no god but God cont...

Sometimes I think we put too much importance in Christianizing the nations that we forget what it is that God called us to do. I say that because I look at the Crusades, or even now, and we desire to bring Christianity to nations that perhaps thank that they don’t need it because what they have ‘true’ and the amount of pressure we put on converting makes people more mad than accepting. When looking at Medieval Europe during the time on Constantine and his ‘massive-forced-conversion’ I wonder how many people cared about becoming Christian or if it was a way to unite his world. I do acknowledge that he cared to save souls but his conversion is troubling. Many town conversions because people do not know what they are getting into or don’t really understand what exactly they are trying to believe, therefore resulting in a European Christendom’s filled with many micro-Christendom’s. Christians went into war with Muslims to conquer them, save the Holy Land from the ‘enemies’ and perhaps turn what areas they conquer into Christian territories.
From my little historical brief I then find myself drawn into Aslan’s discussion of the creation of a democratic Islamic society and if it is really possible. “Islam has been invoked to legitimize and overturn governments, to promote republicanism and defend authoritarianism, to justify monarchies, autocracies, oligarchies, and theocracies, and to promote terrorism, factionalism and hostility. Can Islam now be used to establish a generally liberal democracy in the Middle East? Can a modern Islamic state reconcile reason and Revelation to create a democratic society based on the ethical ideals established by the Prophet Muhammad in Medina nearly fifteen centuries ago?”[1] What I think we forget though, especially now as our frustration with the U.S. government increases, that as Aslan suggests, this is something that must be done. However, to change a very historically bounding and controlling government that has in place for centuries will take more than some 7 or so years. In order for them to change, they have to find ways around leaders who don’t want this change, find stable ground, stable leaders, in a way a common and united ground. It “cannot be imported, it must be nurtured.”[2] Sometimes I get discouraged with the fact that people discourage the work that we are doing overseas. Yes, I agree that there is a lot being done that isn’t helping, perhaps making things worse, our economy’s having problems, but nurturing them and helping them become successful is why we went over, and by leaving them now, we won’t do anything other than hurt them more. I think that it if we continue helping them, it will be rewarding to be a part of and see the product of their national identity.

*Sorry for the brief history section in the first part. I heart history…and we are getting ready to talk about the Crusades and I am really stoked about that, cause it’s sooooo good, or perhaps interesting to me. Nonetheless, I like history as much as you like puns. History + philosophical history=Hannah’s happiness.



[1] Aslan. No god but God. Pg 253
[2] Ibid. Pg 254.

no god but God cont...

I found ‘In the Footsteps of Martyrs’ as a very interesting chapter, mainly because it pokes at something that I am extremely interested in and the reason why I am a history major. Throughout the last long time, I have been drawn to the question of morality, and why we do what we do; I strongly believe that our actions are a result of what we have been taught, and are done for a reason, purpose, and I think for most (unconsciously or consciously) for a higher power or being, in our case God or Allah. I find the Karbala very interesting because Azlan says that it “became Shi’ism’s Garden of Eden, with humanity’s original sin being not disobedience to God, but unfaithfulness to God’s moral principles.”[1] What I like about this besides the words ‘moral principles’ is that when I read the creation story and the ‘first sin’ I am drawn to the idea that perhaps when we look at what we call sin, it is to us unfaithfulness to moral principles, which we learn what morality is through the teachings of man but also through the stories of the Old and New Testaments. I guess it just plays with my thoughts on if man can be moral without a ‘god’ figure to provide reason or rewards.

This book is really hard to me to read. I hate and love it. I’m not sure why exactly it bother me, but at times I get really frustrated with theology, for the fact that we need it to interpret the Bible, parables, Jesus, God. I often wonder how Christianity would be different or if it could exist without the Bible. How would we know what is good, wrong, how do we know who God is without it translated for us, is it possible to know him on our own. I just find it hard to phantom that man needs others to translate for them their faith. Maybe it’s good, but I don’t know. The thought that the Karan cannot in its original form be read by man does bother me some.

I think that the Sufi’s idea of the annihilation of the ego, and pushing away from “worldly trappings”[2] is something that we all strive for. The way that they approach this by being concerned with the outer and with society is something I think that Christians miss or forget. I think that we become some focused on with fixing our inner self that we forget about the world around us and I am not sure why, but I do like the idea of a communal religion, I know we try to get this from the church, but it needs to reach father than the church.

This week, I am stoked, full heartedly for Oman. Oh, yes, lets go…
[1] Pg. 179.
[2] Pg 200.

no god but God cont...

What struck me first of all in the reading was the discussion the image that we give Muslims: “Islamic terrorist, strapped with explosives, ready to be martyred for Allah, eager to take as many innocent people with him as possible. […] What has not changed, however, is the notion that Islam is a religion whose adherents have been embroiled in a perpetual state of holy war, or jihad, from the time of Muhammad to this very day.”[1] I am not sure where I want to go with this thought, but I guess something that bothers me is that human nature tends to place blame on the whole rather than the single. What I mean by that is that since Muslim’s are to blame for 9/11 all of them, in the whole world are bad. Since a few Catholic priests raped some children there is something wrong with all Catholics. One of the things I feel most uncomfortable, or perhaps do not understand, is what is exactly meant by a holy war. Perhaps our misconception is that the Jihad is not an act against a non-Muslim but one that is launched against acts of villainy in order to preserve “moral order”. When I look at Islam as a whole, I have seen it as a religion and state are unified or work as one. Then as Aslan went on to discuss how Buddhism and once Xianity in the Holy Roman Empire, were “enforcers” I felt dumb. A few weeks ago in the catholic group some were discussing how we should vote in the election-if it was morally right for us vote democratic since Obama is not 100% against abortion. I find myself now wondering if for Xian’s especially, do we really have a separation of Church and state here when we are looking back on our Christian morals to figure out how to vote. While I don’t find this completely wrong, I am not sure if it is completely right.

One thing I find really beautiful about Islam are the 5 Pillars. I am not sure why, but meaning and tradition behind it, and the emphasis put on Allah through it makes me wish we had something this sweet. I think it would be totally tight to have a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, like seriously totally wicked cool. I once tried to fast during Ramadan and got really hungry, so it failed. What if Christianity was less about objects, and more about experiences-in prayer, fasting, tithing? Sometimes I think we lost these, or lost the meanings behind them. And then I wonder too if some Muslims do this only out obligation of how serious most of them are about it. Xians are serious about things they want to be, sometimes extremely serious about them, and then lax or don’t give a turd about others. How would Xianity change if we were obligated to tithe, put as much emphasis on prayer and fasting, or had a Jesus walk.
[1] Reza Aslan. No god but God. Pg 79.