Thursday, July 16, 2009

Note to a 'Freethinker' ...

  • "Who made God?": God is by definition the Creator and the Ultimate Cause, while everything or everyone else is the is the Creation. Therefore, the question, "Who made God" is illogical. God Always Was and Always Will Be.
  • "How can a Loving God cause evil / pain / suffering / torment in Hell?": In matters of Love, the God of the Heavens and the Earth is a Choosy God, more choosy than an exquisitely beautiful maiden. He does not love every Tom, Dick, and Harry. He created Evil in order to separate those whom He loves from those whom He does not love. However, God is a Merciful, Compassionate, Beneficent, and Forgiving God. Hence, the Final Prophet of God (-Muhammad, peace be upon him), and the Final Revelation (-Qur'an) from God.

    Pain and suffering in this life is reciprocated with expiation of sins and increase in station in Heaven. Moreover, a believer is given pain/suffering in order to test him for patience.
  • Is a 'freethinker' really 'free'?: A 'freethinker' is like a truant from school, who considers discipline to be atrocity, bunks classes, has a lot of fun, and considers himself to be 'free'. He sneers at the other pupils who go to class. He thinks they are stupid to allow themselves to be 'shackled' by the discipline and education of school. Eventually, he flunks the exam and feels bad about himself, but then it is too late to reform himself since exam is over and results are out.
  • Are most wars fought in the name of religion?: Even a cursory review of the list of the most deadly wars reveals that most, if not all, of the deadliest wars were NOT based on religion. My sincere advice to you is: get real.
  • Proof of the Unseen: Your blanket rejection of all things supernatural is illogical. You say that science has failed to prove the existence of the supernatural. But a branch of knowledge dealing with the material world cannot claim to be cognizant of what occurs outside the realm of the material world. A car traveling on the road cannot scan the road and say, "There is no evidence of the existence of airplanes", since airplanes just don't travel on the road.

    Since you love to indulge in philosophical ruminations, here is a proof of the existence of the Unseen based on logic:

    (a) Assume a material universe where God and soul do not exist, humans have evolved through undirected random natural processes, and our beliefs (and thoughts) are no more than the result of complex interactions between neurons in our brains;
    (b) It follows that our beliefs are the result of entirely random natural events and have not been ingrained by a supernatural entity;
    (c) Since belief in the Unseen is false (as per our assumption above), we resent that some people believe in the Unseen;
    (d) But belief in the Unseen is the outcome of purely random events, and it is illogical to resent the outcome of purely random events;
    (e) We have arrived at a contradiction here, since on the one hand we resent 'belief in the Unseen' (on grounds of it being a false belief), but on the other hand we do not resent 'belief in the Unseen' (on grounds of it being the outcome of purely random events);
    (f) Since we have arrived at a contradiction, our original assumption is false;
    (g) Thus, there exist(s) entity/entities outside of the material world.

    In other words, the very people who believe in the Unseen are proof positive of the existence of the Unseen. It should come as no surprise, then, that the greatest proof of the existence of the Unseen is Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him.
  • You are on death row: You did not choose the time of your birth. You did not choose the place of your birth. You did not choose your parents. Most of the sights, sounds, smells, and personal experiences of your life were not of your own choice. In all likelihood, the time and place of your death will also not be of your choice. Your death will be just as sudden as your birth, a rude awakening into a new world. Have you prepared yourself for it?