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The Big Questions (part 1 of 3): Who Made Us?
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Description: Islamic answers to the first of some of the “Big Questions” in Life all humans inevitably ask, Who Made Us?
By Laurence B. Brown, MD
- Published on 05 Mar 2007 - Last modified on 26 Mar 2007
Viewed: 6244 - Rating: 5 from 5 - Rated by: 9
Printed: 301 - Emailed: 9 - Commented on: 1
Category: Articles
> Beliefs of Islam
> The Purpose of Life
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At some point in our lives, everybody asks the big
questions: “Who made us,” and “Why are we here?”
_-_Who_Made_Us_001.jpg) So who did make us? Atheists speak of the Big
Bang and evolution, whereas all others speak of God. Those who answer “I don’t
know” are atheist for all intents and purposes, not because they deny God’s
existence, but because they fail to affirm it.
Now, the Big Bang may explain the origin of the
universe, but it doesn’t explain the origin of the primordial dust cloud. This
dust cloud (which, according to the theory, drew together, compacted and then
exploded) had to come from somewhere. After all, it contained enough matter to
form not just our galaxy, but the billion other galaxies in the known universe.
So where did that come from? Who, or what, created the primordial dust
cloud?
Similarly, evolution may explain the fossil record, but
it falls far short of explaining the quintessential essence of human life—the
soul. We all have one. We feel its presence, we speak of its existence and at
times pray for its salvation. But only the religious can explain where it came
from. The theory of natural selection can explain many of the material aspects
of living things, but it fails to explain the human soul.
Furthermore, anyone who studies the complexities of life
and the universe cannot help but witness the signature of the Creator.
Whether or not people recognize these signs is another matter—as the old
saying goes, denial isn’t just a river in Egypt. (Get it? Denial, spelled “de
Nile” … the river Ni … oh, never mind.) The point is that if we see a painting,
we know there is a painter. If we see a sculpture, we know there’s a sculptor;
a pot, a potter. So when we view creation, shouldn’t we know there’s a
Creator?
The concept that the universe exploded and then
developed in balanced perfection through random events and natural selection is
little different from the proposal that, by dropping bombs into a junkyard,
sooner or later one of them will blow everything together into a perfect
Mercedes. In the color and trim of our hearts’ desire, no less.
If there is one thing we know for certain, it is that
without a controlling influence, all systems degenerate into chaos. The
theories of the Big Bang and evolution propose the exact opposite, however—that
chaos fostered perfection. Would it not be more reasonable to conclude that
the Big Bang and evolution were controlled events? Controlled, that is, by the
Creator?
The Arabs tell the tale of a nomad finding an exquisite
palace at an oasis in the middle of an otherwise barren desert. When he asks
how it was built, the owner tells him it was formed by the forces of nature. The
wind shaped the rocks and blew them to the edge of this oasis, and then tumbled
them together into the shape of the palace. Then it blew strands of sheep’s
wool together into rugs and tapestries, stray wood together into furniture,
doors, windowsills and trim, and positioned them in the palace at just the
right locations. Lightning strikes melted sand into sheets of glass and
blasted them into the window-frames, and smelted black sand into steel and
shaped it into the fence and gate with perfect alignment and symmetry. The
process took billions of years and only happened at this one place on
earth—purely through coincidence.
When we finish rolling our eyes, we get the point. Obviously,
the palace was built by design, not by happenstance. To what (or more to the
point, to Whom), then, should we attribute the origin of items of infinitely
greater complexity, such as our universe and our lives?
Another classic argument for atheism focuses upon what
people perceive to be the imperfections of creation. These are the “How can
there be a God if such-and-such happened?” arguments. The issue under
discussion could be anything from a natural disaster to birth defects, from
genocide to grandmother’s cancer. That’s not the point. The point is that
denying God based upon what we perceive to be injustices of life presumes that
a divine being would not have designed our lives to be anything other than
perfect, and would have established justice on Earth.
Hmm … is there no other option?
We can just as easily propose that God did not design
life on Earth to be paradise, but rather a test, the punishment or rewards of
which are to be had in the next life, which is where God establishes his
ultimate justice. In support of this concept we can well ask who suffered more
injustices in their worldly lives than God’s favorites, which is to say the
prophets? And who do we expect to occupy the highest stations in paradise, if
not those who maintain true faith in the face of worldly adversity?
I would hope that, by this line of reasoning, we can
agree upon the answer to the first “big question.” Who made us? Can we agree
that if we are creation, God is the Creator?
If we can’t agree on this point, there probably isn’t
much point in continuing. However, for those who do agree, let’s move
on to “big question” number two—why are we here? What, in other words, is the
purpose of life?
Copyright © 2007 Laurence B. Brown.
About the Author:
Laurence B. Brown, MD, can be contacted at BrownL38@yahoo.com.
He is the author of The First and Final Commandment (Amana
Publications) and Bearing True Witness (Dar-us-Salam). Forthcoming
books are a historical thriller, The Eighth Scroll, and a second edition
of The First and Final Commandment, rewritten and divided into MisGod’ed
and its sequel, God’ed.
