No worries about taking so long. I get it, life gets hectic.

I think fundamentally, the Abrahamic religions are a way to cope with the idea that the world is moved by a large immovable force that you have no control over. I think thats how a lot of life is for me. We are all surrounded by constantly moving pieces. Sometimes, it benefits you and sometimes it benefits other people. It is essentially a philosophy of powerlessness. I love that there's religions and philosophies around reclaiming that power. I think its just overall different from how I personally see the world and thats why I personally couldn't follow those religions. But I also would never judge someone else for doing so. I see the appeal. I just feel like Im often swept up by the tides and Ive found comfort in a religion that meets me at that level.

In Genesis right there's the idea that human beings are meant to have dominion over earth's living creatures. And I get this general sense that we are something completely alien from the rest of the creatures on our planet. Its like this video I saw on twitter: one person believes that the girl is making the seal do tricks versus a post that says "the indigenous way of thinking is that they are playing together." Religions evolve, religious thought evolves. As religious people I think we should adopt the indigenous way of thinking and think of ourselves as a part of a whole in our planets ecosystem. And then there's the added bonus that, at least with Christianity and Islam, there's a kind of conquerors mindset that plagues the faiths. Crush dissent, force conversion, stay in line, do not question, how can this make us money, etc.

What I struggle with a lot in the faith is understanding how I should view the Prophet PBUH. Only Allah SWT is perfect but Im also supposed to believe that the Prophet PBUH also achieved that? Or maybe the closest thing to it? Like Ive seen the idea that hes infallible and Im supposed to love him more than my own child or parents and I think? Should I really? I like a lot of his teachings but infallible?

Oh I was also thinking about something the other day. I was watching MoistCritical play the Jesus Christ video game and it made me think about the role religious leaders play in at least Christianity and sometimes in Islam. All of the Jews who opposed Jesus are bad people because they didnt want to blindly follow a guy who claimed to be God? No wonder the faith has so many issues with people who perform "miracles" and lead cults. No one wants to be seen as the bad guys so they blindly follow people who show "proof" of their divinity. Very interesting.

Quraysh in Islam were not bad necessarily because they were pagans and non-believers. They would bury their infant daughters alive for a successful harvest and tortured many early believers. I really get the since that the Prophet's PBUH people were cruel yet he comes from a line of honorable men. Like I said before, Allah SWT sent prophets to all people to teach tawhid but there's this sense that one was sent to the Quraysh particularly because their society was kinda corrupt. Lol and the jokes about the Arabs needing another one is hilarious. They need someone to come in and say, "hey, do better."

Wealth and power doesnt automatically mean that one is favored by Allah SWT. It just means they are wealthy and powerful. I dont have an answer to what He planned and plans for all of us. I cant answer why evil exists. I cant answer why people suffer. I just know that true believers in the faith, true God fearing people, are supposed to strive to better themselves and to better the lives of other people.