Religion & Spirituality - 26 October 2007

Just quoting some Eminem for ya'll.

2007-10-26 03:08:46 · 16 answers · asked by Linz ♥ VT 4

2007-10-26 03:08:12 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous

I mean I know it deals with witch craft and wizardry but it gets kids to read, would you rather have them playing grand theft auto.

P.s. And DON'T say they can read the bible, no kid wants to read the bible.

2007-10-26 03:08:06 · 19 answers · asked by Shan Patridge 2

i need God's help desperately. if only you knew what was going on with me youd agree. please tell me how i can get his help. ive tried confessing and doing alot of things but it wont work. i am truely a believer. and i use to feel his presence greatly but now, each day feels like im going apart from god. i pray to him and ask him to come into my life again. but it doesnt work. please help me.
and i believe that God had given people powers to tell the future or tell what one is like. if you are one of those gifted people. i am desperately seeking your help.

2007-10-26 03:07:29 · 22 answers · asked by graciepooh1722 2

.they say there are no demons..there are halucinations..

saying so..the effect is suporting satan to hide..and make the people never think that satan could exist and tempt them..

the psychologists say there is not possesion..there are ilnesses..how do they dare to say something against what Jesus said?Jesus who is GOD, PART OF HOLLY TRINITY..


or they are hipocrite they say..yes there are demons..but this man in front of us is mad..

Aren't they afraid of the fire of hell?

it is the biggest sin to deny that God exists and that demons exists and give troubles to people ..

the medicine is a backward idea ..from ancient greeks..who obeyed the idols ..and didn't believe satan give ilnesses

2007-10-26 03:05:36 · 28 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-10-26 03:04:54 · 13 answers · asked by Meat Bot 3

I have seen many Hindu's God or Idol so far I wonder why they look kind a scary and hid**us ? how can you guys make different between devils and your gods? just wandering..

2007-10-26 03:01:49 · 7 answers · asked by singularity 3

He can forgive them in an infinite number of ways.

2007-10-26 03:00:42 · 32 answers · asked by Meat Bot 3

Especially those same people who took their children to see the Chronicles of Narnia. Will you take them to see "The Golden Compass" to get both sides of the story?

Or should children only be exposed to philosophical beliefs with which their parents agree?

Atheists, feel free to respond too.

http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

2007-10-26 02:59:32 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous

Reconciliation is through Jesus --> Christ --> unto God.
Making it to the end, alive unto God, is the objective.
All the KofG within you are hoping you'll make it,
to the end, and make it there alive unto God;
For dead unto God is as if "no escape".

Your thoughts on the ultimate matrix?
Navigating through it all, to the end?
How make it to end alive unto God?

2007-10-26 02:57:15 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous

I read an interesting article about a poll of people's supernatural beliefs. I was surprised that the belief rates were as high as they are. In particular:

48% believed in ESP
23% believed they've seen or felt the prescence of a ghost
17% believed 4 leaf clovers bring good luck

Why do you think these rates of belief are as high as they are?
Do you believe in these types of supernatural things? Why or why not?

Here's the link to the article
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071026/ap_on_re_us/ghosts_ap_poll

2007-10-26 02:56:47 · 13 answers · asked by Subconsciousless 7

Matt. 7-21: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

2007-10-26 02:53:51 · 28 answers · asked by SpiritRoaming 7

What one gesture or act from the followers of other faith do you think will help in restoring trust between us and bringing us together again.

Serious answers please.

2007-10-26 02:51:54 · 23 answers · asked by Gulab 6

LOL - my neighbor in the office is playing a good rendition of Amazing Grace right now and I'm totally feeling it. So, is this God's way of communicating with me?

2007-10-26 02:48:35 · 35 answers · asked by Linz ♥ VT 4

Do you think that we should just read the Bible through in a year and be satisfied?
Do you think that they really work?
If so, why? If not, why?
What would you suggest for a good Bible reading program?
How important do you think reading the Bible everyday is?

