This is another one of those big issues that just simply can’t be solved by one 22 year old in one blog post. But I am more than willing to open up the conversation and share some of my thoughts and views on morality and ethics. Feel free to add your own :)
Where do we get our morals from? Why do we feel guilty when we do something “wrong”? Why are compassion and love “good” and hate and murder “evil”? Under the banner of morality and ethics is a vast number of confronting and reasonable questions that one has to ask themselves.
So what is morality and where does it come from?
Morality through Holy Scripture,
Some believe our morals and ethics come from God through inspired scripture. That inside a certain holy text are the rules and guidelines God wants all humans to follow to live good moral lives. I have a few problems with this view. If you believe that God is revealed to us through the bible or the Quran for example. Then you have to account for the atrocities God commands of his people in the Old Testament:
Deuteronomy 3:3-7,
So the LORD our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors. At that time we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them - the whole region of Argob, Og's kingdom in Bashan. All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages. We completely destroyed them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying every city - men, women and children. But all the livestock and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves.
Joshua 6: 20-21,
When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it - men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.
Numbers 31:15 -18,
"Have you allowed all the women to live?" he (Moses) asked them. "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD's people. Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.”
A common answer for this is we don’t have a right to judge God on the basis of who, when or how he chooses to end someone’s life. He is the author of life and therefore has the right to take it away as he wishes. Ok fair enough, I guess if God really did give us life it would be well within his right to take it away as he chooses.
BUT!
If the God that is the author of our moral intuitions is also the God revealed to us through Holy Scripture. Why is it so many of us are morally outraged at the previous scenarios ordained by God through scripture? The idea of slaughtering a baby, regardless of race or religion, is to me to most disgusting, perverted act any human being can commit and the very idea that a moral God would command such a thing is incomprehensible to me. Can you imagine the poor mothers screaming for mercy as “God’s people” came in chopping their little ones heads off? In human society today, when dictators come to power that bring nothing but misery and suffering to people and command the slaughter of woman and children, do we praise them and worship them? Do we say, oh well they have a right to do it? No, the actions make us sick to our stomach and we combine with the rest of the world to try and rid ourselves of such an evil. I think it’s fair to ask then why do we give God a free pass in our holy scriptures? Why do we turn a blind eye to this and refuse to call it immoral as far as our moral intuitions are concerned?
Who is really exercising their moral intuition here? Someone that just believes whatever is in Holy Scripture has to be true, or those of us that judge the individual actions by their own merit, according to our moral intuitions. Why even defend such passages? To me it’s pretty clear if there is such a "moral God”, he or she had nothing to do with the commandment to slaughter an entire population, this sounds like the typical work of an ancient tribalistic society justifying its thirst to squash its surrounding “enemies” who worship a different God and have a completely different culture. Why not truly exercise our moral intuition when reading scripture, accept the things we know are good, like the lessons on love and compassion that are clearly in the bible and Quran and put an end to the silly justification of moral acts so heinous they make modern day human dictators look like the Easter bunny!
Our Moral Conscience,
Our moral conscience and our sense of guilt play a large role in defining our moral choices. Is this too a gift from God to help us discern right from wrong? Maybe, but what we need to take into account is the differences in moral conscience between different cultures and religions. If a Muslim man missed one of his 5 prayers he is commanded to make throughout the day, I dare say he will feel a strong sense of moral conviction. If a Jewish man dishonours the Sabbath he too would feel a strong sense of moral conviction. Would a Christian or Hindu feel the same feelings of moral conviction or “guilt” over the same actions? I think not. So, does God have different rules of morality for different people OR is our moral conscience largely shaped by our culture and religious upbringing?
But the question still remains. How do we decide right from wrong?
Well I don’t think our moral decisiveness is quite as black and white as some would have us believe. Our moral intuitions arise from a myriad of different influences. Our family, culture, friends and our religious beliefs all play a huge role in defining what we consider to be moral and immoral. If we look throughout history our idea of what is “moral” and “ethical” has radically changed from era to era. Slavery used to be a big part of our dark history in the west and was only abolished in 1807, cat burning was seen as entertainment in France in the Middle Ages and even into the Renaissance, dozens of cats were thrown into a net and hoisted over a fire and burned alive to which people would gather around and laugh and clap. Polygamy was once common practice, the suppression of women’s rights and public executions as social entertainment have all played their role in Christian societies once upon a time. If our moral conscience comes from an absolute source, than why is it our concept of morality is a progressive process?
