Posted on 03/04/2004 1:45:06 PM PST by Buell_X1-1200
The movie "The Passion of the Christ" has brought renewed attention to the life and death of Jesus Christ. The film takes a Christian view of who Jesus was, but on a world-wide scale, it's a minority opinion. Two-thirds of the world's population view themselves as something other than Christian.
The inscription above the doors at the Islamic Center of Topeka calls people to believe and do good works. It's where the Muslim understanding of Jesus begins.
"He is not the son of God, but one of the great prophets or messengers that was sent to the people of his time," said Omar Hazim, Imam of the Islamic Center of Topeka.
Hazim said Muslims believe Jesus' birth, life and return to God were miracles. But in a key difference from Christians, Muslims don't believe Christ was crucified.
"We don't believe that God allowed his servant to be humiliated and killed in this shameful manner," Hazim said.
Hazim says the Islamic book "The Koran" does incorporate Jesus' teachings. By contrast you won't find them in the religious context of the Jewish faith, though Rabbi Lawrence Karol said Jesus is important in the historical development of Judaism.
"I think a lot of Jews would think that Jesus was a teacher who lived in the first century, who was Jewish, who taught extensively about the kingdom of God being at hand," Rabbi Karol said, "and that there were ways to live under God's rule as you were alive and to try to do the things that God wants you to do."
Different views about Jesus may seem odd in the United States, where www.infoplease.com lists 56-percent of the population as Protestant, 28-percent Roman Catholic, two-percent Jewish and 14-percent other or none.
But worldwide, www.adherents.com finds Christians account for only 33-percent of the population. 22-percent follow Islam, 15-percent Hindu, six-percent Buddism, four-percent Chinese Traditionalist, three-percent Primal Indiginous and 14-percent are non-religious. Three-percent are something else, including 0.4-percent, who are Jewish.
All those differing views are why religious leaders say it's important to promote understanding.
"Some of the same messages and some of the same history that's recorded in the Bible - in some ways it differs in the Koran, but generally those messages are basically the same," Hazim said.
"Even the prayer that's referred to as the Lord's Prayer is one that in a lot of ways has many commonalities with Jewish prayers that have survived down to us today," Rabbi Karol said. "I think that's important to see that commonality and to build on that."
And Rabbi Karol says it means - regardless of specifics - many underlying messages of faith are the same.
"A lot of references He made were also how people should treat each other at this level of life."
The Islamic Center of Topeka is hosting a pair of discussions on "The Prophet Jesus - Beloved Messenger of God." They'll be held at noon on March 14th and 21st. Everyone is invited to attend.
"Kill the disbelievers wherever we find them" (Koran 2:191)
"Not to make friendship with Jews and Christians" (Koran 5:51)
"Some of the same messages and some of the same history that's recorded in the Bible - in some ways it differs in the Koran, but generally those messages are basically the same," Hazim said.
The reporter should have done her homework first ...
"We don't believe that God allowed his servant to be humiliated and killed in this shameful manner," Hazim said.
Hey, no crucifixion? Well then, no resurrrection then either... none of that pesky "I AM the resurrection and the life, he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.... " type of stuff...
Letsee now, not God, not his Son, not crucified, not the savior, not resurrected... yup other than those details... they are soooo similar to Christians...
roflmao...
"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." Act 4:12
It's also a tenet of my belief system that the Almighty doesn't give us his Law as a means of testing us, or as an excuse for consigning us to Hell when we don't quite measure up to expectations. We don't instruct our small children not to play in the street as a way of testing their allegiance to us; we do it for their, because the way of the world is that playing in the street can get them hurt. So too, God's Law. Its transgressions cannot harm him or even offend him; but they lead ultimately to human misery. The Law is a gift to Mankind; a roadmap to happiness. That, too, I believe is a concept espoused by Jesus.
Additionally, if God is truly sentient and all-powerful, he is not made more inclined to assist us in this worldly sphere for our multitude of prayers. As Jesus observed, he knows our needs and acts his will on the basis on his perfect knowledge. Prayer is, first and foremost, an act of thanksgiving and acknowledgement. Even so, it's understandable that people should pray for intercession during times of great fear and stress. It's human nature, and even atheists do it.
Thank you for saying that. I think it a bit ironic that so much of my religious philosophy is informed by Jesus, even though I'm not a Christian. There's something there for the entire world to partake of, I believe.
And he's evidently what the Nicene Council told us he was!
Essentially, it's that human authorities have been arbitrarily pigeonholing the Almighty since the beginning of human existence, and pretty much forcing everyone to agree with them on the pain of some fairly unpleasant consequences.
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