2007-10-26 02:47:22 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-10-26 02:46:30 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-10-26 02:46:08 · 24 answers · asked by Linz ♥ VT 4

Do modern-day pagans (aka "neopagans") consider religions such as Hindu religion or Shinto to also be in their "circle"--that is, are they also "pagan" according to the Western industrial neopagan? I've seen several neopagans give a definition of "paganism" that essentially would exclude Hindu beliefs and practices, for example.

2007-10-26 02:43:59 · 15 answers · asked by Hoosier Daddy 5

Are there any you think should be included in the Bible (most protestant translations don't include them) and why or why not?

2007-10-26 02:42:37 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-10-26 02:42:13 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous

http://www.al-sunnah.com/



One only need look to the Nazis' brutal persecution of the Jews earlier this century or the more recent genocide of the Bosnian Muslims to see how ethno-religious groups can suffer so terribly at the hands of racists. Quite often however, religion is itself responsible for racist oppression.

Middle-Eastern origins aside, Judaism is regarded as a Western religion. But the almost complete assimilation of Jews into all levels of Western society actually betrays Judaism's elitist reality.

'There is no God in all the world but in Israel.' (2 Kings 5:15)

A pious interpretation of such biblical verses would be to suggest that in those days, God (Allah) was not worshipped except by the Israelites. However, even today Jews still consider themselves as the exclusively chosen race of God.

Conversely, while most Christians are overwhelmingly non-Jews, Jesus as the last of the Israelite Prophets was sent to none but the Jews. In the Bible, he is reported to have said:

'I have not been sent except to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.' (Matthew 15:24)[1]

And likewise every other prophet was sent exclusively to his own people; every prophet that is, except Muhammad.

Say (O Muhammad): People! I am the Messenger of Allah sent to you all. (Qur'an, 7:158)

As Muhammad was Allah's final Messenger to humanity, his message was a universal one with the capacity to unite not only his own nation, the Arabs, but all the peoples of the world.

And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) but to the whole of mankind as a giver of glad tidings and a warner, but most people have no knowledge. (Qur'an, 34:28)

BILAL THE ABYSSINIAN One of the earliest converts to Islam was an Abyssinian slave named Bilal. Traditionally, black Africans were a lowly people in the sight of Arabs who thought them to be of little use beyond entertainment and slavery. When Bilal converted to Islam, his pagan master had him brutally tortured in the scorching desert heat until Abu Bakr, the Prophet's closest friend, rescued Bilal by buying his freedom. Muhammad appointed Bilal as his muezzin and the call to prayer announced from minarets in every comer of the world today echoes the exact same words proclaimed by Bilal. Thus, a onetime despised slave achieved one of the highest positions of honour in becoming Islam’s first muezzin. Although ancient Greece is accredited with being the birthplace of democracy, it was a democracy only for its Free citizens - the majority of its population, being slaves, were denied the right to elect their ruler. Yet Islam ordained that a slave could himself be ruler! The Prophet ordered: 'Stick to obedience (i.e. 'Obey your ruler) even if he be an Abyssinian slave.' (Ahmad)

SALMAN THE PERSIAN Like most of his countrymen, Salman was raised a devout Zoroastrian but after an encounter with some Christians at worship in their Church he accepted Christianity as 'something better'. As a Christian, Salman travelled extensively in search of knowledge. His journey took him from the service of one learned monk to the next, the last of whom said to him:

'O son! I do not know of anyone who is on the same (creed) as we are. However, the time of the emergence of a prophet will shade you. This prophet is on the religion of Abraham.'

The monk then proceeded to describe this prophet, his character and where he would appear. Salman immigrated to Arabia, the land of the Prophecy, and when he heard about and met Muhammad, he immediately recognised him from hi, teacher's descriptions. Salman's long search for the truth was finally over and he embraced Islam.

