The Holy Bible & the Quran ??

[guruvishwanath]

I would like to offer a different angle for this. I am not using this to promote ANY RELIGION.

I have now come to realise that we are all ruled by exception. Our upbringing, the society and surroundings contribute on how we think, act and percieve others. So when I was a growing kid and a teenager and an adult, the notion and perception that Islam was radical and they promoted breeding without control, polygamy etc. Christians were rich and it was a religion of the rich and all white people were christian. Sounds ridiculous! Believe me when I say that these are the ideas I grew up with. So where does Hinduisim stand? The biggest misconception is that Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life. But then as with other religions, it was hijacked by some fanatics and charlatans who turned into a mockery. In the end it resulted in segregation in form of casteism. Yep! that is the Indian version of racism except it is not based on color but on your lineage. And this exists back in India.

I come from a Brahmin family. The highest class amongst the rest of the caste system. The priviledged ones. Unlike my friends parents, I had very progressive parents and I am always grateful for that. They did not enforce those rigid idealogies into my head. They encouraged me to mix and mingle. To learn about others. In a sense to learn what is it being a Muslim, Christian and a Sikh. So I took part in all festivals. Id, Easter, Christmas etc. to name a few. I had friends and we shared a common passion. Cricket! And that in itself is a religion in India. I fasted with my best friend during Ramzaan to experience what it is not to eat and drink water the whole day and pray. My mom told me quite clearly that if I was going to do the fast, then I have to complete it. Because if I abandon it half way, then I am insulting my friend and his beliefs. I thought a lot about it before I went through with it. It was hard and tough as I was not used to starving during the day and waking up at 4:00 AM to have food before sunrise. and having a quick dinner at 7:00 PM. Not to mention no water and you cant swallow.

During Christmas, I took part in preparing the church for the pass with my friends. I studied in a Catholic School. I am my the god father to my friends daughter and I was given a discourse on the importance of being a god father and the responsibilities it carries.

In end, I came to a strong realisation. Religion is a private matter. My legacy as a person will be judged by my actions and not by my religion. When I die, I would like to be known as man with principles, honesty and generosity. I dont see which religion has exclusive rights to the above characteristics.

Faith is important. Faith in your religion is your guiding light and it does not matter to which faith you belong to. You must also respect others irrespective as to what faith they belong to.

Have a great day

[Shabu-Shabu]

My fiancee is muslim, and after having a look at this thread, he told me that the Christians are considered "people of the book", but because they've "changed" their scriptures over time, with stuff added and taken according to the higher-up's will, it's been "changed" and not reliable, which was why the Koran ("It's spelt "Quran", by the way," so he says) was created in the first place.

He says it's not been changed since the beginning of time.

However, I've read that it was first written in Armanaic then translated to Arabic, and there are many translational errors in it, like for example the recent controversy about several historians saying that instead of 72 virgins in paradise, when translated to its original Aramanic it's actually "raisins", which was apparently very valuable in those days.

And also, the Prophet died before the Koran was even written and it was written by his scribes and people close to him (they're called the Prophet's companions), based on hearsay. That paired up with the experiment of some scientists i read also, about how 10 people are put in a row or something and asked to pass down a message orally, and the result was a jumbled mess that had almost no relation or connection to the original given message to the first person.

He isn't too convinced by this, naturally.

[honey girl]

Friend,

Seems you're serious about finding Truth, and standing firm once you've found it, so you may want to go to ARPC at 25 Adam Road on Sundays...9 or 11:15. A lot of young Singaporean people are seeking and finding the answers there, and growing in their belief, as they spend time with those of like minds.

[samantha]

Hmmm.. But nobody has ever answered my question on how Noah got his hands on 2 kangaroos, 2 penguins and 2 polar bears!!

I believe in science, logic, practicality, reason and rationality. I will believe in anything that satisfies these 5 citeria.. 8)

[Shabu-Shabu]

I'm not too good with history, not to mention biblical history at that. I used to be Christian (my mom was catholic, but she thought Christianity had "better connections" - typical business-minded Chinese she is ), but there were too many questions that were dodged, avoided, or had no answer, especially when the priests didn't do much of a good job telling us the historical facts of whatever, what we could learn from it, or anything remotely useful to use in our daily lives except to wait for Jesus to deliver us from our suffering, believe in him and we'd get to Heaven, all our problems would be solved if we believed in him - everything just seemed to revolve around Heaven and Hell, nothing that seemed to have a need, a want or a desire to find out more about Jesus, God, or be spiritually aware or bonded to these very far-away deities.

Well, I kinda 'dropped' out, and became a Satanist - the Anton LaVey Satanism that doesn't worship Satan as a deity but instead calls the inner desires we have within us not as sins but something we are born with. Basically, the only thing remotely worth worshipping was ourselves, not some invisible God.
After a while, I realised I needn't jump from one end to the other just to make some sort of point to how I doubted the beliefs of christianity, to to others, even as I was doing so symbolically by being part of Anton LaVey's ideology of what Life was about and all that.
So I became Agnostic, and today derive my own meanings and search actively for some sort of meaning from many different cultures, experiences, religions, and whatever - they all have something to teach us.

As for the question - I think perhaps some people gave it to him as a present? Exotic animals were given to kings, emperors, prophets and whoever was powerful and wielded enormous influence on the people.
On the other hand, Alexander and his army didn't know what monkeys and chimps were and thought they were some deformed monsters that looked like human beings - they thought the whole world they lived in had the whole range of Earth's creatures concentrated or scattered within wherever they lived in - which obviously wasn't the case.
So maybe then Noah took whatever animal they knew or had knowledge of at the time thinking it was the only bunch of animals living on their "planet".

[samantha]

Well thats possible.. But than again... the N. pole is an awfully long walk away.. And Australia is a long swim away from where Noah lived... Don't you agree?? Haha..

[Guest]

If one subscribes to the basic premise that there is a GOD, there shouldn't be a problem with believing that an all-powerful Being could lead a pair of animals to the Ark. Whether the animals happen to be in Antarctica (sp?) or right next door becomes a non-issue.