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I would recommend reading a biography of the prophet (sawa). I think reading about the prophet's life is one of the best ways to understand Islam.
As a note, if the Qur'an translation you have is proving difficult to get through, try a different one. Not all translations are the same. You can go to quran.com to compare some translations or search this sub for some recommendations.
What about Islam's beliefs do you find difficult?
"Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous." 2:177
Jesus (as) is a revered, respected and beloved prophet in Islam. He is mentioned a lot in the Qur'an, particularly in chapters 3 (Ali 'Imran) and 19 (Maryam).
On the off chance there is a mosque somewhere near you, try getting in touch or going to a visit just to check it out, ask some questions, etc.
Last but not least: Ask God for guidance. At night before you sleep, face the qiblah if you wish (north east), and ask God with a sincere intention to guide you to truth, to peace, to what is right and better for you, whatever it may be.
I suggest the following books by former anti-Catholic Presbyterian Minister Catholic Convert Scott Hahn. Read them yourself then give them to your boyfriend and discuss them with him.
Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism by Scott Hahn
And
Rome Sweet Home by Kimberly and Scott Hahn is a good read and a compelling conversion story for someone with the questions you have. It's a pretty easy, fast, and enjoyable read.
It was the late Christopher Hitchens who first taught me about the inhumanity of Mother Teresa, though I'd watched a lot of clips of his I haven't read his book, The Missionary Position.
What does it mean to be a wretched person? Maybe it means to be someone who feels no greater joy than watching another suffer unto death, just to feel the satisfaction of being there, when in all their desperation and without basic respite, accepting your religion on their deathbed.
By her own accounts she watched nearly 30,000 people come through her doors, and with broken empathy managed to convince them that their suffering only brought them closer to god. I'd like to know how anyone came to the conclusion that this woman was worthy more than anybody else of earning a Nobel peace prize.
Well, Mother Theresa is an expert on the subject. She left humans in her care to die in pain, denying them medical care and antibiotics. Her policies led to deaths from untreated injuries and diseases in the filthy, poorly managed hospices she ran (The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice https://www.amazon.com/Missionary-Position-Mother-Teresa-Practice/dp/1455523003/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1473084988&sr=8-1&keywords=hitchens+mother+teresa&linkCode=sl1&tag=chitch-20&linkId=58b39e60ab5d4a6a041d265dc54c8221)
Christopher Hitchins had quite a bit more to say about her; she cozied up to the Duvalier family who ran Haiti as a savage dictatorship for years and considered Charles Keating (disgraced savings and loan executive who bankrupted hundreds of elderly retirees when his pyramid S&L investment bank collapsed due to his greed and mismanagement) as her good friend.
She also opposed contraception and compared contraceptives to abortion, even though India women begged for them so they wouldn't be forced to give birth every year.
Have you read Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism by Scott Hahn ?
Scott Hahn and his wife were Presbyterian Ministers and Anti-Catholic Apologists that Converted. Many converts I know have spoken highly about him. I was born Catholic but I was away for over 24 years before the Lord called me back home 2 years ago. God bless you and we welcome you.
An excellent comment, it's so far down in the thread it will not get a lot of attention, but I'm glad you wrote it. I'm not religious, but I find this stuff fascinating. Your comment actually reminded me of a very interesting book I read, Zealot that tries to pin down as much of the historicity of the real person of Jesus, as much as such a thing is possible. It contains a lot of similar insights like the one you wrote here.
The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice
Is a great book by - Christopher Hitchens
You should read "Educated" by Tara Westover.
Hell, you should give copies to anybody you know who is in a similar situation.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399590501/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_TGF5TCGJRD9RW8JMCRZ7
Since everyone is saying everyone else is wrong, both you and /u/TheBlackBear are wrong (well, sort of). They (the party, not necessarily Republican voters) only care about two core things:
- Making the rich richer.
- Pushing white evangelical Christian nationalism.
Not everyone in the party cares equally about these two things, but those are the two core drivers that the modern Republican party are built upon. Everything else-- including all the things that /u/TheBlackBear refers to, as well as the racism, homophobia, and misogyny-- follow from those core ideals.
I'm just reading the book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation and it really does a good job of tracing both the history of white evangelical Christian nationalism and shows the effect that they have had and are having on our national policies. Their ultimate goal is to make the US a Christian theocracy. Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States is another good book on the subject.
While nothing these two books cover started with Trump (Jesus and John Wayne traces it's roots back to the Eisenhower administration), it's hard to truly understand the Trump presidency without understanding these forces. It's really far more terrifying then it even appears on the surface.
I recommend Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide by Edward Feser. I found it very informative while at the same time being easy to understand.
Lots of people here are or have been in the same boat. You are not alone.
Focus on your relationship with your wife and kids. Most people recommend going very slowly with spouses. You will have to bring up your issues some day. If nothing else your wife may notice your change in attitude. The critical thing at that point (or before that point) is to make sure your wife knows that you love her. You are questioning the church, not your marriage. Many TBMs have trouble making that distinction.
The second most important thing is that when you do start talking to your wife about church issues is to make sure she does not run to her family for advice. That is one reason to start slowly at the very edges. Ask that she keep your confidence. Cultivate the idea that this is something that the two of you have to work out together, and that family interference will only make it worse. It is the two of you against the world.
A family member or close friend leaving the church might be an opportunity to talk about why they left. I know you said that your families are uber TBM, but don't be surprised if someone does come out as ex.
