2026 Ramalan : 2, Can God Be Known Personally?

Day 2: Can God Be Known Personally?

Servants, Seekers, and Children

Characters

Robert – Christian

Rahim – Devout Muslim

Ram – Devout Hindu

Setting:

Late night. Silence between sentences. The conversation is deeper now.

Opening: A Question That Refuses to Go Away

Ram:

I couldn’t sleep after yesterday. We spoke about God—but I keep asking myself:

Is God even knowable, or are we chasing shadows?

Rahim:

God is beyond us. That itself is faith.

Robert:

Or maybe that’s where faith stops too early.

1. Islam Under the Microscope: Submission Without Intimacy

Rahim:

The Qur’an is clear. Allah is utterly unlike creation:

“There is nothing like unto Him.”

(Qur’an 42:11)

To claim closeness is dangerous. We are ‘abd—slaves.

Robert:

Let’s slow down, Rahim.

If Allah is unknowable in essence, then tell me:

What exactly do you love when you say you love Allah?

Rahim:

We love His mercy.

Robert:

But even that mercy is conditional:

“Allah does not love the unbelievers.”

(Qur’an 3:32)

“Allah does not love the wrongdoers.”

(Qur’an 3:57)

So Allah’s love depends on human behavior.

Let me press further.

Allah has 99 names, but not one relational name like Father.

Why?

Rahim:

Because Allah has no equals.

Robert:

Fatherhood does not imply equality—it implies initiative and care.

Yet even Muhammad admits:

“I do not know what will be done with me or with you.”

(Qur’an 46:9)

If the messenger himself does not know God relationally, how can the follower claim it?

(Rahim exhales slowly.)

2. Hinduism Under the Microscope: Mystery Without Resolution

Ram:

In Hinduism, God is not a person to be known. God is Brahman—beyond thought.

The Upanishads say:

“Yato vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha”

“Words return, along with the mind, unable to reach Him.”

(Taittiriya Upanishad 2.4)

Robert:

Then Ram, be honest.

If God cannot be known, why do you worship Him?

Ram:

Because ignorance causes suffering. Knowledge leads to liberation.

Robert:

But your own scriptures admit knowledge is impossible.

“Neti, Neti” — Not this, not this

(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.3.6)

So Hinduism says:

God cannot be known

Truth cannot be defined

Liberation happens through realization—but of what, exactly?

This isn’t humility.

This is epistemological collapse.

Ram:

That’s why avatars come.

Robert:

Then the question becomes sharper:

If God comes repeatedly—as Rama, Krishna, others—

Why does evil persist?

Why does dharma keep collapsing every age?

Your own Gita admits this cycle never ends:

“Whenever righteousness declines… I manifest Myself.”

(Bhagavad Gita 4:7)

That means the solution never actually solves the problem.

3. The Shared Human Problem

Robert:

Let me unify both of your views.

Islam: God is too distant to be known

Hinduism: God is too abstract to be known

Yet humans everywhere long to be known.

Why?

The Bible gives a brutal diagnosis:

“God has set eternity in the human heart.”

(Ecclesiastes 3:11)

We are not just ignorant.

We are separated.

4. Christianity’s Dangerous Claim

Rahim:

Christianity claims too much.

Robert:

Yes. And that’s why it must be examined seriously.

Jesus does not say:

“Seek enlightenment”

“Submit without assurance”

“Meditate into oneness”

He says:

“This is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God.”

(John 17:3)

Not know about.

Know personally.

Ram:

But knowing God personally limits Him.

Robert:

No.

It reveals His nature.

The Bible does not say God acts loving.

It says:

“God is love.”

(1 John 4:8)

An impersonal being cannot love.

A distant being cannot suffer.

A hidden being cannot save.

5. Servants, Devotees… or Children?

Rahim:

Islam honors servanthood.

Robert:

So does the Bible—but it doesn’t stop there.

Jesus says:

“I no longer call you servants… I have called you friends.”

(John 15:15)

And Paul goes further:

“You did not receive a spirit of slavery… but of adoption.”

(Romans 8:15)

Ask yourselves honestly:

Why does no prophet, no avatar, no guru ever invite people to call God Father?

Because only a Son can reveal a Father.

6. The Cost of Personal Knowledge

Ram:

Knowing God personally would require God to enter suffering.

Robert:

Exactly.

That is why other religions stop short.

The Bible doesn’t.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

(John 1:14)

God doesn’t explain suffering from a distance.

He enters it.

7. Final Philosophical Pressure

Robert:

Let me leave you with three unavoidable questions:

If God cannot be known, why does the heart demand Him?

If God never enters history, how does He heal history?

If God never pays the cost of evil, who does?

Jesus says:

“Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

(John 14:9)

This is either blasphemy…

or the clearest revelation of God ever given.

There is no middle ground.

Closing (Quiet, Heavy)

Rahim:

If this is true… then religion has hidden God from us.

Ram:

And philosophy has dissolved Him.

Robert:

And the Gospel reveals Him.

