>umm... the physical body dies. the
>soul lives forever. matter can
>not be created or destroyed
>- solid to liquid to
>gas...

I agree. I dont think I said differently. Please excuse me if it came out that way.

>everyone is resurrected to be judged
>for what? a female chinese
>newborn abandoned on the street,
>left for dead, because of
>overcrowding laws and patriarchal tradition
>gets judged for what? your
>allah says "oh, you're just
>a baby, you didn't do
>anything bad, go on up
>to heaven..." now come on.

I cant speak for Allah so I dont know what he would say. In Islam Children that have not started Puberty are not responsible for thier sins. So if a child dies they do go to Heaven. Why not?

>if heaven or hell exist
>like that, one or both
>is overflowing with souls because
>- do you know how
>many people must die everyday?

Okay? You seem to question the existance of heaven or hell. The creator gives us life, we have free-will, our souls are aware of right and wrong naturally just like you naturally believe there is a creator. Our contious bothers us when we attempt to do wrong without studying anything about religion. It is our nature to please our creator. How to please the creator? doing right and staying away from wrong. You live a life and do wrong and right and then you die. Yes your physical dies but your soul goes forth to be judged according to what you did in life. Then you get what you deserve Heaven or Hell. So when a dude with money kills people and can get off because he can get a good Lawyer or he pleads insanity when the truth is he's not, when he dies he then gets what he deserves. This doesnt mean that he will go to hell, he goes where Allah chooses to send him, he goes where he deserves. He could have repented and Allah may have accepted his repentance.

>and what constitutes worthiness for
>heaven? who has it right
>- the jews, the christians,
>the muslims, etc.?

All three kind of have it the same.

will serving
>your god get you there?
>ever think serving your god
>is serving yourself?

No. In all do respect that doesnt make sense to me. If god is the creator how he be created. We as human beings are not Godly. Being Godly you can do what you want when you want. We are not God. We cannot create ourselves. We cannot do anything accept by Allahs leave. If you disagree thats okay. I'm just sharing my view.

is it
>not the ultimate self-serving thing
>to do all you can
>to get to heaven?

Yes. I worship Allah because its good for me. Its the ultimate benefit. The guidance is infinite. The goal is to have the best of this life and the hereafter. The best of the hereafter is Heaven, the best of this life is having nice things and having fun but not forgetting about our duty to Allah. As long as the nice things are not sought out by prohibited or evil means such as stealing or selling drugs they are okay to have.

> will you go to hell in
>order to send someone else
>to heaven?

There is no need to. Why take that chance. In Islam there are cases when things are prohibited become obligatory. Example: If a Muslim is truely starving and the only food to eat is pork then he or she MUST eat the pork to survive.

The reason why I put forth this example is to say that There is always a righteous choice and when there is not you can do whats usually wrong in other circumstances.
>
>as far as praying, i do.
>i do in a way
>that clears my mind, which
>allows me to use the
>wisdom the creator gave me
>to solve my problems. and
>i do to thank the
>creator for what i have
>been blessed with.

This is good I urge you to continue.

not money
>or success, i know how
>to get those - but
>life, i really have no
>clear idea of how this
>life came about.

Allah will help in those pursuits as well. Remember the creator is in controll. You should ask Allah for things because without him you will not get these things. Allah is in control Not us.

>
>in the book THINGS FALL APART,
>some african women of a
>particular tribe converted to christianity
>because the belief system they
>were under did not allow
>for multiple births, and they
>were "tired" of bearing
>twins only to have the
>babies killed/sacrificed. obviously christianity was
>not the "answer" either, the
>white man used it to
>justify slavery. so much more
>goes on in this book,
>but from it one can
>reason why belief systems are
>faulty.
>
>religious people often say, "never question
>god." it's not the creator
>i question, it's people. the
>creator has given us "clues"
>everyday if not every second
>as to how we can
>live on a higher level
>within the confines of this
>earth. look at the type
>of beings we are. we
>are animals. we have intellect
>but we have instinct. we
>have to survive but we
>feel hella guilty when we
>crush others to do so.
>and there it is, the
>soul. that's why i personally
>feel the creator exists. that
>tingly feeling deep inside me...
>everything else seems contrived and
>ceremonial. i choose not to
>feed my soul with ceremony.
>
>
I agree with you but Islam is way of life not religion. The ceremonial things that are done all make sense. Praying five times a day when compared to bathing five times a day keeps you focused on doing right and staying away from just as the bathing keeps you clean and not dirty.

take care. My plan is to not offend you but just to let you know about Islam. I urge you too stay positive and doing whats right. I urge you to stay away from whats wrong and encourage others to do the same.

PEACE
>
>
>
>
>______
>
>"you came and opened me, now
>there's so much more i
>see"
>stevie wonder verse / that's what
>friends are for
>
>"...sell crazy somewhere else, lady. we're
>all stocked up here."
>jack nicholson line / as good
>as it gets
>
>"it took a while to get
>me here and i'm gonna
>take my time"
>gwen stefani / eve's -let me
>blow ya mind-