Nov 28, 2010
Muslims, do you understand the Koran better than Muhammad?
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Do you understand the Koran better than Muhammad?
Questioning Religion and Pseudoscience.
i’m not a theist or a muslim, but as an atheist i think that some atheists often make the mistake of using and interpeting scripture literally to demonstrate the ridiculous nature of religious claims.
it’s unlikely that anyone intended to convey the message that ‘people will be (literally) turned into apes… for not following allah’- it’s more likely that the idea that they intended to convey was that without following allah, one is lower than human and equal to an ape, in allah’s eyes.
reading any scripture in a literal sense is a mistake to the believer and to the atheist it’s dirty pool, like shooting fish in a barrel.
I agree that no one was ever literally turned into an ape or swine, but I also don’t think anyone will ever be burned in a lake of fire – with their skin being repeated burnt off and then replenished so they can continually feel the torment. However the verse regarding Hell is taken as literal by most Muslims while the warning about being turned into an ape is not. The warning about Hell appears only a few verses after one of the warnings about being turned into an ape. (4:47 = Warning about being turned into an ape, 4:56 = Warning about burning in Hell)
It’s up to the believers to explain why some parts of their holy book should be taken literally and other parts should not. Until then, I can only treat their holy book as if it means exactly what it says.