I will be posting this in two or three sections of the forums, because I am hoping to get some good answers. Moderators, I ask that you allow this. I am just someone who is seeking the truth, yes?
I pray now that God might guide me to the truth, that he may open the eyes of my understanding. People reading this, pray for me as well, that the confusion might be removed and the understanding of God and who he is might grace my mind.
I want to start off by saying I have basically explored every religion / philosophy in the world in the search for "the truth" -- Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Daoism, Zoroastrianism, Odinism, Druidism, VooDoo, Siberian Shamanism, various folk beleifs, various Pagan ways, even occult ways, such as Satanism, left hand path, Wicca, other old hidden ways from our ancestors. I have basically explored pretty much everything out there, in my search for the truth.
When I was at my final stage, I was deep into Occultism, and my ways were very wicked and dark, and I was communing with the wrong types of spirits, doing very bad things, I was very deep into darkness. It was a bad time for me. Part of it was selfish, I wanted some of the things these occult ways said was possible, and also part of me wanted the deeper truth.
Regardless, eventually, I was deep into wickedness and darkness, and like a flash it came to me. It was like the veil had lifted from my eyes, and I had finally seen the error of my ways, I had finally seen how wrong the things were which I was doing. I realized in that moment, "there is no God but God, he IS" -- it's almost like I had an understanding beyond English language -- it's like I realized that God IS -- that he IS -- it's hard to explain beyond that.
Having grown up in a Christian household, I repented and accepted Jesus. I was taught before, that this is how it comes. The Holy Spirit witnesses to you, your wrongdoings, that you may repent and come to God for mercy.
At this point, Islam was basically the only religion / spiritual way that I had not researched much. When I was younger, I had a Muslim friend in school that taught me some about Islam, and even gave me an awesome Quran with a red cover -- it was a Yusuf Ali translation. It had transliteration as well. But, that being said, I never went tooo deep into it. Honestly, when I saw how much obligation a Muslim has, I think I turned my back on Islam. Well, that was a very different time.
Anyways, here I was, God had just witnessed to me the error of my ways, and I had repented and turned to Christianity. But, I never really liked Christianity much. Something just always felt wrong to me. I got baptized, yes. I started to listen to sermon after sermon of Christian teachings, and I went REALLY deep into it. I don't know if Muslims have sermons, so I will explain. Sermons are basically where the preachers will teach like maybe a hour or two hours about a subject, certain spiritual principles, just preaching on various subjects found within the Bible.
I will say, that, Christian preaching has brought a certain understanding of God's principles to my mind, and helped me to understand who God is and how he works. Even right now, I can kind of see God in a kind of abstract way. He is there, although he is unseen, he flows through all things. He is silent, most of the time. He doesn't talk much, for some reason. That being said, he doesn't actually have to talk, to do what he does. That part is complicated for me to explain. He works differently than us, yes? He is less complicated in his ways, as he has a perfect understanding of things, so he doesn't thrash around as we do in life. He just does what he does, when he does it, because he knows best. So, I can see him in an abstract way. It's not that I see a face or something, it's more-like I see his qualities, and adding them all together provides a big picture to look at.
