This so called horny, man made book is actually called "the Word of God" by two of the world's other great religions. Now, even if you are correct as you contend, that the Word of God has been corrupted (which it hasn't), but even if it were true, it still IS the Word of God in some parts, and by your own words you have blasphemed what God Himself has given to us.. His own word, by calling it horny and corrupted. The Qur'an tells you to listen to the people of the Book, and it also endorses the Book as something that will give you background to your own "revelation", yet you blaspheme God by saying what you have said about the Book He claims throughout is His own word.
You also mention that the New International Version claims that most of the Bible is corrupted.. again, you make a generalisation that is absolutely not based on fact.
I have a long history of association with Bible Translation teams who translate the Bible into the languages of all the world's people. In each translation, the earliest original manuscripts are always the benchmark for correct and proper translation. However, as the Bible is being translated into languages in which concepts and words are foreign, discussion is always had over the most correct way to translate scripture so that it loses nothing of it's meaning. Subsequent translations may change the word pattern to ensure the original meaning is improved upon and made even closer to the original. The best words to use in the foreign language may change .. but always it's with the original as the bench mark. Translation teams spend many thousands of hours checking and cross checking to ensure that there are no discrepancies. This is what is discussed in the introduction to the NIV. Please look elsewhere in the forum as I have posted a thread on bible translation and the steps undertaken to ensure it is a true and complete translation.. the text is not corrupted in any way from the orginal.
Now, having said that, let's look at the Song of Solomon.
I challenge you to show me where the reference is to the love between a brother and sister? These words are a love story between the beloved and the lover. The lover is always the male, and the beloved is always the female.
This book is a celebration of love between a man and a woman. Over history it has different points of understanding attributed to it.
The author is named as Solomon, and therefore is dated between 970 and 930 BC. Whilst this date has been challenged, there is no other compelling reason to reject it.
Many Jewish Rabbis saw this book as an allegory between Israel and her relationship to God, a stance that many in the church now take, describing it as a picture of the bride of Christ (the church in Revelation) and her bridegroom (Jesus in Revelation).
Some rabbis saw it's erotiscm as something to be challenged, but it retained it's place in the Hebrew Canon and is used during the Passover Season.
This text is very, very Hebrew in it's structure, including the alternating refrains from the lover and the beloved and the friends of the beloved. It is very poetical and dramatic, but basically it's outline is this
1:1-2:7 The bride longs for her bridegroom. They meet and praise each other.
2:8-3:11 As their love grows, the bride praises the groom, using figures from nature.
4:1-5:1 The lover comes and praises the bride
5:2-6:3 The lover has gone away and the bride expresses her longing for him.
6:4-8:14 The lover returns, the marriage is consumated and the happiness of the couple is celebrated.
Who is the lover and who is the beloved? This may very well be the Solomon's most favourite songs amongs the 1005 songs he wrote (1 Kings 4:32)
The Shunamite woman who is the bride, is very probably Abishag, who attended David in his last days and who became Solomon's wife 1 Kings 1:1-4 and 1 Kings 2:17,22
Now, given that this is found in the Bible.. God's Holy Book and Revelation to the Jews and to Christians.. why should it be in the Bible? Because God ordained sex and gave it as a gift, so this is a celebration of the delights within marriage, a beautiful picture of what love between a man and a woman should be. Pornography cheapens men and women, this in no way cheapens the bride or the bride groom.. it lifts them up to a place only God Himself could lift them upto, within the confinds of true marital love.
Now, you make the accusation that MOST Christians are divorced. Sorry, Abdullah, you have made a common mistake in calling everyone from the non muslim, western countries Christian. In fact, let's return to the first part of your post and those who call themselves Christian, will not necessarily make it to heaven.
I agree with you, the west abounds in divorce, though the statisics for Islam are distorted in that Islam allows multiplicity of wives, and makes it virtually impossible for a wife to divorce her husband. There fore the comparison is not a fair one.
However, it's absolutely essential, without entering a discussion on the rights and wrongs of Christians divorcing and remarrying, that you understand, that the statistics for so called Christian marriages are also extremely distorted, with very few of those marriages which break down, being between born again believers.. but rather amongst those who list Christian on their census, but for whom religion plays no part in their life.
Abdullah, when you make generalisations you lose some of your credibility as you assume you are an expert on these things. Whilst I don't deny that a lot of what you say is based on truth, it's truth as you know it, and not truth as a Christian knows it. True dialogue, seeks to understand truth as the other person understands it, and then to proceed from there.