Even something you would think an obvious moral decision like murder can have two opposing sides. Take war for example, some people believe in just war, some people believe all war is immoral. Some people believe in an eye for an eye, some people believe in turning the other cheek. Some people believe that using embryonic stem cells is murder, some people believe it isn’t. Our moral conscience seems to be divided between us and very much influenced by varying forces around us and in my opinion cannot be used as an argument for the absolute. So is right and wrong nothing more than someone else’s opinion of truth? Do we then have a right to question each other’s morals and ethics? I think we do.
Morality from a practical point of view,
I believe morality like everything else on this planet has gone through a process of evolution. Society’s that discover that when people work together as a group, create good environments to raise healthy children for the next generation, have easy access to food and water and good relationships with their fellow neighbours are the kind of society’s that are going to flourish and prosper in this world. Those that don’t will be on the straight path to extinction. How long do you think a society will last if its moral code was “murder and steal from anyone you want?” My guess is not very long.
It should be no surprise than that the religions and cultures that have survived with us today are the ones that emphasize kindness, love and teamwork (At least within their own tribes). I suppose if you really wanted to you could argue that maybe this was God’s plan all along. Maybe he oversaw the process of moral revelation throughout the ages so we would truly know the difference between right and wrong, and the reason our morals are evolving is because they are moving closer towards Gods true enlightened values. Maybe, but a series of questions then arise about the kind of God that would allow us for millenia to kill each other and perform acts of unspeakable cruelty on our fellow human beings while idly watching from the sidelines. But I suppose this is still within the realm of possibilities. But whether God is the author of our morals or not still doesn’t take away the practical and rational reasons behind being kind and loving and the fact we SHOULD act this way towards our fellow human beings if we want to see all of us prosper in this world, and for now that’s good enough for me.
Conclusion,
If we strip away bit by bit our religious understanding of morality I think it’s pretty clear that when it comes down to it morality isn’t about trying to please God, it’s not about trying to make it to the pearly gates or from fear of burning in hell forever. When it comes down to it morality is about common human decency. It’s about both realising and acting on those feelings of empathy and compassion we all feel towards each other. As Sam Harris writes:
“No tribal fictions need be rehearsed for us to realize, one fine day, that we do, in fact, love our neighbours, that our happiness is inextricable from their own, and that our interdependence demands that people everywhere be given the opportunity to flourish.”
Is it any surprise that all the religions that are with us today have one connected theme throughout them all? It’s called the golden rule. And if you had to sum up morality in one sentence, this would be it:
Christianity: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12
Confucianism: “Do not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no resentment against you, either in the family or in the state.” Analects 12:2
Buddhism: “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” Udana-Varga 5,1
Hinduism: “This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you.” Mahabharata 5,1517
Islam: “No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.” Sunnah
Judaism: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.”Talmud, Shabbat 3id
Taoism: “Regard your neighbours gain as your gain, and your neighbour’s loss as your own loss.” Tai Shang Kan Yin Pien
Zoroastrianism: “That nature alone is good which refrains from doing another whatsoever is not good for itself.” Dadisten-I-dinik, 94,5
But does it really matter where we draw our inspiration to be loving and compassionate? Shouldn’t the important part be in the actual actions themselves? Whether we draw our inspiration from religion, God, science, nature, philosophy or just a common understanding of what it feels like to be human. Whatever it is, just remember the thing that has brought us this far is the realisation that we are the same, that what I feel you feel also and the best feeling I know in this world is to love and to be loved, so i will do my best to return the favour. So whatever it is that inspires you to be a more tolerant, kind and loving human being, I say hold onto it, And let others do the same.
Peace,
Jason
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Book Burning
There have been two events that have sparked some attention in news headlines recently. One of them was the proposal by American Pastor Terry Jones to burn the Koran on September 11 2010 "to remember those who were brutally murdered on September 11th 2001" and to send a warning "to the radical element of Islam":
http://www.news.com.au/world/us-pastor-terry-jones-promises-to-hold-koran-burning/story-e6frfkyi-1225915614362#ixzz0zSHwDFxG
The other is by Australian Alex Stewart who made a youtube video of himself ripping pages out of both the bible and the Koran and smoking them:
http://www.news.com.au/national/lawyer-alex-stewart-smokes-pages-from-the-koran-and-bible-and-says-we-should-get-over-book-burning/story-e6frfkvr-1225919970728
When I first read about the Koran burning pastor, I was outraged. Like many other people, believer and non believer alike. I could not comprehend what this man was trying to achieve by his actions or how he thought burning a holy book that over a billion people profess a faith in would help the victims of the September 11 attack. So it should be no surprise than that I struggled to justify the actions of Alex Stewart.
