|
|
 |
|
51.8%ANMag Issue 22 Personal Maintenance
Faith?
By Saad Manasterli, Staff Writer
Virginia, U.S.A − I have taken all that I believed in and said “no.” I even took God and placed Him aside, and I asked the prophets to have a seat. I needed answers, so I questioned them all, one at a time. One prophet after another I asked, “Who sent you with this message of peace and hope?” Moses said, “I asked God that very question, and He told me, ‘tell them [the people] I, AM, sent you.’” I asked Jesus Christ, “Who gave you this message of peace and hope?” Jesus said, “I once asked Peter to spread God's words, and he also asked me, ‘Who shall I tell them sent me?’ I told him tell them that I, AM, sent you.” I asked Buddha, “Who brings to us these words of enlightenment?” Buddha replied, “There is only one path to true enlightenment”. “Where does this path lead?” I asked, Buddha replied, “The path leads you to the Light, to the Supreme One, to which we are all servants”. I asked Mohammed praise be upon him, “Who sent you with this message of peace?” Mohammed (pbuh) replied, “The message I bring to you is the same as my predecessors’ message; we all have come to renew and evolve the message from God; we bring life to what was martyred by the people that it was brought down to save.”
I see it clearly now. It is not a question of who is right or who is wrong. It is about who has faith and who does not. Faith is not in a church, a synagogue, mosque or a temple, but in God and us. Faith is a funny thing. We all profess to have it, but we all trust others to reinforce our faith. Faith, once attained, does not need human reinforcement. God has given us scriptures and prophets to reiterate His messages and His will. I find it extremely insulting that God is called imperfect. I was under the influence that we are God’s children. If so, then would He not love us all equally? If we are His children then He is our Father. If God is our Father then He is a perfect Father. Does a perfect Father favor one child of His over another? If yes, then God is not as perfect as I had been led to believe. When a statement is made suggesting that Catholicism is “on the right par” with God then God has been made fallible. Is a murderer still equal to that of a righteous man? Yes; why? It is because that is the wisdom of God. It is not we who judge, but He. Do we understand all that happens around us? Definitely not! But what I do understand is if a Christian committed a murder and a Muslim committed a murder, they are both murderers. That does not mean that they are no longer children of God. The Christian does not become a non-murderer because he went to confession. It is the same case with a Muslim; even if he did his pilgrimage to Mecca, he still is a murderer in his own right and by human laws to which he will pay, but he will never be less of a child and will always be loved by God. That is the beauty that is He.
God is often turned into a political icon and is no longer thought of as our Creator but as a way to manipulate a society. I am saddened to witness that a few could take away the fervor that is God. They say the church is an institution of God. I find that hard to believe when God never once told any prophets that the only way to Him is through some man-made building and an institution that alienates other beliefs. Faith is not a monopoly of lives but the spreading of hope.
In faith there is something I call hope. I personally believe that God has a greater purpose for me. I believe that God is my true companion. I also believe that God watches, guides, and protects my family as we travel along a path that He has chosen for us.
In closing, I think that this sounds like a lecture more than an article, but it is not. I just wanted to see if I was alone in the world in thinking the way that I did, and how meaningless anger and hate and wars really are, when all that we are is brothers and sisters. I guess I wanted to provoke some inner questions for all of the readers, and to know what you think about some of these statements that I made. I sometimes wonder if anyone else realizes how short a time we have on this planet. How much longer are they going to see their husbands and wives and their children? Will they get to see them grow?
The bottom line is that nobody knows but God. Wasting the little time that we have, trying to convert and argue and hate and kill and institutionalize God's people, is just in a sense a wasted effort. People use God as political leverage. He will in due time guide the lost ones. I believe people should emulate that which God has sent us. Prophets are the closest people to God and therefore an example of what one should try to attain.
Turning in circles
I stand here clothed
Yet as naked and bare
Dwindling down the spiral of doubt
Like a falling star escaping into despair
I ask myself questions that
I refuse to answer
I deny myself the truth
And immerse my fate in laughter
Sitting in silence
Listening to the surrounding nothing
The walls cave in
While I drown in tears
I go to my friends for hope
But all I get are fake cheers
I get overwhelmed in loneliness
As I converse among friends
Seeking for a shred of proof
As my seclusion begins
I drink among strangers
To achieve a certain high
I have destroyed myself with anger
And that’s the end of me…bye!