ITT: We non-religiously compare the literature of the King James Bible and the original Arabic Quran.
I've never read either, kek
I only prefer the Quran as far as wordplay goes.
It was written by practitioners of traditional Arab poetry and it shows.
>>413097
And not a committee.
>>413097
>It was written by practitioners of traditional Arab poetry and it shows.
That's an odd claim since the Qur'an is not a book of poetry. In fact it's an interesting mixture of poetics and prose that has no stylistic comparison prior to it. That and the historical record offering no authorship of the book beside Muhammad.
>>413086
The Bible is weighed down by quite a lot of garbage texts with no real value (Leviticus) but has some great texts too (Job). The Qur'an is more consistent and language wise the most appealing.
>>413094
Now THAT'S a sin. Even the edgiest of atheists can learn something from casually reading religious text.
>>413133
I absolutely LOVE Job. With all the miracles and insane hi-jinks going on up until that point, there's something so beautiful about God letting a man (who has some genuinely good points) talk it out with him about the shitiness of...well, everything.
>>413120
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZvNtzJ0QXQ
Listen to this
Sounds like beautiful poetry to me, Shakespeare level
>>413242
That's a really unfortunate thumbnail.
>>413259
yeah..
>>413242
Yes, it has gorgeous poetics, but it's not composed as a poem and the poetry in it isn't really typical of the time.
>>413242
Shakespeare wasn't even that good though.
>>413242
Arabic has mystified me.
>>413242
Well, i must admit that it was beautiful.
apparently there are entire sentences that are palindromes and other neat stuff like that
one's translated
the other isn't
prominent example of the translation vs raw debate
>>413086
Christianity is pretty shit in the book, and much more tolerable in reality, as people have moved away from the old rules and made it more convenient.
On the other side Islam is pretty good in the book, but people have twisted it to mean something else for political use, and many practitioners right now are very far away from the core, and very terrible people.
Its an interest contrast, I thought.
>>413242
Watch it again, but just try to figure out which hipster hollywood celebrity baby names he is naming.
>>414249
There are chaismi in most holy books.
The book of mormon is knowing for having an absolute monster of one for example.
>>414501
How is christianity shit in the book? In general its pretty peaceful.
>>414533
For one, it doesnt make sense unless you are jewish.
The ten laws are specifically geared towards jews, even if modern translations ignore that.
The generic "dont kill" law used to be "dont kill people from your (the jewish) tribe", for example.
Also it has very harsh rules and punishments for simple things like sex before marriage, thought crime, contraception, anal sex and such, which are all unpractical in the modern day.
>>414540
Most of this is in shit like Deuteronomy (which is detailing laws of jews, not christans)
>>414670
Most, and not all. And even then, this is the original book, and since then there has been much compromise and adapting, which is exactly what I meant.
>>414501
>Christianity is pretty shit in the book, and much more tolerable in reality, as people have moved away from the old rules and made it more convenient.
>On the other side Islam is pretty good in the book, but people have twisted it to mean something else for political use, and many practitioners right now are very far away from the core, and very terrible people.
>Its an interest contrast, I thought.
Islam is good, Christianity is pretty shit.
That's what you honestly got from reading the bible and the quran?
>>415424
The King James Bible is already heavily edited, and even it is really backwards.
Have you read both books or are you just speaking from the position of an insulted Christian?
>>415447
I've read all three. I first read the Quran as an honest exercise in tolerance. An attempt to understand people from the Middle East better. Unfortunately it did just the opposite. While the text was interestingly written; its message I found of little value. It was a message centered around a fear of God, a rejection of reason and humanity, a sword to slay the unbeliever, and a chain for the believer to ensnare his soul.
Then I read the Old Testament, most of it at least, which is a more varied work. Some passages do teach a fear of God, but it has got more to offer. It is the story of the Hebrew people and their trials, a truly enthralling read. It contains wisdom but also tales that provide a people with comfort. Like job, or the psalms.
The New Testament then is quite unique break with the past. One of the most life affirming works I have ever read. It teaches peace and love but not like Buddhism does. A subversive kind of love, one that challenges the established order.
Paul's lettres are different. His religion is one of doctrine, prone to intolerance. Islam is going even further on that road. There one does not give to the poor beause it is good in itself, one gives the right percentage ordained by God's messenger, to escape God's anger.
