I've been thinking a lot. Before when I was religious, I had leadership to look up to. I don't mean people simply that I believed were good leaders, but people that I believed were more or less perfect and sinless.
It seems to me humanity is in need of leaders, and not any leaders, but pure hearted leaders, and not just pure hearted leaders, but wise ones, and not just wise ones, but "guided" ones.
The promised "Mahdi" in Islam seemed to be such a leader that humanity when wanting justice, would rally around.
I don't know an argument to make the case for this, but it seems to me, through what I know of humans, is that we are need of special leadership, and without that leadership humanity will never reach prosperity.
Without "rightly guided" (mahdiyeen) leaders, humanity on the most part, with exception of a few people here and there, will follow "astray" leaders.
One concept in Quran which I took seriously was the concept of the 'Taghut'.
The 'Taghut' although singular was said to be inclusive of all "awliya" (masters/guardians/friends, can be translated to either) of disbelievers. They were said to bring them forth from the light to the darkness.
Now on the other hand, God was the 'Wali' of the believers. Their Master and Guardian. He brought them from darkness to light.
But how - through leadership, "We made them Leaders whom guide by our command".
These leaders not only command and guide but were ultimately made examples to others.
They were inspirations to humanity.
Now most people always look up to inspirations, but as we see, in the world, one man's hero is another man's villain. Were one sees a virtue, another sees a vice.
Humanity seems lost...completely lost...without proper leadership, yet whom can provide that leadership but God?
Call it "Prophethood" or "Divine Leadership", whatever you call it, it seems logical.
Now on researching religions, you see the leaders provided in judaism for example were not really ideal leaders. For example, David is not an ideal example, he did a major sin, and couldn't stop himself from corruption. Lut slept with his daughters and couldn't keep himself sober enough to act logically. etc, etc.
At the end, Islam paints the image, that in all parts of the world, humanity was provided with ideal examples and leaders.
Finally when the messages of these leaders became corrupted, God sent one final leader or if your shia, a seriers of leader, to guide humanity.
Now I believe Islam is false on many grounds, some of these issues I've shown here on these forums...but if we were to ignore these problems and ignore any problems you find in Islam...
Just focus on the issue of Divine leadership and providing ideal examples of ideal humans.
What would you say is more logical here: Islam or Deism?
It seems to me humanity is in need of leaders, and not any leaders, but pure hearted leaders, and not just pure hearted leaders, but wise ones, and not just wise ones, but "guided" ones.
The promised "Mahdi" in Islam seemed to be such a leader that humanity when wanting justice, would rally around.
I don't know an argument to make the case for this, but it seems to me, through what I know of humans, is that we are need of special leadership, and without that leadership humanity will never reach prosperity.
Without "rightly guided" (mahdiyeen) leaders, humanity on the most part, with exception of a few people here and there, will follow "astray" leaders.
One concept in Quran which I took seriously was the concept of the 'Taghut'.
The 'Taghut' although singular was said to be inclusive of all "awliya" (masters/guardians/friends, can be translated to either) of disbelievers. They were said to bring them forth from the light to the darkness.
Now on the other hand, God was the 'Wali' of the believers. Their Master and Guardian. He brought them from darkness to light.
But how - through leadership, "We made them Leaders whom guide by our command".
These leaders not only command and guide but were ultimately made examples to others.
They were inspirations to humanity.
Now most people always look up to inspirations, but as we see, in the world, one man's hero is another man's villain. Were one sees a virtue, another sees a vice.
Humanity seems lost...completely lost...without proper leadership, yet whom can provide that leadership but God?
Call it "Prophethood" or "Divine Leadership", whatever you call it, it seems logical.
Now on researching religions, you see the leaders provided in judaism for example were not really ideal leaders. For example, David is not an ideal example, he did a major sin, and couldn't stop himself from corruption. Lut slept with his daughters and couldn't keep himself sober enough to act logically. etc, etc.
At the end, Islam paints the image, that in all parts of the world, humanity was provided with ideal examples and leaders.
Finally when the messages of these leaders became corrupted, God sent one final leader or if your shia, a seriers of leader, to guide humanity.
Now I believe Islam is false on many grounds, some of these issues I've shown here on these forums...but if we were to ignore these problems and ignore any problems you find in Islam...
Just focus on the issue of Divine leadership and providing ideal examples of ideal humans.
What would you say is more logical here: Islam or Deism?