Now I am not religious in any sense. I will be the first one to tell you that and I actually agree with Alex when he says:
"It's just a fucking book, who cares? It's your beliefs that matter”
And after looking through the comments, I found it quite interesting a few Christians agreed as well:
Mal Posted at 9:20 AM September 13, 2010. Good on you Alex! What is so terrible about burning the Koran or bible? Only the superstitions in our minds. It's just paper and ink - get over it!! And I say that as a Christian. Comment 82 of 160
Jonathan of Sydney Posted at 9:19 AM September 13, 2010. Being a Christian I quite like this. The bloke is entirely correct of course. It has nothing to do with the paper, it's the actual message inside it that counts. Comment 80 of 160
dnb Posted at 2:17 PM September 13, 2010. I'm a Christian and a conservative one. For me they can burn whatever books they wanted, Bible is not the exception. Like this guy said it just a book. I have it though on my iPhone as apps. so who cares. But if you burn my iPhone, you got to pay me for it or give me an iPhone4. I'll take that. :-). Comment 121 of 160
I just wished to God (figure of speech) he had expressed it through words instead of such a strong demonstration of unbelief. If he had to express his concern through such strong actions then he should have at least included not only religious books but much loved secular and atheist literature as well, such as Richard Dawkin’s “The God delusion” and Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”. Just to really drive home the point that the books themselves are not what’s important.
Clearly the man must have known the repercussions of his actions before going through with them. He would have know full well he would be offending a lot of people and didn’t seem to care that much. I agree there are people out there that take religion to the extreme and take their religious faith far too serious. But what should our response be, more intolerance and purposely offensive behaviour? Do we really think this will resolve the issue?
What did Alex really think believers (the audience I assume he was trying to reach) would take from his video?
“Oh yeah, because you just smoked the bile and Koran, I guess the book I’ve believed in all my life really is bullshit. Thanks Alex.”
Whether I believe in any holy books or not is irrelevant. People do. And not just those annoying, outspoken, in your face believers, but also the old woman who has been through nothing but hardship all her life, and it wasn’t the Australian atheist institute that helped her through life. It was her faith, her faith in the words of a particular holy book. Is she hurting anyone, no. Is she trying to convert the world to her belief system, no. Shes simply holding onto a belief that helps her through hard times. Religious faith should always be a personal matter. An openly discussed, thought out, researched but personal matter.
Has political correctness gone too far in our society?
Yes, I believe it has.
Should religious belief be analysed and critiqued like any other discourse?
Yes, it should.
Is the answer to start burning anything and everything that gives people a little hope to their lives?
No, I think if we really put our minds to it we can come up with a far more civil and productive way to have an open ended conversation about religious faith in our society.
Jason
http://www.news.com.au/world/us-pastor-terry-jones-promises-to-hold-koran-burning/story-e6frfkyi-1225915614362#ixzz0zSHwDFxG
The other is by Australian Alex Stewart who made a youtube video of himself ripping pages out of both the bible and the Koran and smoking them:
http://www.news.com.au/national/lawyer-alex-stewart-smokes-pages-from-the-koran-and-bible-and-says-we-should-get-over-book-burning/story-e6frfkvr-1225919970728
When I first read about the Koran burning pastor, I was outraged. Like many other people, believer and non believer alike. I could not comprehend what this man was trying to achieve by his actions or how he thought burning a holy book that over a billion people profess a faith in would help the victims of the September 11 attack. So it should be no surprise than that I struggled to justify the actions of Alex Stewart.
Now I am not religious in any sense. I will be the first one to tell you that and I actually agree with Alex when he says:
"It's just a fucking book, who cares? It's your beliefs that matter”
And after looking through the comments, I found it quite interesting a few Christians agreed as well:
Mal Posted at 9:20 AM September 13, 2010. Good on you Alex! What is so terrible about burning the Koran or bible? Only the superstitions in our minds. It's just paper and ink - get over it!! And I say that as a Christian. Comment 82 of 160
Jonathan of Sydney Posted at 9:19 AM September 13, 2010. Being a Christian I quite like this. The bloke is entirely correct of course. It has nothing to do with the paper, it's the actual message inside it that counts. Comment 80 of 160
dnb Posted at 2:17 PM September 13, 2010. I'm a Christian and a conservative one. For me they can burn whatever books they wanted, Bible is not the exception. Like this guy said it just a book. I have it though on my iPhone as apps. so who cares. But if you burn my iPhone, you got to pay me for it or give me an iPhone4. I'll take that. :-). Comment 121 of 160
I just wished to God (figure of speech) he had expressed it through words instead of such a strong demonstration of unbelief. If he had to express his concern through such strong actions then he should have at least included not only religious books but much loved secular and atheist literature as well, such as Richard Dawkin’s “The God delusion” and Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”. Just to really drive home the point that the books themselves are not what’s important.
