Brandon Yusuf Toropov
17-08-2004, 06:19 PM
CRITERIA FOR TRUTH: Could a person have devised Islam, our belief system?
Peace --
I would ask any sincere seekers of truth to ponder for a moment the likelihood that a single person, or even a committee of people, could really have composed the Qur'an.
Whatever your creed, nationality, or inclination to believe in a Divine Being, I want you to imagine yourself (or, if you wish, a committee) "creating" ....:
1) A *SINGLE*, completely consistent document, with no textual difficulties, that launches a global religious movement, and definitively embodies all the major principles of your religion. (Does Hinduism rely on a single, consistent document revealed definitively within less than three decades? Does Christianity? Does Judaism?)
2) Another document that establishes the foundation of a workable legal code, a code capable of being implemented in real communities around the world, from the day of its composition forward, for the rest of human history -- without any amendment or alteration to the foundation document? (Was Napoleon, as a matter of actual historical fact, capable of promulgating such a document? Was Augustus Caesar? Was John Adams?)
3) Another document that delivers compelling, plausible, and consistent narratives of historical figures known to exist many centuries before you were born, and that provides BRAND NEW, important, and PLAUSIBLE details about the lives of these people WITHOUT EVER CONTRADICTING ITSELF, and without your having access to a library. (Was Tolstoy, as a matter of actual historical fact, capable of doing this? Was Hugo? Was Hemingway or Chekov?)
4) Another document that is of such immense skill, intricacy, and poetic beauty that its mere recitation literally brings grown men and women to tears. When this document is recited in public during times of panic or unrest, its beauty and subtlety must instantly calm and pacify those who hear and understand it. (Was Shakespeare capable of producing a document that fulfills both of these requirements?)
5) Another document that accurately and verifiably predicts future events.
6) Another document that explains birth, death, the creation of the universe, and countless natural processes. The document must to conform to the findings of scientists who will live fourteen centuries after your death.
Now, having pondered the difficulties of creating these six documents, consider these two additional requirements:
* All six of these goals must be attained in ONE document.
* You must oversee the process of assembling this book, despite your own inability to read and write.
Brandon Yusuf Toropov
www.JesustheMuslim.com
Peace --
I would ask any sincere seekers of truth to ponder for a moment the likelihood that a single person, or even a committee of people, could really have composed the Qur'an.
Whatever your creed, nationality, or inclination to believe in a Divine Being, I want you to imagine yourself (or, if you wish, a committee) "creating" ....:
1) A *SINGLE*, completely consistent document, with no textual difficulties, that launches a global religious movement, and definitively embodies all the major principles of your religion. (Does Hinduism rely on a single, consistent document revealed definitively within less than three decades? Does Christianity? Does Judaism?)
2) Another document that establishes the foundation of a workable legal code, a code capable of being implemented in real communities around the world, from the day of its composition forward, for the rest of human history -- without any amendment or alteration to the foundation document? (Was Napoleon, as a matter of actual historical fact, capable of promulgating such a document? Was Augustus Caesar? Was John Adams?)
3) Another document that delivers compelling, plausible, and consistent narratives of historical figures known to exist many centuries before you were born, and that provides BRAND NEW, important, and PLAUSIBLE details about the lives of these people WITHOUT EVER CONTRADICTING ITSELF, and without your having access to a library. (Was Tolstoy, as a matter of actual historical fact, capable of doing this? Was Hugo? Was Hemingway or Chekov?)
4) Another document that is of such immense skill, intricacy, and poetic beauty that its mere recitation literally brings grown men and women to tears. When this document is recited in public during times of panic or unrest, its beauty and subtlety must instantly calm and pacify those who hear and understand it. (Was Shakespeare capable of producing a document that fulfills both of these requirements?)
5) Another document that accurately and verifiably predicts future events.
6) Another document that explains birth, death, the creation of the universe, and countless natural processes. The document must to conform to the findings of scientists who will live fourteen centuries after your death.
Now, having pondered the difficulties of creating these six documents, consider these two additional requirements:
* All six of these goals must be attained in ONE document.
* You must oversee the process of assembling this book, despite your own inability to read and write.
Brandon Yusuf Toropov
www.JesustheMuslim.com