Religion & Spirituality - 3 December 2006

Jews were shorter, darker and less variable in those days. Most looked alike. The shape of the head was different. Even the Bible said it was hard to pick Jesus out of a crowd, because he looked so much like other Jews.

2006-12-03 07:18:28 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous

"The ____ hath said in his heart, there is no God."

2006-12-03 07:18:12 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-12-03 07:17:43 · 6 answers · asked by MacMan 2

A:The Anchor

2006-12-03 07:14:58 · 10 answers · asked by Points 1

2006-12-03 07:14:56 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous

I think it would have few members...maybe none.

2006-12-03 07:12:35 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous

As a boreder line Buddhist/Athiest I don't really have a holiday to celebrate this time of year, but still like the idea of giving, caring and loving. Can we just create a holiday around here that everyoen can celebrate that doesn't mean anything religiously. We can still celebrate Christmas or any other holiday that has its religious connections, but could we just link the religous parts of those holidays with them, liek celebrating the birth of Christ, or celebrating the eight days of light without the materialistic and modern presnet giving, tree lighting, etc, then join together as a whole to celebrate our love for each other?

2006-12-03 07:11:09 · 26 answers · asked by locomonohijo 4

Do those of you who are lumping all Christians into a group of evil people really believe the stuff you are saying? If any other group of people, religions, ethnic or otherwise, were lumped together like this with horrific things like this being said against them, people would be up in arms about it. Most of the Christian answers and questions on this forum are not agressive or targeting others. Agreed, some are, and they shouldn't do that. Can't we all play nice together?

2006-12-03 07:10:15 · 25 answers · asked by padwinlearner 5

2006-12-03 07:10:07 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-12-03 07:09:10 · 10 answers · asked by narcissa 5

...and come abroad."? Before He returns?
We are going to be "without excuse"! Nobody is going to be able to say he or she didn't know any better!
GET WITH THE PROGRAM PEOPLE!

Anthony Silva
The Search for Truth.

2006-12-03 07:08:31 · 12 answers · asked by THE NEXT LEVEL 5

"When you (fully) understand
the invocation, recite it every night before Friday, or once every month,
or
once every year, or once in your lifetime, you will be protected, helped,
blessed, and forgiven (by the Almighty)."

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
O' my God! I ask You,
by Your mercy, which covers everything,
by Your power, which overpowers everything, and to which everything submits
and is humble,
by Your might, by which You overcome everything,
by Your glory, before which nothing stands,
by Your magnificence, which fills everything,
by Your authority, which rises over everything,
by Your face (i.e., essence), which remains after the destruction of
everything,
by Your names, which fill the essence of everything,
by Your knowledge, which encompasses everything, and
by the light of Your face (i.e., essence), for which everything shines.

O' the Light, O' the Most Holy, O' the first of those who where first,
and the last of those who will be last.
O' God! Forgive me (my) sins, which tear apart modesty.
O' God! Forgive me (my) sins, which bring down misfortunes.
O' God! Forgive me (my) sins, which change prosperity.
O' God! Forgive me (my) sins, which block out invocation.
O' God! Forgive me (my) sins, which cut off hopes.
O' God! Forgive me (my) sins, which bring down distress.
O' God! Forgive me all sins that I have committed and all mistakes that I
have made.

O' God! I approach You by Your remembrance, seek Your intercession through
Yourself, and ask You by Your generosity,
to bring me closer to You,
to bestow on me the ability to thank You,
to inspire me to Your remembrance.
O' God! I ask You as a person who is submissive, humble, and obedient,
to treat me kindly, to have mercy on me, and to make me satisfied, content
with what You have allotted, and humble in all circumstances.

O' God! I ask You as a person,
whose poverty is intense,
who presents his need only to You, and
whose desire is great for what You have.

O' God! Great is Your authority, exalted is Your place, unknown is Your
plan, clear is Your command, overwhelming is Your might, continuous is Your
power, and escape is impossible from Your domain.

O' God! I can not find anyone,
who can forgive my sins,
who can cover my ugly misdeeds, nor
who can change my misdeeds to good, but You.

There is no God but You, glory and praise be to You.
I have harmed myself, I dared (to sin) because of my ignorance, and I was
confident in Your past remembrance of me, and Your continuous grace on me.

O' God!
How many ugly deeds You have covered!
How many heavy misfortunes You have lifted!
How many stumblings You have prevented!
How many disliked (objects) You have removed!
How many graceful praises, which I was not worthy of it, You have made
spread!

