In the theology that launched the Crusades, the Muslim was not, first of all, an enemy to be defeated or a rival to be converted. He was something stranger and more useful than that. He was raw material for another man's salvation. The preachers who summoned Europe to holy war taught that a Christian could … Continue reading Made to Be Killed: How the Crusades Turned Murder into Atonement
Jesus’ Universal Operating System for Living Under Any Legal System
When Jesus told his followers to sit at the feet of the scribes and Pharisees, to observe everything they taught but not to follow their example (Matthew 23:2–3), he was issuing an instruction of remarkable subtlety. He was not critiquing the content of Jewish law, nor was he calling for its reform or abolition. He … Continue reading Jesus’ Universal Operating System for Living Under Any Legal System
Two Kinds of Law
Not every law in the Quran is the same. Some are universal—meant for all people, in every place, for all time. Be just and never biased. Do not commit murder. Do not steal. You could drop these commands into any century and any country, and they would hold without a word of adjustment. Others are … Continue reading Two Kinds of Law
The Moral Philosophy of the Quran
Most treatments of Quranic ethics begin and end with a catalog: a list of things enjoined and things forbidden, prayer and charity on one side, theft and slander on the other. This is jurisprudence, not moral philosophy. It answers what but never why, and it mistakes the surface for the structure. A command is only … Continue reading The Moral Philosophy of the Quran
The Burden the Mountains Refused (Part IV: Constitutive Freedom)
We have offered the responsibility—the freedom of choice—to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they refused to bear it, and were afraid of it. But the human being accepted it; he was transgressing, ignorant. — Quran 33:72 Read that verse again slowly, because the standard reading glosses over something extraordinary. The responsibility—al-amanah, … Continue reading The Burden the Mountains Refused (Part IV: Constitutive Freedom)
Counting the Sacred Text: A History of Numerical Verification in Scripture Preservation
In most languages, the word for "scribe" evokes an image of someone who writes. In Hebrew, the word is sofer (סוֹפֵר), and it means, at its root, s-p-r (ס-פ-ר), one who counts. That etymology is not incidental. It encodes a technology of preservation that is among the most durable and sophisticated ever devised for protecting … Continue reading Counting the Sacred Text: A History of Numerical Verification in Scripture Preservation
Stand Out of My Sunlight (Part II: Independence Freedom)
Alexander the Great was, by any reasonable accounting, the most powerful man in the Greek world when he paid a visit to Diogenes of Sinope. He had conquered nations, commanded armies, and possessed the kind of authority that made other men nervous just standing near him. He approached Diogenes—who was lying in the sun doing … Continue reading Stand Out of My Sunlight (Part II: Independence Freedom)
Jesus’ Body Was Crucified & There is no Second Coming
In mainstream Sunni theology, Jesus (ʿĪsā) was neither killed nor crucified but was raised alive to God, where he continues to live in a state unique among all prophets. Sunnis generally hold that God made someone else resemble Jesus externally, and that this substitute was crucified in his place. They derive this "substitution theory" from … Continue reading Jesus’ Body Was Crucified & There is no Second Coming
The Hawk & The Dove (Quran & Gospel)
The opening verse of Sura 53, "The Stars" (Al-Najm) states: [53:1] As the stars fell away. وَٱلنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَىٰ 1wal-najmiوَٱلنَّجْمِBy the star2idhāإِذَاwhen3hawāهَوَىٰit fell down / fell away Dr. Rashad Khalifa provides the following footnote for this verse: *53:1-18 Muhammad was summoned to the highest universe to receive this Quran into his heart. The stars fell away … Continue reading The Hawk & The Dove (Quran & Gospel)
How John Rewrote Thomas to Silence a Rival Gospel
In 1945, a remarkable discovery was made near the Egyptian village of Nag Hammadi. Hidden in a sealed jar for over a thousand years, a collection of Coptic manuscripts was unearthed, among them a text that came to be known as the Gospel of Thomas. The text is attributed to the apostle Thomas, also called … Continue reading How John Rewrote Thomas to Silence a Rival Gospel
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