Friday, March 7, 2008

Why are there different religions?



Assalamua'laikum. When I first visit Auburn, (a suburb in Oz where most of the community are Muslims), I found a bookshop which sells Islamic reading materials. After being there for about half an hour, I got attracted to an English novel just by reading the synopsis of it. This novel is really cool as it gives me a lot of knowledge about religions especially about Islam and Christianity. I really want to share with all of you the story behind the existence of many religions in the world specifically Judaism (Jewish), Christianity (Christians) and Islam (Muslims).


There are different religions practiced today, namely that of Judaism, Christianity and Islam due to certain factors that caused the evolution of what is commonly referred to as 'the three Abrahamic faiths'.


JUDAISM came about after prophet Jesus came to call the people of Israel to submit God and to accept him(Jesus) as their messenger. HOWEVER, some people, although professed followers of prophet Moses, refused to accept the message of prophet Jesus, thereby becoming disbelievers and forming what is today called 'JUDAISM', whose people still await the Messiah, although he has already come in the form of the Christ Jesus.


CHRISTIANITY began when prophet Jesus was sent to the people of Israel, and his followers accepted his message and worshipped God alone, as prophet Jesus did and instructed them to do. HOWEVER, after prophet Jesus was raised up to his Lord after his mission complete, the idea of the trinity was introduced, in which Jesus was said to be one of three in the Godhead. Paul, who never met Jesus or saw him alive, was the primary teacher of this concept, and in time, it was officially embraced by the Christian church. HOWEVER, during that time, there existed monotheistic Christians who opposed innovation in the religion, and they opposed the new teachings of Jesus' divinity, while upholding the teaching that he was a prophet. Long after Jesus was gone, the compilation of the bible began, and the book underwent numerous changes, resulting in several versions still used today, none of which contain completely accurate description of Jesus' message. The bible is currently used to propagate the divinity of Jesus, although Jesus never witnessed or oversaw any of its compilation, nor was he on earth when his divinity was being taught, and he himself never claimed divinity.


When prophet Muhammad (SAW), the last messenger and prophet sent by God to humankind, came t0 call people to the religion taught by the Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, people of all nationalities, races, cultures and religions, and ISLAM became the fastest growing religion on earth and remains so today. HOWEVER, like some Jews during the time of Jesus, people rejected God's messenger and continued to teach and live what is now common day Christianity, and thus became disbelievers by rejecting a messenger of God.



"Sesungguhnya agama yang diredhai di sisi Allah ialah Islam. Tidaklah berselisih orang-orang yang diberi Kitab (kitab yang diturunkan sebelum Al-Quran) kecuali setelah mereka memperolehi ilmu, kerana kedengkian antara mereka. Barangsiapa yang ingkar terhadap ayat-ayat ALlah, maka sungguh, Allah sangat cepat perhitunganNya"
(Ali Imran:19)



Taken from: A Novel, (If I Should Speak) by Umm Zakiyyah

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coming soon: The Amazing Claim of Modern Day Christianity.


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