Can Life Be A Test?
March 11, 2015 at 5:41 pm
(This post was last modified: March 11, 2015 at 5:55 pm by ReptilianPeon.)
Why Life Cannot Be a Test...
When Stephen Fry was interviewed on RTÉ (Irish broadcaster) about his views on deities the video went viral. The Muhammadans who responded to the interview were like “Hahaha, you Atheist, life is a test!” But can this really be the case?
I take issue with this trope and I hate it, mainly because people would have you believe that all suffering, include unnecessary suffering, is necessary. My first contention is that no two Humans are the same. As a result, no two lives are the same. Humans are not created equally.
To counter this trope I like to use the analogy of the lecturer who has (at least) two students. This lecturer expects all of their students to get the best grade in the test they are studying for. All of the students are studying the same syllabus.
Additionally, they are each given the same one book to study from and they aren’t allowed to use any books other than the one given to them by the lecturer to study from. If they study using a book other than the one given to them they fail the test even though the lecturer knows that the book they have been given doesn’t include everything they need to pass the test.
However no two tests the lecturer hands to the students are the same and the students sit their tests at different times and on different days. Despite knowing that some of the students are being given a harder test, and that some students are being given longer to study for the test, the teacher still expects every student to get the best/top grade, otherwise they fail the test. If they fail the test then they have no chance of retaking it.
No student would want to be taught by that teacher. Yet if you replace the lecturer with Allah, this is essentially what Muhammadans have to believe in order to say that life is a test. Since Humans were not created equally life cannot be a test – that is my argument.
For life to be a test, surely, everybody should be given the same test. There could be no variation between Humans whatsoever and free will would have to be taken away. If free will is not taken away then choice and chance can influence the result of the test and therefore not everyone is receiving the same test. The only way, in my opinion, for life to be a test is if there was no variation in the lives of Humans and, therefore, no free will.
Here are some verses to think about - which suggest that there is no free will:
Quran 13:13 “Nay, thunder repeateth His praises, and so do the angels, with awe: He flingeth the loud-voiced thunder-bolts, and therewith He striketh whomsoever He will.. yet these (are the men) who (dare to) dispute about Allah, with the strength of His power (supreme)!”
(Maybe this is the reason why the number thirteen is considered unlucky?)
Quran 64:11 “No kind of calamity can occur, except by the leave of Allah: and if any one believes in Allah, (Allah) guides his heart (aright): for Allah knows all things.”
Quran 2:155 “Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere,”
And the Quran tells us why there are people starving. It’s because Allah is a sick deity who gives and takes away resources from whomever he pleases, thus interviewing directly in the affairs of humanity. This notion is well supported in the Quran. Dare I say it, Allah enjoys watching the suffering of Humanity because, according to verses such as these, he is the cause of that suffering.
By the way, the word provision doesn't have to mean food, but it often does. However, the word "sustenance" is used in some of the below verses. Basically, all of the below verses allude to Allah causing people to suffer.
Quran 39:52 “Know they not that Allah enlarges the provision or restricts it, for any He pleases? Verily, in this are Signs for those who believe!”
Quran 30:37 “See they not that Allah enlarges the provision and restricts it, to whomsoever He pleases? Verily in that are Signs for those who believe.”
Quran 34:36 “Say: "Verily my Lord enlarges and restricts the Provision to whom He pleases, but most men understand not."”
Quran 29:62 “Allah enlarges the sustenance (which He gives) to whichever of His servants He pleases; and He (similarly) grants by (strict) measure, (as He pleases): for Allah has full knowledge of all things.”
Quran 28:82 “And those who had envied his position the day before began to say on the morrow: "Ah! it is indeed Allah Who enlarges the provision or restricts it, to any of His servants He pleases! had it not been that Allah was gracious to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us up! Ah! those who reject Allah will assuredly never prosper."”
Quran 17:30 “Verily thy Lord doth provide sustenance in abundance for whom He pleaseth, and He provideth in a just measure. For He doth know and regard all His servants.”
Quran34:39 “Say: "Verily my Lord enlarges and restricts the Sustenance to such of his servants as He pleases: and nothing do ye spend in the least (in His cause) but He replaces it: for He is the Best of those who grant Sustenance.”
Quran 13:26 “Allah doth enlarge, or grant by (strict) measure, the sustenance (which He giveth) to whomso He pleaseth. (The wordly) rejoice in the life of this world: But the life of this world is but little comfort in the Hereafter.”
