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aidanbradypop
Guest
Oh, you were referring to the above post! LOL, I thought you were talking about my mother thinking she converted to Islam when she married my step-father.
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mum_of_three
Guest
Lol. I had left the building but have returned.
Thank you j and aidan.
Im definitely not giving up hope and have been praying fervently (think thats the right wird?!!) and ive been reading from ALOT of religious sources but still feeling lost but this is by far the best journey of my life. Im finding out all kinds of new things.
God willing i find my way eventually.
X
Thank you j and aidan.
Im definitely not giving up hope and have been praying fervently (think thats the right wird?!!) and ive been reading from ALOT of religious sources but still feeling lost but this is by far the best journey of my life. Im finding out all kinds of new things.
God willing i find my way eventually.
X
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aidanbradypop
Guest
Can I offer some books for you to check out?
store.patrickmadrid.com/does-the-bible-really-say-that/
amazon.com/Father-Who-Keeps-His-Promises/dp/0892838299/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245684854&sr=8-1
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Shamati
Guest
Well here is a monumental difference between Islam and Judaism / Christianity:
In christianity & judaism we are taught that every individual person is a living being created in the image and likeness of God and that it is every individuals highest goal of life to heal the separation from God caused by Adam & Eve to again be united with God. From there Judaism & Christianity goes off in different directions when explaining the best path to walk to be able to achieve what is called the Mystical Union, which is said to be possible to achieve in this very lifetime on earth.
In Islam it is heretical and blasphemous to say that Man is created in the image and likeness of God because they believe such a statement to be derogatory towards God. The small mystical strain of Islam called Sufism tries to go around this. I believe this is why such a large amount of militant islamist sentiments are so common in the islamic world because think about it, if humanity has no change to achieve a union with his creator in this life than the highest achievement of human life becomes the establishment of Godās Kingdom on Earth. Which in Islam means Shariah Law.
In this sense Islam is completely unique because I have never came across another religion that does not base itās spiritual foundations on some kind of teaching that it is possible for human beings to achieve union with the Divine and that this is indeed the highest expression of human aspirations.
Myself I went from a depressed pillpopping atheist to the realization there is a spiritual aspect of life. Though New Ageāism, commercialized āKabbalahā to the Jewish Torah to the greek translation of the Old Testament Septuagint to catholicism and orthodox christianity. i bƤver officially converted but saught the food for my soul in each tradition. The exclusivist claims of the Torah and the realisation that the greek translation from 300 BC eventually led me to Orthodox Christianity which I believe have kept many of the characteristics of Judaism at itās core (more bon dualistic than western christianity) and this is where I have found a kind of holiness I have not yet encountered anywhere.
In christianity & judaism we are taught that every individual person is a living being created in the image and likeness of God and that it is every individuals highest goal of life to heal the separation from God caused by Adam & Eve to again be united with God. From there Judaism & Christianity goes off in different directions when explaining the best path to walk to be able to achieve what is called the Mystical Union, which is said to be possible to achieve in this very lifetime on earth.
In Islam it is heretical and blasphemous to say that Man is created in the image and likeness of God because they believe such a statement to be derogatory towards God. The small mystical strain of Islam called Sufism tries to go around this. I believe this is why such a large amount of militant islamist sentiments are so common in the islamic world because think about it, if humanity has no change to achieve a union with his creator in this life than the highest achievement of human life becomes the establishment of Godās Kingdom on Earth. Which in Islam means Shariah Law.
In this sense Islam is completely unique because I have never came across another religion that does not base itās spiritual foundations on some kind of teaching that it is possible for human beings to achieve union with the Divine and that this is indeed the highest expression of human aspirations.
Myself I went from a depressed pillpopping atheist to the realization there is a spiritual aspect of life. Though New Ageāism, commercialized āKabbalahā to the Jewish Torah to the greek translation of the Old Testament Septuagint to catholicism and orthodox christianity. i bƤver officially converted but saught the food for my soul in each tradition. The exclusivist claims of the Torah and the realisation that the greek translation from 300 BC eventually led me to Orthodox Christianity which I believe have kept many of the characteristics of Judaism at itās core (more bon dualistic than western christianity) and this is where I have found a kind of holiness I have not yet encountered anywhere.
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meedo
Guest
So can we say that Muslims worship the same God but understands him differently?
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Shamati
Guest
I guess so yes. But this seemingly small difference have huge ramifications if there is no spiritual core replacing this fundamental idea of the meaning of mankind. Iām sure there is some kind of equivalence within islam but i just havent found it yet. When i dabbled with new Ageāism and gnosticism it was said that Muhammed is a Saint within gnosticism and that the Quran can be read as an āesotericā gnostic book. The templar order was said to have recieved many of its higher mysteries from the so called Assassins who had an interpretation similar to that of modern day sufism.So can we say that Muslims worship the same God but understands him differently?
But tell me, is meditation a normal practiced within mainstream islam for example? I mean except the daily prayers? Are there Saints or Holy people in islam that has achieved a higher holiness than the average muslim just obeying the commandments?
