A serious dialogue with a Christian
Hello , my name is XXXX and I was taking a look at your web page . I am interested in it because I am in a Religious Studies class and I am interested in learning more. I just wanted to know your response to this,
if I am correct in saying this...
In Islam heaven is thought of as paradise of wine, women and song. It is achieved by living a life in which, ironically, one abstains from the things with which he or she will be rewarded in paradise. In addition to this abstentiion, one must follow the five Pillars of Islam.
It seems to me that the Islamic faith is a do-it-yourself proposition.
Follow this "way of life", they say, and you will gain favor with God and eventually achieve salvation. There is NO assurance. I would hate to live like that. I realize that Muslims do not believe in "original sin", but regardless of wether or not a man is born sinful or not, would you not agree that every man/woman is sinful? How does one pay for his/her sin?
I understand repentance. I agree with that...but it seems as though one can NEVER do enough to win favor with God. That is why He sent his Son to die for us. All of our sins past present and future.
There is no possibility of assurance in the Islamic faith. I think that would be an awful way to live knowing that I was never gonna make it...not knowing of my salvation until the "day of judgement" whether or not I have done enough "goodworks" or prayed enough...etc.
I have asked a couple of Muslims in my class whether or not they were for sure if they were going to "paradise" or "heaven" when they died. I have not yet had one reply in the affirmative. Rather, they referred to the imperfection of their lives as being a barrier to this realization. THERE IS NO ASSURANCE IN ISLAM, BECAUSE THERE IS NO ATONEMENT, AND SALVATION DEPENDS WHOLLY ON THE INDIVIDUAL'S GAINING ENOUGH "MERIT"
Aslo, if I wanted to become a Muslim, I couldn't. If Muslims think that they are the "chosen people" then why aren't they spreading their faith.
Do you just have to be lucky enough to be born Muslim? If a person wants to become a Christian they can. ANYONE can become a Christian in a matter of seconds. All they have to do is confess that Jesus Christ is who He said He was and repent and believe...that is all a lot easier said than done. But basically that is it. I wasn't born Christian...or raised Christians assert that Jesus Chrit is the only way to God because
Scritpture says, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) Jesus Christ said himself
"I am the way the truth and the life, NO ONE comes to the Father except through me..."
He didn't say, I am one way or a way or one truth etc....THE WAY!!!
I and the Father are ONE! Jn 5:18
I just don't understand how anyone could be blind to these facts. Unless they are never told. Which was me.
I would just like a little feed back
Belief: Iran is aggressive and has threatened to attack Israel, its neighbors or the U.S.
Reality: Iran has not launched an aggressive war modern history (unlike the U.S. or Israel), and its leaders have a doctrine of "no first strike." This is true of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as of Revolutionary Guards commanders.
Belief: Iran is a militarized society bristling with dangerous weapons and a growing threat to world peace.
Reality: Iran's military budget is a little over $6 billion annually. Sweden, Singapore and Greece all have larger military budgets. Moreover, Iran is a country of 70 million, so that its per capita spending on defense is tiny compared to these others, since they are much smaller countries with regard to population. Iran spends less per capita on its military than any other country in the Persian Gulf region with the exception of the United Arab Emirates.
Belief: Iran has threatened to attack Israel militarily and to "wipe it off the map."
Reality: No Iranian leader in the executive has threatened an aggressive act of war on Israel, since this would contradict the doctrine of 'no first strike' to which the country has adhered. The Iranian president has explicitly said that Iran is not a threat to any country, including Israel.
Belief: But didn't President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threaten to "wipe Israel off the map?"
Reality: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did quote Ayatollah Khomeini to the effect that "this Occupation regime over Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time" (in rezhim-e eshghalgar-i Qods bayad as safheh-e ruzgar mahv shavad). This was not a pledge to roll tanks and invade or to launch missiles, however. It is the expression of a hope that the regime will collapse, just as the Soviet Union did. It is not a threat to kill anyone at all.
Belief: But aren't Iranians Holocaust deniers?
Reality: Some are, some aren't. Former president Mohammad Khatami has castigated Ahmadinejad for questioning the full extent of the Holocaust, which he called "the crime of Nazism." Many educated Iranians in the regime are perfectly aware of the horrors of the Holocaust. In any case, despite what propagandists imply, neither Holocaust denial (as wicked as that is) nor calling Israel names is the same thing as pledging to attack it militarily.
