hi and intro
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hi all, iam andy from southampton uk iam 39..i guess u could call my post how iam coming to God alone,its been a long walk..ive basically come from a charismatic christian background i was raised in a non religious family but got "saved" at 15 and went to church from 15-21..from day one i felt outside the loop in the church so from the get go was kind of living two lifes with my non christian buddies (u get the picture iam sure) and still trying to find God at church,but never really happy in either places..
i recently started reading about Islam through a love of Rumi poems..i joint a Muslim forum and ended up loving 50% and the other 50% i loathed..i guess i had trouble swallowing a lot of the rules..i felt that the rules that count are the ones that u know naturally ie ur conscience as they have a uncanny way of agreeing with God's,it struck me that most of the people i spoke to were telling me stuff they didnt know in there conscience,but were man made rules...
also i had some serious problems with the issue of punishment in Islam..i felt a hypocrite that i would get away scott free for my past and was expected to not feel any empathy towards muslims who were punished for stuff i might of done..
then i found ur site and i was like wowee this could be it lol..so thats me hope u bare with me like i said i come from a period where i was in a charismatic church and it as left some baggage phewwwwwww lol...andy
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peace be upon you Andy,
Welcome.
I always like seeing the UK contingent grow on this forum. D
We all have baggage, but like all baggage, it must get checked-in before our journey can begin wink
Any questions feel free to ask, but before you do, here's some tips
Use the 'search' function at the top of this board, it is excellent.
Use the following site for study www.studyquran.co.uk
Read the articles on the main site, some are really good.
And lastly... take your time.
Wakas
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SaLaM Andy
Welcome to the site brother. I think if not all, most of us have been there where our conscious clashed with what was being fed to us. But we are all here now, God brought us here. I am proud of that and wouldnt want it any other way . There are tons of people on this board who will help you as much as we can (including me... im the cream of the crop looooooolllll no j/k). Ask us anything that you dont understand and we willl do our best to explain it. But know this, You have your OWN releationship with God. WE can only explain, its up to you to accpet it or not. No one has a right to tell you how to have a releation with God. It between you and God. Welcome to the forum brother
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Peace Andy, and welcome,
I figured I'd welcome you first to counterbalance your buddy's replies wink
You stated
i felt that the rules that count are the ones that u know naturally ie ur conscience as they have a uncanny way of agreeing with God's
So true. It does get a bit tricky, I've found, seperating what we "think" is our conscience from what the conscience is really telling us. This is due to cultural/societal conditioning. I know I've struggled with de-programming myself. It's an ongoing battle.
i felt a hypocrite that i would get away scott free for my past and was expected to not feel any empathy towards muslims who were punished for stuff i might of done
Could you elaborate on that?
hope u bare with me like i said i come from a period where i was in a charismatic church and it as left some baggage phewwwwwww
Join the club. Like Wakas said, we all have baggage. Recognizing it is a step in the right direction. Step by step, you free your self from the mind's attachments, and little by little, truth comes into focus.
Peace,
Tay -
hi Tay thks for the reply..
i felt a hypocrite that i would get away scott free for my past and was expected to not feel any empathy towards muslims who were punished for stuff i might of done
Could you elaborate on that?
ok this is a toughie..ive tried to explain the way i feel about this on another forum and it was like i was speaking another language shock
i explained id sinned many times in my life (r b blunt) from drinkin,woman,bisexuality etc etc
they said its ok ur be new when u become a muslim..because a new muslim sins are forgiven..
i then went on to discover most of the "sins" ive done in my life,if done as a muslim would of been punished..
so i found it hard to embrace a faith that does that to people,when i was like that once albeit not as a muslim at the time..i empathise with them and would like to join a faith that offers forgiveness not punishment,u never know when a person will realise there error and return to there faith, which is hard if theyve been stoned roll ! iam not anti the punishment because i empathise with the sin! i empathise with the person i dont want a get out for future sinning lol
andy -
Peace Andy,
There is no difference between a person who has embraced the path of God today or one who has done so years ago...We are all accountable for everything we have done since we are born and until we die.
Where the difference lies is when a person decides to truly repent and ask God's forgiveness, and then does not return to those previous sins.
"Say 'O My servants who transgressed against themselves, do not despair of God's mercy. For God forgives all sins. He is the Forgiver, the Merciful.'? (The Message 3951)
As for the 'punishment' you speak of...If you have broken any of the laws regulating humankind (i.e. you have killed, or stolen, etc..) then the punishment will remain with you as that has nothing to do with your embracing God's path or not.
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Peace and Welcome,
Hope you find peace.
Nural
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Peace Andy,
Welcome!
