'The Ascent of Muhammad to Heaven (Miraj)', by Sultan Muhammad, created 1539-1543. Carefully read God’s Message in the words of the prophets. It shall strengthen and purify your mind by directing your thoughts towards virtue and away from vice. It shall direct you towards the straight path. Close your ears to the words of false... Continue Reading →
Christ in the Wilderness, Ivan Kramskoy, 1872. The prophets are God’s messengers. Many of us cannot hear the voice of our souls nor see God’s signs. So God sends His prophets to remind us of our purpose, to teach us of virtue and vice, and to guide us to the straight path. He sends His... Continue Reading →
The mind is free when it follows virtue and rejects vice. It is free when it listens to the soul and maintains its authority over the body. To do so, it must harden its will and discipline its thoughts and desires, so that it leads them rather than being led by them. Such a mind... Continue Reading →
Love binds man to woman and woman to man, parent to child and child to parent, friend to friend, family to society, society to family and all to God. It is the virtue that binds all relationships together. Without love there would be no family, no society and no humanity. Love is a part of... Continue Reading →
There are three steps to the straight path. The first step is to remember the straight path and begin to perceive its presence in all things. The second step is to seek the straight path by acting virtuously toward friends and enemies and rejecting vice. The third step is to find the straight path and,... Continue Reading →
God laid the straight path to guide us to Heaven. And He gave us the freedom to choose to walk it or not. He gave us this choice to teach us the difference between right and wrong, so we remember the necessity for righteous action. Those who walk the straight path shall walk it for... Continue Reading →
The straight path is God's Truth. It is the path of virtue and righteous action. It has always been and shall always be. It dwells in every grain of sand and on every mountain peak, in every mind, in every body, and in every soul. The straight path is the purpose of the soul. It... Continue Reading →
Purpose is essential to life as it gives meaning and direction to the thoughts of the mind and the actions of the body. The purpose of the mind and the body is to learn and grow stronger. The mind and the body strengthen themselves by acting virtuously. To learn, to strengthen, and to seek virtue,... Continue Reading →
Purpose is the reason for living. It gives meaning to life and directs the thoughts and actions of the mind and the body. Without purpose, the mind and the body lose vitality. They flounder and lose their way. The purpose of the mind and the body is to learn. To learn is to understand more... Continue Reading →
Dr Marin Luther King Jr’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech embodied the hopes and dreams of the Civil Rights Movement in the USA during the 1960s. It is one of the most famous speeches of the 20th century. In the final paragraph from this excerpt of his speech, Dr Martin Luther King Jr quotes Isaiah... Continue Reading →
I began studying Mahatma Gandhi’s life after seeing the 1982 film 'Gandhi', directed by Richard Attenborough. Gandhi had a keen sense of right and wrong, an understanding of virtue and vice. His determination to improve the lives of his fellow Indians, resist prejudice and oppression, which first began in South Africa under Apartheid and then... Continue Reading →
As I continued studying religion and philosophy, I discovered this passage written by the Confucian philosopher Mencius (371-289 c. BCE). Humanity is the peaceful abode of men and righteousness is his straight path. What a pity for those who leave the peaceful abode and do not live there, and abandon the straight path and do... Continue Reading →
The Quran contains numerous references to the straight path. The following passage was of particular interest: Such is the path of your Lord: a straight path. We have made plain Our revelations to thinking men. They shall dwell in peace with their Lord. He will give them His protection as recompense for what they do.... Continue Reading →
This first post is devoted to outlining the nature of the straight path.
After reading the Old Testament, I then read the New Testament and came across Isaiah’s prophecy again in the Gospel according to Mark: As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness:, Prepare the way... Continue Reading →
The Straight Path Christian 