meant.
“How deep down are we?” Drew asks.
“About 65 feet. Pops said the deeper, the better. Dad was reluctant at first, but Pops always got his way. Cost them quite a penny, but Pops said we can’t put a number on our families’ safety.”
“He was convinced that war was comin’ to America soon.”
They all look at him in silence.
Drew stares at the light.
Peter-John looks at him concerned.
Shakes his head.
Then focusses on Griffin.
War?
ش
Rather, they say, "Indeed, we found our fathers upon a religion, and we are in their footsteps [rightly] guided."
Surah Az-Zukhruf (The Ornaments of Gold) 43:22
“Guess you never read your Bible.” He says dismissively. Stares him up and down and grins.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asks calmly.
“Just that.”
He moves more towards the window; stares through the blinds then closes it quick.
Faces him.
“If you read your Bible, you would know that we are warned of false prophets that would come after Jesus and that we should not fall prey to them.”
He smirks.
“They are all wolves in sheep clothin’. And you, my friend, have fallen prey.” He says the friend with a tone of disgust.
“Just look at you. You look ridiculous. Shave that thing off. You look really old. Worse than my grandfather and he is old.”
He remains calm.
Continues to listen.
“I just don’t get you. Why after all these years? You have been a Christian all of your life and your entire family as far as I can remember. I’m sure your grandmother has turned several times in her grave. She was already upset when your Uncle left the church to become a Baptist. And here you are, not even a Christian at all.”
“I have always looked for answers to the things that was botherin’ me. Things about myself that I couldn’t quite figure out. I never knew anythin’ else. Only Christianity.”
“So what are you sayin’?”
He shakes his head.
“You make it sound like I was offered religions on a platter. Here’s Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etcetera make your choice and I chose Christianity.”
They stare at each other for a while.
“I was a Christian, because my parents were Christians.”
“And rightly so. Jesus is the only way.”
He looks at him imploringly.
“That is what I also believed, though even that bothered me. I mean, what about those people that never heard of Jesus? What about them? As we, you, believe, they are damned to hell, for they did not become reborn. Are still with sin.”
“I can’t speak for God and what He will do, but without Jesus you can’t get to heaven.”
He dismisses him more.
“This Mohammad was never even mentioned in the Bible. He is simply a murderer. How can you choose him over Jesus? A man of peace.”
His jaw tightens.
Calmly, he continues.
“Of course he is mentioned in the Bible, but all of that has been corrupted; removed, but some texts referrin’ to him still remain. The Holy one from Mount Paran.”
He looks at him questioningly.
“Who do you think the Bible refers to in the Book of Habakkuk 3?”
“Jesus, of course.”
“When was Jesus ever near Mecca or Medina?”
John looks at him confused.
“If you read your Bible, you’d know that Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Yes, the son he had with his slave girl. He took him to the desert; the desert of Paran. It is this same Ishmael that is the ancestor of Mohammad.”
“I know…”
“More than that, it was Ishmael that was to be sacrificed and not Isaac, as the Bible says. That is a fabrication.”
He calms himself down.
“When Abraham left Hagar alone in the desert, she panicked. She ran between the two mountains lookin’ to see if she could find anyone to help her and her child with food and water. She did this seven times. There was no one. So she called out to God and He provided her with water that gushed from the ground. Up until today, that spring still exists.”
“You…”
“What’s miraculous about this water is that a lot of the water in and around the town where this spring is located has been contaminated, but this water remains pure.”
He sighs.
“When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, satan approached him and tried to persuade him not to do it. Abraham said as God wills. Satan also went to Ishmael and his mother, both said as God wills. Ishmael’s mother then threw satan with stones. Up until today the Muslims do the same. Move between the mountains seven times and stone a wall. They then sacrifice an animal, just as Abraham did.”
He refuses to listen.
“The Quran is a fabrication written by a man who heard stories about the Bible and came up with that book.”
Andrew says something under his breath.
“You’re so convinced about all this that you refuse to listen to reason. The Quran was put together at least one thousand four hundred years ago before Mohammad died it was in complete book form. Before the Bible we read today was ever assembled.”
They both are quiet for a second.
“And who do you think put that Bible together?”
He nods.
Yes.
“Those same Catholics and others you are so against.”
“You do know that Islam is just another branch of Catholicism?”
He stares at Andrew.
“Both reject the divinity of Christ; Catholics by impartin’ some of it to Mary, Muslims strippin’ it from him completely. Heck, one person said that without Mary there would be no Christ. Now they even want to raise Mary to Godhood.”
He shakes his head.
“John Paul II even kissed the Quran. That is simply more confirmation of that fact.”
“Yes, he did.”
“Of course he did. Islam and Catholics both have these prayer beads and prayers or whatever that you have to keep repeatin’. Can’t you see that it is exactly the same thing?”
He glares at him questioningly.
“Both have such high regard for Mary. The Quran, as I heard, even has a chapter named after her.”
They both shake their heads.
John convinced.
Andrew frustrated.
ض
Can ye (o ye men of Faith) entertain the hope that they will believe in you?- Seeing that a party of them heard the Word of Allah, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it… Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: "This is from Allah," to traffic with it for a miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.
(Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:75,79)
ع
“I’m sorry you feel this way and that this is what it has come to.”
He shrugs.
“One thing that you should know, though, is that faith is not somethin’ that is stagnant. It is somethin’ that keeps growin’ if you feed it.”
He squints and asks.
“What does that mean?”
“It means that the more you reflect, meditate, pray and study religious material, your soul grows. You grasp things differently, get a deeper understandin’, your eyes and ears literally open more. I finally got the answers I was searchin’ for when I found Islam. When I looked outside of Christianity as God guided me.”
He listens.
“The one who is comfortable that he knows enough, cannot attain the same knowledge as the one who strives to learn more. The one who spends his energy contemplatin’ the Lord.”
“As for you tellin’ me I turned my back on Jesus, I tell you this. Never have I loved any man more in my life than him. Here is where our unders
tandin’ of Christianity differs. You are quick to say a Christian is someone who goes to Church, doesn’t drink or smoke, waits till marriage to have sex and lives a good life.”
“And what is your understandin’ then?”
“Simple. Jesus came to show us a way of life. He was an example that was supposed to be followed. Not only on Sundays, but every day of your life. Not only when you are in church, but when at work or interactions with others in matters that are not church related.”
He shakes his head.
“Yes, yes, yes, but what about comin’ to die for us? John 3:16. For…”
“God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life… Romans 5:8, God commended his love towards us and yet, while we were sinners, Christ died for us. I haven’t forgotten.”
He sighs.
“I do not believe that anymore.”
“Of course you don’t. You think by your works alone, you will enter heaven, but you’re wrong. Only through the blood of Christ, a mercy from God, will you enter heaven.”
“I’m not here to argue with you about this. All I know is what I believe and what I believe is what God, Allah, tells me in the Quran.”
He gets up from the stool.
Turns and faces John.
“Regardin’ Jesus dyin’ on the cross. It was only made to appear like that… to them… those without faith.”
He wants to start walking, but continues.
“Christ had no need to come and die for… original… sin. God forgave Adam and Eve. And that is the God I believe in. He is merciful, gracious and He loves to forgive. The fact that they were sent to earth, was simply because it is part of His greater plan.”
He shakes his head.
Continues.
“The God I believe in is not part of such ugliness… to let people that are faithful to Him, die on a cross. That is a disgustin’, perverted Pagan belief and satan is behind it all.”
“You know that in Islam, there are so many