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Farhan
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Farhan Qureshi
I was born and raised an Ahmadi but I converted to orthodox (Sunni) Islam at the age of 17. When I was 25 my life journey continued and I embraced Universalism based on my education in Psychology and due to my encounters with diversity and plurality in the human species. Islam continues to influence my life today but to be fair to the traditionalist (Sunni) majority, I am not Muslim and hence the proper claim I make for myself is Agnostic.
I have been involved in Apologetics and prior to my Agnosticism as a Muslim I debated many scholarly individuals including: Dr. James White, David Wood, Walid Shoebat, Nabeel Qureshi, Sam Shamoun, Tony Costa, Shaykh Shaker Elsayed (Muslim intrafaith debate) among others. My purpose in debating has never been to convince others of my beliefs rather to challenge my own beliefs, defend my beliefs, pursue knowledge and the true meaning behind life, reality and existence.
Current Activities: Unitarian Universalism Association; Studying Mystical Traditions including Zen Buddhism, Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism, Gnosticism, Shamanism, Kabbala, Sufism, Taoism; I am also involved in an academic study of Clinical Psychology and Mental Health.
Blog: http://www.faithfreedom.org...
Approach: Agnosticism, Universalism, Relativism, Postmodernism, Modernism, Rationalism, Empiricism, Mysticism
Random Thoughts:
One is either enlightened through religion or brainwashed by it.
It is possible to see outside of the box and yet remain inside of it.
I prefer spirituality and rationality instead of theology, religion and dogma. I am spiritual rather than religious or dogmatic.
The greatest jehad (struggle) is against oneself. Do not allow your ego and identity to get in the way of reality.
Discipline is commendable but don't forget to be yourself either.
Know yourself. Self-Actualization, Self-Awareness, Self-Knowledge, Self-Discovery, Self-Discipline, Self-Control, basically knowing yourself and your fullest potential in every imaginable category is the first step to enlightenment. The second is to realize that there is a deep connection between you and literally everything else in existence. Separation is one of many illusions in this illusory world.
Confront your ego, confront your shadows (the illnesses, weaknesses and darkness that afflicts you), acknowledge them as they are and make a sincere effort to control them. If you cannot completely control these urges, impulses, or desires, don't panic. You were either born with these challenges or developed them throughout a time of childhood, adolescence, ignorance and weakness, and now they are a part of your life; there are ways to manage the ego and the shadows.
Beware of the consequences of your actions but never dwell in guilt because dwelling in guilt will only bring about more misery and suffering. Move forward, do not stay in the past or remain stagnant. The purpose of life is to evolve. That is what humanity is doing collectively and that is what each individual should be doing in their own personal capacity as well. As individuals living normal day to day lives and as human civilizations and societies we should constantly be evolving in terms of gaining knowledge, evolving our perspective as we gain more knowledge; evolving our philosophy, methodology, and as such we evolve spiritually as well. Our experiences and perception of reality evolves through an ongoing process of enlightenment. We have to embrace our evolution.
Growth should be the consequence of our suffering, not more suffering.
If you learn how to impact the unconscious part of your of mind then your consciousness as you know and experience it will have reached the highest level of self-management.
We don't have to agree to get along. It is possible to agree to disagree.
Subjective experiences are far more important to me than argumentation.
Arrogance is the worst characteristic one can have.
It is possible to be both conservative (about certain things) and liberal (about certain things).
I abhor terrorism and persecution.
The belief in the existence of Hell where people are tortured for eternity by way of God's will is the most repulsive belief that one can honestly hold.
An individual believes according to what appears to be the true to them. We each have our own subjective knowledge, experiences and perception. Do not judge anyone because even if they are sincerely wrong, they are yet sincere.
I was born and raised an Ahmadi but I converted to orthodox (Sunni) Islam at the age of 17. When I was 25 my life journey continued and I embraced Universalism based on my education in Psychology and due to my encounters with diversity and plurality in the human species. Islam continues to influence my life today but to be fair to the traditionalist (Sunni) majority, I am not Muslim and hence the proper claim I make for myself is Agnostic.
I have been involved in Apologetics and prior to my Agnosticism as a Muslim I debated many scholarly individuals including: Dr. James White, David Wood, Walid Shoebat, Nabeel Qureshi, Sam Shamoun, Tony Costa, Shaykh Shaker Elsayed (Muslim intrafaith debate) among others. My purpose in debating has never been to convince others of my beliefs rather to challenge my own beliefs, defend my beliefs, pursue knowledge and the true meaning behind life, reality and existence.
Current Activities: Unitarian Universalism Association; Studying Mystical Traditions including Zen Buddhism, Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism, Gnosticism, Shamanism, Kabbala, Sufism, Taoism; I am also involved in an academic study of Clinical Psychology and Mental Health.
Blog: http://www.faithfreedom.org...
Approach: Agnosticism, Universalism, Relativism, Postmodernism, Modernism, Rationalism, Empiricism, Mysticism
Random Thoughts:
One is either enlightened through religion or brainwashed by it.
It is possible to see outside of the box and yet remain inside of it.
I prefer spirituality and rationality instead of theology, religion and dogma. I am spiritual rather than religious or dogmatic.
The greatest jehad (struggle) is against oneself. Do not allow your ego and identity to get in the way of reality.
Discipline is commendable but don't forget to be yourself either.
Know yourself. Self-Actualization, Self-Awareness, Self-Knowledge, Self-Discovery, Self-Discipline, Self-Control, basically knowing yourself and your fullest potential in every imaginable category is the first step to enlightenment. The second is to realize that there is a deep connection between you and literally everything else in existence. Separation is one of many illusions in this illusory world.