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The Big Questions (part 2 of 3): The Purpose of Life
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Description: Islamic answers to the second of some of the “Big Questions” in Life all humans inevitably ask, Why are We Here?
By Laurence B. Brown, MD
- Published on 12 Mar 2007 - Last modified on 02 Apr 2007
Viewed: 6722 - Rating: 4.3 from 5 - Rated by: 13
Printed: 289 - Emailed: 12 - Commented on: 0
Category: Articles
> Beliefs of Islam
> The Purpose of Life
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_-_The_Purpose_of_Life_001.jpg) The first of the two big questions in life is, “Who made
us?” We addressed that question in the previous article and (hopefully)
settled upon “God” as the answer. As we are creation, God is the Creator.
Now, let us turn to the second “big question,” which is,
“Why are we here?”
Well, why are we here? To amass fame and fortune?
To make music and babies? To be the richest man or woman in the graveyard
for, as we are jokingly told, “He who dies with the most toys wins?”
No, there must be more to life than that, so let’s think
about this. To begin with, look around you. Unless you live in a cave, you
are surrounded by things we humans have made with our own hands. Now, why did
we make those things? The answer, of course, is that we make things to perform
some specific function for us. In short, we make things to serve us. So, by
extension, why did God make us, if not to serve Him?
Our purpose, then, is to serve God. We receive this
message from the prophets, as well as from scripture, but nowhere more clearly
than in the Quran, the holy book of Islam:
“And I [God] did not create the jinn and mankind except to
worship Me” (Quran 51:56)
Which brings us to the next point. If we acknowledge
our Creator, and that He created humankind to serve Him, the next question is, “How?
How do we serve Him?” No doubt, this question is best answered by the One who
made us. If He created us to serve Him, then He expects us to function in a
particular manner, if we are to achieve our purpose. But how can we know what
that manner is? How can we know what God expects from us?
Well, consider this: God gave us light, by which we can
find our way. Even at night, we have the moon for light and the stars for
navigation. God gave other animals guidance systems best suited for their
conditions and needs. Migrating birds can navigate, even on overcast days, by
light polarization. Whales migrate by “reading” the Earth’s magnetic fields. Salmon
return from the open ocean to spawn at the exact spot of their birth by smell,
if that can be imagined. Fish sense distant movements through pressure
receptors that line their bodies. Bats and the blind river dolphins “see” by
sonar. Certain marine organisms (the electric eel being a high-voltage
example) generate and sense magnetic fields, allowing them to “see” in muddy
waters, or in the blackness of ocean depths. Insects communicate by
pheromones, the trail of which guides them to food, and then home again. Plants
sense sunlight and grow towards it (phototropism); their roots sense gravity
and grow into the earth (geotropism). In short, God has gifted every element
of His creation with guidance. Can we seriously believe he would not give us
guidance on the one most important aspect of our existence, namely our raison
d’etre—our reason for being? That he would not give us the tools by which
to achieve salvation?
Of course not. Hence, revelation.
Think of it this way: Every product has specifications
and rules. For more complex products, whose specifications and rules are not
intuitive, owner’s manuals are provided. These manuals are written by the one
who knows the product best, which is to say the manufacturer. A typical owner’s
manual begins with warnings about improper use and the hazardous consequences
thereof, moves on to a description of how to use the product properly and the
benefits to be gained thereby, and provides product specifications and a
troubleshooting guide whereby we can correct product malfunctions.
How is that different from revelation?
Revelation tells us what to do, what not to do and why,
tells us what God expects of us, and shows us how to correct our deficiencies. Revelation
is the ultimate user’s manual, provided as guidance to the one who will use
us—ourselves.
In the world we know, products that meet or exceed
specifications are considered successes whereas those that don’t are … hmm …
let’s think about this. Any product that fails to meet factory specifications
is either repaired or, if hopeless, recycled. In other words, destroyed. Ouch.
Suddenly this discussion turns scary-serious. Because in this discussion, we
are the product—the product of creation.
But let’s pause for a moment and consider how we
interact with the various items that fill our lives. As long as they do what
we want, we’re happy with them. But when they fail us, we get rid of them. Some
are returned to the store, some donated to charity, but eventually they all end
up in the garbage, which gets … buried or burned. Similarly, an
underperforming employee gets … fired. Now, stop for a minute and think about
that word. Where did that euphemism for the punishment due to an
underperformer come from? Hmm … the person who believes the lessons of this
life translate into lessons about religion could have a field day with this.
But that doesn’t mean these analogies are invalid. Just
the opposite, we should remember that both Old and New Testaments are filled
with analogies, and Jesus Christ taught using parables.
So perhaps we had better take this seriously.
No, I stand corrected. Most definitely we should
take this seriously. Nobody ever considered the difference between heavenly
delights and the tortures of hellfire a laughing matter.
Copyright © 2007 Laurence B. Brown.
About the Author:
The author can be contacted at BrownL38@yahoo.com.