Clearly the man must have known the repercussions of his actions before going through with them. He would have know full well he would be offending a lot of people and didn’t seem to care that much. I agree there are people out there that take religion to the extreme and take their religious faith far too serious. But what should our response be, more intolerance and purposely offensive behaviour? Do we really think this will resolve the issue?
What did Alex really think believers (the audience I assume he was trying to reach) would take from his video?
“Oh yeah, because you just smoked the bile and Koran, I guess the book I’ve believed in all my life really is bullshit. Thanks Alex.”
Whether I believe in any holy books or not is irrelevant. People do. And not just those annoying, outspoken, in your face believers, but also the old woman who has been through nothing but hardship all her life, and it wasn’t the Australian atheist institute that helped her through life. It was her faith, her faith in the words of a particular holy book. Is she hurting anyone, no. Is she trying to convert the world to her belief system, no. Shes simply holding onto a belief that helps her through hard times. Religious faith should always be a personal matter. An openly discussed, thought out, researched but personal matter.
Has political correctness gone too far in our society?
Yes, I believe it has.
Should religious belief be analysed and critiqued like any other discourse?
Yes, it should.
Is the answer to start burning anything and everything that gives people a little hope to their lives?
No, I think if we really put our minds to it we can come up with a far more civil and productive way to have an open ended conversation about religious faith in our society.
Jason
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Quote: Richard Feynman
“I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong. If we will only allow that, as we progress, we remain unsure, we will leave opportunities for alternatives. We will not become enthusiastic for the fact, the knowledge, the absolute truth of the day, but remain always uncertain … In order to make progress, one must leave the door to the unknown ajar.” - Richard Feynman
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Testimony of Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)
I, like many others, am a big Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) fan. I find his music simply beautiful. But what I find even more interesting about the man is his conversion to Islam. I recently stumbled upon his testimony on the web. In the west Christianity is our dominant religion, it is part of our cultural heritage and history and so when we are first subjected to other religious testimonies it can often takes us back a bit. Especially if we have been taught one particular view our whole lives. I am a big proponent of comparative religion. I think it’s so important to learn all we can about each other’s religions and cultures to help us build stronger bonds of understanding and tolerance. I’m not just talking about reading a book called “understanding Islam, and why it’s wrong”. I’m talking about genuinely trying to see the world from another person’s perspective. I think this testimony from Yusuf Islam has some great insights into some different aspects of faith that some of us in the west might not be used too:
Testimony of Yusuf Islam (Formerly Cat Stevens)
All I have to say is all what you know already, to confirm what you already know, the message of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) as given by God - the Religion of Truth. As human beings we are given a consciousness and a duty that has placed us at the top of creation. Man is created to be God's deputy on earth, and it is important to realize the obligation to rid ourselves of all illusions and to make our lives a preparation for the next life. Anybody who misses this chance is not likely to be given another, to be brought back again and again, because it says in Qur'an Majeed that when man is brought to account, he will say, "O Lord, send us back and give us another chance." The Lord will say, "If I send you back you will do the same." I was brought up in the modern world of all the luxury and the high life of show business. I was born in a Christian home, but we know that every child is born in his original nature - it is only his parents that turn him to this or that religion. I was given this religion (Christianity) and thought this way. I was taught that God exists, but there was no direct contact with God, so we had to make contact with Him through Jesus - he was in fact the door to God. This was more or less accepted by me, but I did not swallow it all. I looked at some of the statues of Jesus; they were just stones with no life. And when they said that God is three, I was puzzled even more but could not argue. I more or less believed it, because I had to have respect for the faith of my parents. Gradually I became alienated from this religious upbringing. I started making music. I wanted to be a big star. All those things I saw in the films and on the media took hold of me, and perhaps I thought this was my God, the goal of making money. I had an uncle who had a beautiful car. "Well," I said, "he has it made. He has a lot of money." The people around me influenced me to think that this was it; this world was their God. I decided then that this was the life for me; to make a lot of money, have a 'great life.' Now my examples were the pop stars. I started making songs, but deep down I had a feeling for humanity, a feeling that if I became rich I would help the needy. (It says in the Qur'an, we make a promise, but when we make something, we want to hold onto it and become greedy.) So what happened was that I became very famous. I was still a teenager, my name and photo were splashed in all the media. They made me larger than life, so I wanted to live larger than life and the only way to do that was to be intoxicated (with liquor and drugs).