I have to say, there is a theory floating around my brain. Perhaps the spiritual principles I have learned through Christianity about God is true. Perhaps the teachings in the Bible has allowed me to come closer to God, and understand his nature more. But, I am currently doubting if the Bible's representation of Jesus is the truth. Perhaps all those spiritual principles I've learned, perhaps it is all separate. Because honestly, ever since I became a Christian, I was always extremely uncomfortable in church. It always felt wrong to me, the way Christians live their lives, even some Christian teachings. It's always felt wrong to me, what Christians revolve around. They go to church on Sunday, sing songs about Jesus for maybe a hour, then they listen to preaching, and that's it for them until next week. I've always found that the everyday Christian, in everyday life, it's very dead spiritually. Christianity always teaches that a personal relationship with God is important, and it's the focus of Christianity. But, I don't know of any Christians that actually have a deep relationship with God. It's like there's a bit of a disconnect, something that is holding us back from our true potential with God. It's almost like they go to church out of some religious obligation, and then they go their own way for the rest of the week. And this worshiping of Jesus, how he died on the cross for our sins, meh. I always found it extremely uncomfortable that "worship" to many Christians is basically just singing some songs on Sunday, and the rest of the week they are no better than pagans or other worldly people. Even if they practice Christian virtue in their lives and treat others good, and show love to others, and stand against wickedness, Christians are honestly just lacking a spirit of dedication to God in my opinion. And there is a lack of a true connection with God to the everyday Christian. I don't know of any Christians that are truly close to God. It's a shame that a hour of singing songs is pretty much all that the average Christian does for God, too. I always thought that God deserves more than a couple of songs. I always thought that singing these songs of "worship", was hypocritical. It just always felt wrong to me, all of it. I've always felt like God should have the dedication of all your ways. That you should revolve your life around him, and do as much as you can for him, because he is God and he is worthy. I've always found it very important to pursue God whole-hardheartedly. I'm not just talking religious obligation, I'm talking about having a personal relationship with Him. Loving him, being close to him, walking through life with him. Relying and depending on him. Doing your best to be close with him. But with Christianity, I feel like regardless of what I do, I can't be close with God the way I want to be close with him. It's like there's a barrier between me and God. And I don't want that -- I want to be as close to God as I possibly can. I realize that this life is like nothing, and that one should cast away the things of this world and put God first in every situation. It is better to love God, and trust in him, and let him guide you in life.
So, I have some question for you folks, and I'd appreciate some honest answers, because I am curious about the Muslim perspective.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Is being close with God something that exists within Islam? Do people pursue God, not out of obligation, but of love and devotion, just out of the general spirit of wanting to be close with God? In Christianity, it's taught, the importance of a personal relationship with God. Does Islam speak about the importance of a personal relationship with God? Letting him guide you in your ways, relying on him, loving him, being close with him, putting him first, talking and walking with Him? I am not interested in a system of beliefs that is all obligation, you know? All religion and no spirituality. I want to have a very deep relationship with God, and walk in his ways. I want to be truly close with Him. A personal relationship. I want to interact with God. I am currently unsatisfied with Christianity because I feel like, regardless of what I've done, it's not actually possible to be close with God. It feels like there is some hindrance here, you know? So, I am wondering if Christianity is the reason I can't be close to God the way I'd like, if Christianity is the hindrance.
My main goal in life, well, is simple. I don't care about material things, or jobs, or women, or children, or respect, or the admiration of people. I don't care about wealth, or power. The things of this world, they have no interest to me. All I care about in life, is being close with God. To me, everything besides God is secondary. Even if I must suffer for God's sake, suffer incredibly, I prefer that to being distant from God. It is my mission in life, and has always been my mission, to become as close as I can to God. Everything in life is secondary, and nothing else will ever satisfy me, besides that closeness with God. Because, God is the truth, and well, I want to go as deep as I possibly can with Him. I don't want to be like the everyday lay person, I want more out of life. I have realized in my sufferings that the things of this world are all incapable of satisfying, they are all temporary pleasures that distract you. The things of this world... they are all meaningless to me, compared to God.
Is Islam all religion? Or is there spirituality there, too? I hope you see from my post, what type of person I am. From what I read, Sufism interests me very much. As I said, the things of this world are secondary to me to God. It is my desire to become closer with God, have a personal relationship with Him, walk with Him.
I am asking for a reason. In Christianity, there are many sermons that you can find online. This is Christians teaching spiritual principles found within the Bible. Deeper, spiritual principles about life. Is there a Muslim equivalent?
What is the importance of faith, within Islam? For Christians, faith is supposed to drive our everyday lives, and everything we do. We are supposed to have a personal relationship with God. For example, we can pray to God, that we need a new car. Then, we wait and have patience, and eventually if we have faith in God, he will perfectly execute an answer to your prayer. It doesn't always go the way you want, of course. For example, maybe you hoped for that brand new racing car, but God says, you must take this other car. We may get mad because we don't understand, but God knows best. So, it doesn't always go the way we want, or it doesn't always happen when we want it to happen, but God knows best -- and he will bless you if you remain faithful.
