Unveiling the Hidden Themes in Books -14
Losing my Religion; call for help by Jeffery Lang. Quran, Morality and Critical Thinking by Mohamed Shahrur. Never Get Lost by Dr. David Walton
Currently, I am intrigued by reading about the stories of people who have been apostatized from their religion or converted to a new religion in search of a purpose that is cogent and satisfies their intellectual mind. The search for a purpose is sometimes assiduous and painful to go through but is always rewarding in the end. I heard this saying (I looked it up; the saying is by the author Wallace in his book “This Is Water”): people always worship something, whether it is a god, fame, or money. However, one might as well go through the laborious and strenuous search for the right god and purpose. Instead of worshiping the wrong thing.
Losing My Religion
Lang argues about the seclusion of converts and American born Muslim from mosques because it has been institutionalized by foreigners. When a foreigner comes, they bring their own culture with them into the religion, and it is incumbent upon the American Muslim to follow suit because of the predominant influence of the culture. As a result, most Americans do not go to the Masques anymore because they are exposed more to the culture than to the intellectual one.
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Here is snippet from the book,
To serve as God’s representative on earth is a demanding task. It requires humility, self-sacrifice, and perseverance. It means striving to become an instrument of God through which He communicates His goodness to others. It requires growing in the virtues that have their origin and perfection in Him, and sharing of all the good that we possess with all those we can. The Qur’an assures that this will not be easy-it describes it as an uphill climb-but it promises that the reward will be great.
Quran, Morality and Critical Reason
Shahrur discusses the Quran from a contemporary lens. One of the integral points from the book is to read the Quran and interpret it for yourself. Do not rely on past or present exegetes to dissect it for you. They are feeding you their own dogmatic beliefs. Secondly, there are no synonyms in the Quran. Bar none. God is intentional and purposeful with his words. It dawned on me when I realized that every word has its own meaning based on the context. Lastly, some words are polysemous. Hence, use the one that that make sense and suffice God omnipotence. Now, I want to read the Quran from a perspective of finding God’s intent, structurally and objectively.
P.S. when you read a word or passage in the Quran, and you want to understand it better. look at it through its lexical, epistemological and hermeneutical meaning.
Here is a famous quote from Shahrur,
“It is easier to build a skyscraper or a tunnel under the sea than to teach people how to read the Book of the Lord with their own eyes. They have been used to reading this Book with borrowed eyes for hundreds of years
Never Get Lost
Dr. David Walton discusses some methods to be a professional land navigator. One needs to hone the basics and be deliberate in their movement. Here is what I learned: once you get the coordinates for your SP and destination, this is what you look for: attack points near your endpoint. Secondly, plot a backstop in case you pass your endpoint, so you know you need to come back. Thirdly, establish your boundaries by defining your left limits and right limits. This will save you a lot of time and cognitive load from getting lost. Lastly, strategically get to your endpoint by avoiding obstacles that impede your way, such as draws or swamps ( if you have no choice, at least you know and are prepared). In addition, regarding night navigation. David emphasized using one’s senses, such as your eyes, as well as one’s compass and pace count. Squint your eyes to see better by closing them and opening them. Don’t stare at night. Finally, Hydrate.
Here is short tomfoolry from the book that made me laugh,
I’ve seen more than one new guy’ fall for the old joke of, Hey, look at the map and tell me if you can see me shaking this tree real hard,” when trying to locate themselves.
