The Power of Popular Culture Part #1 Appendix
The Lost Gospel Reading verses from the Koran itself should convince people that Muhammad's book is terribly flawed. And for (some) Americans to compare the Koran with the Bible is a travesty. However, although many people are aware of exactly this they still don't -viscerally- get the point. What is the best way for people to actually fathom exactly how different Islam is from Christianity? Here is an effective way to do so.... The story is that a lost Gospel has just been discovered. It was unearthed in what is now the nation of Jordan, what was then Nabatea, an Arab province of the Roman Empire. Archeologists have dated the document to roughly 90 AD, contemporaneous with the canonical gospels. Although written in classical Greek is clearly reflects an Arab origin. Which should not be much of a surprise; the Apostle Paul spent several years in "Arabia," as Galatians 1: 17 reports. Paul, like other early Christians would have been familiar with references to Arabia as found in passages from prophetic writings in the Bible such as Isaiah and Jeremiah. And there were Arabs present at Pentecost as noted in the second chapter of the book of Acts. Of course, "Arabia" as a place name was primarily understood at the time to refer to either Syria or Nabatea even though it could also denote areas further to the South. In any case a Gospel with Arab heritage would be entirely plausible. This is the Gospel of Nathaniel, a story that has many affinities with the four gospels of Christian tradition. It was discovered in a cave near the Dead Sea, on the opposite shore, and clearly is not part of the Qumran scrolls collection. This "new" Gospel is incomplete even though a good deal does survive. What we have are episodes from Jesus' life and sayings but not a continuous narrative. Regardless, there is much material and it is incredible. What is the point? The objective is to expose a false comparison for what it is: Bogus, misleading, and deceitful. And to make it clear that all the wishful thinking in the world does not make what is false into truth. The view that Muhammad and Jesus were similar is indefensible. It may sound good on principle -once upon a time I shared this opinion- since, after all, the intention is all for the good. The idea is that, if the founders of two largest religions in the world were pretty much the same once you get past cultural characteristics, then grounds exist for ecumenical understanding, for enhanced feelings of brotherhood, and everything else needed for world unity, or, less grandiosely, maintenance of multi-ethnic nations. But what happens when the foundational principle, the "sameness" of Jesus and Muhammad, is exposed as pure fraud? Some people do not want this fiction debunked for religious reasons. Which I realize all too well. But among the reasons I had for leaving the Baha'i Faith in 1972 was that its basic premise, the common origin of the major religions of the world, was untenable once you studied these religions in depth. From that fact -and it is a fact- all kinds of implications follow. We then are forced to evaluate the world's faiths objectively, and it is about time we did exactly that. The problem with a favorable comparison of Jesus and Muhammad is similar, however, to comparing Muhammad with any other founder of a religion, whether Gautama Buddha or Zarathushtra or Confucius or anyone else. The joke goes like this, in discussing a troubled child in grammar school: "He doesn't play well with others." Muhammad did not play well with others; sometimes he killed them. The moral universe of Christianity, modern Judaism, most forms of Hinduism, Buddhism, and so forth, actually is similar. Ethically you can make a case for a considerable degree of sameness, just as many Sufis insist, just as Baha'is tell us, just as Theosophists say, but the principle does not extend to Muhammad and normative Islam. And that is the trouble. Which must be dealt with for what it is. The time for our elaborate game of "let's pretend," -that Islam has any claim to moral standing in the world- is over. Here is the Gospel of Nathaniel as we have it, as "originally written" in the first century AD. Biblical text is taken from the New English Bible. . Verses from the Koran have been interpolated from various translations available on the Web, sometimes rephrased to more closely resemble the style of the NEB. In various places my original wording has been used for reasons of bridging or to restate something in brief that is lengthy in either the Koran or the Bible. . In keeping with the fiction of an archeological discovery, some episodes are broken with ellipses (three dots). Usually this is done in cases where Christian readers -most Americans- would know from memory what is missing. However, all text is consistent with the source from which it is derived.. . Relevant verses of the Koran you can look up for yourself if you are skeptical that what it cited is accurate. Please keep in mind that not all translations of the Koran use the exact same numbering system for verses even though the Surahs (chapters) are always the same. The Koran verses on which Lost Gospel passages are derived are listed following each episode in the story. Episodes from the Gospel of Nathaniel The birth of Jesus Jesus was born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of Herod. After his birth Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 'where is the child who is born to be king of the Jews? We observed the rising of his star, and we have come to pay him homage.' Herod next called the Magi so that he could tell them... The Magi then set out at the king's bidding; and the star which they had seen at its rising went ahead of them until it stopped above the place where the child lay. At the sight of the star they were overjoyed. