00:00Hi, I'm reading Surah 4, Al-Nisa, and I came across a ayah verse that struck me as pretty hardcore.
00:12And I want to read it to you, and then I want to tell you my reaction.
00:15Surah 4, verse 56.
00:17Those who are ungrateful for our signs, we will scorch them in a fire.
00:22As often as their skins are wholly burned, we will substitute with other skins so that they will experience the
00:31punishment.
00:31Truly, God has been almighty wise.
00:34All right, so if you would have asked me six months ago to read this verse and comment on it,
00:39I would have said something really different.
00:40I would have said, that seems pretty harsh.
00:44And I don't know about a God who can do that to humans.
00:48But then I saw what's happening to the Palestinians and the horror being inflicted upon them by Israel and by
00:56my own government,
00:56who are paying for the bombs, supplying the bombs in the billions of dollars.
01:01And I realized that this punishment is okay by me.
01:04Six months ago, I would have thought, I would have told you, even though I'm 53 years old, I would
01:08have said,
01:09I truly believe that every person is a good person, deep down.
01:13And all people deserve forgiveness for past actions.
01:18But at this point, no, no, I understand this verse now.
01:23And I'm sorry for what my government is doing to the people of Palestine and how we're complicit.
01:32I'm really, I'm really sorry.
01:34I'm sorry.
