Read Online God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World by Stephen Prothero - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Stephen Prothero
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commands the annihilation of entire peoples (Deuteronomy 20:16–18) and insists on gruesome executions for disobedient children (Deuteronomy 21:18–21), for relatives who entice you into worshipping other gods (Deuteronomy 13:6–10), for adulterers (Deuteronomy 22:22), for prostitutes (Leviticus 21:9), and for anyone who works on the Sabbath (Numbers 15:32–36).
Still, I found myself reeling as I read, gagging as it were on the plates of pus and draughts of boiling water promised to the unrepentant. Part of my distress was doubtless rooted in my upbringing on the Christian scriptures. I have been conditioned to turn down the volume when Jesus speaks of casting whole cities into hell (Matthew 11:23), and I no longer see (or feel) the “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15) as vividly as did Michelangelo in The Last Judgment or Dante in The Divine Comedy . Still, I was discouraged to read so much of liars, evildoers, hypocrites, unbelievers, and idolaters. I must admit, though, that something in me found all this God-fearing refreshing. In the modern West there is so much cheap chatter about befriending God that the prospect of fearing God seems almost illicit. What German theologian Rudolf Otto once referred to as the mysterium tremendum has been squeezed out of divinity and with it the prophetic possibility of punishment for those who glory in injustice.
Given centuries of Christian criticisms of Islamic views of women, many will be surprised to come across passages that treat men and women equally: “Men and women who have surrendered, believing men and believing women, obedient men and obedient women, . . . for them God has prepared forgiveness and a mighty wage” (33:35). But there is no sidestepping the notorious passage from the “Woman” sura that permits husbands to beat their wives (4:34). Almost as discouraging are a series of verses that assume a male reader, as if this scripture were addressed not to all humanity but to men only:
If you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, marry such women as seem good to you, two, three, four; but if you fear you will not be equitable, then only one. (4:3)
Your women are a tillage for you; so come unto your tillage as you wish. (2:223)
Readers committed to interfaith dialogue may be particularly upset by a series of verses that tell Muslims to forgo non-Muslim friends. One of my Muslim friends interprets passages such as “O believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends” (5:51) historically, arguing that, when these recitations were revealed, Jews and Christians were often allied with tribes opposed to Muhammad, so befriending them was tantamount to treason. Things are different now, he says, and friendships between Muslims and non-Muslims are not only permitted but imperative. Another Muslim friend says that these passages do not refer to modern-day friendships at all but to patron/client relationships of mutual protection. What these verses mean, she says, is “Don’t take Jews and Christians for your protectors . . . don’t expect them to have your back.” 19
Shariah
Of Ninian Smart’s seven dimensions of religion, the most important in Islam is the legal dimension. In fact one way Islam tilts toward Judaism and away from Christianity is in its emphasis on law over theology. Shariah , which literally means the “right path,” is the term Muslims use for law, and Shariah law, as it is referred to (redundantly) in the West, has been adopted in some measure in recent years in Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and other Islamic countries, including Afghanistan under the Taliban.
Historically, Muslims have not separated the sacred and the secular, so Shariah extends into all aspects of life—family, society, economics, and politics. It covers ritual and ethics, as well as criminal law, taxation, and public policy. This robust concept tilts toward the afterlife too, instructing Muslims not only how to live on Earth but also how to get to
Still, I found myself reeling as I read, gagging as it were on the plates of pus and draughts of boiling water promised to the unrepentant. Part of my distress was doubtless rooted in my upbringing on the Christian scriptures. I have been conditioned to turn down the volume when Jesus speaks of casting whole cities into hell (Matthew 11:23), and I no longer see (or feel) the “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15) as vividly as did Michelangelo in The Last Judgment or Dante in The Divine Comedy . Still, I was discouraged to read so much of liars, evildoers, hypocrites, unbelievers, and idolaters. I must admit, though, that something in me found all this God-fearing refreshing. In the modern West there is so much cheap chatter about befriending God that the prospect of fearing God seems almost illicit. What German theologian Rudolf Otto once referred to as the mysterium tremendum has been squeezed out of divinity and with it the prophetic possibility of punishment for those who glory in injustice.
Given centuries of Christian criticisms of Islamic views of women, many will be surprised to come across passages that treat men and women equally: “Men and women who have surrendered, believing men and believing women, obedient men and obedient women, . . . for them God has prepared forgiveness and a mighty wage” (33:35). But there is no sidestepping the notorious passage from the “Woman” sura that permits husbands to beat their wives (4:34). Almost as discouraging are a series of verses that assume a male reader, as if this scripture were addressed not to all humanity but to men only:
If you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, marry such women as seem good to you, two, three, four; but if you fear you will not be equitable, then only one. (4:3)
Your women are a tillage for you; so come unto your tillage as you wish. (2:223)
Readers committed to interfaith dialogue may be particularly upset by a series of verses that tell Muslims to forgo non-Muslim friends. One of my Muslim friends interprets passages such as “O believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends” (5:51) historically, arguing that, when these recitations were revealed, Jews and Christians were often allied with tribes opposed to Muhammad, so befriending them was tantamount to treason. Things are different now, he says, and friendships between Muslims and non-Muslims are not only permitted but imperative. Another Muslim friend says that these passages do not refer to modern-day friendships at all but to patron/client relationships of mutual protection. What these verses mean, she says, is “Don’t take Jews and Christians for your protectors . . . don’t expect them to have your back.” 19
Shariah
Of Ninian Smart’s seven dimensions of religion, the most important in Islam is the legal dimension. In fact one way Islam tilts toward Judaism and away from Christianity is in its emphasis on law over theology. Shariah , which literally means the “right path,” is the term Muslims use for law, and Shariah law, as it is referred to (redundantly) in the West, has been adopted in some measure in recent years in Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and other Islamic countries, including Afghanistan under the Taliban.
Historically, Muslims have not separated the sacred and the secular, so Shariah extends into all aspects of life—family, society, economics, and politics. It covers ritual and ethics, as well as criminal law, taxation, and public policy. This robust concept tilts toward the afterlife too, instructing Muslims not only how to live on Earth but also how to get to
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