O' God! My distress is great, my sorry plight exceeded the limits, my deeds
are short, my chains kept me down, and my high desires withheld me from
gaining what was at hand.
The world has deceived me by its illusion, and my soul by its disloyalty,
and my postponement.

O' my Master! I ask You by Your might, not to let my ugly deeds and acts
conceal my invocation from You. Thus do not disgrace me by exposing what is
secret of my acts which only You are aware of, and do not rush the
punishment of what I have done secretly, such as, my ugly deeds, my
offenses, my continuous negligence, my ignorance, my numerous whims, and my
foolishness.

O' God! By Your might, be compassionate to me in all circumstances, and
have
grace on me in all matters.

My God and my Lord! Whom can I ask, beside You, to remove my disadvantages,
and to look into my affairs?

My God and my Protector! You have laid on me rules (to follow), but I
followed my own whims. I did not take protection from the sham of my enemy.
Therefore, he was able to deceive me through my desire, and the divine
decree favored him in this matter. Thus I have exceeded Your limits by
violation of some of Your rules, and disobeyed some of Your commands.
But Your praise is due on me in all these matters, and I have no argument
against the judgment You passed on me. Your judgment and Your test on me
became indispensable.

My God! I come to You after my faults and my wastefulness against myself,
while apologizing, repentant, dejected, asking to discharge me from my
sins,
asking forgiveness, turning to You, confessing, yielding, and acknowledging
my mistakes.

I do not find any way out from what I have done, nor any place to refuge to
turn to, about my affairs, except Your acceptance of my apology, and Your
entering me in to the range of Your mercy.

O' my God! Then accept my apology, have mercy on my intense disadvantage,
and free me from the solid chains.
O' my Lord! Have mercy on my weak body, the thinness of my skin, and my
delicate bones.
O' He has began my creation, my remembrance, my upbringing, my welfare and
my nourishment,
Be generous to me as You were in the beginning, and be kind to me as You
were before.

O' my God, my Master, and my Lord! How could You see me punished with Your
fire,
after my belief in Your unity,
after my heart recognizing You,
after my tongue speaking continuously in Your remembrance,
after my heart has been bound to Your love,
after my true confession, and my humble invocation to Your divinity?

No, How impossible it is!
You are too generous to abandon one whom You have raised,
or to push away (from Your mercy) one whom You have already brought near,
or to drive away one whom You have given shelter,
or to leave to misfortune one whom You have enriched and blessed.

O' my Master, my God! I wish I could know, how would You impose fire
on faces, which fall down prostrating to Your magnificence, and
on hearts, which surely acknowledge Your divinity, and
on tongues which have sincerely pronounced Your unity and thanked You with
Your praise, and
on minds, which acquired knowledge until became humble, and
on limbs, which hurried to praise You and which obediently moved to place
of
Your worship, introducing Your forgiveness, (while) yielding (to it).

No. Never! Such a suspicion can never be directed to You, nor we have heard
of such a thing from Your grace.

O' the Most Generous! O' Lord! You know my weakness to endure a small
portion of worldly misfortune, its punishment, and difficulties, which fall
upon its inhabitants, while that is a misfortune and difficulty whose
duration is short. How then can I bear the misfortune of the hereafter and
the occurrence of its tremendous difficulties while it is a misfortune
whose duration will be long, whose situation will continue, and there will
be no decrease for its inhabitants because it can not be but from Your
wrath, vengeance, and anger for which neither Heavens nor Earth can stand?
O' my Master! How can I endure it, while I am Your servant, the weak, the
insignificant, the low, the poor, and the humble.

O' my God, my Lord, my Master, and my Protector! About which should I
complain to You, and about what should I outcry and weep,
for the grievous punishment and its intensity, or
for the length of misfortune and its duration?
Therefore if You send me to Your enemies for punishment, gather me with
misfortune people, and separate me from those who love You and those who
adore You, Then O' my God, my Master, my Nourisher, my Lord!
suppose that I would be patient on Your punishment, how then, would I be
patient on my separation from You? and
suppose that I would be patient on the heat of Your fire, how then, would I
be deprived of looking into Your honor? or how would I abide in fire, while
I hope for Your forgiveness?

O' my Master and my Protector! Thus, truly I swear by Your might, that if
You leave me with the power of speech, among the inhabitants of Hell,
I would cry to You like those who cry out of hope,
I would scream like those who scream for serious help,
I would weep like those who have lost (hope), and
I would call You saying: "O' the Protector of believers! O' the utmost hope
of those who know You! O' the Helper of those who appeal for help! O' the
beloved of trustfuls! O' the Lord of the worlds!"