It is actually a Christian principle, to be "led by the Spirit". That God talks to us, through our conscience. For example, if we are at a car dealership, we may get a witness about a certain car. Witness? For you Muslims that maybe don't know? It's like a sense we get -- not a feeling. A quickening, within our hearts. It's being led by God directly. Maybe our feelings want a certain car, but we get a sense about a different car. This is how we say, we have a personal relationship with God.
It is a HUGE Christian spiritual principle, to not be led by the flesh, but to be led by the Spirit. It is said, that the flesh is all things wicked -- gluttonous, lustful, greedy, ext. So, we can't always trust our feelings (flesh), and have to go by what the Spirit witnesses to us. That is actually the purpose of baptism in Christianity. It's a symbolic act, representing the death of the flesh, and life in the Spirit. It's also said, that the conscience is how God witnesses to us the Law directly. It was a big thing with the Jews, for example the Pharisees, to memorize the Law and try to follow it. But, it's said, that with Jesus, we don't need to do that anymore. He paid for our sins, so basically all we need to do is follow our hearts. Because, the Law has been transformed, and it is now written on our hearts. So, if we sin and we know it, we are made aware of it in our heart by the witness of God -- and then we repent, and that's it. But, if we don't know that something is a sin, and we do it, then it is not sin for us. Because, for us, sin is a violation of the light that we personally have. So, if you don't have light about a certain subject, then it's not sin for you if you do it. Of course, it is taught that God will eventually reveal to you and work with you to stop sinful behaviors, it's a growing process after all. And it's said, the more we are obedient to our consciences, the sharper it becomes, and the more we can hear from God in our everyday lives.
So, these are just some examples of Christian spirituality. I am curious, and seriously now guys, is there an Islamic equivalent? Is Islam all religion? Or is there spirituality too? Is there the personal relationship? Do you have similar teachings in the Quran, or the Hadith?
Thanks for taking the time to read my post, and respond to it. May God guide us all to the truth.
I pray now that God might guide me to the truth, that he may open the eyes of my understanding. People reading this, pray for me as well, that the confusion might be removed and the understanding of God and who he is might grace my mind.
I want to start off by saying I have basically explored every religion / philosophy in the world in the search for "the truth" -- Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Daoism, Zoroastrianism, Odinism, Druidism, VooDoo, Siberian Shamanism, various folk beleifs, various Pagan ways, even occult ways, such as Satanism, left hand path, Wicca, other old hidden ways from our ancestors. I have basically explored pretty much everything out there, in my search for the truth.
When I was at my final stage, I was deep into Occultism, and my ways were very wicked and dark, and I was communing with the wrong types of spirits, doing very bad things, I was very deep into darkness. It was a bad time for me. Part of it was selfish, I wanted some of the things these occult ways said was possible, and also part of me wanted the deeper truth.
Regardless, eventually, I was deep into wickedness and darkness, and like a flash it came to me. It was like the veil had lifted from my eyes, and I had finally seen the error of my ways, I had finally seen how wrong the things were which I was doing. I realized in that moment, "there is no God but God, he IS" -- it's almost like I had an understanding beyond English language -- it's like I realized that God IS -- that he IS -- it's hard to explain beyond that.
Having grown up in a Christian household, I repented and accepted Jesus. I was taught before, that this is how it comes. The Holy Spirit witnesses to you, your wrongdoings, that you may repent and come to God for mercy.
At this point, Islam was basically the only religion / spiritual way that I had not researched much. When I was younger, I had a Muslim friend in school that taught me some about Islam, and even gave me an awesome Quran with a red cover -- it was a Yusuf Ali translation. It had transliteration as well. But, that being said, I never went tooo deep into it. Honestly, when I saw how much obligation a Muslim has, I think I turned my back on Islam. Well, that was a very different time.
