A recipe of Hatred, Murder, and Destruction: The Holy Koran and of course your Bible.
*Before I begin I would like to encourage you to study the Koran to not only verify my findings, but to educate yourself. What you will discover is the Koran for thousands of Muslims is a scared tool that can be used to help one despise the non-believer and its teachings have caused years of religious conflict. The same holds true for the Bible.
The average Muslim today will not tell you that their book of faith is littered with seeds of hatred, murder, and destruction. The conservative, moderate, and liberal Christian will not tell you that their book of guidance (the Bible) has strands of H, M & D. However, for all of you who subscribe to Islam or who is intrigued by the religion that is proclaimed to be the guiding force of the terrorist will be informed today by a man who believes all forms of religion have proven to be deadly when the prescribed tenants and beliefs are misinterpreted or misused.
To misinterpret sections of the Koran is a potential recipe of H, M, & D. For example, how should one understand the following Koran passage: God does not guide the evil-doers (2:258). First, one must understand that the referred to evil-doers are those men and women who are considered unbelievers. Then you have to ask yourself, who does God guide? The answer: Muslims, who have declared war on the non-Muslim. This is the first seed of hatred and division that has been planted between the non-believer and believer. Keep in mind a similar scenario is within the Christian faith i.e. highly favored saints and the unfavored people who question.
Take a look at this passage from the Koran: Those that deny God’s revelations shall be sternly punished; God is mighty and capable of revenge (3:5). There is no room for misinterpretation here. Right? This mighty God appears to be in the punishing business. He appears to be revengeful. If you read the Koran you will gather that the revenge mentioned is not an act of light punishment. Death is your sentence if you do not believe Allah’s mandates. Keep in mind the Christian God killed Pharaoh, his son, and his troops because they did not believe.
Let’s dissect one more passage that does not require a scalpel to make an incision. On the matter of suicide: Do not destroy yourselves (4:29). Before you respond, think about this passage. Do not destroy yourselves (??). Well, on September 11, 2001, yesterday, and today a few determined men killed themselves and hundreds/thousands of other people. They apparently did not take heed to this passage. They decided to view it in un-literal terms. A literal interpretation, unlike others, was bypassed. I find this interesting considering the Muslim in the Middle East prefers a literal translation. There is no tolerance for “picking and choosing” over there. Keep in mind Jesus’ death has been viewed as a suicide by many.
The essence of this piece is to drive home the point that religion continues to be a great divider. It is a reckless vehicle full of explosives. Usually after an explosion particles are thrown every where. At times there is no recognition of what was in the vicinity. Explosions are Destructive, the result of some is Murder, and the impetus behind the explosion is Hatred. H, M & D!
How long will people die over something that does not make any sense? Who will be the next fanatic to emulate Jim Jones? Who will be the next victim of sectarian violence? Will there ever be an end to misguided faith?
Written by Brian E. Payne. Inspired by the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, former chief mastermind of terrorism in Iraq. Inspired by those self-righteous Christians and Muslims, who fail to acknowledge that their God sanctioned murder. This makes their God the supreme mob boss.
16 comments:
Reader Responses:
Karl Marx said that religion is the opiate of the people. He said this not because he was an atheist, but because it does divide people.
Religion is at the center of many of our oldest and most fierce conflicts. However, I argue that it’s not religion. It’s those who profit on earth by spreading it. The Catholic Church has gone a long way to preserve its place in the world as a religious power.
However, religion is like the law and the constitution. Those who interpret it have the power. It’s not the Christianity or Islam is more violent. It’s that those who seek profit in the name of religion use it as a crutch to satisfy their own interests.
STOP BLAMING RELIGION. Even Constantine benefited from religion and he was a pagan worshipping man.
-Larikus Scott
EXCELLENT!
-The Professor
My God is a God of FREE WILL. Man is the cause of Hatred, Murder, and Destruction. Not my GOD.
My God will not force himself upon anyone, nor will HE have his children forcing themselves upon others. If I tell you Jesus is my God’s Son who died on the Cross and rose on the third day with ALL power in the palm of his hand. If I tell you that you can have everlasting life through Jesus. If I tell you Jesus was born of a Virgin. If I tell you the only way to the Father is through Jesus. If I tell you that you can cast ALL your cares upon Jesus because he cares for You. If I tell you the two greatest commandments are to Love God with ALL your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and secondly Love your fellow man as much as you Love yourself. And if you do not receive what I am saying, then I will not force my beliefs upon you. Instead I will let you see JESUS for yourself. How will you do that Freedom? I’m glad you asked. I will show you Jesus through ME. By the way I live my life. By the way I help others. By the way I talk to my sisters and brothers. By the way I reverence God. By the way I LOVE. GOD is LOVE, did you know that? I will show you JESUS living and breathing inside of ME. Jesus is standing in the gap; he intercedes on my behalf with my GOD. My God teaches me how to love in the mist of being faced with hatred, murder, and destruction (ALL Man made recipes).
