On conversion

[Tiassa]

From A Muslim looks at the Prophet Muhammad and Jesus:

In the midst of all this anxiety of thought, I woke up one morning and was suddenly struck by the meaning of a verse written by the prophet Isaiah in his ninth chapter. I had read this verse several weeks prior to that morning, but I had never understood its meaning. In Isaiah 7:14 we read,

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."

Isaiah then goes on to write in chapter 9,

"[...] in the future he (God) will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan the people walking in darkness have seen a great light, on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned [...] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne [...] from that time on and forever."

I could not believe it! The fact that the Messiah was not going to be just a prophet but Mighty God himself, was therefore a truth that had been prophesied seven hundred years before Christ in the Old Testament, and not something that had been made up by Christians many years or centuries after Christ! It was God's own promise that he will come in flesh (Immanuel = God with us) and will establish a kingdom that will last forever. ("Abdul Saleeb")

Christians have hope. There are still people in the world ... (how to put this gently?) ... dumb enough to believe the simple evangelizations. I wonder what will happen to "Abdul Saleeb" when he meets the rational world?

Question: Why are conversion stories so irrational?

Is there anything about the Christian experience in which the intuitive and the rational actually meet? On the one hand, I did eventually find that in the religious world; to the other, that nexus only demonstrated that religion was unnecessary.

I mean, sure it's a heartwarming story about the triumph of one religion over another, but for those who don't share a direct stake in the argument over whose God is better, it's rather quite a disappointment: we would hope for something more substantial.

She went looking for the solution
To a problem that did not exist
She found an answer, and she found some friends there
Consciousness raising as a social tool

She went looking for some direction
And to ease her loneliness somehow
She left her husband and she left her family
'Cause she prays to a new god now

Feeding the hunger, feeding the wonder
Feeding the need to believe
Looking for love and looking for someone
Looking for somewhere to be

She went looking for the solution
To a problem that did not exist
She found an answer, and she found some friends there
Consciousness raising as a social tool

(The Pursuit of Happiness, "Consciousness Raising As A Social Tool")

 

[okinrus]

Question: Why are conversion stories so irrational?

Well, if we assume God only allows his grace to enter into someone's heart after they study for many years, it would defeat the purpose of grace, which is that it is not earned but received and accepted.

Is there anything about the Christian experience in which the intuitive and the rational actually meet? On the one hand, I did eventually find that in the religious world; to the other, that nexus only demonstrated that religion was unnecessary.

Clearly looking at the natural world without respect to the supernatural will always find the supernatural unnecessary to the natural world. So to heave any bearing whatsoever, the argument against Christianity must explore the supernatural.

I mean, sure it's a heartwarming story about the triumph of one religion over another, but for those who don't share a direct stake in the argument over whose God is better, it's rather quite a disappointment: we would hope for something more substantial.

I don't think the author viewed his story as a contest between two religions. He is simple sharing the one he found.