"Everyone is Created in God's Image"

@ phat amy.
There's so much more you are missing, but that'll come with searching for knowledge because I can't tell you everything in one post. I don't even know everything.

There are scholars all over the world, and some even have Youtube and Facebook like Zakir Naik, Nouman Ali Khan and Mufti Menk.

But you two are definitely on a road to knowledge, so go looking if you are really firm in your thoughts, go find out. Why wait a hundred years when you can find out a little or a lot of something today?

A question for you to ponder: If someone is following the wrong religion now, if the right answer comes in a hundred years, what will we do for our lives? We kind of miss out, a lot.

@ dru will wait.
There are proofs that it's true. There's much. I'll just leave some sources if you really want to know. Which you do seem to because you are so strong in your questions. So go ask scholars, read up, and learn. I wanted to spark some questions and get people thinking about religion some more.

Mibba's not really a source of knowledge, so it's best if we don't sit in the dark here and go learn something. Take a course in Islam or go to a lecture from http://www.mercymissionworld.org/ or something.

Anyways, I came here to learn some perspectives so I could get more questions in my head to search about my own faith. You two are a little more harsh than I was expecting, so I'm leaving. I was only giving one example and you both got very critical. This isn't an essay or a school assignment that you have to critique me, I'm human. Love and compassion? I was hoping that there were more open-minded people here. So I'm leaving some names and such that you can look into if you want to know more about Islam, and where I learned some of the facts I used.

If you do want to talk to me, which I don't think you do really, you can message me, I won't mind.

Peace.

@ discoveringclouds
There is no 'wrong' religion, yet there is no 'right' religion. We can't be sure if there ever is one. Religion was started by people who needed hope in a hopeless world, and look at what religion has made out of some people today. I mean, some people have completely turned their life around by finding God or Allah or whatever religion they began to follow.

I say that there is no right or wrong religion because everyone follows their religion differently. Some people go to church and attend sermons, while others stay home and do nothing, while still calling themselves Christian or Muslim or Buddhist. It's like people are making their own religion from the basis of the religion they claim to follow. You probably follow your religion differently than others (I'm guessing you follow the Islamic faith), do you not?

Here's a question for you to ponder; What would you do if there is no life after death?

discoveringclouds:

When you believe in a religion you could learn what are good actions and that your good actions and character affect others positively and you also learn that you get good deeds that will help you in the Hereafter.]

Sorry to bug, but I disagree with this. You don't need to believe in a religion to understand how your actions affect (or effect, I suck with grammar) others. I believe in no religion, and I understand that if I do good things, good things happen and vice versa. I also know what good actions are, and what bad actions are.

And, judging by your posts so far, it seems as if you've been bashing other religions and implying that Islam is the 'right' religion.
If you wish to debate this topic, perhaps another thread? This one is on a different topic.

Sorry if I seem rude.

@ phat amy.
If there was no life after death I wouldn't be able to do anything.

:P

Sorry that was a joke, hope it didn't bug you.

Anyways I'm really sorry if I mocked any religion, I didn't mean that at all, and I'm really really sorry to even have said the word right or wrong, because many religions have similar things to what I believe.

I was leaving this thread anyways, I'm not a scholar so I shouldn't even debate this topic, so I just left some suggestions that we all learn. Learning is a good common ground. :) So I'll just say one thing more.

Usually I just check out some youtube videos. And I've seen a debate between a christain and a muslim and stuff like that. So I'll just leave one, maybe it'll answer your questions, maybe not. But seriously I'm leaving this thread, I'm not bothered, but everyone keeps telling me to leave for some reason, when I just wanted to question things too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwtf24tAbYY

discoveringclouds:

@ phat amy.
If there was no life after death I wouldn't be able to do anything.

On the contrary; you can use this life to do lots of things. And a lack of afterlife gives you a time deadline, so to speak.

phat amy.:

@ discoveringclouds
There is no 'wrong' religion, yet there is no 'right' religion. We can't be sure if there ever is one. Religion was started by people who needed hope in a hopeless world, and look at what religion has made out of some people today.

Citation needed.

Alex; periphery.:

On the contrary; you can use this life to do lots of things. And a lack of afterlife gives you a time deadline, so to speak.

As if the belief in an afterlife doesn't give you a deadline? The finiteness of life and the unpredictability of death are a lot poignant when you know that if you die before you've managed to right your wrongs you're going to spent eternity suffering.

kafka.:

As if the belief in an afterlife doesn't give you a deadline? The finiteness of life and the unpredictability of death are a lot poignant when you know that if you die before you've managed to right your wrongs you're going to spent eternity suffering.

