The Quran

I really appreciated reading the Quran this week. All of my life I have been curious as to the differences, knowing it came out of the same place as Judaism, so it was nice to see some of that, and be able to learn some of it myself.

But as I was reading something huge stuck out to me. The Quran, and how God and following him is described, reminds me of a rewards system. It sounds like a “Do this and you will get that” type of deal. Surah 57 finished with the argument of saying, is this was done for you why wouldn’t you believe? Now with Christianity I know that is my thought, but it is a place of going “Jesus did all this, how can I walk away?”, whereas the Quran sounds more like a payment owed. It reminds me of what I am learning in my CHED class, about the different moral levels. There are 6 stages of moral development, and the one described in the Quran is a level 2. It’s the reward system. Now the ages for this stage is childhood, and although having a childlike faith is good, I would propose it’s best to move beyond this. I believe this is an important difference for us following Jesus. The rewards system is very self-centered, and Jesus calls us to live for him, not us. This would be a major disagreement between the two religions, and it’s a fundamental shift in the way we do things. I want to live my life for Jesus, pouring it out, not because I have to or should, but because I want to live that way.

Another big shift is how we approach our enemies. Jesus preaches to love them, pray for them, be with them. The Quran takes a radically different approach, and says you can’t even associate with them at all. That although you can pray for them, that they are not believers and thus lost forever. This is another way the Quran is different, and it speaks to the deeper levels of the belief of it. The Quran sounds more like a return for your efforts, in any way. It also speaks to the idea that God will do to you what you do to others. This may be a bad return, but it is still a return. It is all about me, and what I get out of it.

I disagree with the way this is presented. Now I am not bashing the religion or the book, I just disagree with basing everything off of your actions. By doing it like this you leave no room for your heart, and who you truly are. Anybody can fake it. Anyone can be good, avoid unbelievers, and pray. But for something like this to advance you must look beyond their actions, at the heart. For heaven, and our kingdom under Jesus, it advances because of people radically transformed by his love. It is a kingdom with grace, reaching the lost, doing whatever it takes to help people know Jesus personally. Although I respect the Quran, and the religion is Islam, I just don’t believe it is the right way to go. The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob doesn’t sound like the god of the Quran, and that is what sticks out to me. If everything is based off of a return for your efforts, a reward system, then it is completely self-focused. You aren’t living for something more, just for yourself and what you will gain, or how you won’t get punished. This is why reading the Quran sat uneasy with me, as much as I appreciated the perspective. There are lots  of good insights, and some good things to take away, but for the way their salvation is presented, I just disagree, respectively.