A great writer said it best, “Your Life Today Is The Result Of Your Attitude And Choices In The Past. Your Life Tomorrow Will Be The Result Of Your Attitude And The Choices You Make Today.” So, please stop BLAMING God for the choices and decisions YOU made. Instead learn from them. Allow your God to direct your PATH through this journey called LIFE. Remember, it is not about what has happened to you in this life, but it is about how you handle life’s episodes. The endless help of My God in my life is living testimony of his GRACE and MERCY.
Therefore, do not be the next victim of sectarian. Definition of Sectarian according to Webster: Narrow-minded and ready to quarrel over petty differences of opinion. You believe as you wish and I believe as I wish, God grants us all FREE WILL.
I will continue to let my inner light shine so Man may see my good works, and I will give my God ALL the Honor and Glory for allowing me to be a vessel that he can use.
The Bible and the Holy Koran speaks for itself. It is a book full of H, M, and D. No one who has read both books should deny that. If he/she does, Muata puts them in a category of not accepting the facts that are throughout both so-called sacred materials.
Yes, if you drift over in to the New Testament one will find the story of Jesus. It is a thrilling and tiring story of a man trying to prove himself and his Father to the non-believers. He eventually wins some people over into his fold, and then he fulfills his ultimate duty: Die for the people (for their sins). Keep in mind nothing has changed because of Jesus' death.
However, the stories within the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) paint another picture. In this document H, M, and D are rampant. Without repeating myself, the God many of you say you believe in is psychotic. He is nothing short of a...
I will let you decide what label to put on this deity we call God after careful study and temporary removal of your faith, replaced with theological analysis, is implemented.
It is interesting to me how the Christian and Muslim is able to quote the "good passages" of their books, and not consider the passages that are littered with H, M, and D. Maybe they are trying to focus on the "goods" of the text? That's comfort for them. I assume.
My question: How can one gain a thorough understanding of a book by not paying attention to the entire book? I find it difficult to believe that the Christian and the Muslim will do this while reading a novel or a regular story.
If these crutches (Koran and Bible) were read as a novel/story without applying divinity to each one will discover something other than the average. I suggest you read both books without believing it is God’s/Allah’s word. Things would be so much different and possibly better if this approach is taken.
"Holistic understanding is a step forward. Tunnel understanding is narrow, and bleeds a level of ignorance that can be dangerous."
–Brian E. Payne
-Muata
Tunnel understanding is narrow, therefore keep in mind FAITH. You want to disregard FAITH all together. There is nothing wrong with critical thinking and having FAITH too. The GOD I serve wants me to push back. He wants me to question HIM, to diligently search for the truth, and challenge HIM.
A good Father will discipline his child. The discipline is done in love. While disciplining your child, do you think you have scared them? Yes. And if you deny the fact that discipline done in love is an effective tactic, then you are ignorant to the real mode behind disciplining.
Yes, it is true God was not playing in the Old Testament. He created this Being that disappointed HIM. You know how it is when you have high expectations of something or someone, and behold they do the unthinkable. You become a little shaken and can get down right furious. Again, I admit God was not playing in the Old Testament. He had zero tolerance for you disobeying HIM. He wanted to destroy the children of Israel several times, but Moses had to remind him that those were HIS people. Yes, as I read the Old Testament I did say to myself, “Boy, God had little mercy upon Man’s ignorance and lack of obedience.” Therefore, I do understand where you are coming from about God being a God of H, M, & D. But, don’t forget about the role Man played in the act. A narrow and shallow viewpoint of only pointing out the “bad” in something is deceptive. Give both sides of the story if you are going to report an issue. When you finally decide to drift over to the New Testament, and see how God wanted to redeem himself by sending his only begotten Son, Jesus, to get a handle on this H, M, & D that you speak of. Why paint half the picture? I do not want to repeat myself, but if you are going to report a story tell the whole story and not just half of it. Failure to accurately communicate the pros and the cons of an issue throttle the essence of the discussion. I am open to thinking outside the box that is how we grow mentality, because I do not want to commit intelligently suicide.
