Comments on: Soul Searching

By: Finally Woken

Finally Woken — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:44:45 +0000

Nadia: maaf lahir batin juga. Thanks for the link will surely read it. How’s Angola?

By: nadia febina

nadia febina — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:35:47 +0000

hey dear, sebelumnya maaf lahir batin dulu yaa..

Sama, gw juga ngerasa gak penting deh dulu diajarin di kelas2 agama tuh. Trus gw challenge lagi, ini ilmunya yg nggak asik, apa orang2 yang menyampaikan yang gak mampu mendeliver message yg begitu dalam sampe rasa2nya semua hanya semata2 jadi membatasi dan mengkerdilkan. Jadinya kita caught up di hal2 remeh temeh sampai2 lupa (konon) yg paling penting cuma untuk selalu total serah diri kepadaNya, membersihkan hati dan mengasihiNya & sesama…

Konon di al-qur’an udah ditulis begitu juga yaa, (somewhere in surat al-baqarah) bhw yang dimaksud dengan Islam adalah pasrah kepada Allah.. tp kok gak pernah ditekankan ya, bagian2 yang dalem begitu, malahan yang ditekanan bagian yang “mudah2″ aja, yang anjing itu najis lah, yang ini begini begitu dosa lah, masuk neraka dll dsb… caapee de!

I agree with Tere.., to feel God through heart… although still a long way to go for me, still a lot to learn!

This posting from a friend might relate to this concern..
http://mysticsaint.blogspot.com/2006/05/sharing-from-my-side-my-thoughts.html
You may as well check out his blog & other entries, it’s quite inter-faith and I find it cool (literally, bikin adem, hehehe)..

nadia febinas last blog post..Happy Idul Ftri

By: Finally Woken

Finally Woken — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:28:47 +0000

Sari my dear, that’s a good idea! I will start building my list now. Regards to my family back in Jakarta especially my little nephew

By: Sari Ganesha

Sari Ganesha — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:57:03 +0000

Dear Mbak Nita,

I agree with you, you have the right to question the religion bestowed on you upon birth. I value those who doubts more than those who follows blindly. I’ve doubts of my own and still looking for the answers (upon polygyny among others). Keep searching …keep questioning let’s search and learn ..

ps: Hey .. I have an idea, how about listing all of your questions and send them to certain people-who-could-answer (of all faith) and see what each of them has to say.

By: Finally Woken

Finally Woken — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:20:10 +0000

Kutuloncat: phew, just finished reading your comments. You know I really value them, I find that you give me a balance of my thinking about religion in general and Islam in particular. Thank you. The thing that makes me appreciate them (and others’ as well) the most are how nonjudgmental everybody is and apparently it’s not only me that is going through this.

Kat Souto: thank you, and thank you for visiting my blog and leave a comment. I believe that God does have plan and this is a part of the journey I have to go through. I don’t know how long this will take, but I hope I find my peace soon, just like you.

Tere: ooh, rujak cingur! Yes, I know a lot about Catholic and Christian (after all, I spent half of my life learning about them at school and uni!). I know how extreme everybody can be. That’s why I can’t just ‘jump between fences’, I’ve got lots of things to consider, ponder, think, etc. It’s back to Colson’s comment again, whether I’m searching for spiritualism, or religion….

By: Mandelson, the VP debate and lots of ideas from the SNP - Scottish Roundup

Mandelson, the VP debate and lots of ideas from the SNP - Scottish Roundup — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 01:01:00 +0000

[...] Finally Woken has a fascinating post questioning the religion she has followed for 30 years. [...]

