it must be a big family of God. Then where will Jesus stand?? We know that Jesus cannot be a real, literal son of God. It can only be a symbolic son or metaphorical son. We do not deny that.

No, I do not mean that God is a family because we are part of that family. We are a part of His family when we accept and follow Jesus, however God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are eternally a family, before creation, now and forever. Their famililial relationship is not dependent upon human beings. We are invited to become part of that family and that constitutes heaven for the Christian; participating in the love between the Father and the Son, the beatific vision.

But we would wish that such things are explained to non-catholics in real terms. When catholics say that Jesus was the “begotten” son of God, that he was the “Only begotten son” of God, the matters become more complicated. That is because the word “begotten” is used in the bibleNT, mathew chapter one, verse one, two three…:

It says “Abraham begat Issac. Issac begat jacob. jacob begat Judas/Jehuda(?)…”

That word begat is being used in bible, gospels. That is the real use of the word, “beget”. So in what sense did Jesus become a begotten son?? It can only be in the spiritual sense. And we muslims will not deny that sense. We will believe that Jesus was spiritually begotten son, okay. But then there were many others like that… Abraham, Noah, Jacob, Moses, Krishna, Muhammad, Budha, they were all spiritually begotten. Why not?? Or, do not use such terms as begotten, under cover. Bring out the real meaning of such terms please.

What we mean is that Jesus Christ was not created; He is not a creature like us. He is God, from eternity. Yes it is “complicated” and beyond our ability to comprehend, but nevertheless true. We know it is true because it was revealed to us by God Himself.

God bless you.

 

[jakasaki]

Translation: Chapter 112: Al-Ikhlas (The Unity, Sincerity, Oneness Of God)

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

1. Say: He is **Allah **(God), the One and Only;
2. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
3. He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
4. And there is none like unto Him.

One of the biggest problems I have with islam when it comes to English translated postings or internet sites, they will write out everything in English except the word “allah”.

In the above quote, it states, “oneness of God”

Translation of chapter 112, it states the word “allah” AND IT’S A translation,

Where is the word “God” - forget “allah”… I’m reading this in English.

Verse 1, although it’s translated in English, it states “allah” again and then “God” in parnethesis as if it’s inserted.

Go to any internet islamic forum where they all speak & write English.

Everything is in English except the word “allah”.

If one writes in English and the word “allah” means “God”, why the heck don’t they write the word God?

This happens here as well.

English writting muslims/islam posters refer to “allah” and NOT the word God.

 

[jakasaki]

QUOTE=planten;6162551

…

The Mater / Servant relationship also tells us that we are to serve God. True service needs LOve and good faith. The best faith cannot be proved except to become a slave. The being a slave of God is not in the same sense as we may have about slave/ master relation in this bad world. God is not the bad Master.

…

The Lords Prayer - Matthew 6

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, <— key word… “Father” and NOT “master”

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.

 

[schaick]

Hi,

I have a firm belief in God and know that He is there for me, but I’m having trouble with religions. The three I’m looking at is Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. So I came here to hear the Christian side, so could you help me out.

Well one has only part of the truth,

One has the whole TRUTH

And one has distorted the truth.

Have you read the Holy Bible and/or the Quran?

 

[Jay53]

One of the biggest problems I have with islam when it comes to English translated postings or internet sites, they will write out everything in English except the word “allah”.

In the above quote, it states, “oneness of God”

Translation of chapter 112, it states the word “allah” AND IT’S A translation,

Where is the word “God” - forget “allah”… I’m reading this in English.

Verse 1, although it’s translated in English, it states “allah” again and then “God” in parnethesis as if it’s inserted.

Go to any internet islamic forum where they all speak & write English.

Everything is in English except the word “allah”.

If one writes in English and the word “allah” means “God”, why the heck don’t they write the word God?

This happens here as well.

English writting muslims/islam posters refer to “allah” and NOT the word God.