IN HOSPITAL
After a year of financial success and 'high' living, I became very ill, contracted TB and had to be hospitalized. It was then that I started to think: What was to happen to me? Was I just a body, and my goal in life was merely to satisfy this body? I realized now that this calamity was a blessing given to me by Allah, a chance to open my eyes - "Why am I here? Why am I in bed?" - and I started looking for some of the answers. At that time there was great interest in the Eastern mysticism. I began reading, and the first thing I began to become aware of was death, and that the soul moves on; it does not stop. I felt I was taking the road to bliss and high accomplishment. I started meditating and even became a vegetarian. I now believed in 'peace and flower power,' and this was the general trend. But what I did believe in particular was that I was not just a body. This awareness came to me at the hospital. One day when I was walking and I was caught in the rain, I began running to the shelter and then I realized, 'Wait a minute, my body is getting wet, my body is telling me I am getting wet.' This made me think of a saying that the body is like a donkey, and it has to be trained where it has to go. Otherwise, the donkey will lead you where it wants to go. Then I realized I had a will, a God-given gift: follow the will of God. I was fascinated by the new terminology I was learning in the Eastern religion. By now I was fed up with Christianity. I started making music again and this time I started reflecting my own thoughts. I remember the lyric of one of my songs. It goes like this: "I wish I knew, I wish I knew what makes the Heaven, what makes the Hell. Do I get to know You in my bed or some dusty cell while others reach the big hotel?" and I knew I was on the Path. I also wrote another song, "The Way to Find God Out." I became even more famous in the world of music. I really had a difficult time because I was getting rich and famous, and at the same time, I was sincerely searching for the Truth. Then I came to a stage where I decided that Buddhism is all right and noble, but I was not ready to leave the world. I was too attached to the world and was not prepared to become a monk and to isolate myself from society. I tried Zen and Ching, numerology, tarot cards and astrology. I tried to look back into the Bible and could not find anything. At this time I did not know anything about Islam, and then, what I regarded as a miracle occurred. My brother had visited the mosque in Jerusalem and was greatly impressed that while on the one hand it throbbed with life (unlike the churches and synagogues which were empty), on the other hand, an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity prevailed.
THE QUR'AN
When he came to London he brought back a translation of the Qur'an, which he gave to me. He did not become a Muslim, but he felt something in this religion, and thought I might find something in it also. And when I received the book, a guidance that would explain everything to me - who I was; what was the purpose of life; what was the reality and what would be the reality; and where I came from - I realized that this was the true religion; religion not in the sense the West understands it, not the type for only your old age. In the West, whoever wishes to embrace a religion and make it his only way of life is deemed a fanatic. I was not a fanatic, I was at first confused between the body and the soul. Then I realized that the body and soul are not apart and you don't have to go to the mountain to be religious. We must follow the will of God. Then we can rise higher than the angels. The first thing I wanted to do now was to be a Muslim. I realized that everything belongs to God, that slumber does not overtake Him. He created everything. At this point I began to lose the pride in me, because hereto I had thought the reason I was here was because of my own greatness. But I realized that I did not create myself, and the whole purpose of my being here was to submit to the teaching that has been perfected by the religion we know as Al-Islam. At this point I started discovering my faith. I felt I was a Muslim. On reading the Qur'an, I now realized that all the Prophets sent by God brought the same message. Why then were the Jews and Christians different? I know now how the Jews did not accept Jesus as the Messiah and that they had changed His Word. Even the Christians misunderstand God's Word and called Jesus the son of God. Everything made so much sense. This is the beauty of the Qur'an; it asks you to reflect and reason, and not to worship the sun or moon but the One Who has created everything. The Qur'an asks man to reflect upon the sun and moon and God's creation in general. Do you realize how different the sun is from the moon? They are at varying distances from the earth, yet appear the same size to us; at times one seems to overlap the other. Even when many of the astronauts go to space, they see the insignificant size of the earth and vastness of space. They become very religious, because they have seen the Signs of Allah. When I read the Qur'an further, it talked about prayer, kindness and charity. I was not a Muslim yet, but I felt that the only answer for me was the Qur'an, and God had sent it to me, and I kept it a secret. But the Qur'an also speaks on different levels. I began to understand it on another level, where the Qur'an says, "Those who believe do not take disbelievers for friends and the believers are brothers." Thus at this point I wished to meet my Muslim brothers.
