Opening The Mind

Dayang: Also remember that Islam is a religion whereas Malay is a race and culture, thus treat each as such.

23 Jun 09, 04:40 Dayang: so keep debating, but do not lose sight of your purpose, in hope that you may find your answers.

23 Jun 09, 04:38 Dayang: I applaud when and if you debate with due intelligence, because Islam encourages man to use his mind

23 Jun 09, 04:36 Dayang: ...content in the remembrance of Allah.

23 Jun 09, 04:34 Dayang: What's beautiful about Islam, if you dare open your heart to it, is that the true Muslims are...

23 Jun 09, 04:33 Dayang: It's rather ironic that the self-proclaimed "open-mind" resorts to such parochial tactics.

Hi Dayang.

My last post was a rant. I made that clear. But I understand your point.

In addressing one side of God that Muslims usually ignore (or even become apologists for), I am trying to highlight what I think are absurd qualities for such an influential 'God' to have. I also think that religious people are so caught up in the 'beauties' of their religion, they tend to forget the blindingly obvious, like their God being unreasonably punitive, narcissistic and flawed.

For the sake of argument, I will use Islam here, even though it's general to most religions.

While you claim that Islam encourages using the mind, it has made many people narrow-minded and 'parochial.' A few verses in the Quran saying you should use your mind contradicts the assertion that Islam should not be questioned. That doubt in the belief of God itself is a grave sin in the eyes of Islam is something that does not cater to the 'open mind' claim.

When you say what's beautiful about Islam is that 'true Muslims are content in the remembrance of Allah,' has been said about every major religion out there. 'You will find true happiness if you open yourself as accepting Jesus as your personal saviour,' for example. It's easy to say about anything, and thus will never sway anyone. Heck I can even say that for things like Star Wars or stamp-collecting.

'If you open yourself to it, you might find stamp-collecting is a rewarding experience.' Notice how easy it is to say it, but how hard it is for someone listening to it to be convinced? That's how I feel when you say 'open yourself to Islam' to me. Unless of course you happen to like stamp-collecting. In which case, replace it with collecting Star Wars figurine.

I've got a better idea. Let's use Atheism. If you open your mind to atheism, you will find content in knowing you've got one life to live and you might as well live it. If you open your mind to atheism, you will find content in knowing that it's your conscience, not fear, that is dictating your actions, and thus your good deeds become all the more valuable and rewarding. If you open your mind to atheism, you will find content in the remembrance of humanity. You get the point.

I'm quite confused about your last statement. I have never confused the Malay culture and Islam. I often talk about the two side by side because in Brunei, they intertwine a lot of the time. So I really don't know what you're implying I should do here.