Gareeb
10-30-2005, 03:17 AM
By Amina Islam
October 26, 2005
Born 1953 in the town Linz in Austria, I spent my childhood in Munich (Germany) until we moved to Salzburg (Austria) when I was 16 years old. I grew up in a conservative Christian way. My parents are strict Protestant Christians, which believe in the Bible and pray to Jesus as son of God. They educated me to keep a high standard of morals and ethics.
After I had finished high school, I started to study biology and in parallel, to work in a half-day job, both at the university of Salzburg.
Since I did not participate in any Christian activities of the Protestant church, my parents arranged for me to get in touch with an evangelic free church, the Baptist community (a very big and powerful Christian church in the USA). I became an active member and even a leader of a student group. I studied the Bible several times and believed in the dogmas of Jesus being son and part of God, and of the salvation of all people and the reconciliation with God only by his death on cross. At this time, I didn’t scrutinize the Bible carefully enough to recognize that this was not taught by Jesus in his gospel. But some years later, still in the same community, I was beginning to have my doubts and I could no longer accept this foundation of Christian faith and religion, which contradicted my reasoning. Although I was repeatedly told that this is God’s mystery and a matter of faith and not of intellect, I insisted that I could only believe that Jesus is a human being and a prophet with a special relation to God, who demonstrated the right way to God by his life and teachings.
I got married with a man from the Baptist church and I finished my studies achieving the doctorate. Two children and a divorce later I left the Baptist church, also due to my doubts concerning the foundation of Christianity.
I had to search for a full time job, since I was alone responsible for my children, but al-hamdu lillah I got a very good employment in research and student teaching in my field at the university of Salzburg. I was content to earn my own money to ensure financial independency from all other people.
I got married a second time and I started to deal with esoteric philosophies. I was still in search of truth. The second marriage was again turning into a disaster and I was divorced a second time. Similar as in the first case, the reason for divorce was that my husband took advantage of my position, money and my desire for harmony. He didn’t support me with any financial, practical or even psychological help or care for the children. But at this time, I was already independent with a sound basis in my life: I had a position as university professor and great responsibility for my work.
Since I had not found happiness in my private life, but was constantly overloaded with double work, job, children and household, I suffered form exhaustion depressions for some years. I only kept going in life due to my children and my work......
http://www.islamonline.net/english/journey/2005/10/jour08.shtml
October 26, 2005
Born 1953 in the town Linz in Austria, I spent my childhood in Munich (Germany) until we moved to Salzburg (Austria) when I was 16 years old. I grew up in a conservative Christian way. My parents are strict Protestant Christians, which believe in the Bible and pray to Jesus as son of God. They educated me to keep a high standard of morals and ethics.
After I had finished high school, I started to study biology and in parallel, to work in a half-day job, both at the university of Salzburg.
Since I did not participate in any Christian activities of the Protestant church, my parents arranged for me to get in touch with an evangelic free church, the Baptist community (a very big and powerful Christian church in the USA). I became an active member and even a leader of a student group. I studied the Bible several times and believed in the dogmas of Jesus being son and part of God, and of the salvation of all people and the reconciliation with God only by his death on cross. At this time, I didn’t scrutinize the Bible carefully enough to recognize that this was not taught by Jesus in his gospel. But some years later, still in the same community, I was beginning to have my doubts and I could no longer accept this foundation of Christian faith and religion, which contradicted my reasoning. Although I was repeatedly told that this is God’s mystery and a matter of faith and not of intellect, I insisted that I could only believe that Jesus is a human being and a prophet with a special relation to God, who demonstrated the right way to God by his life and teachings.
I got married with a man from the Baptist church and I finished my studies achieving the doctorate. Two children and a divorce later I left the Baptist church, also due to my doubts concerning the foundation of Christianity.
I had to search for a full time job, since I was alone responsible for my children, but al-hamdu lillah I got a very good employment in research and student teaching in my field at the university of Salzburg. I was content to earn my own money to ensure financial independency from all other people.
I got married a second time and I started to deal with esoteric philosophies. I was still in search of truth. The second marriage was again turning into a disaster and I was divorced a second time. Similar as in the first case, the reason for divorce was that my husband took advantage of my position, money and my desire for harmony. He didn’t support me with any financial, practical or even psychological help or care for the children. But at this time, I was already independent with a sound basis in my life: I had a position as university professor and great responsibility for my work.
Since I had not found happiness in my private life, but was constantly overloaded with double work, job, children and household, I suffered form exhaustion depressions for some years. I only kept going in life due to my children and my work......
http://www.islamonline.net/english/journey/2005/10/jour08.shtml