The Koran? [ Edited ]

[Joseph_F]

Do you think a read of the entire book is feasible? Or would it be more realistic to just focus on a few sections, and, if so, which sections? I've never actually read more than excerpts so I'd love any help you could give me here.

Also people are going to be so busy in December that I might delay the Koran until January. Or maybe I'll do two books and give people December and January to read and discuss both...hmm What do you guys think?

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Choisya wrote:

PS:  I thought I ought to make clear that I wasn't suggesting that I led a discussion on the Koran.  I hoped that Joseph might run with the idea if others agreed.  I am always in favour of a Moderator leading the discussion. 

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[Choisya]

Yes, December was a bad idea Joseph - I had forgotten the season.  The Dawood Koran is no bigger than an average fictional paperback (464 pages) so it should be doable and quite a bit of  it is Notes.   We could perhaps look at what the Koran says about Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses, Noah, Jesus and Mary, to take several of the major biblical characters mentioned.  

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Joseph_F wrote:

Do you think a read of the entire book is feasible? Or would it be more realistic to just focus on a few sections, and, if so, which sections? I've never actually read more than excerpts so I'd love any help you could give me here.

Also people are going to be so busy in December that I might delay the Koran until January. Or maybe I'll do two books and give people December and January to read and discuss both...hmm What do you guys think?

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Choisya wrote:

PS:  I thought I ought to make clear that I wasn't suggesting that I led a discussion on the Koran.  I hoped that Joseph might run with the idea if others agreed.  I am always in favour of a Moderator leading the discussion. 

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[TiggerBear]

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Choisya wrote:

PS:  I thought I ought to make clear that I wasn't suggesting that I led a discussion on the Koran.  I hoped that Joseph might run with the idea if others agreed.  I am always in favour of a Moderator leading the discussion. 

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Yeah figured that.

Just has me wondering if buying a copy of that gets you on the FBI book watch list.

[Joseph_F]

Well there was the homeland security official who infamously wanted to track the sale of hummus in the Bay Area as a sign of possible future terrorism, so...

[TiggerBear]

One of things you not sure if it's true, but would be surprised by if it was. The nauty book list went from 4 to 6 with the Oklahoma bombing, 6 to 9 around 9/11; so...

[Peppermill]

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TiggerBear wrote:

One of things you not sure if it's true, but would be surprised by if it was. The nauty book list went from 4 to 6 with the Oklahoma bombing, 6 to 9 around 9/11; so...

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There are a few universities whose students are automatically on the watch list then, but that wouldn't necessarily surprise me either.

(I do presume you meant "but would not be surprised by if it was"?)

[TiggerBear]

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Peppermill wrote:

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TiggerBear wrote:

One of things you not sure if it's true, but would be surprised by if it was. The nauty book list went from 4 to 6 with the Oklahoma bombing, 6 to 9 around 9/11; so...

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There are a few universities whose students are automatically on the watch list then, but that wouldn't necessarily surprise me either.

(I do presume you meant "but would not be surprised by if it was"?)

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Correct presumption. Presupper low blood sugar, my brain gets a little fuzzy.

Ok now curious, which Universities, if you know?

[Choisya]

Gosh - I never thought of these security problems!   Maybe y'all should buy secondhand to get under the radar, just in case there is any?  

[Joseph_F]

So what I've decided to do is do two books for a December-January combined read, because people tend to be busy this time of year. The two books will be the edition of the Koran that Choisya recommended, and this book:

Rapture Ready!

  

by Daniel Radosh

which is one of the most entertaining and nuanced explorations of modern American evangelicalism I've ever read. The writer is a New York Jew and an atheist, exploring the world of evangelical pop culture. He's a funny guy, and he's not afraid to make fun of things that are tacky or silly. And he's a smart guy who's not afraid to call out those things he thinks are creepy or wrong. But he also is an extremely considerate and careful writer, who always takes the time to find the complete context for everything he's seeing, and is willing to get in long exchanges of ideas with people most non-evangelicals (and even some evangelicals) would dismiss off-hand.

What this means is that the book goes far below the surface and looks at all the internal conflicts of the movement, and the ways that well-meaning gestures are interpreted completely differently by the secular world. It's funny, but it also, I believe, leaves you with a very well-rounded and well-researched view of the evangelical world.

[Choisya]

Rapture Ready is not available in the UK  Joseph - Brits are not as much into evangelism and 'The Rapture'.  These are two of the most entertaining things I have read about The Rapture.

[Peppermill]

Tigger -- sorry to be so slow to respond to your question.  I still haven't done good homework, but doubt I am going to get to it.  I do know that Columbia University students have a great books sequence that includes both the Bible and The Holy Qur'an.

There are, however, two great books sequences between which undergraduate students may select as a part of their core curriculum, if I recall properly, and I haven't figured out how to check if both now include the Koran.

