Will Islam fill the void left by the decline in believing Christians?

[Mount_Carmel]

I do not understand what you mean but the true religion is that: Believing and worshiping in one God and God revealed Himself through prophets. If you mean that Quran had took from Revelation? That is not possible. Muhammed had never read any thing and He cannot learn everything by hearing because nobody had known such knowledges whom were close to him. Muhammed had got more knowledges than a pastor and priest. That shows Muhammed was taught by Allah.

Anyway.There is a message in Revelation that Jesus will come back. Quran mean Jesus wil come and Hadidths inform that Jesus will come back. There is a fact that Jesus will come back. Islamic scholars explain about details of that return.

• Everybody will not know Jesus openly but everybody(people of book, scripture) will believe in Him.
• Muhammed (an other prophet ) came after Jesus so Jesus will not negate Islam but He will restore His religion and in that form Christianity will be same with Islam in main points.
  -That will occur very close to the end of the world.

Also we can interpret return of Jesus in that way:

1. Every soul will taste death. Then to Us will you be returned. Ankabut(29)

According to that verse every human will die. Jesus was raised with His body so He did not die. He will come back and will die as other humans do.

hasantas - Oh why oh why don’t Muslims do what Muhammad himself urged, that if you have a Biblical question, then go to the People of the Book.

Yes, I know he claimed that the Bible became ‘corrupted’, BUT you can go to copies of the Bible and many thousands of tracts and parchments, that existed BEFORE Muhammad, and that can be compared to more modern variants, and the contents and meanings of words remain essentially unchanged.

{Unlike the Qur’ans, it appears.] Google: Is the Qur’an Pure?
Why did Muhammad’s close companions write unique versions of the Qur’an?

 

[mamlukman]

I have just joined this forum and am commenting on topics dealing with Islam, and I see some familiar names already–so hi again!

The original article from the Bishop of Rochester was dated 2008, but it is probably even more valid today. The reason I started making posts in various places on the Internet is that I stumbled across the relatively recent phenomenon of Westerners (esp. women) converting to Islam.

If you listen to enough conversion stories on Youtube, you find some commonalities. They are all searching for “meaning” in life beyond parties, music, and drinking. Of course they could find as much “meaning” in Christianity as anywhere else (care of the poor, orphans, dying, etc.), but instead of investigating their options in Christianity, they discover Islam. Sometimes it’s through Muslim friends, sometimes just independent reading sparked by the news since 9/11. If they come to Islam with no prior knowledge, they are surprised to find a degree of truth and beauty in it, and as they learn more, they concentrate on the truth and beauty and ignore everything else.

As an historian, I would advise them to read some histories of the English Civil War and Puritanism, because they are re-creating the exact same issues in 2015. Cromwell would feel right at home in the moral atmosphere of Islam. But how did that work out? Not well for the Puritans, who are now not just a distant memory, but a term of derision and scorn.

Christianity in general has abdicated its religious role in the last 50 years. For Catholics, you only have to look at the statistics regarding priests and nuns. When religious orders became centers for social work rather than religion, it wasn’t surprising that priests and nuns became social workers, not members of religious orders.

Simultaneously, Communism collapsed in 1990, and since Communism had an inner core of Puritanism, that also left a void for young people. If you eliminate Christianity and Marxism, what’s left? Islam is certainly one option–and the option that appeals to young people looking for a Puritanical outlook.

I think it would surprise Christian missionaries of the 19th century, but the natural ally of Christianity today is Hinduism. If you listen to a (I almost said “Westernized,” but that’s not a fair word to use–let’s say “modern”) modern Hindu talk about world view, morality, responsibility, etc. the outlook is virtually identical to a Christian of the same age talking about the same issues. There is a similar system of beliefs.

So in summary, as Christians we need to 1) show young people–esp. women–that there are all sorts of ways to be modest, sincere, religious, and even mystical within the Christian tradition. 2) encourage sincere atheists and Hindus in the moral values they share with Christians. Not with a view to conversion, but to emphasize we share the goals of becoming good people and good citizens.

 

[mamlukman]

Is Islam tied to Arab culture?

Yes to a great extent–certainly you have to pray in Arabic; you have to face Mecca when praying; art and architecture is similar throughout the Islamic world. And the whole world of the Qur’an and hadith and the early history of Islam is bound up in the relatively unfamiliar world of 7th and 8th century Arabia. The clothing of women is derived from Arabia, not France or Italy.

No, if you talk to Muslim converts of European descent. “I am still Australian,” they will say. or “It’s doesn’t make me less British if I am Muslim.” Most European converts say something similar.

I think these converts are mistaken–their focus in history is now on 7th century Arabia, not Greece and Rome or various national histories. Music–from Medieval chant to rap–is now forbidden and seen as evil. Most art–certainly the entire tradition of religious art–is now also forbidden. Architecture that was seen as service to God–cathedrals–is now seen as vain attempts to glorify a false religion. Institutions like law, courts, juries, etc. are now seen as opposing the truth of the Shari’a. God makes the laws, not man. Elections would only be allowable in restricted circumstance (as in Iran, where the supreme Ayatollah decides who can be a candidate). Popular holidays–Christmas, Easter, etc. are now off limits. Even names, which traditionally have been saints’ name, would now be forbidden, and replaced by Islamic names. Most converts take an Islamic name and abandon their Christian name. Food is also affected–no more pork, other meat has to be killed in a specific way (hilal). And of course beer, wine, and alcohol of any type is forbidden. The holy day is no longer Sunday, it’s Friday. Sports are allowed, but women’s place is sport become problematical because of dress restrictions and the idea of watching women perform. Dancing and dating are now forbidden.

In sum, what is left of Western culture to a convert to Islam? Math and science, perhaps. That’s about it. The totality of Western culture has now become either forbidden or irrelevant. And that, I think, is both sad and dangerous to the rest of us.

 

[DrJonE]

The issue is not develop society with religion but that is a fact if people are to be more religious then they hold more moral values. Religion is not only for worldly life but religion is about to gain an infinite life in Heavens. All orders of religion are to provide that. If you reduce religion’s laws to simple states of world then you can see many useless.

A secularize society may seem good but a religious society can hold the good values of secularizm and much more in moral. Humanbeing is not only biological but also human have spiritual and moral values. Religion can manage biological part of human more well than any other system and in moral values nothing can fulfil work of religion.

It is complete and absolute nonsense and quite insulting to say that a person cannot be moral without religion. We don’t need religion to be good, moral and decent persons. The examples given by religion don’t fill me with confidence that any religion can show us the way to good morals. To me the talk of heaven is irrelevant. It is just a made up place. I live my life now as a good, moral decent person. I think it is a better example that I’m moral and decent for its own sake and not because I might receive reward or punishment after this life.

 

[mamlukman]

I agree with DrJonE–you can be an extremely ethical and moral person and not believe in God. And of course on a large scale, you can see the countries that are most secular in outlook (Scandinavia, UK) are among the most moral actors on the world stage.

I have listened to a lot of atheist videos on Youtube, and I have no problem with 99% of what they say–their anti-religious rhetoric is directed at fundamentalist Christians who take the Bible literally. I could say the same thing they do…

 

[chrisb]

The ‘real’ point is Muslims take their faith more seriously. Too many Christians ‘play’ at being religious.

The tension between ‘the West’ and ‘Islam’ is that ‘the West’ has become ‘ungodly’, period. Christianity, at least as it is today, has shown itself to be incapable of keeping society from embracing ungodliness.