CONVERSION
Then I decided to journey to Jerusalem (as my brother had done). At Jerusalem, I went to the mosque and sat down. A man asked me what I wanted. I told him I was a Muslim. He asked what was my name. I told him, "Stevens." He was confused. I then joined the prayer, though not so successfully. Back in London, I met a sister called Nafisa. I told her I wanted to embrace Islam and she directed me to the New Regent Mosque. This was in 1977, about one and a half years after I received the Qur'an. Now I realized that I must get rid of my pride, get rid of Iblis, and face one direction. So on a Friday, after Jumma' I went to the Imam and declared my faith (the Kalima) at this hands. You have before you someone who had achieved fame and fortune. But guidance was something that eluded me, no matter how hard I tried, until I was shown the Qur'an. Now I realize I can get in direct contact with God, unlike Christianity or any other religion. As one Hindu lady told me, "You don't understand the Hindus. We believe in one God; we use these objects (idols) to merely concentrate." What she was saying was that in order to reach God, one has to create associates, that are idols for the purpose. But Islam removes all these barriers. The only thing that moves the believers from the disbelievers is the salat. This is the process of purification. Finally I wish to say that everything I do is for the pleasure of Allah and pray that you gain some inspirations from my experiences. Furthermore, I would like to stress that I did not come into contact with any Muslim before I embraced Islam. I read the Qur'an first and realized that no person is perfect. Islam is perfect, and if we imitate the conduct of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) we will be successful. May Allah give us guidance to follow the path of the ummah of Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). Ameen!
By Yusuf Islam January 1st, 1985
http://www.usislam.org/converts/yusufislam.htm
Testimony of Yusuf Islam (Formerly Cat Stevens)
All I have to say is all what you know already, to confirm what you already know, the message of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) as given by God - the Religion of Truth. As human beings we are given a consciousness and a duty that has placed us at the top of creation. Man is created to be God's deputy on earth, and it is important to realize the obligation to rid ourselves of all illusions and to make our lives a preparation for the next life. Anybody who misses this chance is not likely to be given another, to be brought back again and again, because it says in Qur'an Majeed that when man is brought to account, he will say, "O Lord, send us back and give us another chance." The Lord will say, "If I send you back you will do the same." I was brought up in the modern world of all the luxury and the high life of show business. I was born in a Christian home, but we know that every child is born in his original nature - it is only his parents that turn him to this or that religion. I was given this religion (Christianity) and thought this way. I was taught that God exists, but there was no direct contact with God, so we had to make contact with Him through Jesus - he was in fact the door to God. This was more or less accepted by me, but I did not swallow it all. I looked at some of the statues of Jesus; they were just stones with no life. And when they said that God is three, I was puzzled even more but could not argue. I more or less believed it, because I had to have respect for the faith of my parents. Gradually I became alienated from this religious upbringing. I started making music. I wanted to be a big star. All those things I saw in the films and on the media took hold of me, and perhaps I thought this was my God, the goal of making money. I had an uncle who had a beautiful car. "Well," I said, "he has it made. He has a lot of money." The people around me influenced me to think that this was it; this world was their God. I decided then that this was the life for me; to make a lot of money, have a 'great life.' Now my examples were the pop stars. I started making songs, but deep down I had a feeling for humanity, a feeling that if I became rich I would help the needy. (It says in the Qur'an, we make a promise, but when we make something, we want to hold onto it and become greedy.) So what happened was that I became very famous. I was still a teenager, my name and photo were splashed in all the media. They made me larger than life, so I wanted to live larger than life and the only way to do that was to be intoxicated (with liquor and drugs).