One thing you might do is get a copy of No Man Knows My History by Fawn Brodie. It is an old book. Get it in paperback and let your wife see you reading it. Encourage her to read it with you.
I think the book used to be sold at Deseret Books, but I don't see it on their website. It might still be available in a brick and mortar store. Here is the Amazon link if you can't find it an official church site.
Just read it normally and if you have questions ask. Hopefully you got a reliable interpretation like saheeh or sahih international. I am sure there are many reliable interpretations but this is the one I am most familiar with.
All english books titled "Qur'an" are interpretations made by human authors. They are a lot easier to understand and read than the Quran itself which only exists in the arabic language.
Everything you need to know about Islam will be clearly and explicitly told in the Quranic interpretation you have. There is not a single fundamental of Islam which is not mentioned in the Quran. It's always a good place to start alongside the seerah. Some people recommend the martin lings seerah life of the prophet from birth to death.
I recently read Jesus and John Wayne and it brought all kinds of flashbacks from growing up in Baptist churches.
She was a monster. She fetishized suffering, and was the cause of so much of it that it's unfortunate that there's no hell for her to suffer in. Although she probably would love it.
The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice by Christopher Hitchens
Great thoughts.
I lost some twitter followers a while back because I wrote a thread about Joseph Smith's heavy practicing of folk magic.... and that the Smith family were a bunch of swindlers and con-artists. Good riddance, lol
Side note: read "No Man Knows My History" by Fawn M. Brodie. Fawn was the excommunicated niece of David O. McKay. She was excommunicated for writing this book.
There is a book called Many Life Many Masters by Brian L. Weiss, where he speaks about his time as a clinical psychologist where he had a young troubled patient, he uses regression therapy to make her experience her past lives and that way overcome her issues.
It is pretty interesting even if you don't believe in reincarnation. There are also several youtube videos that teach you how to go step by step through the regression process. There are other books, you would have to find them on Amazon so you can buy them.
Not referral link btw.
Have you read "Rome Sweet Home" by Scott and Kimberly Hahn? It is their conversion story. Both staunch anti-Catholics, Scott came to the faith first and made a promise to Kimberly that he would wait five years before coming into the Church. Instead, he knew he had to come in earlier and it cause big problems in their marriage. Also, Dr. David Anders, "The Catholic Church Saved my Marriage." Both may help you.
While you have to handle this on your own and it feels as if you are alone, you're not. Our Lord is right beside you and so are we -- holding you up in prayer to our Lord. I'll add you, your wife and your family to my prayers. Stay strong and trust in the Lord.
edit: added links to the suggest books
No Man Know's My History, a biography of Joseph Smith. The author, Fawn Brodie, was eventually excommunicated by the LDS church.
Someone recently sent me a photo of my great grandparents from my grandmother's side.
I saw my great grandmother, there were a cock-ish grin on her face, with her hand on her hip and thought, "Now, that is one cool lady! I wish I could've known her." I will never meet her, but I love her already. I didn't love her before I saw that photo.
Regarding Muhammad, I was really quite skeptical of him as a prophet and couldn't see why people loved him so much. The book <em>Muhammad: His Life Based Upon the Earliest Sources</em>, by Martin Lings shed some light on the man as a person and the basic story of his prophethood. It is a good book. It didn't try to preach to me or convince me of anything, it just laid out the known facts. And it was well-written, which made it easy and enjoyable to read. I couldn't put the book down, once I got into it.
I don't know about Assasin's Creed. I'd have to think on a list of books, but one that covers a lot of this is "Zealot"
Edit: It's by Reza Aslan https://www.amazon.com/ZEALOT-Life-Times-Jesus-Nazareth/dp/140006922X
Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss has had a big influence on my personal outlook and the way I treat others.
>As a traditional psychotherapist, Dr. Brian Weiss was astonished and skeptical when one of his patients began recalling past-life traumas that seemed to hold the key to her recurring nightmares and anxiety attacks. His skepticism was eroded, however, when she began to channel messages from the “space between lives,” which contained remarkable revelations about Dr. Weiss’ family and his dead son. Using past-life therapy, he was able to cure the patient and embark on a new, more meaningful phase of his own career. With more than one million copies in print, Many Lives, Many Masters is one of the breakthrough texts in alternative psychotherapy and remains as provocative and timeless as it was when first published.
Awesome question OP you might find this book interesting :)
“Many Lives, Many Masters” by Brian Weiss
It’s written by a respected Harvard trained psychiatrist and is quite fascinating.
https://www.amazon.com/Many-Lives-Masters-Prominent-Psychiatrist/dp/0671657860
And this one is truly amazing:
“The Process” by Isa Moore https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-process-from-the-life-of-isa-moore/id536787587
Sounds a LOT like the book, "Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation ". It's relatively short, easy to see and paints a clear picture of their viewpoint.
Hitchens noted in his evaluation of Mother Theresa that after her, they did away with "Devils Advocate" and this process is pretty much just marketing.
The short answer is Catholicism is the correct one.
Great question, I’m interested in this as well. “Jesus and John Wayne” was an excellent read somewhat related to your question. A good book of reflection on how we’ve gotten to where we are today.
This is always hard, but answer these questions for yourself.
Why do you want to convert?
Where do you think God is calling you?
At what point are you in disobedience to God?
<em>Rome Sweet Home</em> by Dr. Scott Hahn may help you. There is a spot where he wants to convert, but his wife is very angry with him and doesn't want him to. He says that by not converting he is being disobedient to God and gives a brief explanation.
Hang in there, pray for yourself and your family and trust in God and our Lord.