Monthly Archives: November 2011
Muhammad and the Demonic
Brief Introduction
For those of you checking out this post because of the title, you should know that the following is a research paper I did this semester. It is rather lengthy, so I don’t expect all of you to read it. What you really want to know is what my title means…so, my conclusion in essence is that Muhammad had a real experience with a demon. There. Now you’re interested enough to read it all. But even if you don’t agree with my conclusion, perhaps I’ve raised some questions that you should look into yourself. Please note that the following material is copyrighted by me. Do not use or cite without permission. My sources are listed at the end, anyway. You’d do better to go to my sources instead of trying to quote me. This paper reflects an objective opinion based upon my research, and is not necessarily the opinion of NOBTS, its students, or of the professor. Please feel free to refute, but do so in an objective scholastic manner.
Note – there are five pages to this article. Look for the Page number links to progress. They are at the bottom beneath the share buttons.
THE REVELATION OF MUHAMMAD:
EVALUATION, CRITIQUE, AND BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
A Research Paper Submitted to
Dr. Mike Edens
Of The New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Course
THEO6333 Islam and the Doctrine of Revelation
Division of Theological and Historical Studies
Keven Newsome
B.M., William Carey University, 2002
November 28, 2011
Muhammad lived from 570 AD to 632 AD. He spent his life in various regions of the Arabian peninsula, from Mecca to Medina and the trades routes throughout the region. The revelations and prophetic experiences of Muhammad are the foundation for all Islamic beliefs. Without the experiences of Muhammad, the Koran would not exist nor would the Muslim religion. Islam has grown into one of the largest religions and is one of the oldest existing religions still practiced. But does anyone fully understand what happened to Muhammad when he entered the mountain cave and encountered the angel for the first time? Either he was truthful about his encounter or he was a liar. And if he was a liar, then his religion is a fraud.
So much going on…
It’s crunch time this semester. Only two weeks left before I officially have only THREE semesters to complete my MA in Theology (and Biblical Studies). I have a lot going on writing wise. So I wanted to give everyone a run-down.
I do plan to continue my New Generation Writer series. I have a few more “Rules” to go over and a couple of interviews to share. So look for that.
I’ve also completed two research papers on two of the most well-known prophets outside of main-stream Christianity: Muhammad and Joseph Smith. In these papers I review and critique their revelation experiences. I plan to publish these here on my site, despite the fact that the Muhammad paper will probably get me my own jihad and the Joseph Smith paper might bring a host of missionaries to my door.
As soon as I’ve completed this semester, I’ve got to get on two writing projects. I must return to Winter 2 and I need to get going on revisions to my unpublished fantasy which will make it’s debut as a serial in Digital Dragon Magazine.
I’d like to film one of my short stories during Christmas break, if I can make it happen. And I also want to try my hand at vlogging and getting involved in the YouTube social movement.
Lest I forget to mention it, we have a ton of Christmas plans too. So not a dull moment around here!
There’s the update. Look for these exciting things to come!
-k
Christmas deal on Winter!
From now until sometime around Christmas (I’m flexible. I’ll announce when the deal is over), I’ll be running a special deal on Winter. Order directly from me via Paypal and receive a signed copy of Winter for just $16, shipping included! How does that compare to Amazon? Amazon has it for $14 + $4 shipping for a total of $18 AND you don’t get it signed. So order it direct from me for the special reader in your life. It’ll be a great Christmas present!
Here’s how:
1) Send me an email at kevennewsome [at] gmail [dot] com, with your intention to order and your shipping address. I’ll send you a confirmation in return.
2) Make a payment via Paypal of $16 to the same email address – kevennewsome [at] gmail [dot] com.
3) Once the payment has been received and verified, I’ll ship the book immediately!
Don’t wait! Make your order today to make sure it gets here in time for Christmas. You’ll want to allow at least a week for shipping, but as everyone knows that wait time gets incrementally longer the closer we get to Christmas.
Supplies are limited. I have probably about 30 copies. So get yours before I run out!
-k
The New Generation Writer – Rule #2
We’ve lost “artist” status as authors in the eyes of most people. At least, that’s how I’ve experienced. What’s caused this? Well, it’s because we don’t act like other artists. In this digital age, most authors sit behind their computer screens and go from writing word #1 to published author without ever leaving their house. How many of you in the Indie publishing scene have even met your publisher? You know, it was months before I even spoke to my publisher by voice, and that was through Skype.
So we’ve become these recluses of sorts. We’re comfortable not being personal. We’re comfortable not interacting. We like it, because let’s face it, we’re all just a bunch of shy introverts with social anxiety disorder. Well, maybe not all. But a lot of us are to some degree.
An artist can’t really do that. You can, but you’ll only be appreciated posthumously, when your extroverted social butterfly of a grandson discovers your stuff and makes millions from it. Painters have art exhibitions. Musicians have concerts. Dancers have stage performances. Actors have stage, TV, and movies. What do writers have? Not much, really. Maybe a book signing, but most of us hate those so much they’re few and far between. Besides, book signings are usually flops anyway. Most writers are content to hide behind their computers, hide behind their ink and paper, hide behind their words. How can we ever be respected as artists and be successful by doing this?
We can’t. We have to get out. We have to meet people. We have to do something comparable to exhibitions, concerts, and stage performance. What do we have to offer? Words. Lots of them. Let’s use words publicly before our audience. And by doing this, we will truly act like an artist.
And so we come to our next rule.
RULE #2
The New Generation Writer seeks out opportunities to connect with their audience face to face as an artist by developing relationships and building a speaking platform.
Let’s not hide. Let’s start this revolution together…as artists. Stay tuned for more.
-k
The New Generation Writer – Rule #1
Over at NAF I posted last week some observations about being a New Generation Writer. Check it out HERE. Since then, I’ve been giving a lot of my spare thought to what a New Generation Writer might look like. Specifically, I wanted to identify some writers that might already be doing this and I wanted to see what they are doing. I’ve been thinking… percolating…how to be a New Generation Writer. I’m going to do a series of “Rules” on how to become a New Generation Writer. (Use that term lightly, okay? They’re not really rules. I get that.) I’m also going to do a series of interviews with people I see as already being New Generation Writers.
The heart of it is connecting to a new generation of readers. No one really gets into writing to make a ton of money. We do it because we enjoy telling stories. We want to share those stories with as many people as possible. So while it may look like clever marketing to some, for me it’s not really about the money…it’s about connecting. And I think this new generation is getting tired with all the saturation of poor marketing techniques used by desperate writers. Facebook is saturated. Blogs are saturated. Amazon is saturated with too many books. It’s just too much. The marketing is so obvious it’s almost pathetic. Writing has become devalued. So we need to step back away from marketing and concentrate on connecting. We need to instill a sense of worth in writing again.
RULE #1
The New Generation Writer seeks to genuinely connect with their audience instead of trying to exploit them for marketing purposes, demonstrating to them value as a reader and expecting value as a writer in return.
Time to start the revolution on writing. Who’s with me? Stay tuned for more.
-k
