Islam is easy. For me, it was everything I already believed, but did not think existed in the form of religion. This is because I suspected Islam was a "dangerous" religion, close minded, and oppressive. Then I found out that's not Islam, but backwards culture.
For example, as you stated that you always believed that God, the one true God, is the same God of the Christians, Jews Muslims, so says Islam. So yes, I agree, and I find it silly that we are all fighting amongst ourselves. So for me, it was easier to pick Islam because why would I pick Judaism knowing that Jesus came after and updated the message... why pick Christianity when there is a more recent, legitimate installment... Islam. So I picked the upgrade, if you will ;-)
Also, I never felt that a human being could be God. God does not have bodily functions or flaws. My mom had once told me that Unitarians [a Christian sect] believed that Jesus was a prophet, but not God... and I agreed with this so much that I though I must be a Unitarian... until I found out my mom was wrong, and I felt so let down until I found Islam had all the "right" answers that resonated with my soul.
The Qur'an certainly states that paradise was made for whosoever believes in God and the Last Day, specifically mentioning Jews Christians as blessed "people of the book", meaning they too followed divine guidance. That being said, every person is responsible only for his or her actions, no soul bears the weight of another.
For example, we do not believe in the idea of Original Sin. Children are born pure and in submission to God, because they are behaving exactly as God intended them to... like nature. [By the way MUSLIM means someone/thing who surrenders/submits his/her/its will to the will of God... so babies are Muslims, animals are muslims, plants are Muslim, gravity is muslim.. etc] So a child grows up and becomes a certain type of person based on family, environment, etc and then chooses to become a Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, whatever. After a certain age, we are all responsible for our choices and judgements, and that is when the real test begins.
It should be mentioned, however, that if a person has never been exposed to true Islam or heard the message, they are not responsible for adhering to it. We are only responsible for what we know... and God knows what we know, think, etc, so its not as if on the final day of judgement we could try and get out of it that way.. :-D
When Islam was at its best, the Christians Jews were protected peoples. When the prophet Muhammad had to flee from his home city, he and the entire community of Muslims migrated to an area where there were Jewish tribes, and were instructed not to try and convert them.
As for religious pluralism, I think that is exactly what the Qur'an Muhammad's legacy state... God has spoken to people since the beginning, there have been many messages, some lost, some strained, etc, but all from a legitimate source. This is why, as I mentioned before, we are instructed to respect all religions, because skewed or not, chances are they are from the same one and only God.
I think we are all just looking for the same thing. There is one truth: that is God. There are, however, many realities many perspectives, each unique... in the end though, use your best judgment. God will judge you primarily for your INTENTION and secondarily for the outcome... see, the intention matters more than what happens... sometimes we try and do good things, but nothing good happens... in Islam God will count that as a good deed.
If you are a good person and you are sincere, only God knows what is really in your heart and no other can say otherwise.
Peace.
For example, as you stated that you always believed that God, the one true God, is the same God of the Christians, Jews Muslims, so says Islam. So yes, I agree, and I find it silly that we are all fighting amongst ourselves. So for me, it was easier to pick Islam because why would I pick Judaism knowing that Jesus came after and updated the message... why pick Christianity when there is a more recent, legitimate installment... Islam. So I picked the upgrade, if you will ;-)
Also, I never felt that a human being could be God. God does not have bodily functions or flaws. My mom had once told me that Unitarians [a Christian sect] believed that Jesus was a prophet, but not God... and I agreed with this so much that I though I must be a Unitarian... until I found out my mom was wrong, and I felt so let down until I found Islam had all the "right" answers that resonated with my soul.
The Qur'an certainly states that paradise was made for whosoever believes in God and the Last Day, specifically mentioning Jews Christians as blessed "people of the book", meaning they too followed divine guidance. That being said, every person is responsible only for his or her actions, no soul bears the weight of another.
For example, we do not believe in the idea of Original Sin. Children are born pure and in submission to God, because they are behaving exactly as God intended them to... like nature. [By the way MUSLIM means someone/thing who surrenders/submits his/her/its will to the will of God... so babies are Muslims, animals are muslims, plants are Muslim, gravity is muslim.. etc] So a child grows up and becomes a certain type of person based on family, environment, etc and then chooses to become a Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, whatever. After a certain age, we are all responsible for our choices and judgements, and that is when the real test begins.
It should be mentioned, however, that if a person has never been exposed to true Islam or heard the message, they are not responsible for adhering to it. We are only responsible for what we know... and God knows what we know, think, etc, so its not as if on the final day of judgement we could try and get out of it that way.. :-D
When Islam was at its best, the Christians Jews were protected peoples. When the prophet Muhammad had to flee from his home city, he and the entire community of Muslims migrated to an area where there were Jewish tribes, and were instructed not to try and convert them.
As for religious pluralism, I think that is exactly what the Qur'an Muhammad's legacy state... God has spoken to people since the beginning, there have been many messages, some lost, some strained, etc, but all from a legitimate source. This is why, as I mentioned before, we are instructed to respect all religions, because skewed or not, chances are they are from the same one and only God.
I think we are all just looking for the same thing. There is one truth: that is God. There are, however, many realities many perspectives, each unique... in the end though, use your best judgment. God will judge you primarily for your INTENTION and secondarily for the outcome... see, the intention matters more than what happens... sometimes we try and do good things, but nothing good happens... in Islam God will count that as a good deed.
If you are a good person and you are sincere, only God knows what is really in your heart and no other can say otherwise.
Peace.
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