Confront your ego, confront your shadows (the illnesses, weaknesses and darkness that afflicts you), acknowledge them as they are and make a sincere effort to control them. If you cannot completely control these urges, impulses, or desires, don't panic. You were either born with these challenges or developed them throughout a time of childhood, adolescence, ignorance and weakness, and now they are a part of your life; there are ways to manage the ego and the shadows.
Beware of the consequences of your actions but never dwell in guilt because dwelling in guilt will only bring about more misery and suffering. Move forward, do not stay in the past or remain stagnant. The purpose of life is to evolve. That is what humanity is doing collectively and that is what each individual should be doing in their own personal capacity as well. As individuals living normal day to day lives and as human civilizations and societies we should constantly be evolving in terms of gaining knowledge, evolving our perspective as we gain more knowledge; evolving our philosophy, methodology, and as such we evolve spiritually as well. Our experiences and perception of reality evolves through an ongoing process of enlightenment. We have to embrace our evolution.
Growth should be the consequence of our suffering, not more suffering.
If you learn how to impact the unconscious part of your of mind then your consciousness as you know and experience it will have reached the highest level of self-management.
We don't have to agree to get along. It is possible to agree to disagree.
Subjective experiences are far more important to me than argumentation.
Arrogance is the worst characteristic one can have.
It is possible to be both conservative (about certain things) and liberal (about certain things).
I abhor terrorism and persecution.
The belief in the existence of Hell where people are tortured for eternity by way of God's will is the most repulsive belief that one can honestly hold.
An individual believes according to what appears to be the true to them. We each have our own subjective knowledge, experiences and perception. Do not judge anyone because even if they are sincerely wrong, they are yet sincere.
About Me:
Contemporary: Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, Thich Nhat Hanh, Dr. Frank Morales, Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, Anthony Robbins, Andrew Cohen, Brad Warner, Noah Levine, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Lama Surya Das, Lama Rangdrol, Alex Grey, Rick Strassman, James Swartz, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ken Wilber, Peter Russell, Gregg Braden, Fred Alan Wolf, John Esposito, Karen Armstrong, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Hamza Yusuf, Tariq Ramadan, TJ Winter, Mokhtar Maghraoui, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Maajid Nawaz, Javed Ghamidi, Khaled Abou El Fadl, Jim Al Khalili, Michio Kaku, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Mooji, Satish Kumar, Tony Samara, Stephen Knapp, Amit Goswami, Ram Dass, Dr. Pillai, Dr. Brian Weiss, Ian Stevenson, Dr. Jim Tucker, Dr. Andrew Weil, Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, V.S. Ramachandran, Adyashanti, William Nyogen Yeo Roshi, Gudo Wafu Nishijima Roshi, Genpo Roshi, Ven. Buddharakkhita, Stephen Batchelor, Rev. Carlton Pearson, Rev. Michael Dowd, William Lane Craig, Ravi Zacharias, Bart Ehrman, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennet, Richard Dawkins, John Searle, David Chalmers, Desmond Tutu, Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Bill Maher, Michael Moore, Ron Paul, Reza Aslan
Historical: Socrates, Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Gandhi, Muhammad, Aristotle, Plato, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Bhakti Tirtha Swami, Baghwan Shree Rajneesh, Guru Nanak, Asoka, Dogen Zenji, Confucius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Zoroaster, Mani, Mahavira, Ibn Rushd, Ibn Sina, Ibn Arabi, Rumi, Ibn Sabin, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Al-Kindi. Al-Farabi, Al-Jahiz, Al-Ghazali, Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi, Mulla Sadra, Hafiz Shirazi, Sai Baba of Shirdi, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Ghulam Ahmad Pervez, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Bahaullah, Wasil ibn Atta (Mu'tazilah), Jahm bin Safwan, Abu Hasan al-Ashari, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, Noble Drew Ali, Martin Luther (Protestant Reformation), Michael Servetus, Erik Erikson, Abraham Maslow, Galileo, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, Immanuel Kant, Nietzsche, David Hume, John Locke, St. Thomas Aquinas, Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan, Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, William James, Viktor Frankl, Francisco Varela, Alan Watts, Christopher Hitchens, Timothy Leary, John Lennon, Bob Marley, Mother Theresa, George Fox (Quakers), James Nayler, Thomas Henry Huxley, Max Müller, E. Stanley Jones, Adi Shankara, Sri Aurobindo, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Swami Prabhupada, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda
Country:
United States
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Do sinners deserve to go to Hell forever? Will only one group of people be saved, and the rest damned? Should finite sins merit eternal punishment?...
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This talk was presented by Farhan Quresh at SkeptiCamp DC on October 16, 2011.
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Channel Comments
I heard though, Al-ghazzali said there were levels of disbelief, and someone who did not know or had islam prestented to them wrongly who did not accept islam were not accountable, only though who acknowledged it as the truth but still rejected it out of arrogance. Heard it in a hamza yusuf speech.
I don't know what textual evidence Ghazalli gave however.
Question though: If hitler lived forever, would he kill infinitly, and again and again? If so, is an eternity of hellfire just for man who would commit evil for an eternity?
A better example would be clifford olsen, who bragged about raping and literally torturing children, and said he would do it again if he left prison(he's dead now, died 2011)
If he would live forever, eternally and clearly by his own statements he would tortuer and rape eternally, would it not be just if he burned eternally?
It just so happens clifford olsen was finite and died, though would he have stopped if he kept going?
That said, why should someone burn eternally if they commited adultry unrepentantly? THAT is what disturbs me.
Or a dude is weak willed and loves beer? Why should he burn eternally?
Unfortunately, this video is not available in Germany because it may contain music for which GEMA has not granted the respective music rights.
Thanks