I was addressing the idea that life after death would be needed in order to "do things". If that were the case, so long as one repented for one's sins, that could wait until, well, eternity.

@ discoveringclouds
This is a debate/discussion thread. We debate and discuss here. We aren't being harsh, we are having a discussion.

All I said that that your definition of scientific proof isn't a definition of scientific proof. If that's harsh, I don't know what your basis of comparison is.

@ Alex; periphery.
It's a joke. If I die and there is nothing after, nothing can be done.

@ dru will wait.
I said there is scientific proof, I'm not a scientist, when did I start explaining my work into the realm of anything? I said I heard, and I learnt, and that I gave sources. None of you checked the sources because you don't want to discuss. If I explain that I am not a scholar, you should also realize we all have a lot to learn, not just me.

@ discoveringclouds
That is neither here nor there. I corrected your incorrect statements. It has nothing to do with me needing to learn. The earth being round doesn't make a holy book 100% factual and proving that something is wrong does not prove something else is right. This doesn't have to do with being a scientist or a scholar, just understand the basic principles of scientific theory like my class learned in seventh grade.

@ dru will wait.
I gave an example, the source is Zakir Naik, go ahead and ask him the scientific principles. I never said I found out this.

Yeah, don't bother learning...whatever.

@ discoveringclouds
I have checked out most of your sources and I've noticed one thing they all have in common, they're all either sites ran by Muslims or they're videos with Muslim 'scholars'. I think they're going to have the same ideas when you watch all of them. You should probably learn a little abotut your religion from a historian before you tell anyone else to 'learn'.

phat amy.:

I have checked out most of your sources and I've noticed one thing they all have in common, they're all either sites ran by Muslims or they're videos with Muslim 'scholars'.

And? Does a website/video about feminism or treatment or women require male approval/support to be taken seriously?

The mere presence of bias is not a [good] reason to disregard/ignore a source. There is bias in practically every position, narrative or statement that a person can hold or make. Sometimes the origin of the bias may be extremely relevant experience/knowledge, and in that case it adds rather than subtracts from the source's legitimacy.

"A historian" might be Muslim, Christian, atheist - any of these would provide a bias to their thinking and potentially their work. Which doesn't mean we should automatically throw it out. I don't see why listening to an atheist or a Christian discuss Islam would be intrinsically beneficial in developing an understanding of the religion. Perspective can be good, but their bias has an equal chance of being whatever you are implying - misleading, erroneous, loaded with an agenda, etc.

@ pravda

I understand what you're getting at, and I'm just saying that she should try a non-Muslim source just to see if she can get a different point of view. I'm not saying its a bad thing she's looking into her religion with people who worship it like her, but when you do that of course the people are going to have a positive opinion on their religion.

@phat amy.

I understand what you're getting at, and I'm just saying that she was offering non-Muslims some Muslim sources to see if they can get a different point of view. It's not a bad thing if they are following their own religious (or areligious) path and opt to not look at sources from a particular religion, but when you do that of course you might end up internalising broader social understandings of the religion rather than the nuanced understandings that those within it could offer.

@ pravda.
Thanks, and yes I was giving Muslim sources for a Muslim point of view. I took religion courses in university and I live in North America, trust me, I have an understanding of what the west thinks of Muslims. You're right the history I have read is usually biased and clearly not understanding Islam, or has ideas of imposing liberalism behind every argument. So obviously going to Islamic scholars, who are Muslim by birth or by choice makes sense because they are experts, they actually studied Islam, just for the sake of Islam and Allah.

@ discoveringclouds
@ pravda.

I just reread what I said and it sounded insulting. I've got nothing against Muslims, and I know that to learn about your religion from another follower is the best way to do it, but you should still have a look at other sources as well, maybe you can try someone who was born into a Muslim family, but they became atheist. They could have a biased opinion, but at least they could have some kind of knowledge of the Muslim faith.

Sorry for sounding rude, if you took it that way. I get like that when I'm tired.

@ the.brightside
I know an atheist from a muslim family, I talked to her today actually. Kinda weird you mentioned that.. And I have also looked at other perspectives I took religion courses in North America from another perspective. So I think I'm getting my variety down.

I would just like to say that we don't have to be scholars to discuss our beliefs. We just have to be willing to do research and think about the things we know and not just take things at face value.