That's rather a big if though, don't you think? I think that's the point. Job's not a great example for me, either. A bet with the personification of evil to completely **** up a nice bloke? Yeah, that's great... Why is it ignorant? The literature stands on it's own, regardless of it's veracity. The cultural aspect is also useful, so why shouldn't the supposed wisdom be up for debate? Some fundamentalists do claim that. They're obviously fruitcakes, but there's no telling some people. I don't think that it's something that anyone on this side of the pond would claim, to be honest.
Just to throw up an example of self-professed Biblical literalists: please log in to view this image 28% of Americans claim to be. I suspect that a lot of them don't, though.
I think you've (probably deliberately) missed the point of Job. It's an attempt to answer the timeless problem of why, if there is a God, does he allow bad things to happen to good people? In the end there is no answer; or rather, there is an answer, in the form of an unanswerable question. The book (it's a novel, only an idiot would attempt to take it literally) end's with God's question to Job, "Were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth?"
Yeah, but Yanks though. I'm guessing most of those 28% haven't actually read much if any of the Bible.
And it's a terrible answer. It's a dictator's decree, not that of a loving and benevolent deity. If you wreck someone's life, kill their family, inflict a terrible disease upon them and do it all to prove a point, then what does that make you? It doesn't answer the Problem of Evil, it merely tells followers to accept things and shut up. Might makes right and God moves in mysterious ways, so don't use the brain that you've been given and don't question authority. The actual ending is even worse, as Job is showered with fortune and blessed by the lord. His family is replaced, as is his wealth, in a clumsy afterlife metaphor. God will reward you if you don't ask any difficult questions. I agree. They definitely do exist though, as do those that believe equally fantastic stories, I'm afraid.
Might be a terrible answer, but it's the only one you're ever going to get. Life is cruel, everyone suffers, no one knows why; you'll suffer less if you can accept it as God's will, continue to have faith and try to lead a good life. And in the end, the wheel of fortune might just turn again, in your favour. Are you always this literal minded btw? It's a ****ing story.
Or it's that way because there is no God. Or there are multiple Gods and they have competing agendas. Either of those makes more sense than a benevolent God that treats people poorly for no apparent reason. I think that the Lottery's taken the whole "It Could Be You" thing, by the way. Suffering isn't a good thing, as Mother Theresa suggested, until it was her own. Being able to suffer without being dragged down by it is.
I hear about and see good people suffering and it makes me sad. Equally I hear about and see unpleasant people prospering and it makes me angry. Over the past few years I've come to believe that either there is no god or that if there is a god then its not for me as I can't process the logic behind its methods.
how is 'you shalt not kill' open to interpretation? pretty unambiguous. The 10 commandments are mans covenant with God, which can be boiled down to "I'm God, I'm the only one to be revered, and don't do anything that will piss off or harm others". All three Abrahamic religions are based on that prinicple, the rest of the books are people adding to it reasons why you can ignore it, primarily based on the writers predilections. Personally I find all their religious texts to be blasphemous, as I can't see a supreme entity being a jealous, bigoted, racist and an illogical moron.
Jealous, bigoted, racist and illogical...how did you come to that conclusion especially the racist bit?
The main point is though whether you believe this life to be all there is to it with no repercussions for your actions or not. The in terms of muslims and other faiths this life is temporary, good and bad is from God and it's a matter of how you deal with the good and bad things and situations. Does losing faith make it any better i doubt it very much, we accept the fact that life is but a test of your free will and what you do with it, the message is there for people to accept or deny. Do we think we will live forever no, does how one die change perception of the dead person or the perception of the people around them why because life isn't a permanent state but death is permanent state from the earth. Sometimes people think and believe an evil person has died living the high life and got away with it but no he is accountable for his deeds here and that accountability is a permanent for all the good and bad people do to others and themselves.
I dont get to decide who goes to heaven or hell but islam is clear that suicide in any form is forbidden and killing innocent people is forbidden and goes against the core beliefs of islam.
Al, if you say the Koran is clear on this, how do these ****ers manage to distort what they do into being what Allah wants?
Given the reaction to the likes of Charlie Ebdo and Salman Rushdie, it's surprising there isn't a huge backlash to this apparent corruption of the words.
Dont forget lot of their supporters are young and vulnerable people also those with strong hatred for west for the things that has been done to them in the middle east. We in the UK weren't a target until we started doing what USA wanted and followed them blindly regardless whether it was right or wrong for us. The people with hatered dont care for reasoning or what is right or wrong be it muslims or non-Muslims, they will try and justify using any reasons they can think of for their actions and thats why you will find muslims dont support those people or those puppet regimes.
