Balance is restored in my universe....

First off, I have to thank NoorTheNinjabi (cute name!) for giving me that link to the guidance prayer.

Second, I think God gave me the answer to my dilemma WAY faster than I could have anticipated. I said that prayer yesterday afternoon, and last night, I went to the book store (just browsing their comparative religion section, seeing what they had).

This is what I found: Jesus and Muhammad: Profound Differences and Surprising Similarities by Mark Gabriel.

http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Muhammad-Differences-Surprising-Similarities/dp/1591852919/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253391164&sr=1-1

The major note on this is that it was written, not as a comparison of Christianity and Islam, but as a scholarly look at the lives and teachings of the respective founders. Basically, he separated the leaders from the followers.

The author: Dr. Gabriel also related his experience growing up as a Muslim (he had the Qur'an memorized by age 12, graduated #2 in a class of 6,000 from Al-Azhar University at 18, and began teaching and leading prayers at the local mosque as an Imam. All along, he got in trouble with his teachers for asking questions about Islam. At 35, he was tortured for 15 days by the Egyptian "secret police" who had been told by the university staff that he had renounced Islam and converted to Christianity. After being released, he quit going to the mosque and turned his back on Islam (in secret). He read the Bible, which had been given to him by a pharmacist, and after reading the Gospels and Acts, he converted to Christianity. He secretly attended church for a year, but was forced to leave Egypt after blurting out the truth to his father, who immediately tried to kill him. He has two PhD's, one in Islamic History, but I forget what the other was. : )

Anyway, I read his book cover-to-cover, and it answered every question and niggling doubt in my mind.

I think that this was God's answer for me (and He sure knows I don't need any more stress in my life right now).