Monday, October 3, 2011

Y...719 - Exploring the Truth

Blind to the Truth.


Y...719 wrote: "Trust your Creator, if not then you doubt Him. You doubt His Judgment. Where is our faith then? What does faith require of us?" (10/1/2011)

A Response......

As a Muslim, are you precluded from applying logic?

You do not Q Allah, but has he provided all the answers? Or are there answers still to come? I agree God will reveal all, but in time. God wants you to Q, for the answers will reveal His truth. He is testing your heart. Science enters the discussion. Over History much has been learned. New inventions, the practical application of what has been learned, and the study of 'why', to produce an answer, has been exceedingly valuable in adapting the world to a growing population. With greater numbers living upon a finite resource, as land & water, man has been provided, unique to the animal kingdom, a mind that can see things and ask why. Evidence of inquiry is most clear in children who pester parents with that same constant - why? If all has been revealed 'why' would not exist, it would not be part of the vocabulary of every language.

One 'why' asked was as to corn & wheat production. Why cannot an acre produce more? Study followed as to the cause of growth & productivity. More water, not too much, turning the soil, using different soils, introducing added nutrients found in the soil that was most valued, and locations. The cause of 'why' corn & wheat grew effected higher yields, the ability to produce more bushels from the same average. God revealed the truth through the mind and intellect of man, God's greatest creation, his image. More people were thus served from the same amount of land & water.

The automobile is the result of many 'why's' answered, answers obtained thru research, observation, ingenuity, trial & error, and experimentation.

We use the Internet and communicate via Twitter and Facebook. What led to this? Ten or fifteen tears ago we did not know what a cell phone was, or clearly how it could work enabling calls all over the world. Places never reached before became accessible, without wires. Today the iPad is in fashion. People using them never needed one before, and can't live without theirs now. The computer and technology behind it has engendered the communication tools we covet this day. Man is too often prone to take credit and our system rewards those who invent, produce, promote and sell the new items, but God made it possible. To the Q 'why' communications and the proximity of people & cultures narrowed.

Another 'why' is not tangible. Why are people treated differently in different cultures? Women in your culture are subjected to oppressive conditions & requirements as well as practices that suggest the male is superior. Granted sexual identities differ, and physical characteristics are unique, but the soul, the heart, and the mind are equal. There is also no reason for human rights to vary or judgment in the legal system to have a dissimilar bearing in terms of witness or degree of punishment. As we have equal judgment by God, the same should apply under civil society. That takes thought, rational consideration and reason applied to all we have been taught & learned. That includes application of what is recorded in the Bible, the Quran, the Torah and other religious books. It is when God speaks to you, not a religious leader, but directly to you. Your education, objectivity, lessons learned from scholars and your own research will equip you to decipher for yourself God's Truth, not man's explanation of God's Truth.

God's world is not this world. This world is not God's world. We live in both. But we can choose the world not of this one if we seek His eternal kingdom. We must think about it, the cause and effect of human actions, judgments, and outcomes and know in our own mind, is this what a loving God would enable?

You must be guided by the Truth you seek. God's judgment comes later, not at the hand of man. Civil laws, not theocratic, are man's laws to be obeyed, and must be structured for the common good, all people, all persuasions, all religious beliefs and all sexes, equally. If not you know, as well as I, that such laws, especially applied using God as justification, are evil. Do not be deceived.

"God is not a man that he should lie. Nor the son of man that he should change his mind." (Num 23:19). God will not deceive you.

Your faith requires knowing God, and knowing also the Deceivers. A relationship with God is as a loving relationship with another person. You want to be with that person. You trust that person. You have not been forced into loving or being with that person. You do so voluntarily, because that is where your heart is. You met others, made a personal choice, and followed your heart.

In my reading the Quran says do not pursue other religions lest you be swayed. I ask 'why'. The Truth of your faith will/must stand on it's own. Being bombarded by outside influences is to be expected. Do not be afraid. True faith will not allow you to sink in the waters that surround. Only your lack of faith will. Accept the challenge. There may be another Truth more compelling. I have. Being captured by the fear caused by dictates in the name of God, the fear of retribution or rejection, should not bind anyone to what may be false.

You can doubt the creator you don't know, but not the one you know. Who has done more for mankind then any other? Who has set the highest standard? Who has given their life so you may be free to love God, to be judged for your faith & not your good deeds? Having faith will enable the good to flow from your heart guided by the spirit within. What you need not doubt is that God will answer you. Just ask and listen.

Don't be afraid to question Him? He wants to hear from you. "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." -James 1:5 (NIV84)

In closing, "Be merciful to those who doubt" -Jude 1:22 (NIV84)

Grace and Peace