Why is the Quran so repetitive? Surely, if the Quran was not so repetitive then it could be much more concise, half the size and thus save a lot of paper.
When Stephen Fry was interviewed on RTÉ (Irish broadcaster) about his views on deities the video went viral. The Muhammadans who responded to the interview were like “Hahaha, you Atheist, life is a test!” But can this really be the case?
I take issue with this trope and I hate it, mainly because people would have you believe that all suffering, include unnecessary suffering, is necessary. My first contention is that no two Humans are the same. As a result, no two lives are the same. Humans are not created equally.
To counter this trope I like to use the analogy of the lecturer who has (at least) two students. This lecturer expects all of their students to get the best grade in the test they are studying for. All of the students are studying the same syllabus.
Additionally, they are each given the same one book to study from and they aren’t allowed to use any books other than the one given to them by the lecturer to study from. If they study using a book other than the one given to them they fail the test even though the lecturer knows that the book they have been given doesn’t include everything they need to pass the test.
However no two tests the lecturer hands to the students are the same and the students sit their tests at different times and on different days. Despite knowing that some of the students are being given a harder test, and that some students are being given longer to study for the test, the teacher still expects every student to get the best/top grade, otherwise they fail the test. If they fail the test then they have no chance of retaking it.
No student would want to be taught by that teacher. Yet if you replace the lecturer with Allah, this is essentially what Muhammadans have to believe in order to say that life is a test. Since Humans were not created equally life cannot be a test – that is my argument.
For life to be a test, surely, everybody should be given the same test. There could be no variation between Humans whatsoever and free will would have to be taken away. If free will is not taken away then choice and chance can influence the result of the test and therefore not everyone is receiving the same test. The only way, in my opinion, for life to be a test is if there was no variation in the lives of Humans and, therefore, no free will.
Here are some verses to think about - which suggest that there is no free will:
Quran 13:13 “Nay, thunder repeateth His praises, and so do the angels, with awe: He flingeth the loud-voiced thunder-bolts, and therewith He striketh whomsoever He will.. yet these (are the men) who (dare to) dispute about Allah, with the strength of His power (supreme)!”
(Maybe this is the reason why the number thirteen is considered unlucky?)
Quran 64:11 “No kind of calamity can occur, except by the leave of Allah: and if any one believes in Allah, (Allah) guides his heart (aright): for Allah knows all things.”
Quran 2:155 “Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere,”
And the Quran tells us why there are people starving. It’s because Allah is a sick deity who gives and takes away resources from whomever he pleases, thus interviewing directly in the affairs of humanity. This notion is well supported in the Quran. Dare I say it, Allah enjoys watching the suffering of Humanity because, according to verses such as these, he is the cause of that suffering.
By the way, the word provision doesn't have to mean food, but it often does. However, the word "sustenance" is used in some of the below verses. Basically, all of the below verses allude to Allah causing people to suffer.
Quran 39:52 “Know they not that Allah enlarges the provision or restricts it, for any He pleases? Verily, in this are Signs for those who believe!”
Quran 30:37 “See they not that Allah enlarges the provision and restricts it, to whomsoever He pleases? Verily in that are Signs for those who believe.”
Quran 34:36 “Say: "Verily my Lord enlarges and restricts the Provision to whom He pleases, but most men understand not."”
Quran 29:62 “Allah enlarges the sustenance (which He gives) to whichever of His servants He pleases; and He (similarly) grants by (strict) measure, (as He pleases): for Allah has full knowledge of all things.”
Quran 28:82 “And those who had envied his position the day before began to say on the morrow: "Ah! it is indeed Allah Who enlarges the provision or restricts it, to any of His servants He pleases! had it not been that Allah was gracious to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us up! Ah! those who reject Allah will assuredly never prosper."”
Quran 17:30 “Verily thy Lord doth provide sustenance in abundance for whom He pleaseth, and He provideth in a just measure. For He doth know and regard all His servants.”
Quran34:39 “Say: "Verily my Lord enlarges and restricts the Sustenance to such of his servants as He pleases: and nothing do ye spend in the least (in His cause) but He replaces it: for He is the Best of those who grant Sustenance.”
Quran 13:26 “Allah doth enlarge, or grant by (strict) measure, the sustenance (which He giveth) to whomso He pleaseth. (The wordly) rejoice in the life of this world: But the life of this world is but little comfort in the Hereafter.”
Why is the Quran so repetitive? Surely, if the Quran was not so repetitive then it could be much more concise, half the size and thus save a lot of paper.