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and bowed to the ground in homage to him; then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned home another way. It was after this time that an angel told Mary and Joseph that their infant, in his cradle, shall speak to the people the way he would as a grown man, and he shall be righteous. Then, when the infant Jesus spoke from his cradle, he said to the people, "I am a slave of God who has given me the Book and made me a Prophet, and has made me blessed wherever I may be. And he has enjoined upon me prayers, and to paying _alms_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakat) , as long as I live and made me kind to my mother, and he has not made me insolent nor without blessing. And may peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and on the day I shall be raised to life." Surah 19: 30-33 -------------------------------- Sermon on the Mount When he saw the crowds Jesus went up the nearby hill. Then he seated himself, and when the disciples had gathered round him he began to address them. These are the Beatitudes he spoke: Blessed are those are those who are poor, the Kingdom of Heaven shall be theirs. Blessed are the sorrowful; they shall be comforted; Blessed are the gentle of spirit: the earth is their inheritance. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst to see the right prevail; they shall find peace. I am the messenger of God and those who show no mercy to the unbelievers are with me and are my disciples. Fight those who do not believe in God nor in the Judgment or who are guilty of disobeying the Law of the holy book. Show no mercy to any Jew or anyone else until they pay extortion money to be allowed to live among my followers. There shall be no mercy shown to anyone until they are humiliated before me or my disciples. How blessed are those whose hearts are pure; they shall see God. How blessed are the peacemakers, they shall be called sons of God. How blessed are those who have suffered persecution for my sake and for the right; the Kingdom of Heaven shall be their reward. Blessed are those who suffer insults and persecution on my behalf. Accept this fate with gladness, for through such suffering you amass treasures in Heaven just as happened to the prophets who lived long before you. You are the light unto the world. A city that stands upon a hill cannot be hidden. When a lamp is lighted do not put it under a bushel. Remember that you are like a lamp... Do not supposed that I have come to abolish the Law and the prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to complete. I tell you this: so long as heaven and earth endure, not a letter, not a stroke, will disappear from the Law until all that must happen has happened. If any man therefore sets aside even the least of the Law's demands, and teaches others to do the same, he will have the lowest place in the Kingdom of Heaven, whereas anyone who keeps the Law and teaches others so to do so also, will stand high in the kingdom of Heaven... Here is the law concerning Pagans and others: When there is no need for a truce among yourselves and unbelievers, then kill the Pagans wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war; however, if any Pagans repent of their religion then allow them to join us in our religion, praying five times each day, giving charity to the poor. But if the Pagans do not believe in our faith, then a harsh fate waits them, God does not love the disbelievers. O ye who believe, do not take the Jews and the Zoroastrians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely God does not guide the unjust people. For who is worse in retribution than God? And as for the Jews, God has made some of them into apes and swine. Surely the Jews serve Satan. Therefore, do not listen to the unbelievers, instead, fight against them with utmost vigor, that is, strive with all your power in holy war against those who follow another religion or who have no religion. A punishment has been decreed for our enemies in battle, they shall be crucified unless, for reasons of mercy, they are allowed to live, in which case you shall cut off one of their hands and cut off one of their feet on the opposite side. It is what they deserve. God wants us to strike terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve wherever they may be found. As a lesson for others about what to expect unless they follow our religion you shall cut off the heads of unbelievers or at a minimum cut off their fingertips This must be understood by all Christians because they are expected to fight in holy wars and show no mercy to our foes. Christians who do not fight against other people with sufficient spirit shall be punished without mercy for their failings. Blessed are those who follow the example of Jesus in all these things since he was as ruthless as anyone can conceive and did not show any mercy to non-Christians. Jesus is our model for conduct in all of life. Surah 3: 32 Surah 3: 167 Surah 5: 51-60 Surah 8: 12 Surah 9: 5 Surah 9: 29 Surah 25: 52 Surah 33: 21 Surah 33: 60-62 Surah 48: 29 Surah 68: 4 -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
