Catholic Bishop; Let's call God Allah

A Catholic bishop, nearing retirement, proposes that christians should start calling God Allah in order to bring christians and moslems closer.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide



I wonder what Pope Benedict thinks about this?

reply to post by FortAnthem


Does it really matter? Like, really? They are the SAME word in just different languages. Call God Yaw-ah for all you want, it's the same thing. I bet a bunch of Christians are going to go nuts now, thinking that Muslims are invading Christianity or that Catholicism is trying to become more Muslim. Can't we all just get along?

It's the same meaning no matter what language! My gosh...

reply to post by FortAnthem



God doesn't care what we call him, just don't call him late for lunch.

reply to post by For(Home)Country


I suppose the difference has to do with a little more than just semantics.

The christian God is a loving creator who sent his Son down to pay the price for man's sins. He commands His followers to convert all mankind through holy example and non-violence.

The Moslem Allah is a capricious diety who demands submission from his followers and demands they convert the world by the sword.

[edit on 12-12-2009 by FortAnthem]

Originally posted by For(Home)Country
reply to post by FortAnthem

 

Does it really matter? Like, really? They are the SAME word in just different languages. Call God Yaw-ah for all you want, it's the same thing. I bet a bunch of Christians are going to go nuts now, thinking that Muslims are invading Christianity or that Catholicism is trying to become more Muslim. Can't we all just get along?

It's the same meaning no matter what language! My gosh...

YES!! IT REALLY Matters!! Allah IS Not the same God as the Christian God !!!

It you study what the Muslims really believe they are all about a God that tells them to use deception to conquer the world for Islam!

This Bishop has been deceived ! This shows the great influence of Satan into the Catholic church. All Americans MUST stand against this!

In my sig file I link to a movie from a leading expert on terrorism who gives an outline of the history of Islam, Mohammad and what Muslims really believe.

The fact is that radical killing of Americans and all peoples who are Not Muslims are NOT extremist views, but are at the very HEART and CORE of the Islamic Muslim religion.

ALL practicing Muslims believe these extreme views.. NOT just the so called radical Muslims. The media has twisted this truth to make us unaware of Muslims real agenda. It is part of their NORMAL Every Day Muslim beliefs to use DECEPTION to bring about their agenda.

This enemy is not at our back door but through their deception and peoples ignorance we have allowed these people to infiltrate our schools, churches and governments.

This video is a MUST SEE for any American who wants to understand what this threat is all about and how we can protect our selves and our sovereign way of life.

Radical Islam’s Threat to America

blog.americancongressfortruth.com...-4204

He can call God Allah

and I'll call him WUSSY except with another letter attached...

it's not about what you call god, but rather FEAR of a group of ultra converting hostile pushy people...

reply to post by JohnPhoenix


Im' pretty sure that the guy that talk in your video, is an extremist himself, along with you.

All america must stand against this? Not all of America is Christian, contrary to what most would like.

Alah and God, are the same thing. Always have been, always will be. It's simply a difference of interpretation by MAN.

I kind of get a kick out of Extremist Christians who are attempting to warn me about Extremist Islam. It's just a little Ironic.

~Keeper

[edit on 12/12/2009 by tothetenthpower]

reply to post by FortAnthem


AMEN BROTHER! PREACH THAT TRUTH!

I completely agree.

God bless.

I would agree that bickering over the name of God is much ado about nothing, but, with that being the case, I don't think we should start calling God "Allah" just to appease the Muslims.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Hey.. talk all you want but it has nothing o do with being a christian. it has to do with what the Muslims believe and their political agenda.

So the word God still means God but it doesn't mean it is the SAME God.

I can tell you didn't bother to watch the video who is an expert in terrorism.

American must stand against this because it is a direct threat to our way of life.

Go ahead and study Shariah Law and what the Muslims believe if you don't believe me. That is why there are group of Ex Muslims today that are against these orthidox Muslim ways. They know first hand that these things are true.

Would you let snakes crawl all over you until they bite you or would you do something about it? My views are not extreme but are the correct action in the face of this threat. Most people like yourself are just not educated about this threat so you tend not to believe it.

Watch the video, spend a few days studying this.. then come back and tell me you still think I am a radical.



[edit on 12-12-2009 by JohnPhoenix]

reply to post by JohnPhoenix


I studied religion in University.

I do know what Shariah Law is.

And do you know something that most people will never tell you, including these so called "terrorism" experts?

That real Muslims, are the only wants who WANT to live in Shariah Law. They have no desire to have anybody but themselves follow these rules as they understand that it is a system of belief accompanied by a certain life style.

The government and media have done a really good job of demonizing otherwise very intelligent and contributing member's of society because they happen to live in a part of the world that Western and European countries want to claim for themselves.

This is no different than when the Pope lent his army out during the Crusades.

As for your analogy of the snakes, that would be a straw man. That example makes no sense, as Muslim and Islam are not our to destroy us.

Just like any society, culture, religion there are those who take things too far. There are extremists in everything. Ever seem the movie Jesus Camp?

~Keeper

[edit on 12/12/2009 by tothetenthpower]

I can see Christians calling God "Allah", and then offending Muslims with the way they speak to him or treat him. "Jesus is the son of Allah...".

I think the idea is a great way to cause conflict.


[edit on 12/12/09 by NuclearPaul]

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Did they teach you that at one time in recent history the Islam empire once was larger than the roman empire at it's height?

