K
koranist
Guest
You know the term “inspired” is kind of like the term “revealed” in the Koran or “sent down”. The Koran uses that term and its very difficult to understand God’s language because God’s understanding of revealed or inspired is beyond human comprehension.
What does it mean that God inspires someone? Its not always a tangible thing. Revealed is another complicated process. I guess what I am trying to say is God can inspire in many ways and reveal in many ways. A thought can come in your mind or fate can interfere or you see somthing and take heed from it. Nothing moves without God but its beyond human reasoning to comprehend that. This is very philosophical.
As far as the canonization of the Bible, this is part of fate and human history. Some scriptures were lost and some were found later(dead sea scrolls) and some were refused for many reasons sometimes just for chronological reasons like the story of Adam and Eve which was not canonized because the OT already talked about it or the Gospel of Mary because it would have delayed the story of Jesus too much in the NT and people wanted Jesus to be the opening. Other reasons are political or sectarian like certain sects had the scriptures and the officials did not trust or did not want to deal with them(gnostics). But it is also a mysterious process of what gets canonized and what does not and what remined and what was lost in history and remained as oral traditions. Oral traditions themselves as fate and destiny. The Koran also responds often to issues raised by the people around Muhammad at the time whether they were pagans or Jews or Christians. The Koran indicated Muhamamd knew virtually nothing about the scriptures and in fact it says that if you did your contemporaries would have had a case against you:
(And thou (O Muhammad) wast not a reader of any scripture before it, nor didst thou write it with thy right hand, for then might those have doubted, who follow falsehood.) (Al-`Ankabut 29: 48). They pagans said:
“We have heard this (before): if we wished, we could say (words) like these: these are nothing but tales of the ancients” (8:31).
“Such things have been promised to us and to our fathers before! They are nothing but tales of the ancients!” (23:83)"
So its not as simple as you make it. Its not the messenger that important, its the message. The scriptures form communities, each with its own scriptures, just like nations and tribes.
- And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah.
- Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel.
48.** To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before **it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah. it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute
So there is a plan. its complicated. One religion but three scriptures forming three communities.