Anyways, here I was, God had just witnessed to me the error of my ways, and I had repented and turned to Christianity. But, I never really liked Christianity much. Something just always felt wrong to me. I got baptized, yes. I started to listen to sermon after sermon of Christian teachings, and I went REALLY deep into it. I don't know if Muslims have sermons, so I will explain. Sermons are basically where the preachers will teach like maybe a hour or two hours about a subject, certain spiritual principles, just preaching on various subjects found within the Bible.
I will say, that, Christian preaching has brought a certain understanding of God's principles to my mind, and helped me to understand who God is and how he works. Even right now, I can kind of see God in a kind of abstract way. He is there, although he is unseen, he flows through all things. He is silent, most of the time. He doesn't talk much, for some reason. That being said, he doesn't actually have to talk, to do what he does. That part is complicated for me to explain. He works differently than us, yes? He is less complicated in his ways, as he has a perfect understanding of things, so he doesn't thrash around as we do in life. He just does what he does, when he does it, because he knows best. So, I can see him in an abstract way. It's not that I see a face or something, it's more-like I see his qualities, and adding them all together provides a big picture to look at.
I have to say, there is a theory floating around my brain. Perhaps the spiritual principles I have learned through Christianity about God is true. Perhaps the teachings in the Bible has allowed me to come closer to God, and understand his nature more. But, I am currently doubting if the Bible's representation of Jesus is the truth. Perhaps all those spiritual principles I've learned, perhaps it is all separate. Because honestly, ever since I became a Christian, I was always extremely uncomfortable in church. It always felt wrong to me, the way Christians live their lives, even some Christian teachings. It's always felt wrong to me, what Christians revolve around. They go to church on Sunday, sing songs about Jesus for maybe a hour, then they listen to preaching, and that's it for them until next week. I've always found that the everyday Christian, in everyday life, it's very dead spiritually. Christianity always teaches that a personal relationship with God is important, and it's the focus of Christianity. But, I don't know of any Christians that actually have a deep relationship with God. It's like there's a bit of a disconnect, something that is holding us back from our true potential with God. It's almost like they go to church out of some religious obligation, and then they go their own way for the rest of the week. And this worshiping of Jesus, how he died on the cross for our sins, meh. I always found it extremely uncomfortable that "worship" to many Christians is basically just singing some songs on Sunday, and the rest of the week they are no better than pagans or other worldly people. Even if they practice Christian virtue in their lives and treat others good, and show love to others, and stand against wickedness, Christians are honestly just lacking a spirit of dedication to God in my opinion. And there is a lack of a true connection with God to the everyday Christian. I don't know of any Christians that are truly close to God. It's a shame that a hour of singing songs is pretty much all that the average Christian does for God, too. I always thought that God deserves more than a couple of songs. I always thought that singing these songs of "worship", was hypocritical. It just always felt wrong to me, all of it. I've always felt like God should have the dedication of all your ways. That you should revolve your life around him, and do as much as you can for him, because he is God and he is worthy. I've always found it very important to pursue God whole-hardheartedly. I'm not just talking religious obligation, I'm talking about having a personal relationship with Him. Loving him, being close to him, walking through life with him. Relying and depending on him. Doing your best to be close with him. But with Christianity, I feel like regardless of what I do, I can't be close with God the way I want to be close with him. It's like there's a barrier between me and God. And I don't want that -- I want to be as close to God as I possibly can. I realize that this life is like nothing, and that one should cast away the things of this world and put God first in every situation. It is better to love God, and trust in him, and let him guide you in life.
So, I have some question for you folks, and I'd appreciate some honest answers, because I am curious about the Muslim perspective.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Is being close with God something that exists within Islam? Do people pursue God, not out of obligation, but of love and devotion, just out of the general spirit of wanting to be close with God? In Christianity, it's taught, the importance of a personal relationship with God. Does Islam speak about the importance of a personal relationship with God? Letting him guide you in your ways, relying on him, loving him, being close with him, putting him first, talking and walking with Him? I am not interested in a system of beliefs that is all obligation, you know? All religion and no spirituality. I want to have a very deep relationship with God, and walk in his ways. I want to be truly close with Him. A personal relationship. I want to interact with God. I am currently unsatisfied with Christianity because I feel like, regardless of what I've done, it's not actually possible to be close with God. It feels like there is some hindrance here, you know? So, I am wondering if Christianity is the reason I can't be close to God the way I'd like, if Christianity is the hindrance.