Did they tell you that Islam killed more people on earth than all other countries have done to date?

Did they tell you that the fall of the Islamic empire happened less than a hundred years ago?

You may not have been taught the Truth about the history of Islam in university. How do you know?

Listen to what this expert has to say, then if you can refute her account of the history with facts, I will listen to them.

One of my favorite books is Lies my Teacher Told Me by James Lowen. ( It can be found online in pdf format) It's all about how the academic establishment teaches a twisted history to serve its own needs. You need something other than what you learned in school as a ruler to judge its correctness by.

reply to post by NuclearPaul


Wow, you think you could have found just a little bit eviler picture of the Pope!!

There are two kinds of names. Fictional names that just serve as labels and a name that is the articulation of the natural sound. The name of the true Supreme Bing is also the natural sound. There are no substitutes for it. It's repetition is high efficacious. That, of course, is not "God" or "Allah", "Jewah", Krishna or other names for the Devil or a subordinate center like Vishnu, Shiva, Niranjan. It matters only to the feeling of the individual whether "God" is by one device or another.

Since the Vatican created Islam it may be that they are moving to unify Catholicism, all Christianity and Islam into one "faith" either to make it the one world religion or to destroy it in one blow to facilitate a fabricated replacement.

Originally posted by ReelView


Since the Vatican created Islam

Where do you get this notion from?

[edit on 12-12-2009 by JohnPhoenix]

If "Allah" is the moon god Hubal, then this is an entirely different god from YHWH or the god of the bible.

Well I did a bit of digging and found this article which focuses on the WORDS God and Allah and this is what it had to say:

Allah” is the Arabic word for “God” and has been so long before the existence of Islam. The names “Allah” and “God” are generally interchangeable within the Muslim religion and in Middle Eastern cultures

Of course, the word “God” does not actually appear in the original Hebrew or Greek manuscripts of the Bible, accepted as Holy by both Christians and Muslims. “God” is an old English word which developed from an Indo-European word, meaning “that which is invoked,” which is also the ancestor of the German word Gott (meaning: God).

Allah is the primary Arabic word for God. It means 'The God.' There are some minor exceptions. For example, the Bible in some Muslim lands uses a word for God other than Allah (Farsi and Urdu are examples). But for more than five hundred years before Muhammad, the vast majority of Jews and Christians in Arabia called God by the name Allah. How, then, can we say that Allah is an invalid name for God? If it is, to whom have these Jews and Christians been praying?

Link

Interesting, so is it just a question of culture and tradition and not so much about religion?

While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to "God"

The term Allāh is derived from a contraction of the Arabic definite article al- "the" and ʼilāh "deity, god" to al-lāh meaning "the [sole] deity, God" (ho theos monos).[4] Cognates of the name "Allāh" exist in other Semitic languages, including Hebrew and Aramaic.[3] The corresponding Aramaic form is אֱלָהָא ʼĔlāhā in Biblical Aramaic and ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ ʼAlâhâ or ʼĀlōho in Syriac.[10]

Link

So ya, I can see why this would be unwelcome to westerners, why use another cultures/languages word for god?

On the other hand, why not? If it would help to bring peace to the world wouldn't god look upon you with favor for making the 'sacrifice'?

It really looks like there is no difference between using God and Allah, they both really seem to MEAN the same thing. The only separation is tradition and culture and not the definition of the words themselves.

[edit on 12-12-2009 by Animal]

reply to post by Animal


That's a lot of good information you looked up there. I guess it would be natural and appropriate for an arabic speaking christian to call God Allah.

In the non-arabic speaking world is where the problem would occur, especially European cultures. In most parts of the world Allah is associated only with the god of Islam.

Europeans especially would take offence at being asked to call their God Allah. European nations fought a centuries long war in order to free themselves from Islamic oppression in order to worship as they please.

I agree with the other posters; calling God Allah seems too much like appeasment and surrender.

reply to post by FortAnthem

I agree with the other posters; calling God Allah seems too much like appeasment and surrender.

IMO, that's pretty much all it is. People can try to explain all day long that Jehovah and Allah are the same entity but it's simply not so according to many adherents of the three Abrahamic faiths. Yes, it is true that 'Allah' is the Arabic word for 'God' and Arabic speaking Christians pray to 'Allah' (Although Arabic speaking Christians generally distinguish it as 'Allah the Father' to show a distinction from the Islamic Allah). However, to have the English speaking world use 'Allah' is really nothing short of appeasement.

There is no reason to use a foreign language word when you do not speak that language. Appeasement is exactly what it comes down to. It really is more of a cultural cow-towing.

I'd like to see what happens if it was suggested (since Hebrews have first dibs since they were the first of the Abrahamic faiths) that all three faiths should start calling 'God' Jehovah. Think it would catch on in the mosques?

It's just a word meaning the same thing but in different languages after all, right? Not quite. There is a lot of enmity there and actually thinking such a shallow act is going to help mend that rift is naive. It would cause more problems that it would solve.

Same reason why English translations of the Koran still use the word 'Allah' instead of God. They generally don't even translate it although they translate the rest of the text into English. Allah stays Allah. That's a big sign for me concerning just how important 'God' vs. 'Allah' is. It's more than a simple translation issue we're dealing with.

[edit on 12/12/2009 by AshleyD]