I must say one more thing. Something has changed because of Jesus’ death. Now, I have a stronger connection with my Heavenly Father because of Jesus’ death on the Cross. I really didn’t have a personal relationship with God and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ until about eight years ago. I had one of those life’s episodes that slapped me to my knees. I did not know how I was going to make it. I literally thought my life was over. One day while feeling sorry for myself, I picked up the Bible. I was feeling really low this day, but I had a praying Mother. Thank God for the praying Mothers and Grandmothers. I have been brought up in the church all my life. As a child I only enjoyed the SANGING part of church. Then slowly I started listening to the sermons.
On this particular day I was in bed crying, thinking I can’t make. Then a voice spoke to me clear as day, and I will never forget this. It said read the Book of Kings. As I began to read I realized that God was a forgiving God. His people were not satisfied with only having HIM leading them, they wanted a visible KING. God granted them their request. There were “good” Kings and “bad” Kings. But, whenever God’s people did evil/wrong in his sight his protection was taken away from them. But wait, EVERY TIME they had sense enough to run back to God, He would HELP and DELIVER them from that wicked King. God was always there. As the saying goes, "He may not come when YOU want Him, but he is ALWAYS on time." From that day on I realized how much God Loves Me. You can label it as a crutch if you want, but Jesus is my Support. He does hold me up. He lets me know that in this Life I will have trouble, but be of good cheer because He has over come this world. Jesus came that I may have Life and have it more Abundantly. Jesus came so that I may LIVE. The question is, are you LIVING Freedom? Well, I was not really living for a while. I was caught up in a destructive cycle that I created. God had nothing to do with this destructive pattern I created. Thank God that he delivered me from that experience. I will learn from my experiences and from the life experiences of others. Slowly I am starting to LIVE again. I am getting better each day. But, when I stumble I know I have Jesus to brace my fall, and help me back to my feet. You see, I am not alone, Jesus is with Me.
Jesus has changed ME and I am something/somebody. Therefore, to say nothing has changed because of Jesus’ death is a false statement. Because of Jesus’ death I have a better relationship with my GOD and I have eternal life. I am forever changed because of Jesus. That day in my lonely room Jesus’ Love for me filled my heart. God has given me his best, JESUS. The trinity leads and guides ME. Don’t get me wrong, I am human. I make mistakes. I fall down sometimes, but now I get back up and brush myself off and keep going. My desire is to live a life that God will be proud of. I want GOD to say, 'Freedom is my child and I am well pleased with her.' Jesus’ teachings are guiding me to be the kind-of person I want to be. Jesus got anger, but he did not sin/wrong anyone in the process. Jesus showed LOVE for all man-kind. So you see, Jesus’ death did much for ME. Guess what, we ALL are going to die someday.
Mr. Brian E. Payne remember you said, “Your Life Today Is The Result Of Your Attitude And Choices In The Past. Your Life Tomorrow Will Be The Result Of Your Attitude And The Choices You Make Today.”
What will the world have to say about you? What will God have to say about you?
Muata responding to fellow blogger: Freedom.
Freedom-
Your words are moving. They, I am sure, are the result of your faith. You see, you speak in terms of your belief system. I did relate to your spiritual and religious framework at one time. However, now I have incorporated a theological and a what-makes-sense point of view.
Jesus' death has helped you because you believe it did. This belief stems from your faith.
Correct? But, ask yourself if the death of Jesus did solve anything. Remove yourself from the equation. Ask yourself if sin is still prevalent in the world and why.
You believe in a story. That's fine. Nothing wrong with that because it does help you. Right? My only issue is so many Christians refuse to seek and analyze the complete story. They selectively grab a hold of what makes then comfortable. I can't too much blame them. It would be difficult for me to believe the complete story also considering the God they believe in sanctioned murder. He commanded it. He did it to supposedly protect the righteous. There is not a lie in what I have stated here. It is all in the Holy book, we call it the Bible. A book I call a great piece of literature that ranks up there with one of the greatest stories ever told. A story. Nothing more.
-Muata
Reader Response:
This is a very powerful piece.
-Baion
Freedom responding to fellow blogger: Muata
Interesting point of view, however just because you have this theological view of what YOU perceive is the TRUTH, does not necessary mean your TRUTH is accurate. The Bible is more than just a story book; it is backed up by history and current affairs/events. What makes-sense to you may not make sense to me and vise versa. Correct? And that is okay, Right?
Your belief system is different from mine, but if we both find the Truth in different ways then we both can learn from one another. I am open to your view points, because some of them are valid. And, I should hope you are open to other view points of their Truth.
The Truth of the matter is that individuals seek many different avenues in connecting with their GOD. It is just like finding a destination. You may know a different route than I, but we both arrive at the same destination safety. Sometimes I may take your route and sometimes you may take mine depending on the traffic. Now we have several different ways of reaching the same place.