Salman became renowned for his knowledge and was in fact the first person to translate the Qur'an into another language, Persian. Once, whilst the Prophet was amongst his Companions, the following verse was revealed to him:

It is He (Allah) Who had sent among the illiterates (i.e. the Arabs) a Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves ... and (also to) others (i.e. non-Arabs) among them who have not yet joined them. (Qur'an, 62:2-3)

Allah's Messenger placed his hand on Salman and said:

'Even if the Faith were near (the star of) Pleiades, a man from amongst these (Persians) would surely attain it.' (Muslim)

One such man was Imam Muhammad Isma'eeI of Bukhara (a predominately Persian city). His famous collection of hadith (narrations of the Prophet) entitled As-Sahih was unanimously declared by the scholars of Islam to be 'The most authentic book after the Book of Allah (i.e. after the Quran).'

SUHAYB THE ROMAN Blonde-haired and fair complexioned Abu Yahya SUHAYB was born into the luxurious house of his father, a client governor for the Persian emperor. Whilst still a child, SUHAYB was captured by a Byzantine raiding party to be eventually sold into slavery in Constantinople[2] SUHAYB eventually escaped from bondage and fled to Mecca, a popular place of asylum, where he soon became a prosperous merchant nick-named 'ar-Rumi' (the Roman) due to his Greek tongue and Byzantine up-bringing. When SUHAYB heard Muhammad preach, he was at once convinced of the truth of his message and readily embraced Islam. Like the rest of the early Muslims, SUHAYB was persecuted by the idolatrous Meccans and had to trade all his wealth in exchange for safe passage to join the Prophet at Medina. When SUHAYB finally arrived at Medina, the Prophet, delighted to see him, greeted him thrice: 'Your transaction has been fruitful, O Abu Yahya. Your transaction has been fruitful.' Allah had informed the Prophet of Suhayb's exploits even before they were reunited:

And there is a type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of Allah. And Allah is full of kindness to His servants. (Qur'an, 2:207)

The Prophet loved SUHAYB a great deal and described him as having preceded the Byzantines to Islam. Suhayb's piety and standing among Muslims was so high that when Caliph Umar was on his deathbed, he selected SUHAYB to lead the Muslims whilst they were choosing a successor.

ABDULLAH THE HEBREW The Jews were another nation that the pre-Islamic Arabs held in contempt. Many Jews and Christians had been expecting a new prophet to appear in Arabia during the time of the Prophet Muhammad. Jews from the Levite tribe in particular had settled in large numbers in and around the city of Medina. However, when the much-anticipated prophet came not as a Hebrew son of Israel, but as the Arab descendant of Ishmael, the Jews rejected him. Except that is for a few like aI-Husayn bin Salam. Al-Husayn was a learned rabbi and leader of the Medinan Jews but was denounced by them when he embraced Islam. The Prophet renamed al-Husayn, 'Abdullah', meaning 'Servant of Allah' and in his own lifetime the Prophet gave Abdullah the glad tidings that he was destined for Paradise. Abdullah addressed his tribesmen, saying: 'O assembly of Jews! Be conscious of Allah and accept what Muhammad-has brought. By Allah, you certainly know that he is Allah's Messenger and you can find prophecies about him and mention of his name and characteristics in your Torah. I for my part declare that he is the Messenger of Allah. I have faith in him and believe that he is true. I recognise him.' Allah revealed the following verse about Abdullah:

... and a witness from the Children of Israel testifies that this Qur'an is from Allah like (the Torah). So he believed while (most of) you (Jews) are too proud (to believe). (Qur'an, 46:10)

Thus, in the ranks of the Prophet Muhammad's Companions could be found Africans, Persians, Romans and Israelites; representatives of every then-known continent. The Prophet said: 'Indeed my friends and allies are not the tribe of so and so. Rather, my friends and allies are the pious wherever they may be.'