I'm not saying my reading is the only right one, but that is what I got out of reading these texts. So your claim that Islam has a better message baffles me.
>>415504
>It was a message centered around a fear of God, a rejection of reason and humanity, a sword to slay the unbeliever, and a chain for the believer to ensnare his soul.
So nothing about the mandatory charity that all rich men must give to the poor, the mandatory erection of a hospital in every city, one for each however many people? Nothing about it being heresy to use gold and silver utensils, because you could use simpler ones, and donate away the excess money created?
I think you already knew what you wanted to find there before you started reading, and thus easily found it. Plenty of show of humility, community and charity, and indeed reason, in the Quran, if only you dont intentionally close your eyes to it.
Regardless, I am not religious, and both the old Bible and the Quran have many things I terribly disagree with, but to say that the old Bible is a more modern and rational and humanist text than the Quran is just silly.
>>415559
I expected to find good maxims in the Quran, I expected the Quran to confirm that Islam's core was fundamentally right. I was young and progressive minded, what else could I expect?
But I found the opposite. Like you said yourself, mandatory charity, mandatory hospitals, mandatory rituals, mandatory beliefs. All to avoid the thorn of God.
I started opening the book at random pages, and I would find the same message over and over again, the fear of an almighty God. Try it some time.
One religion isn't better because it orders you to give 12.5% of your possessions and another only 10%. I try to look at the view of the religion on humanity, it's opinion on what is good; and to me Islam's view is the wrong one.
>>413277
What was typical of the time?
Why not compare the koine Greek to the Arabic?
>>415447
It's not super edited, it's just translated to a language no one can understand.
>>415622
Without motivation no one would follow that kind of rules. That's my take on the fear thing. Note that the Quran mentions you should do stuff out of love for god instead of fear.
>>413242
that thumbnail tho
>>418177
What kinda illness even IS that?!
>>413242
Woah..that was fuckin beauitful
>>413242
>>419070
hunger
>>413242
What chapter is that Anon?
>>413242
One God above all Gods
>>413242
I really want to appreciate this, but it honestly sounds like daggers to my ears.
>>413242
I prefer to hear Arabic when it's singing the divine liturgy of st john chrysostom
>>413133
>Leviticus
>not knowing how to properly sacrifice a goat to God
>ruining your harvest for generations
>>414540
>modern day
>>413242
Lol
edited twice because I'm an idiot that can't quote
>>416066
Keep in mind I'm not an expert but here's some examples of pre-Islamic Arabic poetry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOGvbZxzpGI [Embed] [Embed]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKeyuqfhfOo [Embed] [Embed]
^ translation for this one: http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/hanged/hanged1.htm
They're narrative pieces and very regular (rhythm, rhyme, etc.) poems, and thematically dealing with love, nature, personal conquests, lineage and historical subjects. And while it might seem silly to point this out, they're composed the way poems are, as singular pieces. That's an important observation because the Qur'an isn't nearly as simple: it was revealed (or composed, if you prefer) piecemeal throughout a 30+ year period, dealing with a host of topics from the very mundane to the Absolute, and it has radical shifts in not only these topics but metre, rhythm, and, as already stated, even breaks into prose. Like in any poetic form it has repetition, but the repetition in the Qur'an isn't just stylistic but self-referential with other chapters and verses. This is emphasized by the fact that the Qur'an as a written document was intentionally compiled in a non-chronological order. The result is a cyclical, interweaving text that has no beginning nor end. There's nothing like that before it.
>>421161
it literally says it in the title, surah Al Fajr
>>413097
kek
>>413086
After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire the church proceeded to expel all heretics. A lot of them went east settling in the places allied with the Persian Empire and in the coming centuries the beliefs of the heretical sects reached these territories, so it's no coincidence that orthodox and non orthodox beliefs and that Muhammad took these and slapped them together with some Arab tribal customs when forming his own cult which would be called Islam.
>>421270
I prefer Sudais. There is also Salmaan Al Utaybi but he tends to be a little too theatrical (the light upon light quoted is only mentioned once) at times. Though this is still one of the best recitations on youtube in my opinion.
https://youtu.be/7diol4o3T1U
