I'm grateful to have this opportunity to read and engage in some thoughtful discussion. Growing up, I don't recall knowing anyone of the Muslim faith (of course, I may well have known Muslims and simply not been aware of that particular detail!) That has certainly changed now - and so I feel compelled to learn more. Thus far, I've read Karen Armstrong's books, The Case for God and Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet. This first of your seven hard questions was a great start and I look forward to the next six!
I wonder if the coming months might include a hard question about our understandings of authenticity in our "books of Revelation" and how monotheists understand God revealed? (As a discussion starter perhaps, I've just begun to read The Bible, The Qur'an and Science by Maurice Bucaille (1976), in which Bucaille writes, "Thanks to its undisputed authenticity, the text of the Qur'an holds a unique place among the books of Revelation, shared neither by the Old nor the New Testament".)
Point taken, Greg, and thank you for this response. I still hold dearly the message of the Bible, especially Jesus' teachings. Nevertheless, holding one view can leave less room for understanding or being open to another view. And the connection with science is of great interest to me. How do we read the Qur'an and the Bible? How literally, how culturally, how humbly? I console myself that where it doesn't make good scientific sense, then God will have the answers... something interesting to learn about in heaven. Life will always hold some mystery and that is just fine!
Posted in: First of Seven Hard Questions
I'm grateful to have this opportunity to read and engage in some thoughtful discussion. Growing up, I don't recall knowing anyone of the Muslim faith (of course, I may well have known Muslims and simply not been aware of that particular detail!) That has certainly changed now - and so I feel compelled to learn more. Thus far, I've read Karen Armstrong's books, The Case for God and Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet. This first of your seven hard questions was a great start and I look forward to the next six!
I wonder if the coming months might include a hard question about our understandings of authenticity in our "books of Revelation" and how monotheists understand God revealed? (As a discussion starter perhaps, I've just begun to read The Bible, The Qur'an and Science by Maurice Bucaille (1976), in which Bucaille writes, "Thanks to its undisputed authenticity, the text of the Qur'an holds a unique place among the books of Revelation, shared neither by the Old nor the New Testament".)
Posted in: First of Seven Hard Questions
Point taken, Greg, and thank you for this response. I still hold dearly the message of the Bible, especially Jesus' teachings. Nevertheless, holding one view can leave less room for understanding or being open to another view. And the connection with science is of great interest to me. How do we read the Qur'an and the Bible? How literally, how culturally, how humbly? I console myself that where it doesn't make good scientific sense, then God will have the answers... something interesting to learn about in heaven. Life will always hold some mystery and that is just fine!