Questions from guests?

Any suggestions on how we can improve the forum will be welcomed and appreciated.

I am sure Woodrow will want to answer for himself but I want to say the textual criticism and the development of doctrine are two of my favorite subjects and I am always open to discussing them. Really, there is no subject related to our mission that is off the table.

Thanks very much for stopping by!

Greetings Maggie,

here's the problem (or maybe the problem that i cause): i was raised Irish Roman Catholic. when you sit (kneel, stand) in a Church and look around, it all seems (to me) very the "opposite" of the Torah. after some Bible study with a very nice Jehovah Witness, i realized the "even what is called" the Bible has been changed. while i never contemplated becoming a Jehovah's Witness (well, cuz even using Jehovah for God is a change, for one!), i started collecting "Bibles" and searching for a monotheistic form of Christianity.
Long story short, i became a Muslim in 2006. i wasn't trying to become a Muslim at all! i was a non-trinitarian, so i guess i was more about finding out "what was wrong" with each denomination. (i have some bizarre ability to compare "practice" from "Scripture"). it became automatic for me. most Christians loathed hearing me talk. i put anathema under my name 2 LI to "hint" to folks about my perspective ) i met a beautiful Somali, and as you probably know, Muslim woman cannot marry non-Muslim men. we became close friends. i figured that all i needed to do was read a book about Islam and i could show her what was "wrong" with it. she could then leave Islam, and we could be together!
sounds splendid! eezy peezy! right!
it wasn't a good book about Islam, fairly liberal (didn't know that then). anyway, i could see how closely Islam followed what Jesus, pbuh, taught.
i became a Muslim by the end of the book! i studied Islamic History and the fundamentals of Islam, especially Tawheed (the One-nessf Allah).
now, i had a heart attacl in late 2005. maybe it was to get me to investigate? Allahu Alam (Allah knows best).
2010, i'm in the hospital with congestive heart failure, my Muslim wife leaves me (NOT the one i originally talked about.)
i'm not unlearned in Islam and i makes friends with Imams easily because i studied the religion. i have some friends that are world renown for their Dawah.
with my wife gone, i just couldn't fight the "itch" to go back and review all the questions that i had about Christianity.
NOW, ALL my questions are being answered and i am pretty close to being able to show EXACTLY what is wrong with the "Bible" and how this lead to the "evolution" of Christianity.
but that's the problem!
even when i post at LI  (comparative religion section has been close since Ramadhan), Muslims get offended! they see what, or maybe the way, i post as quite harsh! (look how Uncle was VERY careful in answering me!  he knows!)
at this point, my heart is dying. not sure how much time i have left. but what i am finding out is utterly fascinating!
so, i'd like to flush out some ideas, but i don't really want to be offending people.
it's like Catch-22!
i was a big fan of Herbert W Armstrong when he was alive, and now i'm pretty well versed in Bart D Ehrman. a trinitarian's worst nightmare!
not on purpose!
i'll carefully consider what Uncle Woodrow wrote.

what say you?

Peace, Love and Joy!
Br Yusuf (you can call me Sam if you prefer)

i will join soon, in shaa Allah (if Allah wills).

actually, Bart Ehrman says it in (practically) ALL of his books! and it wasn't the "fallibility" of the "Bible" that caused him to be an "agnostic". that is a common misconception! (i tried to write mis-perception, but spell check wouldn't let me.) the only book by him that i won't read is "God's Problem." he can figure out why there is so much suffering in the world "if" there is a God. to me, that's a bit of a cop-out. if you can see the suffering in the world, what are you doing about it! "am i my brother's keeper?" aren't all the Abrahamic faiths centered around that very question? the great Jewish teacher, Hillel, when asked if he could teach the whole Torah while standing on one foot replied, " That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the entire Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and learn.'" i would venture to portray Jesus, pbuh, as a "follower" of Hillel (figuratively, of course).
which leads to: the 1st time i read the Seerah (life of Muhammad, pbuh), his entire stay in Makkah reveals a man who closely follows the "school of Jesus, pbuh". and if you ever wondered what Jesus, pbuh, would have been like as a governor in the real world, Wallahi ( i swear by Allah), if you were to put the words of Jesus, pbuh, into action as a ruler, i don't think you can find a closer character match. (i found it astounding! you speak to quick, however, if you say, "Jesus, pbuh" wouldn't have had multiple wives"! you'd only be looking at 1 thing) (see, i knew where you were gonna go with that.)

Uncle Woodrow might be correct that it might be better in the Islamic section. i see no other perspective, than that of a Muslim. (which is why using the name "Yusuf" might confuse people. they automatically assume that when it comes to the "Bible" that a "Muslim" has no clue. i have clues, lots of them. i try to make sure my statements are VERY correct. VERY VERY CORRECT.) some guy name Sam might know all this stuff!

i think i can boil the subject matter into 3 issues, that cross over each other; "The Bible", the "pope" - "Papa", actually, and the "Nicene Creed" none of those are what we think, we have "mis-perceptions about them. not that anyone has purposefully lied (though there is quite a bit of that), but if you take "the Reader's Digest" version of the "the Reader's Digest" version of the "the Reader's Digest" version of history, you get a pretty short story. and there's a lot in that story!

as a nod to Bart Ehrman, i think he is totally misunderstood, perhaps even by himself! i just read back to back, Misquoting Jesus, Jesus Interrupted and Forged. i was actually reading The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, but was a bit tiffed at a gent who claimed he read more Bart Ehrman than me. it was obvious that he hadn't, but i just wanted to be truthful if i had the opportunity to speak with him that not only had i, but i went back and reread the most relevant ones, just in case. i have others that i've read too, but they are smaller books.
ANYWAY  , especially going back to The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, it is glaringly obvious that Mr Ehrman's work on the New Testament is a labor of LOVE! this guy really wants to know what Jesus and Paul said! but what THEY said, not what someone else said about them or who writes something "in their names." he doesn't say, "the Bible is fake, throw it away". he says this is the most important book in the Western canon of Literature! but he just wants to make sure, in his opinion, that if you are quoting Jesus or Paul, that you actually are! and in The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, he's has gone book by book, sentence by sentence, word by word, variant by variant and even punctuation to arrive at his conclusions! and The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture is the layman's version!

but in case anyone thinks i'm prejudice, The Heresy Of Orthodoxy by Michael J. Kruger is in my "to read" pile.

'nuff for now!

Peace, Love and Joy!
Sam (erm, Yusuf)

This is just an idea.... but how about if the forum pays $1 for each post that a person writes.  I'm positive that you would see an avalanche of writing and submissions and people registering.  Of course, this idea won't guarantee good and insightful writing... but it would get this forum humming like no other forum around.

This is just an idea.  And we can start with paying me $1 for this post.  Just saying.

Sincerely
Francis

(btw... for those who do not understand my sense of humor, the above was written as a tongue in cheek suggestion. However, if you want to send me a $1... i won't object too strenuously.)

SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THAT.

That would leave 40% for Francis. He would be making more than either you or me. We have to prefigure the math so we get it all.

Here is an idea,

The two administrators take 30% each
The founding Member takes 30%

after deducting shipping and handling, send the remaining to francis.

Francis, if you didn't get anything, know that S+H is just expensive and the money is used to pay for it

"What can we do to encourage you to register?"

Get me more hours in the day

Wedding? Another claim to my 24 hours...