Post 18: Jesus and the Qur'an

Jesus, or "Isa" (in Arabic), which means peace be upon faith, is extremely significant in Islam and Christianity. The Qur'an has differences in terms of beliefs about the nature and life occurrences of Jesus. Jesus is actually mentioned over two dozen times with passages containing biblical and nonbiblical traditions about Jesus. There are 71 verses in the Qur'an that refer to prophet Jesus. In the Qur'an he is mentioned in three different primary ways.

"O May, God sends you the good news of a command of His: his name shall be Messiah, Jesus son of Mary."

"..and God will teach him the book and wisdom, and give him the knowledge of the Torah and the Gospel, and appoint him as his messenger to the children of Israel (Quran 3:45-49".

Post 17: The Qur'an & The New Testament

 The Qur'an is the central religious text of Islam, which contains more than fifty people and events that can also be found in the Bible. The New Testament is made up of 27 different books with 8 different authors - 6 are the Apostles (Matthew, John, Paul, James, Peter, Jude) and Mark and Luke are two of the disciples. Both possess many similarities relating to the Holy scriptures of Islam and Christianity. Islam teaches that the New Testament has been altered in ways by The Qur'an and is to even be considered not trustworthy. For example, the New Testament elevates Jesus from the human prophet to the divine son of God. But, now the New Testament teaches the doctrine of the trinity (in other words - God is 3 persons in one, the Father, the Son, and the Holy spirit). The Qur'an identifies the prophets: Job, Enonch, Imram and Ishamael, but their stories are never fully told. The Qur'an also concentrates more on the significance of moral and spiritual parts of stories. In The New Testament, all men are declared righteous, but the Prophets were not (expect for Ishamael). In fact, he actually seems to be described in a very non righteous manner. On another note, the Islamic teaching also raises questions about legitimacy of the Hebrew bible and the New Testament. Both books have a varying degree of conflicting opinions.


"There is no god, but God and Muhammad is the prophet of God". 

Post 16

 I believe if you hold a high position in our government you should lead with a respectable, well-behaved manner. High government officials must lead in a professional, honest way so the people can stay united. We must have some sort of order in place, so we can go on with our everyday lives in safety and peace. The citizens of the United States put trust in these people who regulate things from our laws to where our tax money goes. We deserve someone who we can rely on and trust. If high government officials began acting out or acting corrupt, then don't you think the people would too? That's what I envision happening. 

Post 15

 Many of our past president's have similar thinking to the Socrates and Confucius. According to Wikipedia, the Socratic method is defined as, "a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions (Wikipedia)." The Socrates held truths that shaped beliefs and scrutinized other opposing beliefs. "Socrates rarely used the method to actually develop consistent theories, instead using myth to explain them (Wikipedia)." I also see seem similarities in the Analects of Confucius and his beliefs and teachings are also similar to our current president. Donald J. Trump is a United States President who had similar characteristics to the Socrates and even the Confucius was of thinking. Throughout the presidential election in 2016, Trump consistently used Clinton and Obama's mistakes and weaknesses to shape his values, ideas, and plans. He even brought up things such as Obama's birth certificate, he loved to stir up theories and thoughts into his supporters heads. Another example would be Trump and his team overturning Obama's healthcare policy. I personally didn't vote in the 2016 election, but I do pay attention to what's going on in politics. That being said, Trump has made lots of promises and worked on things in a different manner than what he said. Lots of things have just been all talk and no action. 

Post 14

 I believe the role of gods and religion in war have had a profound impact on or views. In the ancient days, the Gods determined what good vs. evil, right from wrong, and the epiphany of what sins were deemed as. The Gods often commanded war or an act of violence in cases where their mortality was literally threatened. Today in modern times, God or the god(s) don't play an actual role in today's wars. Religion does play somewhat of a role in modern war today. The main difference is that our government and military officials control our war. 

Post 13

I believe the attack on September 11th, 2001, triggered most of the invasion and the war in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. In 2003, the The United States had reason to believe that Saddam Hussein was working with Al-Qaeda and developing weapons of mass destruction. They believed that he posed a threat to our world community and world peace. But, it's also believed by many that the Bush Administration went through some unnecessary measures revolving the war on Iraq. In The Bhagavad-Gita, they don't necessarily agree with the acts of war, but in extreme cases and circumstances, it is justifiable. 


"Elders and Friends! Shall I deal death on these

 Even though they seek to slay us? (p.477)"