Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!mls
From: mls@cbnewsm.ATT.COM (mike.siemon)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Re: "People of the Book"
Summary: clarification
Message-ID: <4776@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 6 Mar 90 04:28:31 GMT
References: <4549@accuvax.nwu.edu> <4768@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 34
Approved: naim@eecs.nwu.edu (Naim Abdullah)

In article <4768@accuvax.nwu.edu>, kilroy@mimsy.umd.edu writes:

> Naim Abdullah quotes someone as saying:

> > Believing that Jesus was the son of God or believing in the trinity is
> >clearly "shirk".  [...]

Darren then comments:

> Most Trinitarians I know consider the doctrine `a mystery', and are actually
> quite monotheistic about Christianity in practice.

The difficulty is best illustrated by making a direct confrontation between
a central Muslim and a central Christian assertion.  A Muslim will say:

	"Allah begets not, and is not begotten."

while a (Nicene) Christian will say

	"I believe in ... the Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father" 

Darren is correct that most Christians regard this as a "mystery" (i.e.,
meaningless :-))  Yet we say it.  And intend that *something* is explained
thereby.  For whatever it is worth (not much, I know) I describe myself as
a Muslim Christian (actually, a Taoist Muslim Anglican, but let's not be
*too* bizarre!) and I firmly hold to *both* of the positions stated above.

Alhamdullilah, rab'ul alamin.
maliki yaum id'din.
-- 
Michael L. Siemon		"O stand, stand at the window,
m.siemon@ATT.COM		    As the tears scald and start;
...!att!sfsup!mls		 You shall love your crooked neighbor
standard disclaimer	    	    With your crooked heart."