One of America’s pre-eminent evangelicals is challenging the advice of a retiring Roman Catholic Bishop in the Netherlands who has raised eyebrows worldwide by suggesting Dutch Christians pray to “Allah.”
Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, argues that it is inappropriate for Christians to call God Allah based on irreconcilable theological differences associated with the name Allah and core Christian beliefs.
The key condition behind calling the Christian God Allah is that Allah must refer to the same God as the one in the Bible. However, this requirement presents “a huge problem for both Muslims and Christians,” contends Mohler.
The theologian pointed out that the Qur’an explicitly denies that Allah has a son, and Islam considers the idea of a triune God to be blasphemy.
“Thus, from its very starting point Islam denies what Christianity takes as its central truth claim – the fact that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father,” wrote Mohler on his web blog Wednesday.
“If Allah has no Son by definition, Allah is not the God who revealed himself in the Son. How then can the use of Allah by Christians lead to anything but confusion …and worse?”
Last Monday, during an interview with a Dutch TV program, 71-year-old Bishop Tiny Muskens promoted the idea of Dutch Christians calling God Allah, believing that it would ease much of the conflict between the Christian and Muslim faiths. Muskens contended that God doesn’t mind what He is called and the arguments over what to call Him is an invention of man.
“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,” said Muskens, according to The Associated Press.
The retiring bishop was a former missionary to Indonesia – the most populous Muslim country in the world – for eight years, where he said priests used the name “Allah” while celebrating Mass.
In response, Mohler pointed out that it would be difficult to support the argument that “Allah” can be used as a generic term for God. The theologian said separation of Allah from the language, theology, and worship closely associated with it is difficult. Moreover, even non-Arabic speaking Muslims use Allah when referring to their god.
Another irreconcilable difference is that Jesus commanded his followers to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
“When this command is taken seriously and obeyed, the whole issue is greatly clarified – a Christian cannot baptize in the name of Allah,” stated Mohler.
“So Bishop Muskens is disingenuous at best when he suggests that God does not care about His name. This is not a matter of mere ‘discussion and bickering,’” said Mohler.
“If Allah has no son, Allah is not the father of our Lord Jesus Christ…This is no mere ‘discussion and bickering.’ This is where the Gospel stands or falls,” the theologian concluded.
Bishop Muskens in the past endorsed other controversial ideas which went against the Vatican leadership – such as those who are hungry can steal bread and that condoms should be permissible in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Comments
The BIBLE does say that "in the end times knowledge of the world will increase but, knowledge of the word will decrease". Secondly, either ALL the BIBLE is true or none of it according to II Peter 1:20-21. II Tim. 2:15-17 when we have done this, then lets see what there is to say.
Excuse me, the article was in Israel My Glory magazine."
Looks like this discussion ended months ago, I was not here then, so thought I would add my 2 cents worth to anyone visiting this thread. Christianity Today ran an article by Dr. Ergun Caner, President of Liberty Theological Seminary and ex-Muslim, on "Is Allah the God of the Bible". The article might be found on his website or Christianity Today's archive or possibl;y a Google search. He emphatically says no and says any Islamic scholar worth his salt would also say no. I believe his brother, Dr. Emir Caner, also ex-Muslim, also has an article on the subject.
Oh my gosh, a retired 71 year old Catholic Bishop made a suggestion, that's it a suggestion. He isn't an arch bishop, cardinal or Pope. He just made a suggestion and it becomes international news and is debated back and forth here for a week. Anybody still doubt the Catholic Church is still VERY relevant in the world?
I find it amazing that a retiring bishop would not have read the very WORD he was supposedly proclaiming since his ordination, such that he is totally unaware that the Creator of all things HAS a name and has sent His people to proclaim it in all the earth! He made His name known to Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and His Son Yahshua (Jesus of Nazareth), among others, and it is written first in ancient Hebrew as YHWH (English transcription) pronounced "Jehovah" by some (modern pronunciation) and Yahuweh by others (ancient pronunciation). Nevertheless, His name doesn't mean "god" but "I AM". Let the confusion now rest!