He is the author of The First and Final Commandment (Amana
Publications) and Bearing True Witness (Dar-us-Salam). Forthcoming
books are a historical thriller, The Eighth Scroll, and a second edition
of The First and Final Commandment, rewritten and divided into MisGod’ed
and its sequel, God’ed.
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The Big Questions (Part 3 of 3): The Need for Revelation
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Description: Islamic answers to the second of some of the “Big Questions” in Life all humans inevitably ask, How do we serve Our Creator?
By Laurence B. Brown, MD
- Published on 19 Mar 2007 - Last modified on 09 Apr 2007
Viewed: 3411 - Rating: 4.7 from 5 - Rated by: 3
Printed: 256 - Emailed: 10 - Commented on: 2
Category: Articles
> Beliefs of Islam
> The Purpose of Life
|
|
_The_Need_for_Revelation_001.jpg) In the previous two parts of this series, we answered the
two “big questions.” Who made us? God. Why are we here? To serve and worship
Him. A third question naturally arose: “If our Creator made us to serve and
worship Him, how do we do that?” In the previous article I suggested that the
only way we can serve our Creator is through obeying His mandates, as conveyed
through revelation.
But many people would question my assertion: Why
does mankind need revelation? Isn’t it enough just to be good? Isn’t it
enough for each of us to worship God in our own way?
Regarding the need for revelation, I would make
the following points: In the first article of this series I pointed out that life
is full of injustices, but our Creator is fair and just, and He establishes
justice not in this life, but in the afterlife. However, justice cannot be
established without four things—a court (i.e., the Day of Judgment); a judge
(i.e., the Creator); witnesses (i.e., men and women, angels, elements of
creation); and a book of laws upon which to judge (i.e., revelation). Now,
how can our Creator establish justice if He did not hold humankind to certain
laws during their lives? It’s not possible. In that scenario, instead of
justice, God would be dealing out injustice, for He would be punishing
people for transgressions they had no way of knowing were crimes.
Why else do we need revelation? To begin with, without
guidance mankind cannot even agree on social and economic issues, politics,
laws, etc. So how can we ever agree on God? Secondly, nobody writes the user
manual better than the one who made the product. God is the Creator, we are
creation, and nobody knows the overall scheme of creation better than the
Creator. Are employees allowed to design their own job descriptions, duties
and compensation packages as they see fit? Are all citizens allowed to write
their own laws? No? Well then, why should we be allowed to write our own
religions? If history has taught us anything, it is the tragedies that result when
mankind follows its caprice. How many who have claimed to banner of free
thought have designed religions that committed themselves and their followers
to nightmares on Earth and damnation in the hereafter?
So why isn’t it enough just to be good? And why
isn’t it enough for each of us to worship God in our own way? To begin with,
peoples’ definitions of “good” differ. For some it is high morals and clean
living, for others it is madness and mayhem. Similarly, concepts of how to
serve and worship our Creator differ as well. More importantly and to the
point, nobody can walk into a store or a restaurant and pay with a different
currency than the merchant accepts. So it is with religion. If people want
God to accept their servitude and worship, they have to pay in the currency God
demands. And that currency is obedience to His revelation.
Imagine raising children in a home in which you
have set “house rules.” Then, one day, one of your children tells you he or
she has changed the rules, and is going to do things differently. How would
you respond? More than likely, with the words, “You can take your new rules
and go to Hell!” Well, think about it. We are God’s creation, living in His
universe under His rules, and “go to Hell” is very likely what God will say to any
who presume to override His laws with their own.
Sincerity becomes an issue at this point. We
should recognize that all pleasure is a gift from our Creator, and deserving of
thanks. If given a gift, who uses the gift before giving thanks? And yet,
many of us enjoy God’s gifts for a lifetime and never give thanks. Or
give it late. The English poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, spoke of the irony
of the distressed human appeal in The Cry of the Human:
And lips say “God be pitiful,”
Who ne’er said, “God be praised.”
Should we not show good manners and thank our
Creator for His gifts now, and subsequently for the rest of our lives? Don’t
we owe that to Him?
You answered “Yes.” You must have. Nobody will
have read this far without being in agreement, but here’s the problem: Many of
you answered Yes, knowing full well that your heart is not in the Bible.
Or perhaps it is in the Bible, but not entirely. You agree we were created by
a Creator. You struggle to understand Him. And you yearn to serve and worship
Him in the manner He prescribes. But you don’t know how, and you don’t know
where to look for the answers. And that, unfortunately, is not a subject that
can be answered in an article. Unfortunately, that issue has to be addressed
in a book.
On the other hand, the good news is that I have written
this book, and its title is The First and Final Commandment (soon to be
republished under the title, MisGod’ed). So if you like what you’ve
read here, I invite you to read what I’ve written there.
Copyright © 2007 Laurence B. Brown.
About the
Author:
The author can be contacted at BrownL38@yahoo.com.
He is the author of The First and Final Commandment (Amana Publications)
and Bearing True Witness (Dar-us-Salam). Forthcoming books are a
historical thriller, The Eighth Scroll, and a second edition of The
First and Final Commandment, rewritten and divided into MisGod’ed
and its sequel, God’ed.
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