O' my God! Glory and praise be to You. How would You hear the voice of a
submissive servant, who is imprisoned (within the fire) because of his
disobedience, tasted the flavor of its punishment for his resistance,
blocked within the layers of Hell for his sins and crimes, while he cries
as
one who hopes for Your mercy, calls You by the language of the people who
believe in Your unity, and seek refuge to You by Your divinity!

O' my protector! Then how can (Your servant) remain in pain while he hopes
Your indulgence that was in the past? or,
how can the fire hurts him while he has hope in Your favor and compassion?
or,
how can the flames burn him while You hear his voice and see his place? or,
how can the exhaling (of fire) covers him while You know his weakness? or,
how can he be immersed in its layers while You know his sincerity? or,
how can the flames torture him while he calls You "O' my Lord!"? or,
how possible can it be to leave him in the fire while he hopes for Your
grace to free him?!

No. Never. Such an idea can not be attributed to You, nor it is known of
Your grace, nor it is similar to the way You have treated the believers in
Your unity by Your kindness, and Your generosity.

Therefore, I am certainly sure that had You not judged to punish
unbelievers
in You, and to leave Your enemies in the fire that lasts for ever, then You
have made the fire totally cool and peaceful, and no one would have any
place in it, neither permanently, nor even for a short time.

But You have sworn by Your sanctified Names that You will fill it with all
unbelievers, from the unseen (Jin) and mankind, and that You keep Your
enemies there forever. You, great be Your praise, have said in the
beginning, and by Your generosity extended the grace, that: "Is he who a
believer like the one who is not? No, they can not be alike." (Quran:
32:18)

O' my Lord and my Master! I ask You, then,
by the power, which You have enforced,
by Your divine decree, which You have made a necessity, governed, and
overpowered whom You have imposed (the power) on,
that, You forgive me at this night, and this moment,
all crimes, which I have dealt with,
all sins, which I have committed,
all ugly deeds, which I have kept secret,
all foolishness, which I have done, whether kept it secret, or disclosed,
covered or uncovered, and,
all evils, which You have ordered the noble scribes to record, those whom
You authorized to keep what is done by me, and made them witnesses on me
beside my limbs, then, (after all) You are the observer above them, the
witness of what remains hidden from them, and what You did hide by Your
mercy, and (You have) covered by Your grace,
and that You increase my share of all good things, which You have sent
down,
or good deeds, which You have favored,
or Kindness, which You have spread,
or means of living, which You have made available,
or sins, which You forgive,
or mistakes, which You conceal.

O' Lord, O' Lord, O' Lord, my Master, my Protector, and the Master of my
freedom!
O' He who has my forehead in His hands,
O' He who knows my disadvantages and my poverty,
O' He who is well acquainted with my misery and neediness,
O' Lord, O' Lord, O' Lord!
I ask You by Yourself, by Your Holiness, by Your great attributes, and
names,
that, You make my times of days and nights alive by Your remembrance, and
joined to Your service, my deeds accepted by You. So that my deeds and my
remembrances all become one harmonic effort, and my (life be in an) eternal
state, devoted to Your service.

O' my Master!
O' He only on Him I depend!
O' He only to Him I complain about my situation!
O' Lord, O' Lord, O' Lord!
Strengthen my limbs for Your service,
intensify (my) determination through all parts of my body,
grant me eagerness in Your fear, and continuous service to You, in order to
move towards You among those who are first in their fields,
be prompt toward You among those who are first,
yearn toward Your nearness among those who are eager,
become close to You like the closeness of those who are sincere,
fear You like those who are certain, and join the believers near You.

O' God!
Whoever wishes me evil, wish him the same,
Whoever wants to harm me, harm him,
put me among the best of Your servants, the closest in status to You, the
most privileged to You.
Indeed, that can not be attained without Your grace.
Grant me generously by Your generosity,
have sympathy for me, by Your glory,
protect me by Your mercy.
Make my tongue dedicated to Your remembrance, and my heart subservient to
Your love.
Bestow blessings on me by Your excellent fulfillment,
prevent my stumbling, and forgive my lapses.
Indeed You have commanded Your servants to worship You, ordered them to
call
upon You, and assured them Your fulfillment(of their requests).
Therefore, O' Lord! I raise my face to You, and I extend my hands toward
You.

O' Lord! By Your might, then, answer my invocation, make me attain my
request.
By Your grace, do not cut off my hope, and protect me from the harms from
the unseen and the mankind among my enemies.

O' He who is quickly pleased! Forgive he who has nothing but prayer.
Indeed,
You do what You please.
O' He whose Name is remedy, whose remembrance is healing, and whose
obedience is prosperity!
Have mercy on he, whose capital is hope, and whose weapon is weeping.