(al-Bukhari & Muslim)

This point was further emphasised by the Prophet when he said: 'There is truly no excellence for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor for a non-Arab over an Arab; nor for a white man over a black man, nor for a black man over a white man; except through piety.'(Ahmad)

O humanity! We have created you from a single male and female and have made you into nations and tribes that you may know one another (not that you may have pride over one another). Verily the most honorable of you in the sight of Allah is the one most pious. (Qur'an, 49:13)

The Prophet Muhammad said: 'The parable of the Believers in their mutual love and mercy is like that of a (living) body; if one part feels pain, the whole body suffers in sleeplessness and fever.' (Muslim)

Such a universal brotherhood was championed by the' Prophet's Companions after him, including his immediate temporal successors: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali (known collectively as the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs). When the Companion Ubada ibn as-Samit led a Muslim delegation to Muqawqis, the Christian patriarch of Alexandria, Muqawqis exclaimed: 'Get this black man away from me and bring another to talk to me. ... How can you be content that a black man should be the foremost among you? Is it not more fitting that he be below you?' 'Indeed no,' Ubada's comrades replied, ‘for although he is black as you see, he is still the foremost among us in position, in precedence, in intelligence and in wisdom; for darkness is not despised among us.'

Verily, the Believers are but brothers (to one another). (Qur'an, 49:10)

The spread of nationalism with its separating of Muslims along ethnic, linguistic and tribal lines is an evil and divisive innovation in Islam. Allah says in His Book:

Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your tribe, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and striving hard in His Cause, then wait until Allah brings about His Decision. And Allah guides not a rebellious people. (Qur'an, 9:24)

In fact, the Muslims in and of themselves constitute one nation:

Thus We have made you (Believers into) a (single) justly balanced nation. (Qur'an, 2:143)

The Prophet said: 'Whoever leaves off obedience and separates from the Jam'ah[3] and dies, (then) he dies a death of jahiliyyah (i.e. pre-Islamic ignorance and disbelief). And whoever fights under the banner of the blind, becoming angry for nationalism or calling to nationalism or assisting nationalism and dies, (then) he dies a death of jahiliyyah.' (Muslim)

While those who disbelieved placed in their hearts pride and haughtiness - the pride and haughtiness of jahiliyyah, Allah sent down His tranquillity upon His Messenger and upon the believers. (Qur'an, 48:26)

A FINAL POINT Still repeated in some circles and perhaps one of the greatest barriers to its acceptance by Westerners is the fallacy that Islam is primarily a religion for blacks or dark skinned people. No doubt, the racial injustices against many blacks, be they Abyssinian slaves of pre-Islamic Arabia or twentieth century African-Americans, has prompted many to embrace Islam, but this is beside the point. The Prophet Muhammad was himself of pale complexion, described by his Companions as being 'white and ruddy'. And unbeknown to most people is the fact that Europe has more indigenous white Muslims than it has coloured immigrants. Albanians, for example, descended from the ancient Illyrian-Celts, are one of Europe's oldest tribes and amongst the earliest inhabitants of the Balkans. Today, 80%. of all Albanians Are MUSLIMS.[4] In fact, the world's leading Muslim scholar, the Reviver of Islam, Champion of the Sunna (practice of the Prophet) and mountain of knowledge, Shaykh Muhammad Nasir-ud-Deen al-Albani, is, as his title suggests, Albanian. Some anthropologists believed that the Caucasus Mountain region of SE Europe was the cradle of 'the white race' and white people are still described as 'Caucasian'. Today, six of Russia's seven autonomous Caucasus republics are Muslim republics. In fact, Islam peacefully entered parts of Europe long before Christianity. Over a thousand years ago, 'In times long ago, when the Russian Slav had not yet started to build Christian churches on the Oka nor conquered these places in the name of European civilisation, the Bulgar[5] was already listening to the Qur'an on the banks of the Volga and the Kama.' (S.M. Solov'ev, Istoria Rossis Drevneishikh Vremen. Moscow 1965, p.476)

This century too has seen large numbers of Europeans embrace Islam. In the UK alone there are estimated to be tens of thousands of reverts to Islam (mostly Anglo-Saxon and Celtic women) and within the next 20 years their number is expected to overtake the immigrant Muslim population that brought the faith here (The Times, 11/9/1993). Neither has the large awakening to Islam gone unnoticed by US administration. Hillary Rodham Clinton recently remarked: 'Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, a guide and pillar of stability for many of our people...' (First Lady Breaks Ground with Muslims, Los Angeles Times, 5/31/1996)