By: tere616

tere616 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 23:43:48 +0000

Hi Anita,
All I can say is listen to your heart, no one can give you best answer, only you who will find the answer.
Don’t ever use your logic thinking if you want to know God, because it is illogical.
In every religion I found a chapter that enrich my relationship and knowledge of God, but to worship God, I choose Catholic as my way, because my heart said so.
My relationship with God is through my heart, by my everyday touch with the world, people, animal, flower, season, air, everything.
I once want to convert then surprisingly my priest, Pater Drost, and my mom, gave me the freedom to learn and know Islam, then I learned.
Until at the end of my learning, suddenly my heart whispered me to stay with my first way to worship God.
For me, we have one God, but the way we worship God is different, and all of them is the best way.
The bad / worst from the religion was made by the people not God.
Don’t take it wrong even Christian or Catholic also have their “fanatical” things.
Talk to yourself, follow your heart and listen carefully to what your heart may say.
Have to go now … off to Surabaya ..take care yourself Anita

tere616s last blog post..The Day of Non Violence

By: Kat Souto

Kat Souto — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:47:22 +0000

Hello! I believe as you do that God has a plan for each and every one us. I'm not here to knock the Muslim or any religion for that matter. Religion is what is destroying our world - God's beautiful creation. I hope your journey ultimately leads to our Heavenly Father. I was born and raised Catholic and can relate about not having a choice. It was how I was raised and brought up. As I grew up I learned about so many religions and was always curious. I asked why? so many times and questioned everything around me - traditions, practices, etc. At a young age I strongly believe God put it on my heart to seek Him. I just didn't know what I was looking for and felt empty for many many years. After meeting an uncle of friends we grew up with, I learned of a God who had more love in his heart to offer than any parent, family member or friend. They will always disspoint at some point in our lives, but God, will never disspoint. I learned there was a lot of emptiness wrapped around the word "religion" and found a new world and peace when I found a relationship with Jesus. I pray you will find what you are looking for and believe you are feeling all these emotions for a reason. Feel free to stop by my blog and comment. I love to share God's word and what He has to offer. Kat Soutos last blog post..More Than a Feeling

By: kutu loncat

kutu loncat — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:30:06 +0000

Lesson learn just keep digging, talk to people whom you know have a good knowledge, use your common sense in analyzing Islam. Allah won’t burden people more than they can bare. ALWAYS read Quran from tafsir, and hadist (not just Arabic version which most people don’t understand either ?). Use Quran before hadist. Do compare Quran with bible, or any other religious books available. I hope & pray for your journey and quest will have happy ending. After all we all sinner, who are we to judge whose right or wrong…..

By: kutu loncat

kutu loncat — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:18:34 +0000

@finally woken: But let’s say we eat some bad meat and it cause many people some sickness, should we still eat it or should we stop buying it?….
—-
I’d say I’ll still eat meat but buy it from other store, because maybe the meat from my regular store were already contaminated.
It goes same here with our quest for the TRUE Islam. If I found my regular source is outdated, I’ll look for other sources who can bring up Islam more to me. Someone who can satisfied my thirst of Islam and or someone who can make me think what is the Real Islam all about. And for me this is how my learning curve were cultivated.

I finished my education from elementary to senior high mostly at Christian & Catholic school, so reading a bible wasn’t a new thing for me. In order to succeed for next grade I had to pass my pelajaran agama exam, which is learning bible cover to cover. I had to learn songs Monday morning & Friday afternoon misa. Although I wouldn’t say I am excellent but I would say I pretty good with it.
Few years ago I once had ‘hot’ discussion with one alumni from Gontor pesantren about women role in Islam in today’s society. As far I recalled although it was a high voltage discussion, I value it lesser than our discussion here. Why, its because it was full of dogmatic, not based on today reality, and very shallow thought. In short I didn’t find a check and balance in our conversation.

Lesson learn just keep digging, talk to people whom you know have a good knowledge, use your common sense in analyzing Islam. Allah won’t burden people something
Quran from tafsir, and hadist. Use Quran before hadist. Do compare Quran with bible, or any other religious books available. I hope & pray for your journey and quest will have happy ending. After all we all sinner, who are we to judge whose right or wrong…..

BTW, I really like your blog… It shows your warm personality. It’s a shame we’ve never met before while we both still in Jakarta. I bet you’re a wonderful friend to be with…