Belief: Iran is like North Korea in having an active nuclear weapons program, and is the same sort of threat to the world.
Reality: Iran has a nuclear enrichment site at Natanz near Isfahan where it says it is trying to produce fuel for future civilian nuclear reactors to generate electricity. All Iranian leaders deny that this site is for weapons production, and the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly inspected it and found no weapons program. Iran is not being completely transparent, generating some doubts, but all the evidence the IAEA and the CIA can gather points to there not being a weapons program. The 2007 National Intelligence Estimate by 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency, assessed with fair confidence that Iran has no nuclear weapons research program. This assessment was based on debriefings of defecting nuclear scientists, as well as on the documents they brought out, in addition to U.S. signals intelligence from Iran. While Germany, Israel and recently the U.K. intelligence is more suspicious of Iranian intentions, all of them were badly wrong about Iraq's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction and Germany in particular was taken in by Curveball, a drunk Iraqi braggart.
The rest wouldn't fit.Belief: Iran is aggressive and has threatened to attack Israel, its neighbors or the... more
Chapter : Maryam ( Mary )
From Verse 77 To Verse 98
Hast thou seen him who disbelieveth in Our revelations and saith: Assuredly I shall be given wealth and children? (77) Hath he perused the Unseen, or hath he made a pact with the Beneficent? (78) Nay, but We shall record that which he saith and prolong for him a span of torment. (79) And We shall inherit from him that whereof he spake, and he will come unto Us, alone (without his wealth and children). (80) And they have chosen (other) gods beside Allah that they may be a power for them. (81) Nay, but they will deny their worship of them, and become opponents unto them. (82) Seest thou not that We have set the devils on the disbelievers to confound them with confusion? (83) So make no haste against them (O Muhammad). We do but count out unto them a number (of days). (84) On the day when We shall gather the righteous unto the Beneficent, a goodly company. (85) And drive the guilty unto Hell, a weary herd, (86) They will have no power of intercession, save him who hath made a covenant with his Lord. (87) And they say: The Beneficent hath taken unto Himself a son. (88) Assuredly ye utter a disastrous thing (89) Whereby almost the heavens are torn, and the earth is split asunder and the mountains fall in ruins, (90) That ye ascribe unto the Beneficent a son, (91) When it is not meet for (the Majesty of) the Beneficent that He should choose a son. (92) There is none in the heavens and the earth but cometh unto the Beneficent as a slave. (93) Verily He knoweth them and numbereth them with (right) numbering. (94) And each one of them will come unto Him on the Day of Resurrection, alone. (95) Lo! those who believe and do good works, the Beneficent will appoint for them love. (96) And We make (this Scripture) easy in thy tongue, (O Muhammad) only that thou mayst bear good tidings therewith unto those who ward off (evil), and warn therewith the froward folk. (97) And how many a generation before them have We destroyed! Canst thou (Muhammad) see a single man of them, or hear from them the slightest sound? (98)Chapter : Maryam ( Mary )
From Verse 77 To Verse 98
Hast thou seen him who... more
in his objective study of the texts, Maurice Bucaille clears away many preconceived ideas about the Old Testament, the Gospels and the Qur'an. He tries, in this collection of Writings, to separate what belongs to Revelation from what is the product of error or human interpretation. His study sheds new light on the Holy Scriptures. At the end of a gripping account, he places the Believer before a point of cardinal importance: the continuity of a Revelation emanating from the same God, with modes of expression that differ in the course of time. It leads us to meditate upon those factors which, in our day, should spiritually unite rather than divide-Jews, Christians and Muslims.
As a surgeon, Maurice Bucaille has often been in a situation where he was able to examine not only people's bodies, but their souls. This is how he was struck by the existence of Muslim piety and by aspects of Islam which remain unknown to the vast majority of non-Muslims. In his search for explanations which are otherwise difficult to obtain, he learnt Arabic and studied the Qur'an. In it, he was surprised to find statements on natural phenomena whose meaning can only be understood through modern scientific knowledge. He then turned to the question of the authenticity of the writings that constitute the Holy Scriptures of the monotheistic religions. Finally, in the case of the Bible, he proceeded to a confrontation between these writings and scientific data. The results of his research into the Judeo-Christian Revelation and the Qur'an are set out in this book.
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Here is the development of many common questions about Islam and Muslims and their beliefs, customs and morals, and a lot of things different
Join this group to find many answers to your questions :
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