Jesus' Great Commandments: The Bridge?

Honeto:
First, the command of living in peace with others that I follow as a Muslim is not somthing that I take from the Bible rather the Final Testament, The Quran, which in my observation and examination proved to be more reliable and authentic then the modified versions left with us of what was revealed before it.  Islam's message through Quran is that of peace and justice, peace an individual achieves and that what radiates outward from the heart of a believer toward all created beings.

Well, that's awesome that, as a Muslim being obedient to the Quran, you seek to promote peace and justice.  That's great.

But none of that has to do with the substance (or lack thereof) of the line of thought I'm setting forth. I understand that you hold the Quran to be the "Final Testament".  At the same time, it seems that  a "true Muslim" (per Hammudat Abd Al-Ati) is bound by that same "Final Testament" to hold authentic Torat and Injeel as authoritative Muslim faith.  Please look at his statements again.  Do you disagree with his (and others') assessment on that score?

********************************

Honeto:
In Islam we believe that what the last Prophet (pbuh) taught was no different than what Isa (pbuh) or prophets taught before him. Do we have with us today what previous prophets were given as word of God pure and unaltered. A simple obeservation reveals the true answer.

That's what Maulana Maududi's commentary is supposed to be helpful for: helping to discern the authentic, discoverable Torat and Injeel from the inauthentic.  I'm using HIS criteria here.  Do you disagree with Mr. Maududi's commentary and what it says?

Honeto:
The Quran is the final word, anyone including myself may not fully grasp it, we can only have a clear intention of understanding, beleiving and living by it.  On the issues that the Quran has clearly solved for us, we need not to find mystry or other meaings that we will prefer to see in it. That will be covering up the truth when it is made clear to us.

Sure.  And one of the things that is crystal clear in the Quran is that Jesus is a Messenger and Prophet of God whom Allah himself had given "the Scripture" (19:27-29)...even as he reaffirmed what came before him (61:6).

***********************************

Honeto:
On the issue of Torat and Injeel, yes we beleive that they were from God, not because anyone else told us, no, rather God Almighty has told us that through His Final Word, the Quran.

Exactamundo.

***********************************

Honeto:
God Almighty tells us through His Final Word, the Quran that people changed word of God and altered the scriptures sent before the Quran. I take Quaran's word as Final, and my own study of the Bible proved that Bible is the altered word and thus unreliable.

That's why the Maududi commentary is so important.  He specifically lays out what is reliable and what is not reliable.  Unless someone wants to say that he is not a true authority for healthy Muslim theology, I don't see why they wouldn't take what he had to say on the matter seriously.

Again, do you disagree with Mr Maududi's persepective?

***********************************

Honeto:
God Almighty has sent His Final Word the Quran as source and guidance from the All knowing. What there is left to figure out other than to follow what it says.

Say: "We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets, from their Lord: We make no distinction between one and another among them, and to Allah do we bow our will (in Islam)."

From what I'm understanding of this passage, it's saying that the Muslim believes equally in the prophetic truths of Moses and Jesus as prophets of God.  So, if Jesus is a prophet of God from the Quran's perspective...and Quranically speaking, a Muslim is supposed to be believing in "what was revealed" to Moses and Jesus...and if good reason can be shown justifying the belief that what was "revealed" to Moses was the "Great Commandments" taught by Jesus, is there reason to completely ignore the teaching of a sinless Prophet that is venerated so highly?  That doesn't make much sense to me...but that's just me.

I appreciate the interaction, Honeto.  Sweet.

Honeto:
In other words, if we take the last Prophet (pbuh) and book, the Quran, they were sent for our times. Those of us who were born after him and the Quran sent through him will be judged by it's teachings and standards. It is the book according to which we aught to live out lives. Now those who were born before the revelation of the Quran will be judged on the bases of what was revealed for that time through Pophet Jesus (pbuh).

So, we can follow the examples of any prophets that are mentioned in the Final Testament, the Quran and the hadith beside's the example of the Prophet (pbuh)himself, and these are the only valid sources for our times upon which we will be judged.

Let's say that as a "person of the Book", specifically a Christian, I look at the Quran as the standard for "our time", ok?  Let's see what I see...

"And We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming that which was (revealed) before him in the Torah, and We bestowed on him the Gospel wherein is guidance and a light, confirming that which was (revealed) before it in the Torah - a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off (evil)."

"Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel."

Now, this is what I get from this verse...and you can tell me if I'm wrong on this...

Whoever the "people of the Gospel" are need to "judge" themselves by what Allah has revealed within Jesus' Gospel and God's revelations "therein."  That's just what it says, right?  I can't see any other translation for what else that could mean. If you are a "person of the Gospel", you are Quranically bound to "judge" yourself by the Gospel of Jesus.  That's what the text simply says.

And thanks to the scholarly work of Maulana Maududi, I am able to reasonably discern what that Gospel most likely was.

********************************

Honeto:
Not only that but fact is that the Quran and Old Testament tells us that those Scriptures has been tempered with, which can be easily varified by anyone's sincere efforts and just a few examples of inconsistancies would prove the point. We all know and beleive that a pure word of God would not fail to be consistant.

For the sake of argument, I am taking it as TRUE that "tahrif" exists, that the Scriptures have been "tampered with."  I'm not even arguing that point.  What I'm saying--AGAIN--is that Mr. Maududi, whom I'm told is a very reputable Muslim authority on the Quran and other Holy writing, has provided a commentary method of discern what the authentic Torat and Injeel are.  These are HIS WORDS...

"Wherever authors and editors of the Bible have added anything of their own accord, by way of either elaboration or elucidation, it has become very difficult for an ordinary reader to distinguish the original from the explanatory additions. Those with insight into Divine Scripture, however, do have the capacity to distinguish between the original revealed fragments and the later, human interpolations."

This is Mr. Maududi HIMSELF.  Do you disagree with his perspective, Honeto.  I've asked you that a number of times and have failed to get an answer.  It's pretty important to the discussion though.

*****************************

Honeto:
Also, on one of your points in the first post on this page about God's love, kindness and Mercy with which I greatly agree but interestingly that is very inconsistant with Christianity's doctrine of so called "killing and blood sacrifice of Christ' as the only way to attonment and salvation for others. I don't see any Love, Peace or Mercy in that act of shedding blood!! Help me undrstand??

My "first point" is specifically talking about the Great Commandments (ie Deut 6:4-6 and Lev. 19:9-18).  I am not talking about the relationship of blood sacrifices and God's love. (Then we'd be talking about the whole Old Testament sacrificial system, which takes us far afield.)  Let's stick with that.