Truths
As I read different scriptures, I try to insure that I am seeking the truth rather than trying to find inaccuracies. I try to find the truths which are useful to me in each teaching. However, there are a few teachings which I struggle with. While I readily accept that both Jesus and Muhammad were messengers of God (and that there is only one God which makes me Muslim, but not necessarily Christian), there are certain of their teachings which are difficult for me as they seem to be just plain wrong. The teachings of most difficulties are that both Jesus and Muhammad claimed that the Day of Judgment would be very soon after their deaths (such that people hearing them would live till then), Jesus claimed that he was the only path to God, and Muhammad claimed that he would be the last prophet (which makes sense if the Day of Judgement was imminent, but is more problematic over 1,000 years later).Day of Judgement
As to the Day of Judgement being iminent, I personally believe that we each have the opportunity to judge our lives and ourselves after our death (which is different from having a God which is separate from us judge us, but then I believe that we are each different aspects of God and so we are the ones who judge ourselves). In that light, the Day of Judgement is truly imminent and we will experience the consequences of the choices we make in the extended dream state after our death (which matches with a sort of heaven and hell, but not anywhere in this time and space). If the Day of Judgement and the consequences which follow are outside of our current time and space, then it is certainly accurate to say that it is imminent and that people who were present to hear the prophets would live to experience it. Further, it is not clear that Jesus or Muhammad could have explained to their followers about being judged and experiencing the consequences of the choices they make during their lives in an alternate time and space. Also, the essential message was that people should not be lackadaisical about making reforms in our lives. Our death could come at any time and we should always assume that correcting our way of life is most pressing.I am the only way.
When I have been in the mode of looking for inaccuracies, the teaching of Jesus that 'I am the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me.' John 14:6' was easy for me pick at. How could a loving God have ignored the millions of people who lived in the Americas for over 1,000 years and sentenced them to eternal damnation because they were born without any access to the teachings of Christ? Later I heard an explanation that the 'I' actually refers to universal consciousness such that it applied equally to Buddha, Muhammad, and each of us (as we are all different aspects of God according to my belief), but this makes the statement meaningless. Of course there is only one path to God if you include everything that exists in the one path. While Jesus could well have only had visions of people he knew reaching God through his teachings (these would be accurate visions), that does not preclude there being other paths for the millions who never had access to his teachings. Also, the claim of being the only path was almost certainly the right thing for the early followers to believe at the time as they needed to change the fundamental values of the Roman empire (which were getting pretty brutal, developing early forms of terrorism). Given the culture in which they were, proselytizing could have been essential for the changes which were required, though such proselytizing is probably not appropriate in our current time and culture. The visions which Jesus had could have been completely accurate (it was the right teaching at that time and place) but simply not included the experiences of the millions of people in the Americas, for example, who had entirely different needs. While the omission of these other circumstances might have made that particular statement false, a broader interpretation makes it true (though somewhat meaningless). Finally, it was the truth which was appropriate at the time. This is how I have come to terms with this teaching which has troubled me in the past.Muhammad is the Last Prophet
There is a similar problem with the claim by Muhammad that he was the last prophet. How could Allah have abandoned all the millions of people living in the Americas for over 500 years, giving them no phophets to aid them in their quest to find Allah? It is absurd to think that Allah could relegate millions of people to eternal damnation just because they happened to be borne in the wrong place and wrong time (which was dictated by Allah in any case). However, just as Muhammad had visions which led to sections of the Koran which were later revised (eliminated) as Muhammad had misinterpretted his visions, I believe that Muhammad could well have had visions that for all of those people he was talking to, he was the last prophet they would experience before their 'Day of Judgment'. The extension of this claim to extend to all people ever was an error. It could have been an error by Muhammad in interpretting his visions or it could have been an error of his listeners extending his claim to all people ever. In any case, I am certain that their have been countless messengers of Allah before and after Muhammad. In particular there have been numerous Sufi saints who have expanded on the teachings of Muhammad in valuable ways, taking Islam beyond the focus on rules and behavior to a more productive focus on intentions and the heart, developing an all-emcompassing love for Allah which really does lead to bliss and our own heaven on earth. While there may be some distinction between messengers of Allah and prophets, I don't find any useful discrimination there. A messenger of Allah who brings to me the truths that I need to hear at that particular time is the greatest prophet ever for me at that time. In that regard we can all be messengers of Allah as we study and share our own truths with each other. Click here to see the next rambling tale. __________________________________1 For me, my own personal guidance says that there will never be a general Day of Judgment in this time and space as described in the Judeo/Christian/Islamic scriptures. However, I readily admit that this only based on what I 'need to know at this time. It could well be that I have never met anyone who will live to experience such an event which does not preclude that it will happen at some distant time beyond that of relevance to me.
This page was last updated on January 6, 2010