IN HOSPITAL
After a year of financial success and 'high' living, I became very ill, contracted TB and had to be hospitalized. It was then that I started to think: What was to happen to me? Was I just a body, and my goal in life was merely to satisfy this body? I realized now that this calamity was a blessing given to me by Allah, a chance to open my eyes - "Why am I here? Why am I in bed?" - and I started looking for some of the answers. At that time there was great interest in the Eastern mysticism. I began reading, and the first thing I began to become aware of was death, and that the soul moves on; it does not stop. I felt I was taking the road to bliss and high accomplishment. I started meditating and even became a vegetarian. I now believed in 'peace and flower power,' and this was the general trend. But what I did believe in particular was that I was not just a body. This awareness came to me at the hospital. One day when I was walking and I was caught in the rain, I began running to the shelter and then I realized, 'Wait a minute, my body is getting wet, my body is telling me I am getting wet.' This made me think of a saying that the body is like a donkey, and it has to be trained where it has to go. Otherwise, the donkey will lead you where it wants to go. Then I realized I had a will, a God-given gift: follow the will of God. I was fascinated by the new terminology I was learning in the Eastern religion. By now I was fed up with Christianity. I started making music again and this time I started reflecting my own thoughts. I remember the lyric of one of my songs. It goes like this: "I wish I knew, I wish I knew what makes the Heaven, what makes the Hell. Do I get to know You in my bed or some dusty cell while others reach the big hotel?" and I knew I was on the Path. I also wrote another song, "The Way to Find God Out." I became even more famous in the world of music. I really had a difficult time because I was getting rich and famous, and at the same time, I was sincerely searching for the Truth. Then I came to a stage where I decided that Buddhism is all right and noble, but I was not ready to leave the world. I was too attached to the world and was not prepared to become a monk and to isolate myself from society. I tried Zen and Ching, numerology, tarot cards and astrology. I tried to look back into the Bible and could not find anything. At this time I did not know anything about Islam, and then, what I regarded as a miracle occurred. My brother had visited the mosque in Jerusalem and was greatly impressed that while on the one hand it throbbed with life (unlike the churches and synagogues which were empty), on the other hand, an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity prevailed.
THE QUR'AN
When he came to London he brought back a translation of the Qur'an, which he gave to me. He did not become a Muslim, but he felt something in this religion, and thought I might find something in it also. And when I received the book, a guidance that would explain everything to me - who I was; what was the purpose of life; what was the reality and what would be the reality; and where I came from - I realized that this was the true religion; religion not in the sense the West understands it, not the type for only your old age. In the West, whoever wishes to embrace a religion and make it his only way of life is deemed a fanatic. I was not a fanatic, I was at first confused between the body and the soul. Then I realized that the body and soul are not apart and you don't have to go to the mountain to be religious. We must follow the will of God. Then we can rise higher than the angels. The first thing I wanted to do now was to be a Muslim. I realized that everything belongs to God, that slumber does not overtake Him. He created everything. At this point I began to lose the pride in me, because hereto I had thought the reason I was here was because of my own greatness. But I realized that I did not create myself, and the whole purpose of my being here was to submit to the teaching that has been perfected by the religion we know as Al-Islam. At this point I started discovering my faith. I felt I was a Muslim. On reading the Qur'an, I now realized that all the Prophets sent by God brought the same message. Why then were the Jews and Christians different? I know now how the Jews did not accept Jesus as the Messiah and that they had changed His Word. Even the Christians misunderstand God's Word and called Jesus the son of God. Everything made so much sense. This is the beauty of the Qur'an; it asks you to reflect and reason, and not to worship the sun or moon but the One Who has created everything. The Qur'an asks man to reflect upon the sun and moon and God's creation in general. Do you realize how different the sun is from the moon? They are at varying distances from the earth, yet appear the same size to us; at times one seems to overlap the other. Even when many of the astronauts go to space, they see the insignificant size of the earth and vastness of space. They become very religious, because they have seen the Signs of Allah. When I read the Qur'an further, it talked about prayer, kindness and charity. I was not a Muslim yet, but I felt that the only answer for me was the Qur'an, and God had sent it to me, and I kept it a secret. But the Qur'an also speaks on different levels. I began to understand it on another level, where the Qur'an says, "Those who believe do not take disbelievers for friends and the believers are brothers." Thus at this point I wished to meet my Muslim brothers.