If muslims believed we worshipped the same god the quaran would not instruct them to forcibly convert and demand that the people 'of the book' (Jews, Christians) denounce their faith by bowing to their allah.
Why not just call God Lucifer if he doesn't care what we call him?
This is not a question of semantics. Bishop Tiny Muskens is trying to "make nice" with the muslim community by compromising the truth.
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm
Yes. Allah is God but the origin of the word "Allah" is hardly known to any. Allah hails from "ilah", which used to be the tribal gods around the Temple of Adam, called Kabah. So, the tribal fathers were called "Ilah" and our spiritual Father being much higher than our tribal fathers is called "AL-Ilah" or Allah. So, no Ilah or son of Man, no Allah or Son of God. That is why the Mohammedans face Kabah to honour Adam before they could be accepted by Allah, Whose House used to be the Holiest of Holy Temple in Jerusalem that was destroyed in 70 A.D. Jesus described this Jerusalem Temple as the Winepress that was hired to the husbandmen, the priests, who became corrupt and maltreated the messengers of God. Then God send His own Son so that they would recognise Him and treat Him with due honour but when the Temple Priests perceived Him, they became concerned of their blind following and the income. So, they crucified Him. God was angry and took this Winepress off from them for ever and gave it to others. Replacement of Jerusalem Temple is in India and it is the most corrupt place on eartyh. You cannot have two Temples of God in the world and that is why all attempts to re-build Jerusalem Temple failed and in 363 Emperor Julian too died attempting to rebuild it.
The article itself makes it abundantly clear- allah has no son and allah is not triune therfore allah is not the God of the bible.
Allah is not the Christian God. The Christian God is Jehovah, the GREAT I AM, CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, FATHER OF JESUS CHRIST, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. Jehovah sent his son Jesus to die on the cross of Calvary for my sin. The Bible is his WORD. Allah is none of these things. He is not God. He is only the god of the Muslims. My ancestors use to worship a god called Degei, which they worshiped for over three thousand years until the first missionaries arrived in my country in 1835. My people regard Allah, Degei, Rama, Bhagwan and all other gods as impostors. There is only one true God and his name is Jehovah. Praise the name of Jehovah!
Sorry, that garble was supposed to be al-ialh, but the phonetics didn’t translate form Word Perfect to CT’s program.
Far be it from me to suggest that western Christians use the word “Allah” in our prayers. Of course not! But let’s not, at the same time, make an idol of the word. If you check with the “Encyclopedia Britannica’, the “Encyclopedia of the Orient”, “Wikipedia”, or “The Catholic Encyclopedia,” all of which are available online, you will find that “Allah” is not a name, it is the Arabic word that means “God,” much like the Hebrew word “Elohim.”
The Islamic “99 Names of God” are not names in the sense that you and I would understand them, rather they are attributes of God, such as “the Merciful,” “the Compassionate.” Muslims do not believe that God can be called by a name. (Al-ˈilāh, by the way, actually means “the God,” and yes, it is used by Muslims, and Christians as well).
I am not suggesting that we English speakers use the word “Allah” in our prayers, no, of course not! I simply want us to be mindful that there are many devout Christians whose native language is Arabic, and that the only word in Arabic that is equivalent to the English word “God” is “Allah.” Many of these Christian brothers and sisters pay a great price to keep their faith. Rather than strain at gnats, and possibly cause offence to native Arabic speaking Christians, would it not be a better thing to pray for those who suffer such great persecution, and for their persecutors as well?
Sincerely, in Christ
Aquinas, if I were married to you, should I call you by your siblings name? That would be especially weird during intimate moments.
Same with Jehovah...
How many angels can dance on the heads of people who think this is important?
I am forced to correct the ones who are say that the Arabic word for God is "Allah". I'm sorry to say, but that is incorrect. The Arabic word for god is: al-ilah. You may want to visit the following site for clarification on "Who is Allah?": http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=73DA6766-C606-407A-8869-4862BA21B7D5