Archives for August 2009

During the last 20 years, the number of Muslims in the world has been increasing steadily. Statistics for the year 1973 indicate that the world population of Muslims was 500 million; now, it has reached 1.5 billion. Today, every fourth person is a Muslim. It is probable that the Muslim population will continue to increase and that Islam will become the world's largest religion. The reason for this steady rise is not only the increasing population in Muslim countries, but also the growing numbers of people who are turning to Islam, a phenomenon that has gained momentum, especially after the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 (hereinafter referred to as 9/11). This attack, deplored by everyone, especially Muslims, has suddenly turned people's attention (especially Americans) to Islam. People in the West are talking a lot about what kind of a religion Islam is, what the Qur'an says, what obligations come with being a Muslim, and how Muslims are required to conduct their affairs. This interest has naturally brought about a rise in the number of people worldwide turning to Islam. So, the commonly heard prediction after 9/11 that "this attack will change the course of world history" has, in a sense, started to come true. The process of returning to religious and spiritual values, which the world has been experiencing for a long time, has become a turning to Islam.

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Progressive Christianity is an emerging movement within contemporary Protestant Christianity. Progressive Christians are characterized by their liberal theology, a deep concern for the oppressed and the poor, a desire to question traditions, a concern for social justice, and an acceptance of human diversity in issues relating to religion and culture. Progressive Christians have a belief in the centrality of Jesus' instruction to love one other, a message encapsulated in The Lord's Prayer. This leads progressive Christians to promote mercy and justice, compassion, anti-discrimination, environmental issues, and ways to address poverty. This growing movement is attracting increased attention within the Christian community, especially among those who are disillusioned with the Christian right and rigid orthodox beliefs.

Progressive Christianity in recent years has been used interchangeably with the term Liberal Christianity. The differences are difficult to pinpoint because there is no codified set of beliefs within these movements. Progressive Christianity casts a wide net, and draws on many theological streams, such as twentieth century neo-orthodoxy, nineteenth century evangelicalism, twenty and twenty-first century liberal theology, Unitarian Universalism, and Christian mystic tradition.

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Big Bang tries to explain the origin of the universe. At present there seems to be a general consensus that universe began with a big bang. What does Hinduism say about this? Before we discuss that let us discuss the main theory about Big Bang.

Big Bang idea came into play after it was found that the universe is expanding constantly. It has been found that the heavenly bodies are running away from us. The speed is proportional to their distance from us. Those that are farthest are traveling at the maximum speed. There was no explanation for this other than saying that all heavenly bodies emerged from a point and after explosion started traveling outward.

Big Bang theory stipulates that at the beginning the entire universe was concentrated at one point. Whether it was mass or energy all was inside one point At that point about 14.7 Billion years ago a big explosion took place and the galaxies started forming and started running away from the center. Big Bang says that no body knows about the time before the Big Bang. Nothing is known about the character of the universe or how so much mass and energy got fitted in a point and why an explosion took place at the at time which may be considered zero time. No scientist knows about what was there before the Big Bang. What does Hinduism say about origin?

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During the last two decades in particular, the concept of "Islamic terror" has been often discussed. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on targets in New York and Washington which caused the death of tens of thousands of innocent civilians, this concept has once again returned to the top of the international agenda.

As Muslims, we completely condemn these attacks and offer our condolences to the American people.

In this article, we will explain that Islam is by no means the source of this violence and that violence has no place in Islam.

We strongly condemn the cruel terrorist acts which targeted the innocent people of the United States.
One point that should be stressed at the outset is that the identities of the perpetrators of the acts of terrorism which targeted the United States are not yet determined. There is a chance that these horrible attackers are linked to quite different centres. It may well be a communist organization harboring rage and hatred against American values, a fascist organization opposing federal administration or a secret faction in another state. Even though the hijackers have Muslim identities, the questions regarding by whom and for what purposes these people were used will probably remain to be a mystery.

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If you're thinking about trying out or joining a Christian dating service either online or offline, there are a few things to consider. If you're looking for the best Christian dating service, with a little research and some trial memberships you should be able to find it. Be willing to meet online a wide variety of new people.

