What is the purpose of Jesus in the Islam?

[smaneck]

W
The qur'an never distinguishes the race of peoples that are afflicted by 'allah's' judgement.
<snip>
This is incredibly distinct from the Bible.

So you're saying the difference between the Bible and the Qur'an is that the Bible is more racist?

 

[steve_bakr]

I'm interested in what you got out of Islam.

And, to see if you couldn't have got that out of Christianity

In other words, what is Christianity lacking?

I would not say that Christianity lacks anything, so in a strict sense there is no need for a Christian to turn to another religion for anything that is lacking in the Christian faith.

Having said that, I believe that those who can do so have the Christian freedom to study, enjoy, and even benefit from another religion; and it it is my belief along with such writers as Griffiths, Schuon, Merton, and others that it is possible for certain religious studies to enhance Christian experience and awareness.

Speaking specifically about Islam, I am impressed by its unequivocal view of Allah's sovereignty to the extent that it is the pronounced goal of a Muslim not only to accept trials as coming from God, but also to be content in the midst of those trials since, after all, they are an expression of God's will.

Although there is no shortage of piety in Christian saints, I am nevertheless inspired by the piety of Muslim saints. As I mentioned elsewhere, I found inspiration in some of the stories about Rabia, a Muslim woman who reportedly prayed,
Lord, if I want you for your Paradise,
please deny me Paradise;
if I want you in order to avoid Hell,
then please send me to Hell.
But if I want you for yourself alone,
please don't deny me your bounties.

Another thing I enjoy about Islam is the Arab genius for statements such as in 50:16 of the Quran: "God is closer to man than his own jugular vein." There is an explicit, visceral statement of God's imminence that gets the point across with an image that stays in one's mind.

These are three examples only. There are also the Islamic mystical concepts of fana (the passing away of the self into God) and baqa (subsistence in God), in addition to the Islamic concept of the remembrance of God and the practice of dikhr. ("Remember me and I will remember you." Quran 2:152.)

 

[Montalban]

I don't get what benefit one can get when you have something complete.

It makes no sense to suggest something is complete+

It's either complete, or not.

It's the 'law of the excluded middle'

 

[smaneck]

God promised the Jews their land back and that they would never lose it again that is why they have Israel and Jerusalem, so deal with that.

And this has what to do with price of tea in China or topic of this thread?

 

[smaneck]

The purpose of Jesus in Islam is to polemicize against the historical Jesus found in the Bible, the primary source.

Why would Muhammad have any interest whatsoever in doing this? He saw his revelation as providing the same message as the Bible but for Muslims in their own tongue. Yes, he was rather shocked at those Christians who insisted that Jesus was literally the son of God for same reason he was shocked at the pagan belief that God had three daughters. When the Qur'an first states that God does not begat it was in reaction to this pagan belief. Only later is it applied to Christianity.

 

[steve_bakr]

I don't get what benefit one can get when you have something complete.

It makes no sense to suggest something is complete+

It's either complete, or not.

It's the 'law of the excluded middle'

You have expressed that and I would agree with you that it is not necessary to seek truth elsewhere. I have tried to express that I feel that I have benefited from religious studies. We may need to agree that we see this topic from different vantage points. I have studied religion for a major portion of my life and from a young age.