Be grateful for such insight and use it wisely.

If you find yourself caring for people or giving in charity thank Allah for His mercy. Similarly if you find yourself enduring hardship with patience or being grateful in times of ease praise the one who is the real cause. He could well have had you doing the opposite.

Where is the cruelty in this? It's your choice. Would you have preferred to have been born an ant or an elephant with no choice or responsibility?

Dear Grateful,

How do you know an ant or an elephant has no choice or responsibility?

Grateful: Where is the cruelty in this? It's your choice.

So the God is just playing with humanity, as a toy. If the God knows that you are going to do something stupid before you have done it or you were even born & going to Hell, then what was the point of your birth. Sort of gift to the Devil. Sounds like an unholy conspiracy to me by a very nasty God.

What happened to all the Old Gods. I suppose once people stopped believing in them they just faded away into oblivion. I guess when people wake up to "Gods," the ones we have today will just fade away into oblivion too & that'll be a good thing. I wonder just what will take their place.

It's not so much that "Gods" are a problem, it's Religion & it's accompanying Dogma, that is.

Hi Dan
Yes we refer to God as creator. But as these pages show, there are many ways to understand that. Some believe God literally created the universe and life in six days, as Genesis describes. Some, apparently including the pope, think Genesis is a metaphor, and God creates through natural processes like evolution and gravity. Others, like Peter Sellick, think God's creation has nothing to do with the origin of life and the universe but concerns the new creation of god's kingdom

David f wrote:
"How do you know an ant or an elephant has no choice or responsibility?"

In the same way as you do: through observation. Firstly, i have never heard of anyone demand of an ant or elephant that they be held to account for their actions. Secondly, science (as of last year's New Scientist) has found no other creature that has created anything that could be described as art.

Islamic teachings is consistent with these observations in that it maintains that unlike humans, animals have no choice but to worship Allah. We however are to be judged based on our choices. We are free to choose to believe or not believe.

Do you maintain we have free will?

grateful says :” animals have no choice but to worship Allah. “.
Do you have any evidence for this weird statement, grateful, or have you missed your medication again and are only capable of talking nonsense?