That’s pretty funny, jakasaki: I was just thinking that earlier today in thinking about the threads with Arabic and the name Allah etc.

When you read/say the shahada it is always presented as “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger”. But if one is actually translating it should be “There is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger”. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen it presented that way other than in discussions about the name.

OK, back to the topic at hand.

To the OP, I pray that God will lead you to Him. Others here have given you some good advice/resources to study. Since I am Catholic, obviously I believe that the Catholic Church is God’s Church and I believe all that Jesus teaches us through His Church. I pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you to God as well.

 

[SteveVH]

It says “Abraham begat Issac. Issac begat jacob. jacob begat Judas/Jehuda(?)…”

That word begat is being used in bible, gospels. That is the real use of the word, “beget”. So in what sense did Jesus become a begotten son?? It can only be in the spiritual sense. And we muslims will not deny that sense. We will believe that Jesus was spiritually begotten son, okay. But then there were many others like that… Abraham, Noah, Jacob, Moses, Krishna, Muhammad, Budha, they were all spiritually begotten. Why not?? Or, do not use such terms as begotten, under cover. Bring out the real meaning of such terms please.

One more thought on the “beget” subject. Birds beget birds, horses beget horses, humans beget humans and God begets God. “Beget” is different from “create” Also, Jesus is completley different than Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Krishna, Muhammad or Buddha. He claimed to be God, none of the others did, and was either telling the truth, was insane or is a liar. You make the call. He certainly was not just another prophet or good man.

 

[jakasaki]

That’s pretty funny, jakasaki: I was just thinking that earlier today in thinking about the threads with Arabic and the name Allah etc.

When you read/say the shahada it is always presented as “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger”. But if one is actually translating it should be “There is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger”. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen it presented that way other than in discussions about the name.

OK, back to the topic at hand.

To the OP, I pray that God will lead you to Him. Others here have given you some good advice/resources to study. Since I am Catholic, obviously I believe that the Catholic Church is God’s Church and I believe all that Jesus teaches us through His Church. I pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you to God as well.

This whole thing goes back to what the muslims claim that “allah” means “God”.

OK - if it means God, why the heck do you write the whole thing out in English expect the word "allah.

Some of our muslim member posters have said that “allah” is a NAME for “God”.

Other muslim posters simply say that “allah” means/translates to “God”



Will the real islam please stand up… please stand up!

One poster who is non-muslim stated that the word “allah” predates islam.



OK - do we have actual documents of pre-islam that the Arabian Christian & Jews called God “allah”?

Man, Oh Man… this thread has been de-railed… sorry OP

 

[schaick]

allah simply means god- a generic term.

We have god and GOD and know the difference. Arabic does not have capital letters.

When we say GOD, Arabiuc Christians say Allah.

Muslims do not knoe YWHW as a personal name of GOD

SlaveofHim -Oh and besides my-
*Well one has only part of the truth,

One has the whole TRUTH

And one has distorted the truth.

Have you read the Holy Bible and/or the Quran? *

The most important question that can help you decide which religion or relationship with GOD you choose:

Do you believe the historical evidence that Jesus was crucifiec?

 

[SnakeMauler]

Yeah, I just think it’s neat to think about those things sometimes is all.

That sort of thing would mean that one basically has to accept EVERYONE’s claimed revelations from God.

 

[agent_grey]

I don’t really understand the Trinity or Jesus being the son of God as I believe God wouldn’t need a son since He’s God. But Christianity has some good things so I just want to know more about it before I made a decision on which path to follow.

God has 2 easily quantifiable traits. both are infinite yet quantifiable. Justice and mercy.

Only Yeshua solves this paradigm.

 

[SlaveofHim]

Thanks again, to answer one of the questions I wasn’t brought up religious or anything. I just always had a belief in God and strive to be near Him.

Have you read the Holy Bible and/or the Quran?

I have a Muslim friend, so I’ve read a bit of the Quran. Not a lot of the Bible though.