Truly, We created (all) humans in the best of moulds. (Qur'an, 95:4)

Every faith besides Islam calls for the worship of creation in some way, shape or form. Moreover, race and colour play a central and divisive role in almost all non-Islamic belief systems. In Christianity, through the Prophet Jesus and the saints and in Buddhism, through Buddha and the Dalai Lama men and women of a particular race and colour are worshipped as deities in derogation of Allah. In Judaism, salvation is withheld from the non-Jew Gentile. Hinduism's caste-system likewise degrades and checks the spiritual, not to mention social, political and economic aspirations of the 'unclean' lower castes. Islam, however, seeks to unite and make one all the creatures of the world upon the Unity and Oneness of their Creator. Thus, Islam alone liberates all peoples, races and colours in the worship of Allah alone.

Verily, I am Allah - there is nothing worthy of worship but Me. Therefore worship Me (alone). (Qur'an, 20:14)

'No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and endeavour so many and so varied races o mankind. The great Muslim communities of Africa, India and Indonesia, perhaps also the small community in Japan, show that Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements Of race and tradition.'

(H.A.R. Gibb, Whither Islam, London, 193Z p. 379)

'The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue...'

(A.J. Toynbee, Civilisation on Trial, New York, p. 205)

,How, for instance can any other appeal stand against that of the Moslem who, in approaching the pagan, says to him, however obscure or degraded he may be "Embrace the faith, and you are at once equal and a brother." Islam knows no colour line.'

(S.S. Leeder, Veiled Mysteries of Egypt)

And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the (wonderful) difference of your languages and colours. Verily, in that are indeed signs for people of sound knowledge. (Qur'an, 30:22)


P.O. Box 10528, Jubail 31961 - Tel.: 03-341-8639

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

2007-10-26 02:41:44 · 16 answers · asked by muslim-doctor 3

She basically said, "Paley's watch, Pascal's wager, and Einstein believed in God."

She's smart, rational, college-educated.

Are these "arguments" really sufficient for most believers?

Why is this one area of life rarely scrutinized?

2007-10-26 02:39:22 · 32 answers · asked by Eleventy 6

2007-10-26 02:38:08 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous

They teach parts and leave out other parts isn't that a form of deception?

2007-10-26 02:36:45 · 18 answers · asked by rjm 4

Its so typical, I wont believe something that goes beyond my puny little mind. I wont believe something I cant see, well you cant see the billions of billions of galaxy, does that mean they dont exist? Fact is even if God hit you over the head you'd still find a way or reason to reject it.

Lets see, most of you atagonists use science to try to prove your weak hyposthesis, actually quite pathetic considering the greatest scientists that ever lived believe in a higher entity, Einstein and Hawking. I did not say religion for you that try to be slick, I said they believe in a higher entity. So my question is, how do you conclude, based on your interpretation of reality, that we somehow came from nothing? Isnt that impossible, I mean you try to use science against us, yet the very basis of your thinking contradicts your hypothesis'. Something cant come from nothing, Einstein realized that, so are you saying you're smarter than him?

2007-10-26 02:35:35 · 21 answers · asked by Murfdigidy 4

2007-10-26 02:35:16 · 11 answers · asked by Linz ♥ VT 4

2007-10-26 02:35:00 · 6 answers · asked by kristie 2

2007-10-26 02:34:05 · 14 answers · asked by Linz ♥ VT 4

Before you take the kids to the movie...just a friendly note~Thought you may want to read what snoops has to say:
http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp
Nicole Kidman.....:(
Due out in DEC<>

2007-10-26 02:32:27 · 12 answers · asked by CJ 3

I was just reading Psalm 41. The first verse says: Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

In my opinion, considering the poor is something we could do more of!

So which verse have you been thinking about today?

2007-10-26 02:31:19 · 29 answers · asked by Lamborama 5