GodGuides4:175
Active member
Hello! I'm from the United States. I was a devout Protestant Christian (Reformed Calvinist) for over 20 yrs. I was immersed in reading Theologian and Puritan works during that time. It was through my ongoing studies into apologetics (intention to strengthen my own faith and polemics) that God in His mercies used all my zeal as a means to allow me to see contradictions in the Bible, manuscript discrepancies, irreconcilable doctrines, hypocrisy of my heros/teachers/church fathers and bloody church history of orthodoxy established by sword and crown....but the most pressing was the idolatry of Trinity and deification of Jesus that I could not ignore it any longer. It was a two year deconstruction journey. (Which is still going on) At present I reject inspiration and preservation of the Bible, Trinity, deity of Jesus, hypostatic union, PSA penal substitutionary atonement, OSAS once saved always saved, etc. I reject all Christianity creeds, councils, and most orthodoxy tenants of Christianity. (Bible itself contradicts many of these doctrines)
So this year I began to read the Quran and started to consider Islam. I find the Quran often meets my soul sweetly and powerfully and affirms what I have come to learn by way of deconstruction of Christianity through God's guidance. And interesting several things in the Bible that disturbed me as being evil not consistent with God's character are absent in the Quran and in areas they are similar I find it presents different focus that is uniquely beautiful and corrective and resonates with me. But as I listened to Imams/scholars lectures I found so much likeness to all the Christianity God had graciously freed me from. And as I started to look into the Hadiths I was greatly troubled and perplexed by both doctrine content and chain of narration science. I had a few Sunni Muslims befriend me online and they engaged in heavy apologetics with me trying to get me to fully embrace Islam but they made it became even more clear to me it was much the same as what I was pleading with God to save me from in all my years of Christianity.
It is only by God's mercies that I had a discomfort and fear to invoke Muhammad's name in prayers and in the Shahada. It was through my research of these things about Islam that I came across quranists. And the little bit I could find I was encouraged that I was not alone with seeing major issues with the Hadiths and majority of Islam that is outright shirk idolatry and paganism.
So I mostly focused on reading the Quran the last few months. In doing this I was seeing that there is translation bias in the Quran just like Christianity bias has made the Bible into a work of interpretation per orthodoxy instead of a translation. So I was searching for Quran lexicons, concordance, word studies, and anything that would grant me some insight into Arabic meanings and grant alternative translations to the couple translations of the Quran I had. That is when God lead me to Sam Gerran's translation. And then to Said Mirza's YouTube channel and well now here today...
So I still have lots of questions and things to work through both in character and doctrine and much to unlearn after over twenty years of zealously indoctrinating myself with religion. I'm thankful to have the opportunity in this group to consider other people's views and understandings and Lord willing continue to learn how to better love, obey, and worship God with all my heart, mind, and strength according to His truth. And that He grant me the ability to be a faithful witness to those He puts in my life.
So this year I began to read the Quran and started to consider Islam. I find the Quran often meets my soul sweetly and powerfully and affirms what I have come to learn by way of deconstruction of Christianity through God's guidance. And interesting several things in the Bible that disturbed me as being evil not consistent with God's character are absent in the Quran and in areas they are similar I find it presents different focus that is uniquely beautiful and corrective and resonates with me. But as I listened to Imams/scholars lectures I found so much likeness to all the Christianity God had graciously freed me from. And as I started to look into the Hadiths I was greatly troubled and perplexed by both doctrine content and chain of narration science. I had a few Sunni Muslims befriend me online and they engaged in heavy apologetics with me trying to get me to fully embrace Islam but they made it became even more clear to me it was much the same as what I was pleading with God to save me from in all my years of Christianity.
It is only by God's mercies that I had a discomfort and fear to invoke Muhammad's name in prayers and in the Shahada. It was through my research of these things about Islam that I came across quranists. And the little bit I could find I was encouraged that I was not alone with seeing major issues with the Hadiths and majority of Islam that is outright shirk idolatry and paganism.
So I mostly focused on reading the Quran the last few months. In doing this I was seeing that there is translation bias in the Quran just like Christianity bias has made the Bible into a work of interpretation per orthodoxy instead of a translation. So I was searching for Quran lexicons, concordance, word studies, and anything that would grant me some insight into Arabic meanings and grant alternative translations to the couple translations of the Quran I had. That is when God lead me to Sam Gerran's translation. And then to Said Mirza's YouTube channel and well now here today...
So I still have lots of questions and things to work through both in character and doctrine and much to unlearn after over twenty years of zealously indoctrinating myself with religion. I'm thankful to have the opportunity in this group to consider other people's views and understandings and Lord willing continue to learn how to better love, obey, and worship God with all my heart, mind, and strength according to His truth. And that He grant me the ability to be a faithful witness to those He puts in my life.