J
J_the_Centrist
Guest
Yes, I have said this on this thread over and over again, as have many other people here. I doubt that we will convince any of the hardlinerās here about this, but then again there are many Muslims whom I have met who have similar sentiments towards Christians and especially Jews. Like they say nowadays ālet the haters hate.ā Peace be with you or as my step father would say salam. I often use āsalamā when addressing Muslims dear to me and they donāt mind, I hope you donāt.So can we say that Muslims worship the same God but understands him differently?
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MartinJordan
Guest
Isnāt it great Muslims use the word Salam which is semitic? The Jewish word is Shalom.
MJ
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J_the_Centrist
Guest
This is true, they are both Semitic languages, which is why many Muslims object to the terminology of āanti-Semiticā as being in regards to the Jews only. During WW II Hitler had to change the term used for Jews when he was trying to gain support in predominately Islamic regions so as not to offend potential allies.
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J_the_Centrist
Guest
I wish you the very, very best! Remember, as you search for the answers you seek to look with your heart as well as your head. Everything will be fine, donāt worry. God bless you.
S
Shamati
Guest
Something that is bothering me is that there seems to be no middle ground between the rabid anti islamic sentiments of the likes of Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller or the accepted way of looking at Islam in the west.
In the west if anybody claim that āIslams goal is to conquer the whole world and subjugate all peoples to Submit to Allahā, some people will answer āThats ridiculous! they dont believe that! Islamophobic. You canāt judge Islam by the few extremists giving it a bad nameā etc. The same thing happens if I talk to anybody that know nothing about catholicism and say that āIn Catholicism, they believe that the wine and bread at communion is changed into the actual Real Body And Blood of Jesus Christ by a process they call ātransubstansiationā and they believe the Pope to be the actual Vicar of Christ on earth who is infalliable and can not teach an errorā some people react by saying āthats ridiculous! Nobody would believe such a thing. You are an idiot for claiming such!ā I claim itās offensive towards catholics and muslims to hold this position and a typical way of viewing things from the western perspective.
We can see by looking at the history of Islam that from itās very birth it was a movement with political ambitions and still is. We must be able to talk about this without both sides going rabid at eachother.
The Ideas of Sayyid Qutb are very popular in Islam today. The whole face of islam has changed alot in the last 50 years and gone from a secularized version into a politicized version. The ideas of Sayyid Qutb wont go away and whenever we hear something violent being done my islamic terrorists it is usually the ideas of this man that is boiling beneath the surface as opposed to it being individual non connected instances of extremism. Qutb hated the west because of its decadence.
So I believe that because of the very different way in which islam views the relationship between Man and God it will be much harder for Islam to be reformed.
In the west if anybody claim that āIslams goal is to conquer the whole world and subjugate all peoples to Submit to Allahā, some people will answer āThats ridiculous! they dont believe that! Islamophobic. You canāt judge Islam by the few extremists giving it a bad nameā etc. The same thing happens if I talk to anybody that know nothing about catholicism and say that āIn Catholicism, they believe that the wine and bread at communion is changed into the actual Real Body And Blood of Jesus Christ by a process they call ātransubstansiationā and they believe the Pope to be the actual Vicar of Christ on earth who is infalliable and can not teach an errorā some people react by saying āthats ridiculous! Nobody would believe such a thing. You are an idiot for claiming such!ā I claim itās offensive towards catholics and muslims to hold this position and a typical way of viewing things from the western perspective.
We can see by looking at the history of Islam that from itās very birth it was a movement with political ambitions and still is. We must be able to talk about this without both sides going rabid at eachother.
The Ideas of Sayyid Qutb are very popular in Islam today. The whole face of islam has changed alot in the last 50 years and gone from a secularized version into a politicized version. The ideas of Sayyid Qutb wont go away and whenever we hear something violent being done my islamic terrorists it is usually the ideas of this man that is boiling beneath the surface as opposed to it being individual non connected instances of extremism. Qutb hated the west because of its decadence.
So I believe that because of the very different way in which islam views the relationship between Man and God it will be much harder for Islam to be reformed.
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meedo
Guest
Yes Meditation is practiced in different forms. Outside of the daily prayers. E.g ā¦ it is encouraged to just sit in the Mosque and throw away the outside world ā¦ In regards to saintsā¦ we donāt give the status āā Holyāā to anybody except Godā¦ but we acknowledge that people can attain a high grade of spiritual feelings ā¦ and of-course outside of just obeying the commandements.
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meedo
Guest
Ofcourse i donāt mind ! Salam be unto you and your loved ones my ear friend
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meedo
Guest
Are you sure what you wrote above about islam are facts and not opinions ?
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aidanbradypop
Guest
I want an āearā friendOfcourse i donāt mind ! Salam be unto you and your loved ones my ear friend
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meedo
Guest
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aidanbradypop
Guest
Ohh you are also my ear friend
R
rossum
Guest
āAnā ear friend? Surely you would need two?I want an āearā friend
rossum
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aidanbradypop
Guest
āAnā ear friend? Surely you would need two?
rossum
A Catholic, Muslim and Buddhist. Seems like there should be a punch line after that lolOhh you are also my ear friend
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dzheremi
Guest
The punchline is on the Syriacs. But itās great because Muslims say āSalamā. ŁŲ§ŁŲ§ŁŲ§!
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