Call God "Allah"...
Nothing like the whiff of appeasement....this is from the netherlands...
A Roman Catholic Bishop in the Netherlands has proposed people of all faiths refer to God as Allah to foster understanding, stoking an already heated debate on religious tolerance in a country with one million Muslims.
Bishop Tiny Muskens, from the southern diocese of Breda, told Dutch television that God did not mind what he was named and that in Indonesia, where Muskens spent eight years, priests used the word "Allah" while celebrating Mass.
"Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah?. . . What does God care what we call him? It is our problem."
Fortunately, the Dutch don't agree....
posted by GayandRight @ 3:32 PM
9 Comments:
The Dutch may not agree, but I'd bet God does. I agree with Muskens. God doesn't care what you call Him.
I'd also say that calling this a "proposal" (not you, the article writer) is a bit much. Some writer is trying to create controversy where there is none (or stoke much more than is warranted at least). Muskens was simply pointing out that Allah is as lovely a word for God as any other. His little "Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah" wasn't a "proposal" for Pete's sake. The man was making a point. About religious tolerance. In the context of a country in which a politician recently compared the Qur'an to Mein Kamf and called for it to be banned. He wasn't making a proposal, he was engaging in a dialogue. The horror.
It's good to see the world changes slowly though. Calls for tolerance, acceptance, discussion and understanding are still met with fear and loathing of "the other".
The consistency is comforting at least.
This 'priest' is what we might call an apostate. In other words he has absolutley no understanding at all of the complex nature of faith and...truth.
It's because of unknowledgable RC priests like this that the church has been embroiled in scandal the past few decades.
I'm not a Catholic (I was baptised in a United Church as an infant, confirmed in a Lutheran Church, baptised again seven ago in a Baptist church), but I do wonder what the Pope thinks of this suggestion. As for myself, I think God Himself has told us in Scripture how to refer to Him. And, it's NOT Allah. When an Iman, in the name of tolerance, suggests that his fellow Muslims refer to God simply as "The Lord," then I'll probably consider the Bishop's suggestion, NOT BEFORE.
*&?% Allah.... He's a false god invented by a pedophile Arab bandit. Any Catholic cleric who carries out this kind of crap needs excommunication really, really fast.
There is no equivalence between the violent deity worshipped by infidel muslims and the God worshipped by Christians and Jews. Anyone creating such an equivalence, such as "lord kitchener's own" is a traitor to his civilisation.
Allah is not God.
Wow.
I'm a traitor to my civilization. I had no idea. To think, all I had to do to commit treason was to suggest that there might be a link between the God that Issac's father prayed too and the God that Ishmael's father prayed too.
I was taught that Abraham had one God. If one wants to attack Muslims for supposedly praying to that God incorrectly, or not properly following that God's teachings, or even being apostates that's one thing. However, personally, I fail to see the logic in going so far as to pretend that the God of Abraham is actually a different God than, well, the God of Abraham.
I suppose it's possible that annonymous has spoken to God directly, and has some inside track I'm not aware of, but personally, I rather doubt it.
Brian,
With due respect though, Christian scripture may not say that we should refer to God as "Allah" but it also never said we should call Him simply "The Lord" either. In fact, in several cases it is said that we shouldn't call Him ANYTHING.
Now, all that said, Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. Arabic speakers of all faiths (including Christians and Jews) use the word Allah to refer to God all the time (that's why the priest had used it in areas where Arabic was the language of the church-goers). If we're going to get so up-in arms about "Allah" I'm afraid you'll also need to go after the French for saying "Dieu", or the Germans for using "Gott". (Now, admittedly, some Muslim scholars believe that the term Allah should only be used to refer to the God of Islam specifically, but personally I think those people who think the word "Allah" is somehow "special" are just about as crazy as those who believe that non-Muslims using it somehow the end of civilization as we know it).
It isn't that Tiny 'Munchkins' (sounds like someone from that hamlet in "Lord of the Rings") has a pet word for whatever term The Higher Power is called.
The point is the political situation is too delicate to show appeasement, or in this case deference, to elements of the population postured to subjugate his flock.
Someone will surely be inclined to suggest he was speaking theologically, ecclesiastically, apostolicly or epistiomologically and his remarks should have no political bearing.
Bullshit! He's a bishop. He didn't get his red belt in martial arts or by hat draw.
I guess I just don't get it. It's "appeasement" to use a non-English word for God? Is there a Dutch word for God? Could he use that? Is it just a problem to use non-English words in an English context? Is that it? Would it be appeasement to use "Gott" or "Dieu" in an English conversation? Is it a sin?
If the bishop's flock can be "subjugated" through the simple act of using the Arabic word for God instead of the English one, then wow. The Catholic faith is clearly easier to bring down than I thought!
Who knows how they've lasted this long!
Thank you, Lord K. That's the point. And, to quote USMALE: "only in the Western world can a gay man live a free life as himself. Hence, the health and strength of the West is fundamental to my survival."
We might then ask how strong is Western Civilization when we tend to appease, appease and appease.
You say, "If the bishop's flock can be "subjugated" through the simple act of using the Arabic word for God instead of the English one, then wow. The Catholic faith is clearly easier to bring down than I thought!"
And that observation alone is worthy of consideration (and we might extend that institution to many others as well) as we project toward the future.
Thanks for the response as it opens up much more to consider. And, of course, thanks to our host.
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