So you see all religion as having a single origin, interesting. How do you think about other people who have different religions? Do you think they're bad, or just misguided?
yes, all religion have the same origin...which makes sense...Every prophet came to guide us to the one and the same God...everytime people wandered off the right path and created a new religion.
about people of different religions:
If they have no knowledge about islam and they never had the opportunity or possibility to study it...but they still somehow believe in a God, then they can be considered muslims.
If they have knowledge about Islam but they just reject it, then they are misguided.
If they reject Islam and they see Muslims as their enemy, they are misguided and bad.
Well it's not entirely true that there is no alternative. It's true that the genesis of life on Earth is unlikely on its own, as it is true that an illiterate person could have composed one of the greatest works of poetry that humanity has ever seen. However, as another poster has said, that doesn't mean it couldn't have happened. It is entirely possible that life began on its own, as it is possible that the revelations were fabricated and/or the history about Muhammad being illiterate is false. We just don't know, and we don't know one way or another. I'm not discounting the possibility of a divine source for either thing, but "I don't know, therefore god did it" is a pretty weak argument. The "I don't know" aspect is what I find particularly difficult, and why I'm here having this discussion in the first place, and why I find this dialogue so helpful and enlightening.
we discussed in our former posts that the chance of forming a body on its own is astronomically small...the time of 14 billion years might not even be long enough for such an event...and that the chance of getting struck by a giant meteor and start all over in that timeframe is much higher.
then we had the issue that a body forming on its own, how small the chance is, still no explanation how that body somehow can be alive.
So, how can you see this as a valid alternative?
you are making one big mistake: I never use the argument "I don't know, therefore god did it"
because it is not the one or the other. "I don't know, therefore God did it" is a weak argument...it can be used as an answer to any question...but that does not mean it is a useful answer...just like the answer to the question "2 + 3 = ?" can be "a number".
Of course it is a number...but which number?
Of course God did it, but how did he do that?
Remember, sciense and religion do not contradict each other.
Thank you for your clarification, I'll look into getting one of these books
you can also find them as a free pdf online or as an application. perhaps easier because you can use the search function which makes it easier.
First Example:
That is interesting, I hadn't thought of that before. However, I have a followup question. If a muslim person put in their will that their daughter and son inherited 50% each of his possessions, would you see that as a negative thing?
It depends. If they live in the western world, then that would be OK.
If they live in a country with sharia laws, that would be a negative thing...because the brother has to share his property with his wife if he is married. this means that the sister got a much bigger share then her brother.
Second Example:
I had read (In the contextual notes in my Koran) that this was because in the prophet's time, women were largely illiterate, and that the second woman was designed to stop the first from being mislead or confused. I have seen nothing about women being too emotional to stand testimony, though. What sources can you direct me to that reinforces your explanation?
Islam is an universal religion. Islam never forbade women to have an education or to work...keeping women illiterate was always a cultural issue. wouldn't it be injustice to say that women need each other in testimonies because they are illiterate? so, this answer makes no sense.
If you are looking for verses in the quran saying that women are emotional...you will not find anything...The quran is not a science book.
It just states that women need each other for testimony, period....and if you want to know the wisdom behind it, then you have to investigate.
sometimes this question is already asked to our prophet and he gave an answer...if so, you can find it in the hadeeth...if not, then the reason is unknown and needs to be investigated.
And indeed, we all know that women are different then men. they are more emotional...they are more sensitive to hormone changes...they have more massive hormone changes then men.
The biggest issue I see with world muslims mistreating their wives is the seeming lack of backlash from the muslim community. Now, I will point out that I only have access to English-language and German-language news sources on the matter, since I don't speak Arabic. But, it seems like there is a widespread lack of condemnation against those who mistreat their wives, daughters, and female work colleagues. I understand that this is more a cultural thing than a religious thing, but I still don't see nearly as much outcry of support for women that I would expect or want from the population in general.
that might be true unfortunately...but still it is not a religious issue. it is cultural. Islam commands to treat your wife in your best way...
again, I agree with you that you see that kind of things a lot in the muslim world...but it is wrong to attribute that to Islam.
Because I'm a scientist. Like an actual scientist, I get paid to do science. Materialism is king; things that cannot be estimated, tested, and proven are not how I've spent my life thinking. I would like to be able to see past the materialistic bent that I have adopted, but it is difficult. I like learning, I like experiencing new things, but religion has been this shadowy box of mystery for me for most of my life. I'm interested in it, but I can't seem to make myself actually believe. Which, as I've mentioned, is why I'm here. I want to talk to others, see what they think, and get ideas for different ways to look at things and process information.
I am a scientist too. maybe not that much like you, because I only have a Bachelor of Science degree...(right now I am work as the Lead Engineer Radiography) So, I am also a technical person. I also always searched for logical explanations ans was not satisfied with answers like "because God has ordered that"...but that shadowy box you are describing stays unreachable for science...so for science it is a black box...and scientist know how to handle black boxes...we cannot look into it...but we can define the input, observe the output and try to describe it's characteristics.