The most important question that can help you decide which religion or relationship with GOD you choose:

Do you believe the historical evidence that Jesus was crucifiec?

What do you mean?

God has 2 easily quantifiable traits. both are infinite yet quantifiable. Justice and mercy.

I definitely believe that God is Just and has an infinite amount of Mercy.

 

[Jay53]

What do you mean?

I think he/she is asking what your views are about Jesus’ Crucifixion. Christianity and Islam have conflicting views of it. The Bible documents Jesus’ Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection and tells us about some of those who witnessed this event.

Islam and the Quran on the other hand denies Jesus’ Crucifixion although from what I understand there is much confusion/speculation as to what Muslims think really happened. Some think that Jesus just fainted and was taken down from the Cross alive. Some think that someone else was crucified in His place, possibly Judas, possibly Simon of Cyrene ??? etc.

So, if you have any views/beliefs or have evaluated any evidence regarding Jesus’ Crucifixion, that would narrow your choices as to which religion you would find “convincing” or more compatible with your current beliefs.

 

[Zahra]

Hello,

My dear sister/brother,
I have so many islamic sites that I want you to take a look on them but I couldn’t send PM to you,so can you allow to me to do this?

 

[A_Lion_Of_Islam]

Correct me if I’m wrong but I think one of the differences between Christianity and Islam is that we consider God as a loving Father, not a distant Master. Our relationship to Him is familial, we are His adopted children, not slaves. We believe that God, the Father’s eternal Son, is our Redeemer who opened the gates of heaven by offering Himself for the sins of man. We believe that God, the Holy Spirit is, in essence, the love of the Father for the Son and the Son for the Father, so real that He constitutes the third person of the Holy Trinity. One of the best analogies I can think of is the substance of water. It can be in the form of liquid, solid (ice) and gas (steam), three completely different charactaristics, yet it remains one substance. God’s fatherhood does not depend upon His relationship with human beings; He is eternally a Father to the Son and eternally a Son to the Father. He lives in us through His Spirit. As scripture tells us, God is Love. In order to love, there must be an object of that love; thus God is eternally a family and must be in order to be Love.

we dont think God is a distant master…If anyone in the world is close to God and loves him, then I cant think of anyone else but a religious muslim… We bow to God and communicate with him at least 17 times a day throug our five daily prayers…So unless you know what others do, lets leave assumptions aside…

 

[A_Lion_Of_Islam]

One of the biggest problems I have with islam when it comes to English translated postings or internet sites, they will write out everything in English except the word “allah”.

In the above quote, it states, “oneness of God”

Translation of chapter 112, it states the word “allah” AND IT’S A translation,

Where is the word “God” - forget “allah”… I’m reading this in English.

Verse 1, although it’s translated in English, it states “allah” again and then “God” in parnethesis as if it’s inserted.

Go to any internet islamic forum where they all speak & write English.

Everything is in English except the word “allah”.

If one writes in English and the word “allah” means “God”, why the heck don’t they write the word God?

This happens here as well.

English writting muslims/islam posters refer to “allah” and NOT the word God.

hmmm some of us havent heard of translation have we?

 

[Jay53]

hmmm some of us havent heard of translation have we?

That’s her whole point! They are supposed to be translations, but they **don’t **translate “Allah” to God.

 

[jakasaki]

That’s her whole point! They are supposed to be translations, but they **don’t **translate “Allah” to God.

Thank goodness someone understands!

Good job Jay53

 

[A_Lion_Of_Islam]

That’s her whole point! They are supposed to be translations, but they **don’t **translate “Allah” to God.

hmmm… thats interesting… this is the result google gave me to my query ‘what is allah’

•The supreme God of all creation. He is known as “God” or “Father” to the Christians, and as “El” or “Yahweh” to the Jews.

wings.buffalo.edu/sa/muslim/library/jesus-say/definitions.html