TDH #75
Let there be no hostility,
except towards aggressors.
The Qur’an - 2:193
(Translated by W. Khan)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What we see in the biblical stories are formally oral traditions with unknown origins. They were written down years after they came to into existence, in different languages, in different places, and the church voted on which should be kept. They were translated, edited, and rewritten countless times over the ages. Needless to say, there was room for manipulation when it came to the Word of God.
The reason I bring this up is because Islam believes the Bible can’t be trusted as the Word of God. They believe at one time there were untainted versions of the stories because they’re mentioned in the Qur’an, but the original texts have been lost.
They do believe the Qur’an, however, is the only holy text that can still be trusted. The only issue I have is that it references all these prophets from the very stories it discounts, so if that material can’t be trusted then there is no context to who these people were.
Imagine you’re reading a book and out of the blue it says, “And remember Bob, and all that he accomplished in the name of the Lord. Learn from him.” And then it moves on to Joe doing the same.
“Who? Why is there a name drop with no reference?” That’s what someone unfamiliar with the biblical stories might think when reading the Qur’an when it mentions Abraham or Noah or Job.
I made a post on Reddit’s r/Islam asking if Muslims read the Bible to derive context into their own text, and if not, where do they get their context from. Many jumped on it, trashing the Bible, but not one provided insight into the latter half of my inquiry. So, from my understanding, I’m gathering this is a belief system based on origin stories that don’t exist, which seems particularly unsatisfying.
Many good insights have come from reading the Abrahamic texts, but the more I dive in the more strange things bubble to the surface. At this point I’m just trying to derive any wisdom I can from what we have while taking everything with a grain of salt, which is probably a healthy way to approach anything in life really, especially religion.
except towards aggressors.
The Qur’an - 2:193
(Translated by W. Khan)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What we see in the biblical stories are formally oral traditions with unknown origins. They were written down years after they came to into existence, in different languages, in different places, and the church voted on which should be kept. They were translated, edited, and rewritten countless times over the ages. Needless to say, there was room for manipulation when it came to the Word of God.
The reason I bring this up is because Islam believes the Bible can’t be trusted as the Word of God. They believe at one time there were untainted versions of the stories because they’re mentioned in the Qur’an, but the original texts have been lost.
They do believe the Qur’an, however, is the only holy text that can still be trusted. The only issue I have is that it references all these prophets from the very stories it discounts, so if that material can’t be trusted then there is no context to who these people were.
Imagine you’re reading a book and out of the blue it says, “And remember Bob, and all that he accomplished in the name of the Lord. Learn from him.” And then it moves on to Joe doing the same.
“Who? Why is there a name drop with no reference?” That’s what someone unfamiliar with the biblical stories might think when reading the Qur’an when it mentions Abraham or Noah or Job.
I made a post on Reddit’s r/Islam asking if Muslims read the Bible to derive context into their own text, and if not, where do they get their context from. Many jumped on it, trashing the Bible, but not one provided insight into the latter half of my inquiry. So, from my understanding, I’m gathering this is a belief system based on origin stories that don’t exist, which seems particularly unsatisfying.
Many good insights have come from reading the Abrahamic texts, but the more I dive in the more strange things bubble to the surface. At this point I’m just trying to derive any wisdom I can from what we have while taking everything with a grain of salt, which is probably a healthy way to approach anything in life really, especially religion.
No comments have been added yet.
TheDevoutHumorist
Ancient wisdom with a modern application (and an often humorist twist)
- Kyle Woodruff's profile
- 8 followers