In the sixties and seventies and later a great deal of pressure arose to expand the courses based on "great books" to include non-western literature and literature written by women.  That pressure has expanded to include other issues of diversity.  In the early years, resistance was strong due to claims of lack of teachers qualified to teach texts outside of "Western civilization."   Slowly, that resistance has been overcome in at least some places, especially as economic globalization has intensified.

I don't know specifically about other universities, but it would surprise me if many of the major ones that pride themselves in preparing "citizens of the world"  have not added the Koran as a required text in one or another of their core courses.  I would say that the students doing only the core curriculum get more of an exposure to these texts than an immersion in them, despite the rigor of these courses.

(For a look at the Columbia program before the expansions on the texts covered, Denby's Great Books is a pleasant read.  He went back and redid the program some years after graduating.)

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TiggerBear wrote:

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Peppermill wrote:

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TiggerBear wrote:

One of things you not sure if it's true, but would be surprised by if it was. The nauty book list went from 4 to 6 with the Oklahoma bombing, 6 to 9 around 9/11; so...

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There are a few universities whose students are automatically on the watch list then, but that wouldn't necessarily surprise me either.

(I do presume you meant "but would not be surprised by if it was"?)

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Correct presumption. Presupper low blood sugar, my brain gets a little fuzzy.

Ok now curious, which Universities, if you know?

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[TiggerBear]

Not a problem take your time. Myself I've been trying to find answer that P asked me 3 weeks ago, still working on it. I understand.

[LunaMoth]

i want other people to stop interrupting other peoples religion posts, saying harsh stuff and making tensions tight.  if its not about your religion or you have nothing constructive to say, stay out! (sorry for being a bit piffed but it annoys me people go around and blatantly harass one another)

[Peppermill]

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LunaMoth wrote:

i want other people to stop interrupting other peoples religion posts, saying harsh stuff and making tensions tight.  if its not about your religion or you have nothing constructive to say, stay out! (sorry for being a bit piffed but it annoys me people go around and blatantly harass one another)

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I much agree with you, LunaMoth, but I do think we need also to be careful to sometimes just listen to (or ignore?) the harshness or ramblings or involved tracts of others (among which I include the writings of authors like Sam Harris or Richard Dawkins) as we attempt to understand both the faiths of others and our own faith.

Pepper

[TiggerBear]

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LunaMoth wrote:

i want other people to stop interrupting other peoples religion posts, saying harsh stuff and making tensions tight.  if its not about your religion or you have nothing constructive to say, stay out! (sorry for being a bit piffed but it annoys me people go around and blatantly harass one another)

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On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say only 1 of that goes on around here. For the most part everyone is pretty respectful. To the point of it offen stiffling conversation. But can't really say we get baited here. The rare misunderstanding though (which is bound to happen when talking about religion) does pop up.

[LunaMoth]

that is good to know, i just dont want to post something and then get persecuted for posting it =) thanks for the info dearie.

[Choisya]

LunaMoth wrote

..if its not about your religion or you have nothing constructive to say, stay out!

We are discussing all kinds of religion here LunaMoth, not just the ones that people 'belong' to.  And we try do it in the most constructive way possible, given the contentiousness of the subject.

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TiggerBear wrote:

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LunaMoth wrote:

i want other people to stop interrupting other peoples religion posts, saying harsh stuff and making tensions tight.  if its not about your religion or you have nothing constructive to say, stay out! (sorry for being a bit piffed but it annoys me people go around and blatantly harass one another)

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On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say only 1 of that goes on around here. For the most part everyone is pretty respectful. To the point of it offen stiffling conversation. But can't really say we get baited here. The rare misunderstanding though (which is bound to happen when talking about religion) does pop up.

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[LunaMoth]

aye, i may have been a little narrow-minded in that statement, i was as i said a bit piffed hahaha. =) i do tend to meander into the christian and other religions posts myself.

[TiggerBear]

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LunaMoth wrote:

aye, i may have been a little narrow-minded in that statement, i was as i said a bit piffed hahaha. =) i do tend to meander into the christian and other religions posts myself.

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We are a big bag of mixed religions here. All trying to understand each other more. Just be polite.

If you want to see the only time a Christian made a post nasty toward us Pagans look here

young witch
As you can see the poster apologized and was just ignorant and uniformed originally.

Lot's of pagans and Wiccans about, you're in good company.

[Nadine]

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TiggerBear wrote:

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LunaMoth wrote:

aye, i may have been a little narrow-minded in that statement, i was as i said a bit piffed hahaha. =) i do tend to meander into the christian and other religions posts myself.

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We are a big bag of mixed religions here. All trying to understand each other more. Just be polite.

If you want to see the only time a Christian made a post nasty toward us Pagans look here

young witch
As you can see the poster apologized and was just ignorant and uniformed originally.

Lot's of pagans and Wiccans about, you're in good company.

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moonseeker wrote:

We have the same religion "heart"..I'm a REFORMED BAPTIST.... 

Wow, everyone here seems to be pagan..what is that, may I ask?

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A good question. I would like to learn more about pagans and Wiccans. Maybe we could start a thread on those religions and maybe some of the knowledgeable members could suggest a good introductory book.

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