Up@dawn 2.0

Monday, October 24, 2011

Group 2 (03)

Our group's topic this time was Ibn-al-Rawandi. He was an extremely interesting figure from Arabic history who sparks much controversy from today's standards.

He has a small image. Sad day.

Our group only had time to produce a factual question which is as follows:

True or False: Ibn-al-Rawandi was a doubter who devoted himself to the community's well-being and grew famous for his generosity, intelligence, and skill.

The answer is "False"

As stated, there was not enough discussion time to produce a discussion question so I invite every member to post and discuss their own. My discussion question is as follows:

Why do you think that there is no agreement as to the nature of Rawandi's heresy in the Muslim community?

For clarification, this is the opposite of heresy.

5 comments:

  1. The perfect picture of conformity.

    My question was: Out of all al-Rawandi's heretical comments and speculations about faith, which do you think struck the rawest nerve for believers at that time?

    My answer: That the only reason people followed the Koran is because Muhammed was "an extraordinary composer of words." That in particular struck me because, for one, it once again draws attention to the fact that these Holy book were written by mortal men, and two, that they are, in the end, just words on a page. How large a part does the ability to manipulate the written word in either poetry or prose form influence the effect it has on its audiences - both willingly and subconsciously? It is really the "beauty" of the Koran that attracts followers - the way the prophet expresses himself - or is it truly something hidden inside of those words that lead to such a vast amount of people to have a strong connection? I would say its a combination of that - being able to turn a phrase - and the ability of these prophets to be so effective in speech as well as writing. The effect Muhammed probably had on his listeners - back when he was still alive to spread his own revelations - probably lives on today in the words he wrote down, which is partly why they're still revered today.

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  2. Al-Rawandi was very critical of theism and often used bold words such as, "He who orders his slave to do things that he knows him to be incapable of doing, then punishes, him, is a fool." What do you make of this quote? Do you think that this philosopher provides good reasoning to be so anti-theistic? Does he have a solid argument against religion?

    In response to my question, if I were to answer from a religious point of view, I would have to say that I don't necessarily believe that he is absolutely just and his words truth. I feel as though every religion is what people make of it. The only solid facts we have of religion are the ancient texts that have survived and most people relied on oral transmittance of religion since they couldn't read or didn't have access to the ancient texts. So, I think that religion is subjective to all, even today. And because I see that to be true, that is perhaps al-Rawandi's view on what a god would be like. He interpreted the stories or history in a cynical perspective, I think as others saw things much differently--in fact, I know they had to! I don't think others would followed and chose to believe in a god of whom would foolishly have them carry out tasks that they could not complete and in the end perhaps have to face death. I don't think that people look for a god who is rash and unjust. And I also think it can be argued that if there is a god, It is at a higher power and cannot be foolish or rash. Only the man who creates his god to possess those traits is foolish. So, I suppose that looking at it from al-Rawandi's perspective, if his mental image of a god is some terrible being that punishes humans because of the incapacities He gave to them, then perhaps he does have good reasoning to be anti-relgious.

    For next week, we are to read about (underlined) The Zohar. The following are my factual question and discussion question that I will share during the next group time:

    True or False, the Zohar is an ancient Christian text full of mystical ideas.

    and

    Do you think that any aspects of Christianity could have been influenced by the Zohar and if so, which ones?

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  3. I might have just felt like posting a picture of David Bowie.

    To answer my question, I do not believe that there is any direct way to construct is "heresy" because the very nature of heresy is constructed. That is, what one group considers to be heresy, the other group would not. This is true for the actual definition of heresy as well.

    As for this class period's questions, I have two.

    The factual question is, who wrote The Zohar? The answer is Moses ben Shem-Tov de Leon.

    The discussion question is, why do you think that the general view of The Zohar within the Jewish community evolved into one of acceptance over time?

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  4. My discussion question from last week:

    What do you think causes al-Rawandi's beliefs to shift in The Book of Emerald to be more doubtful?

    I think that many times when we take a closer look at our beliefs we become more skeptical about them. Thinking more deeply about a certain belief that we accept as true helps us to consider alternate beliefs. Maybe one of those alternate beliefs sound more reasonable to us than our original conception of what is true. It seems that this is what happened to al-Rawandi. At first, he stands firm in his beliefs but upon closer consideration, he becomes more skeptical. Whether this is a good or bad thing is a different argument. I think it's a good thing because close examination helps us to discover what we really believe in.

    Today's factual question:
    True or false? The Zohar claimed that Jewish law needed to be defended rationally. (False)

    Today's discussion question:
    Do you believe that individual suffering is in any way a sort of sacrifice to others, even someone you don't know? Why or why not?

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