“The light shines in the darkness.”

(John 1:5)

2026 Ramalan - 1: Ram, Rahim & Robert : Who is God Really ?

Robert – Christian

Rahim – Devout Muslim (Ramadan observer)

Ram – Devoted Hindu (Bhakti-oriented)

Tone: friendly, probing, apologetic, truth told plainly, not softened—but not abusive.

Who Is God Really?

A Conversation Between Three Close Friends

Characters

Robert – Christian

Rahim – Muslim

Ram – Hindu

Setting:

Evening tea after iftar. All three have known each other for years.

Opening: Shared Spiritual Hunger

Ram:

It’s interesting, Rahim—during Ramadan you fast, during Lent Robert reflects deeply, and during Ekadashi we fast too. Different paths, same God perhaps?

Rahim:

Yes. God is one. We just approach Him differently.

Robert:

That’s what many people say. But can I ask something gently—as a friend?

Ram:

Of course.

Rahim:

Go ahead.

Robert:

If God has revealed Himself, shouldn’t His nature be clear and consistent?

Not just our devotion—but who He actually is.

(Both pause.)

1. Can God Be Known Personally?

Rahim:

In Islam, Allah is beyond comparison.

“There is nothing like unto Him.”

(Qur’an 42:11)

We are His servants. That is enough.

Robert:

I understand that reverence. But even Prophet Muhammad said:

“I do not know what will be done with me or with you.”

(Qur’an 46:9)

That uncertainty—does it ever trouble you?

Rahim:

We rely on Allah’s mercy. No one can be sure.

Ram:

In Hinduism, God is ultimately Brahman—beyond form, beyond name.

“Neti, Neti” — Not this, not this

(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.3.6)

God cannot be fully known.

Robert:

So in Islam—God is unknowable relationally.

In Hinduism—God is unknowable philosophically.

Let me show you something unique Jesus said:

“This is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God.”

(John 17:3)

Not dissolve into God.

Not fear Him from a distance.

Know Him.

2. Is God Personal — or Impersonal?

Ram:

But God having form limits Him. That’s why Brahman is impersonal.

Robert:

Yet your own scriptures admit a longing for the personal.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says:

“Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me.”

(Gita 9:34)

That’s not impersonal language.

That’s relational desire.

Ram:

Yes… but Krishna is one of many manifestations.

Robert:

That’s the problem. If God has many contradictory forms, how do we know who He really is?

Jesus doesn’t say, “I am one of many ways.”

He says:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

(John 14:6)

Truth is exclusive by nature.

3. Love: Conditional or Essential?

Rahim:

Allah is merciful, but He loves those who obey.

“Allah does not love the unbelievers.”

(Qur’an 3:32)

Ram:

In Hinduism, karma decides everything. You reap what you sow.

Robert:

So in Islam—love is conditional.

In Hinduism—fate is mechanical.

Now hear this:

“God is love.”

(1 John 4:8)

Not earned.

Not calculated.

Essential.

And this love acts first:

“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

(Romans 5:8)

4. The Problem of Sin and Karma

Ram:

Karma explains suffering. Bad deeds cause suffering.

Robert:

Then answer this honestly, Ram.

If karma is perfect justice—

Why does memory of past lives disappear, but punishment continues?

How can justice be fair if the accused doesn’t remember the crime?

(Silence.)

Rahim:

Islam avoids rebirth. But forgiveness depends on Allah’s will.

Robert:

That creates another problem.

If God forgives without justice, He is not just.

If He punishes without mercy, He is not loving.

The Bible solves both:

“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

(Hebrews 9:22)

Justice is satisfied.

Mercy is released.

5. Why Doesn’t God Come Down?

Rahim:

Allah sends prophets. That is enough.

Ram:

God appears as avatars—Rama, Krishna, others.

Robert:

Let me ask you both something honest.

In Islam, God never enters history Himself

In Hinduism, God comes repeatedly—because the problem is never solved

But the Bible says:

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

(John 1:14)

Not repeatedly.

Once.

Final. Complete.

Jesus doesn’t come to manage karma or repeat cycles.

He comes to end the problem of sin.

6. Fear, Effort, or Assurance?

Rahim:

At the end of Ramadan, I hope Allah forgives me.

Ram:

I hope my karma improves in the next birth.

Robert:

Hope… but no certainty.

Jesus says:

“Whoever believes has eternal life.”

(John 5:24)

Not “may have.”

Has.

Christianity is not about effort climbing to God.

It is God coming down to rescue.

Closing: One Honest Question

(The night grows quiet.)

Robert:

My friends, I’m not saying this to win an argument.

But ask yourselves:

If God is impersonal—how can He love?

If God is distant—how can He save?

If God never enters suffering—how can He understand us?

The Bible says:

“In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself.”

(2 Corinthians 5:19)

Not asking humans to climb.

God crossed the gap.

Final Invitation (Not Pressure)

Robert:

You both seek God sincerely.

But sincerity does not save—truth does.

Jesus said:

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

(John 8:32)