I always try to consider original sources when forming opinions
There's been a lot of heat recently regarding Islam. A lot of people making all sorts of claims about Islam and G-d, etc etc
So to get to the HEART OF THE MATTER, i recently downloaded the Quran to see for myself
This way, I can form my own opinion, instead of relying on what the MEDIA or OTHERS tell me.
I haven't FINISHED reading it (and the fact that it was originally memorized in whole and passed on orally blows my mind in of itself) but so far, here's what I absorbed:
1) There's a heavy emphasis on Allah being GRACIOUS... This seems familiar, since Christianity is rooted in a relationship between man and God based on God's grace instead of man's inherent goodness.
2) The Quran talks very positively about the Jewish Torah and the Christian gospel (the second chapter of the Quran says 'They are the true guidance from their Lord and they are the successful.'
3) The Quran focuses on the same God of Abraham that Judaism and Christianity are based on.
4) The Quran portrays certain actions of God similar to elements from the book of Exodus in the Torah. In particular, he closes eyes (quran) as he hardens hearts (torah)
5) This book shares the Jewish and Christian bible's abhorrence of hypocrisy. Some of the writing style also reminds me of Jewish 'wisdom literature' found in the Old Testament and the Book of James in the NT.
Anyway, I just wanted to share. I'm just keeping an open mind when I read it but I always look for patterns.
Final point: just like with any discussion about religion and faith, it is very easy for religion to become a point of division. It is TRUE that religion causes wars. Religion kills.
We can all agree on that.
But there's a difference between religionism and faith/belief. The former leads to war, division, pain, suffering. The latter leads elsewhere.
Interestingly, Jesus himself HARSHLY CRITICIZED religionism and fought against religion. Seriously. His rebuke of the Pharisees applies to the rebuke of fat cat 'Christian' preachers and church hierarchy throughout history. Too often, spirituality has been PERVERTED to serve the purpose of SELF when the root of spirituality is SELFLESSNESS which reaches its highest form in SELFLESS LOVE.
Here's a powerful explanation of the difference between "RELIGION" and Faith... by two Israelis. Blows my mind each time I watch it.
Anyway, just sharing stuff I've learned. One can never learn enough. Read the original sources before forming an opinion. Next stop:
The Bhagavad Gita