CONVERSION
Then I decided to journey to Jerusalem (as my brother had done). At Jerusalem, I went to the mosque and sat down. A man asked me what I wanted. I told him I was a Muslim. He asked what was my name. I told him, "Stevens." He was confused. I then joined the prayer, though not so successfully. Back in London, I met a sister called Nafisa. I told her I wanted to embrace Islam and she directed me to the New Regent Mosque. This was in 1977, about one and a half years after I received the Qur'an. Now I realized that I must get rid of my pride, get rid of Iblis, and face one direction. So on a Friday, after Jumma' I went to the Imam and declared my faith (the Kalima) at this hands. You have before you someone who had achieved fame and fortune. But guidance was something that eluded me, no matter how hard I tried, until I was shown the Qur'an. Now I realize I can get in direct contact with God, unlike Christianity or any other religion. As one Hindu lady told me, "You don't understand the Hindus. We believe in one God; we use these objects (idols) to merely concentrate." What she was saying was that in order to reach God, one has to create associates, that are idols for the purpose. But Islam removes all these barriers. The only thing that moves the believers from the disbelievers is the salat. This is the process of purification. Finally I wish to say that everything I do is for the pleasure of Allah and pray that you gain some inspirations from my experiences. Furthermore, I would like to stress that I did not come into contact with any Muslim before I embraced Islam. I read the Qur'an first and realized that no person is perfect. Islam is perfect, and if we imitate the conduct of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) we will be successful. May Allah give us guidance to follow the path of the ummah of Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). Ameen!
By Yusuf Islam January 1st, 1985
http://www.usislam.org/converts/yusufislam.htm
Visions Of The Future
A series called Visions of the future just finished airing on abc. The final episode named "the Quantum revolution" just completely blew my mind. This series gives us a great perspective on just how valuable science is to our world and where science will take us in the future. It is both wonderfully exiting and if i am to be honest, somewhat frightening at the immense scale of the possibilities that lay before us. This is a must watch for anybody and everybody. You wont be disappointed!
To watch the video click here:
Visions Of The Future, Episode 3: The Quantum Revoltution
To watch the video click here:
Visions Of The Future, Episode 3: The Quantum Revoltution
Monday, September 6, 2010
Intelligent design
As someone who confesses genuine enquiry into truth, it’s imperative that I challenge my current way of thinking from time to time so as not to box myself in with black and white dogmatic views. If there is one thing I’ve learnt on my journey of truth is that more often than not there seems to be two sides (often more) to every story. Lately I’ve been looking into evolution. Evolution is something I’ve found myself on every side of the argument. I started out as a young earth creationist, believing in the literalistic biblical view that the earth was roughly around 6000 years old. It wasn’t until I was challenged by a few science educated Christians who held theistic evolutionary beliefs that convinced me to start educating myself on the theory of evolution and look more into it myself. This in turn led me to theistic evolution which I held for a while until my theological views began to fail me and I now preside within a naturalistic evolutionary world view, with strong feelings of agnosticism when it comes to the origin of those first elements of life.
I recently watched this interesting documentary on intelligent design:
I think intelligent design as a philosophy asks some very good fundamental questions about the complexity of life. However I think its bad science to stop at a point when observing the biological functions of say a cell, and say oh these parts are irreducibly complex, therefore it must be intelligently designed. I don’t understand what that achieves? Or how that is science? Unless a theory can be tested, or give us predictions about the future in which to validate the hypothesis, than it simply isn’t science. Science is about continually gathering data and asking ourselves questions about the natural world and pushing the boundaries of our knowledge. Lots of things in our past have looked to be “intelligently designed” only for science to discover natural laws that govern these once thought mysteries. It doesn’t make sense to me to stop at a point when we’ve come so far in evolutionary biology and say this is irreducibly complex and this is far as we can go. Now let’s be honest for a second, there is a lot science is yet to explain, but just because we can’t explain something today doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a natural explanation or that we won’t be able to find one tomorrow. A short look through the history of science will reveal this.
Another point I just can’t shake is that intelligent design seems to have a great deal of underlying theological and religious implications to its observations. By saying that something is irreducibly complex and intelligently designed actually tells us, well nothing. Unless of course you bring whatever theological designer you wish to the table. This opens up the flood gates for anyone with a certain perspective on who that intelligent designer was. This is fine in the arena of philosophy or religion, but not in science. Science says nothing on whom or what that designer was. To insert a particular designer is nothing more than playing God of the Gaps in our lack of understanding about certain scientific or philosophical questions.
Overall I felt the documentary was very one sided (as most documentaries are). Many times in the documentary I was waiting for them to interview other prominent scientist in the same field who reject intelligent design and irreducible complexity (which there are many!) But they never showed up. So to even things up I found a couple of lengthy videos that argue against intelligent design, not only have I found two great men of their scientific field, but I have found two scientist who hold strong theistic beliefs, in that they believe in a God, yet reject intelligent design as a science and call it out for what they believe it really is. I’ll leave it up to you guys to make up your own minds:
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