Restless Pilgrim – Page 294 – "We are travellers…not yet in our native land"

Randomly Changing Perspective

One of the first things which struck me about the Qur’an the first time I read it was how it can suddenly and jarringly jump to a completely different scene,

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The Torah and Injil are for mankind!

I’ve often been told that the Torah and the Injil were only for the Jews. However, two problems: The Pickthall translation doesn’t hide it: He hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad)

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My response to John Fontain

John Fontain recently debated David Wood on the Islamic Dilemma, which points out that the Qu’ran both affirms the Torah and Gospel while contradicting them. John has a rather different

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How is “muhaimin” translated?

Those who attempt to say that the Qur’an teaches the corruption of the earlier scriptures, often appeal to Qur’an 5:48, but this argument turns on the translation of the word

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Trusted Testimony?!

I’m reading through the Qu’ran one last time this year and wanted to follow along with a Tafsir. I discovered Quran Garden which was just the sort of thing I

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A Qur’anic Contradiction in a single verse

The Qur’an claims that if it were not from God, there would be many contradictions in it. However, there is one Qur’anic verse which presents an inherent contradiction! In chapter

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Scientific Claims in the Qur’an and Hadith

The sun sets in muddy spring (18:86) Semen comes from between backbone & ribs (86:6-7) Stars are missiles to shoot devils (67:5) If a fly lands in your drink, one

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Non-Biblical Sources for Jesus

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Prepubescent Marriage in Islam

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The Dawah Dilemma

The Qur’an speaks about Allah helping the followers of Jesus and keeping them “uppermost”, but this presents a dilemma since, historically, this has to refer to Trinitarian Christians… which is

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Pray He finds figs

September 20, 2015 pilgrim Leave a comment

If you’ve ever had the chance to speak about the Christian faith with a Muslim, chances are that you will have heard the following objection raised to the divinity of Jesus (whom they call “Isa”):

“Does God know everything? Of course He does! If so, why did Isa (Jesus) not know when you can get figs? In Mark’s Gospel he goes to a fig tree looking for fruit, but he didn’t even know they weren’t in season! Isa therefore cannot be God”

If you’re a Christian who knows his faith, it’s tempting to laugh at such an objection and ignore it. However, today I would like to respond to this argument. I would like to do this for two reasons. Firstly, Scripture commands us to “be ready to give an answer” (1 Peter 3:15). Secondly, I think that the Biblical text being referred to here is really interesting and one upon which we would do well to meditate.

Travel Log: Keeping it weird in Portland

September 19, 2015 pilgrim One comment

Today I’m in Oregon for Oktoberfest and it reminded me that I never wrote about my trip here last month. After a week on retreat at Mount Angel, I spent the weekend in Portland:

I got to visit the famous Powells, a three-story bookstore covering an entire city block. I was so proud of myself, I managed to leave without buying anything – quite an achievement!

I spent most of Saturday morning visiting the extensive Saturday market down by the waterfront.

I also took an “Underground” walking tour of the city where I heard about some of the rather quirky history of Oregon’s most well-known city.

During our tour we went past one Portland’s iconic locations, Voodoo Donuts. The lines outside were crazy, with people waiting over an hour just to get a donut! During the tour we heard the story of how the business began. It turns out that a club owner created donuts which he said were hang-over cures. He could say this because the sugar frosting was replaced with crushed-up aspirins and the jam filling with pepto-bismol! The government discovered what he was doing and freaked out because he was putting drugs in the food he was selling. Rather than letting it sink his business, he then used the media storm as free advertising. He switched to making the kind of delicious sugar-filled treats they sell today and people flocked to buy them!

Finally, while in Portland I went to Mass at the Grotto on the outskirts to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. I returned the following day to spend some quiet time in the grotto grounds:

Catholicism

Friday Frivolity: Classic Eye of the Tiber

September 18, 2015 pilgrim Leave a comment

This post from Eye of the Tiber has come up several times recently in conversation so I figured I should probably share it for today’s Friday Frivolity:

Humour

All about that Neis

September 17, 2015 pilgrim Leave a comment

How is that I didn’t know about the new song from the Maccabeats?! Here they are to tell us about Hanukkah once more, this time with a little help of Meghan Trainor…

Humour

Wise Words on Wednesday: God, the Referee

September 16, 2015 pilgrim Leave a comment

Football

When something unfair happens, God often acts like a football referee who lets play continue to see if those wronged can gain some kind of advantage out of it

– Milton Jones