My main goal in life, well, is simple. I don't care about material things, or jobs, or women, or children, or respect, or the admiration of people. I don't care about wealth, or power. The things of this world, they have no interest to me. All I care about in life, is being close with God. To me, everything besides God is secondary. Even if I must suffer for God's sake, suffer incredibly, I prefer that to being distant from God. It is my mission in life, and has always been my mission, to become as close as I can to God. Everything in life is secondary, and nothing else will ever satisfy me, besides that closeness with God. Because, God is the truth, and well, I want to go as deep as I possibly can with Him. I don't want to be like the everyday lay person, I want more out of life. I have realized in my sufferings that the things of this world are all incapable of satisfying, they are all temporary pleasures that distract you. The things of this world... they are all meaningless to me, compared to God.
Is Islam all religion? Or is there spirituality there, too? I hope you see from my post, what type of person I am. From what I read, Sufism interests me very much. As I said, the things of this world are secondary to me to God. It is my desire to become closer with God, have a personal relationship with Him, walk with Him.
I am asking for a reason. In Christianity, there are many sermons that you can find online. This is Christians teaching spiritual principles found within the Bible. Deeper, spiritual principles about life. Is there a Muslim equivalent?
What is the importance of faith, within Islam? For Christians, faith is supposed to drive our everyday lives, and everything we do. We are supposed to have a personal relationship with God. For example, we can pray to God, that we need a new car. Then, we wait and have patience, and eventually if we have faith in God, he will perfectly execute an answer to your prayer. It doesn't always go the way you want, of course. For example, maybe you hoped for that brand new racing car, but God says, you must take this other car. We may get mad because we don't understand, but God knows best. So, it doesn't always go the way we want, or it doesn't always happen when we want it to happen, but God knows best -- and he will bless you if you remain faithful.
It is actually a Christian principle, to be "led by the Spirit". That God talks to us, through our conscience. For example, if we are at a car dealership, we may get a witness about a certain car. Witness? For you Muslims that maybe don't know? It's like a sense we get -- not a feeling. A quickening, within our hearts. It's being led by God directly. Maybe our feelings want a certain car, but we get a sense about a different car. This is how we say, we have a personal relationship with God.
It is a HUGE Christian spiritual principle, to not be led by the flesh, but to be led by the Spirit. It is said, that the flesh is all things wicked -- gluttonous, lustful, greedy, ext. So, we can't always trust our feelings (flesh), and have to go by what the Spirit witnesses to us. That is actually the purpose of baptism in Christianity. It's a symbolic act, representing the death of the flesh, and life in the Spirit. It's also said, that the conscience is how God witnesses to us the Law directly. It was a big thing with the Jews, for example the Pharisees, to memorize the Law and try to follow it. But, it's said, that with Jesus, we don't need to do that anymore. He paid for our sins, so basically all we need to do is follow our hearts. Because, the Law has been transformed, and it is now written on our hearts. So, if we sin and we know it, we are made aware of it in our heart by the witness of God -- and then we repent, and that's it. But, if we don't know that something is a sin, and we do it, then it is not sin for us. Because, for us, sin is a violation of the light that we personally have. So, if you don't have light about a certain subject, then it's not sin for you if you do it. Of course, it is taught that God will eventually reveal to you and work with you to stop sinful behaviors, it's a growing process after all. And it's said, the more we are obedient to our consciences, the sharper it becomes, and the more we can hear from God in our everyday lives.
So, these are just some examples of Christian spirituality. I am curious, and seriously now guys, is there an Islamic equivalent? Is Islam all religion? Or is there spirituality too? Is there the personal relationship? Do you have similar teachings in the Quran, or the Hadith?
Thanks for taking the time to read my post, and respond to it. May God guide us all to the truth.
eace: