In this week’s look at the funny, the scary and just plain weird passages in humanity’s holy text, we’re looking at Islam. This passage this week comes from our very own Rich Lyons, from Qur’an Chapter 2, Verses 6-7:
Don’t bother warning the disbelievers. Allah has made it impossible for them to believe so that he can torture them forever after they die.
What an asshole.
Not only are you advocating the eternal torment of someone for the crime of not believing in something, you’re making it impossible for them to evade that punishment. It’s passages like this that make me scratch my head when I see moderate religious scholars of the Abrahamic faiths talk about their holy books as if they’re texts of love, peace and fellowship. The sadism and cruel satisfaction just drip from these words.
And every translation I’ve found of this passage says the exact same thing. Allah is intentionally circumventing free will and then punishing people for a decision they have no choice but to make. Truly have we created a god in the worst possible image of mankind.
And before you get too smug, Christians and Jews, remember that the God of the Old Testament played the same game of mind control and mental entrapment with the Pharaoh in Exodus, threatening punishment for an action and then blocking the ability to make any other decision.
While most Muslims are peaceful, you can’t look at a book that says things like this and pretend that this is a religion of peace.
If you have a passage of holy scripture that you find funny, scary or just plain weird, send it our way. Whether it’s from the Bible, the Qur’an, the Bhagavad Gita, or even Diatnetics, click on the big, red, shiny button at the top of the page and we may even read it on the show!