It's an established fact that single Christians have a deep desire to connect with other singles. They are not only looking for that special soul-mate, but they also yearn for great friendships with other Christian Singles who are fun-loving and have the same interests. Christian dating in the US, UK, and Canada is rapidly flourishing on the Internet dating scene today. More and more Christians are finding their true love or friendship easily and often it's free.

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Hindu refers to the religious mainstream which evolved and spread across a large territory and is marked by significant ethnic and cultural diversity, resulting in an enormous variety of traditions within the religion from, small cults to massive movements of millions of followers. Prominent beliefs in Hindu include Dharma (personal duty/ethics), Samsara (the cycle of birth, death and rebirth), Karma (action and subsequent reaction), Moksha/Nirvana (liberation from samsara), and the various Yogas (paths or practices). Most Hindus believe that the soul, the atman is eternal; non-dualist schools teach that the goal of life is to realise that the atman is identical to the Brahman, the supreme spirit, do this and you will achieve Moksha. Dualistic schools believe Brahman is a Supreme Being and they worship him as Vishnu, Brahman, Shiva or Shakti depending on the sect. When God is viewed as the supreme personal being, God is called Ishvara, Bhagavan or Parameshwara. The Hindu scriptures also refer to celestial entities known as Devas, also Hindu epics relate several episodes of the descent of God to earth in physical form to restore Dharma in society, such an incarnation is called an avatar, the most prominent of whom are Vishnu , Rama and Krishna.

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During the last two decades in particular, the concept of "Islamic terror" has been often discussed. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on targets in New York and Washington which caused the death of tens of thousands of innocent civilians, this concept has once again returned to the top of the international agenda.

As Muslims, we completely condemn these attacks and offer our condolences to the American people.

In this article, we will explain that Islam is by no means the source of this violence and that violence has no place in Islam.

We strongly condemn the cruel terrorist acts which targeted the innocent people of the United States.
One point that should be stressed at the outset is that the identities of the perpetrators of the acts of terrorism which targeted the United States are not yet determined. There is a chance that these horrible attackers are linked to quite different centres. It may well be a communist organization harboring rage and hatred against American values, a fascist organization opposing federal administration or a secret faction in another state. Even though the hijackers have Muslim identities, the questions regarding by whom and for what purposes these people were used will probably remain to be a mystery.

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What would you say if an atheist asked you to tell him how best to shake your Christian faith? It would be a strange question wouldn't it? Rather like Caleb Bradham (founder of Pepsi) calling up Asa Griggs Candler (one time head of Coca-Cola) and asking for the secret formula to Coke. And yet, that is what I was asked by one of my readers, ConverseAtheist, in the thread to my last blog post:

I would love to raise defeaters against your [Christian] belief, but I do not know what counts to you. You apparently have some kind of idea about the kinds of defeaters and evidence it would take for you to admit a defeater to your worldview.

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The Hindu concept of God goes beyond considering Him as the supreme, all mighty and omniscient figure. According to Hindu teachings, though God governs the whole universe, every human being can develop a personal relation with Him. One can worship God out of love and not only out of fear. Devotion or bhakti is a form of love that the followers of Hinduism have for God. It is often referred to as a key principle of Hinduism, even by the philosophically inclined people.

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Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that Islam is a religion of peace and amity and gives the message of tolerance and restraint. He said that Islam considers murder of an individual as the murder of entire humanity. He said that Gojra tragedy has tarnished the image of the country and had tolerance and restraint been exercised on this occasion instead of taking the law in the hands this sad incident could have been averted. He said that Ulema promote love and brotherhood in the society and they will have to play an effective role in the present situation. He said that deterrent punishment would be awarded to the persons found guilty in the light of enquiry report into Gojra tragedy. He said that misuse of loudspeakers will not be allowed.

He was addressing Ulema of various schools of thought belonging to district Toba Tek Singh at Chief Minister’s Secretariat, here today. Senior Provincial Minister Raja Riaz Ahmad, Provincial Ministers Rana Sanaullah Khan, Sardar Dost Muhammad Khan Khosa, Haji Ehsanuddin Qureshi, Home Secretary, IG Police and senior officers were present on the occasion.

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