You see, this whole Spiritual and Truth walk is Individual. Therefore, I cannot take myself out of the equation. You have to die for yourself and I have to die for myself. The difference is my belief system believes that I have everlasting life through the death of Jesus Christ. I believe the journey NEVER ENDS! I believe in life after death. The start of a new more exciting journey than the present, yet I will live this life on plant earth to the fullest.
Yes, sin is still in the world today because Human Beings are still in this world. God grants us all FREE WILL. Every thing in this world is not black and white. Since you have FAITH in yourself, why do you need your GOD?
What has your GOD sanctioned?
The same God you refer to as the “The Supreme Mob Boss,” is the same God you just wrote a sermon about referring to Cain and Abel. I know you remember this piece, because YOU wrote it. “THE NEED TO BE IN THE MIDDLE. LEAVING THE LAND OF WANDERING,” remember this piece? I know you do. The same God you call “psychotic” protected Cain even though HE murdered his own brother. Cain murdered his brother, not GOD. This was the first hatred, murder and destruction that took place in the Bible, along with the fall of Adam and Eve. God did not sanction this H, M, & D nor did He command these acts. Did God in return Hate, Murder, & Destroy Cain? No, instead he “protected him.” God would not let anyone murder Cain.
MAN is behind the H, M, & D, not God. Remember, you talked about leaving CAIN in the Land of Wandering. The conditioning, humility, and sacrifice of Jesus have enabled others and I to leave the Land of Wandering and go Home. I may be in this world, but I am not of this world.
Muata responding to a few questions askd by fellow blogger Freedom:
Freedom stated and asked: The Bible is more than just a story book; it is backed up by history and current affairs. What makes-sense to you may not make sense to me. And that is okay, Right?
Muata response: Truth is subjective/relative. However, I refuse to be a robot. I plan to die searching. My truth is the basis of my life, my study.
I know one thing, however, there is no way a man walked on water, turned water into wine, etc. It does not fit into the natural order of things. These so called miracles have been considered witchcraft by scholars, ministers, theologians, and regular lay persons.
Freedom asked: Since you have FAITH in yourself, why do you need your GOD?
Muata response: I believe in God because I am convinced MAN does not control the universe. However, I would be okay with not believing in a God. It is not a necessary concept for me.
Freedom questions my my sermon (The Need to be in the Middle...) intentions and sermon context.
Muata response: I write sermons to help and educate people. My beliefs are irrelevant with this purpose. The idea is to “move” people to a new or better spiritual/theological position.
Believe me, I am not confused. I am a seeker of truth. Believing in one Christian point of view is intellectual suicide. I challenge you to question the God you believe in. According to your holy book he is CRAZY.
I do challenge the God I believe in. Jesus did walk on water and He did turn water into wine. He is the Messiah. So, I guess we have to agree to disagree.
Reader Response and Muata's Response to Reader:
Interesting as usual! What do you believe? Do you believe in a higher being? Do you honestly believe religion is like the "gangster life”? I know religions have their beliefs, etc., but all of them have some true believers. Everything is getting out of hand. Whatever is happening in the world is being transferred to the church. I just can't conceive the idea that Jesus committed suicide and God is referred to as a mob boss! I guess it all involves how one interprets the meaning.
-WJ
I believe there is a God because man cannot under any circumstances be in control of the beauty this world has to offer. The beauty of life. Man is in control of the senseless death i.e. war, destruction, ignorance, and all the other things that plagues this world. Man is the greatest enemy to himself. Why can’t we realize that? We can’t because of arrogance, conceit, and misguided thoughts/ideas.
According to scripture in both books of faith (Koran and Bible), God sanctioned numerous violent acts including murder. He was directly responsible for the murder of men, women, and children. His tactics were similar to what a gangster boss would do: a gangster determines who lives and who dies. Mobsters do this daily. I think the characterization can be offensive to some. However, just think about it. Read those scriptures where God displayed ruthless aggression. Does this mean I hate/dislike God? No, I do not. I am just informing people of the flawedness of their books of faith.
Jesus did know he was going to die. He did do something to get the Romans attention. He walked right into Calvary knowing his death was days away. Suicide to me is when someone actually kills themselves and when someone continues on a path or with behavior that will lead to death. Jesus did this. He walked in like a sheep understanding he was going to die. Now, the question: Did he die in vain? Look around. I think he did. We have yet to do what he asked us to do. We are the worst of the worst. The Christian’s savior died for them, and now they are behaving like plum fools.
-Muata
You have read the Quran out of context... and are judging it from a Christian perspective of God.. which incidently is the perspective of most "orthodox" Muslims...
but I digress...
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