Abortion: Islamic and Jewish views on when a human soul enters a human fetus

by Rabbi Allen S. Maller

I am a Rabbi who frequently writes articles about the close connections between Judaism and Islam for Islamic web sites as well as for Jewish web sites; and 31 articles previously published by Islamic web sites are in my book ‘Judaism and Islam as Synergistic Monotheisms: A Reform Rabbi's Reflections on the Profound Connectedness of Islam and Judaism’.

The following article appeared this week on the Islamicity web site; and on The Times of Israel:

All the continuing political disputes over abortion in the USA and other countries ignore the fundamental religious issue: when does the fetus in the womb of a woman’s body become a human fetus? At conception it is a living physical body, but when does this soul become a spiritual human being? (more…)

Stress and Worry World Wide

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Is 2019: The Beginning of the End?

by Rabbi Allen Maller

A May 2, 2012 Reuters Poll reported that “nearly 15 percent of people worldwide believe the world will end during their lifetime. “Whether they think it will come to an end through the hands of God, or a natural disaster or a political event, whatever the reason, one in seven thinks the end of the world is coming,” said Keren Gottfried, research manager at Ipsos Global Public Affairs which conducted the poll for Reuters.

Gottfried also said that people under 35 years old, were more likely to believe in an apocalypse during their lifetime or have anxiety over the prospect. Responses to the international poll of 16,262 people in more than 20 countries varied widely. Only six percent of French and eight percent of British residents believe in an impending Armageddon in their lifetime, compared to 22 percent in Turkey and the United States and slightly less in South Africa and Argentina. (more…)

Sacred Sexuality With A Divine Consort

by Rabbi Allen S. Maller

Solomon’s Song of Songs begins with: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for your love is more delightful than wine.” (1:1-2) Who is this bold, assertive female? What does she desire from her lover? How and why is this book of love song poems, so unlike the Book of Psalms, in our Sacred Scriptures? (more…)

Eve at your side

Eve Is Beside Not A Side Of Adam

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The City of Babel and its Tower

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A Remarkable Book For Muslims And Jews

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Will the Real God Please Reveal Himself? Herself? Itself?

By Niánn Emerson Chase

As a child brought up in a Christian home where prayer was an ongoing conversation with a loving and personal God, and regular church attendance included a variety of sects—from conservative Baptist to more liberal Methodist services, from simple Mormon meetings to ornate Catholic masses—I have always understood God to have many faces and facets. Not only was God present in various Christian-oriented churches, I experienced His presence in the Native American ceremonies in which I took part. (I grew up on four different Native American reservations in Arizona and returned to the San Carlos Apache Reservation to live and teach for many years after graduating from college.) I knew God was present with me, and within me, at all times, whether I was surrounded by loving family and friends or roaming the desert mesas in solitude, seeing divine pattern in the natural world that seemed so much a part of me. I communed with God who I experienced as my First Father, and I saw a reflection of my First Father in my biological human father who also walked with God and practiced what he felt was Godly living. (more…)

Religious Form: Internal & External Reality

By Dr. Stewart Bitkoff

Let your heart be in such a state that the existence or nonexistence of anything is the same. Then sit alone in a quiet place, free of any preoccupation, even the reciting of the Koran or thinking about its meaning. Let nothing besides God enter you. Once you are seated in this manner, say, “Allah, Allah,” keeping your thought on these words.
- al-Ghazzali

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Traveler:  Speak to me of the great religions, and why each states their Path is the only Way.  In the past religious difference has led to wars, killing and fighting.  Why is this?

Master: On an inner level your religion is One Religion. Each religion is an aspect of the Divine. Just as clear light filters through a prism, changing, twisting to fit the demands of time and space; the colors of the prism are beautiful and varied; yet on inner level the light is without color. (more…)

Is The Qur’an Anti-Judaism?

Rabbi Allen S Maller

The Qur’an is the only book of revelation that includes within itself a theory of prophethood which includes other religions. There have always been (since the days of Adam) people inspired by Allah who urged their society to avoid destruction by turning away from its corrupt and unjust ways and turning to the One God who created all humans. The Qur’an mentions 25 prophets by name (most of them known to non-Muslims too) and Muslims believe there were one hundred twenty four thousand others, whose names are now unknown.

Of the 25 mentioned by name in the Qur’an only five revealed books of sacred scripture, and only Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad revealed books of sacred scripture that are the bases for three religions that still flourish today. (more…)