Peter Bell Those ways and values that pass the test of time and usage will survive. The others will fall away.
Ishmael Abraham Sacred values are falling away due to laziness and hypocrisy of believers.
Peter Bell Ishmael Abraham Yes, they are. I agree. But this has always been happening, hasn’t it?
Ishmael Abraham I think we are living in most spiritually difficult phase of history. The Ishmaelite Prophet peace and blessings be upon him said that during temptation of Antichrist a believer would have faith in the morning and would lose faith in the evening, and this would be the greatest temptation in human history. To resist that we are taught to adopt solitude more and avoiding the secular culture more. Chapter 18 of Quran is prescribed to be recited to resist Antichrist in which young believers went to a cave to save faith which is the most precious asset a human can have.
Peter Bell I agree that faith is our most precious asset, and that going to a cave to save it might be a good strategy when under attack from Antichrist, which I also agree is coming in more and more with the growing secular culture. Since we are getting on pretty good speaking terms, let me tell you very briefly of a long time in my life when I followed these ideas very heartily and logically to an extreme extent. With these beliefs in mind that we have been discussing (about the dangers of this phase of history), I joined a radical group dedicated precisely to “adopting solitude more and avoiding the secular culture more," to use your exact words. I joined that group with sincerity (and I believed the direct leading of God) when I was 24 and left it when I was 48. We established isolated communities in the wilderness in many places in North and South America and elsewhere, and I learned many amazing things there, such as the sweetness of godly fellowship and the delights of worshiping God and the glory of good solid work with my hands — but ultimately the experiment failed to meet its stated ends. Fortunately the group that was available to me in 1972 was not at all violent or hate-filled, as so many radicalized groups out there are now (expressing the Antichrist spirit while professing to fight against it). I am not bitter, but I have learned a lot about how to be “isolated unto God" and how not to be that as well. Blessings to you!
Ishmael Abraham Since now you are rejuvenated, you can share the fruits with others who need it.
A spiritual Ishmaelite 