O' He who provides complete blessing, and, who removes misfortunes!
O' the Light of those who are distressed in darkness!
O' He who knows without learning!
Bless Mohammad and The Members of his House, and do for me what You are
worthy of doing.

May Allah bless His Messenger, and the blessed Leaders among his
descendants, and bestow upon them an endless peace and tranquillity.

Ameen

2006-12-03 07:07:37 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-12-03 07:07:30 · 9 answers · asked by Yoyo 1

2006-12-03 07:06:21 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous

Or in fact, any other holy book written a long time ago?

You were not there, so how can you KNOW that the Bible is true ('because Jesus says so' or 'because G-d wrote it' isn't a valid answer in my opinion; that is a circular argument - the only way you 'know' G-d wrote it or that Jesus says so is THROUGH the Bible. You have to believe it to accept what is says about Jesus + G-d, and so - why do you believe it in the first place?)

2006-12-03 07:04:00 · 23 answers · asked by lady_s_hazy 3

I always thought it was a Pagan symbol for the four elements. Some claim that it is Christian (I don't see how since it was used before Christianity came to be). I have also heard that it represnts the Sun and Moon. There are even some people who clame it is a phallic symbol!

Incase you are wondering, a Celtic Cross is a sort of + sign in a circle.

Whatis the real meaning? Are all of these right? Does anyone actually know?

2006-12-03 07:01:55 · 7 answers · asked by Seeker 3

2006-12-03 07:01:45 · 31 answers · asked by yargsewat 1

Seriously look at what that religion is doing to this world. It's completly destorying it, and I can't figure out why the rest of the world allows such a barbaric, and uncivilized group run freely to do what it does; kill innocent life for the mere fact that the ones that are targeted aren't of the same faith.

Any follower of Islam is unfit to live on this globe among today's society. Thats just my opinion.

2006-12-03 07:01:31 · 14 answers · asked by Mitch L 1

Robterson. So who is the religious right's next big leader?

2006-12-03 07:01:11 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous

And all of our memories were just installed into our brains when we were created; all the trees were made with tree rings; all the starlight was made to sparkle right now, etc...

2006-12-03 06:58:47 · 15 answers · asked by Jerse 3

Even if they are punks and have a Exploited Shirt or s.e.?

2006-12-03 06:57:04 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous

And more importantly, who is going to wind it?

2006-12-03 06:55:25 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-12-03 06:55:17 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous

These statistics are from an encyclopedia. Germany was a good, Christian nation in those days.

2006-12-03 06:53:19 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous

if u are interested visit this link

http://islamicbooks.info/H-1-Iman/01-Prophets.htm#WHAT%20DID%20THE%20PROPHETS%20TEACH

2006-12-03 06:52:33 · 4 answers · asked by hoor 2

I was reading one of the answers to a previous question and the answerer told the questioner "you have the wrong beliefs." If someone has faith in what they believe and had the insight to form their belief, how can you be sure they are wrong? If you have spiritual beliefs you probably had a similar moment of insight. Correct? Is your belief more valid in some way? Please explain.

2006-12-03 06:52:17 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous

Are you depressed ? Are you up all night and cant sleep listening to depressing music and wondering how to continue to live on ? Jesus is looking for you then...you are the type He is ready to really show His power and Presence for to save you. Ask Him to shine His face on you and fill you with faith to accept Him into your heart as Lord and King.

2006-12-03 06:50:36 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous

What was his name and how long did he live and Why do people these days don't live as long as people did back in those days in the beginning of time?

2006-12-03 06:50:11 · 28 answers · asked by You are loved 5

I've grown up all my life knowing that Catholics are Christian. All history books, encyclopedias, etc. have stated/implied it to be so, and of course my catechism. My friends, most of whom are Presbyterian, have done the same. But then I get into a relationship with a Presbyterian who firmly believes that we are not Christian.

We have major differences, such as confession, but wouldn't the fundamental beliefs of a Christian be professing belief in Jesus as Christ, our savior, and following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus?

She has MANY misconceptions of Catholicism, such as salvation is ONLY through good works and that we worship Mary. It seems like some of their bible study consists of teaching what Catholics and other denominations believe. I, a Catholic, would know what we believe, and our beliefs are based on the life and teachings of Jesus.

But the main thing I want to know is: Why do some Protestants believe that Catholics are Christians, and some don't?

2006-12-03 06:49:05 · 20 answers · asked by dansut324 1

I need to know exactly who.

2006-12-03 06:48:24 · 3 answers · asked by jav 1