Islamonauts

RELIGION IN THE NEWS

A report and comment on religious trends and comments being covered by the media.This week’s item is from www.news.com.au July 2, 2007 with a headline: “Muslim Astronaut Given Religious Guidelines.”The following are excerpts:Malaysia’s first astronaut will blast off into space next month armed with guidelines from Muslim authorities on how to wash, pray and even be buried in space.Conditions at the International Space Station which are so different from those on earth are not a hindrance for the astronaut to fulfill his obligations as a Muslim, it said in a 20 page booklet.Because the space station circles the earth sixteen times a day, theoretically a Muslim would have to pray 80 times a day while staying there.In the unlikely event that the Muslim astronaut dies in space, the religious directives said his body should be brought back to earth for the usual burial rituals.If that’s not possible, he should be interred in space after a brief ceremony, though the guidelines fail to explain how that should be done.The booklet covers Islamic washing rituals required before prayer saying that if water is not available, the astronaut can symbolically sweep holy dust onto the face and hands even if there is no dust in the space station.There are also suggestions on how to pray in zero gravity environment.During the prayer ritual if you can’t stand up straight you can hunch.If you can’t hunch, you can sit.If you can’t sit, you should lie down, according to the booklet.Muslims are required to eat food that is halal, which rules out pork and its by products, alcohol and animals not slaughtered according to Qur’anic procedures are forbidden.But again, in space there is flexibility.If it is doubtful that the food has been prepared in the halal manner, you should eat just enough to ward off hunger, the booklet said.

Tom:

Dave, well, I won’t call it a red flag exactly, but one of the indications that maybe God is not involved in a certain situation—a religion, okay?Is that there are rules that would eliminate somebody from participating and then the makers of that particular religion have to come up with other rules that allow the person to participate.I grew up Roman Catholic and I have a book in my office that is called The Code of Canon Law.There are 1752 rules and regulations, many of them related to a person’s salvation, but things like holy days of obligation.Certain things with regard to sin, whether it’s a mortal sin or a venial sin and how one can be looked upon by a priest as maybe a venial sin, something that wouldn’t condemn you to hell if you died under those conditions.But this is the same thing.These are men making up their rules, making up their rituals supposedly to appease God, but I don’t think God has any part of this.I don’t think—I mean I know He doesn’t.

Dave:

Well, Tom there are, I guess we could call them rituals in the Old Testament.There was a tabernacle and then that was turned into the Temple.Now it is stated specifically, God says to Moses a number of times, see that thou make all things according to the pattern that I show you on the mount.Paul explains to us that these things were merely for a time, and they were symbolic of truth; symbolic of heaven.For example, when Jesus said, when you drink of this water, you will thirst again he told the woman at the well.If you drink of the water that I’ll give you, you will never thirst again—he was not talking about some special kind of water.Holy water, which you know in the Catholic Church you had.Now physical things are not the doorway to truth, or to salvation.The only physical things that are symbolic—God explained them.You don’t make up something else.Now the Muslims have got something else.If they think that’s the truth, let them prove by prophecy.Give me some prophecies from the Qur’an that are true.I can give you hundreds of them from the Bible that are true.Absolutely came to pass.You’ve got these various rituals—Muhammad gave them.Now he said he got them from the angel Gabriel who was given them by Allah, but we have no proof, no evidence of that.So it’s the same thing this emerging church is falling victim of.Well, if we can change this and give them this kind of a—take this approach and so forth—it doesn’t impress God; it’s not going to bring salvation to anyone and it’s a works oriented religion so the emerging church is getting kids back into a different kind of works.So, this is really strange stuff Tom.

Tom:

Well, Dave again, to give you an example out of the Catholic Church—communion—in Catholicism it is called the Eucharist.Now if the wafer—it’s not wheat—for example there are some people who can’t tolerate wheat.So they would say, well can I take a wafer that’s maybe made of rice or something like that, so I can receive the sacraments.It’s an absolute critical sacrament in Roman Catholicism.No, absolutely not!So, you’ve got men making up rules and regulations.

Dave:

But Tom the worst part of it is, they claim they can transform the priest, or this into the body…

Tom:

Oh, of course.

Dave:

And blood of Christ.We say no, it’s symbolical and they say well we take it literally.Really?Well you’ve got how many?Millions of wafers being transformed.

Tom:

Umhm.Trans-substantiated.

Dave:

Well, transformed, trans-substantiation they call it into the body and the wine into the blood of Christ.I mean how many Christs just in one church?You’ve got 500 people all in one church—you’ve got 500 Christs?And now each one of them says I’ve got on my tongue, now I haven’t, I am ingesting.This is Jesus Christ’s body, soul, spirit, personality, divinity and everything—that doesn’t even make sense.

Tom:

And Dave when it’s not ingested it’s put into a monstrance and people bow down before this piece of bread.

Dave:

And Mother Theresa had a special prayer thanking Jesus for humbling himself and for being willing to become a little piece of bread.

Tom:

So back to this article Dave, I just think it is another example of men developing their own religion. This is not God-sent.

Dave:

And supposedly this is going to help your salvation? It’s not, it doesn’t make sense. Let’s just take it a step further. One of the rituals now they have is blowing yourself up and killing innocent victims. What kind of a God gives you a reward in heaven for doing that? Well, the same kind of a God that would be impressed by these sorts of rituals.