Is Calling the Christian God 'Allah' Wrong?

mw1967 »

Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:57 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 1

Please, read Dr. Mohler's blogsite. He has added an addendum that does help clarify some issues related to this topic.

http://albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=991

Is Calling the Christian God 'Allah' Wrong?

mw1967 »

Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:09 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

In some countries the term "Allah" is used by the Christian community and thus by translators of the Bible in those countries to speak of "El" (Hebrew word for "God") from the Old Testament and "Theos" (Greek word for "God") from the New Testament. The Christian community in these countries do not follow the God of Islam. They follow the God of the Bible. They are committed to the God who has revealed Himself in Christ. Many of them have suffered much for their faith in and witness for the one true God and in His Son Jesus Christ. But in their language the term that is used is "Allah". But when they use the term it is filled with biblical meaning.

Is Calling the Christian God 'Allah' Wrong?

mw1967 »

Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:55 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 2

Do you know where the term "god" originated from? Go to Wikipedia and search "God (word)". We get the english word "God" from a germanic word that was used for pagan gods. When the Bible was being translated into English from Hebrew and Greek (the original languages of the Bible), an English word was chosen... that word was "God". The term "God" is an English translation for the words that were used in the Bible, even though the term "God" originated from paganism. Most followers of Jesus in the United States don't use the name "Yahweh" on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, you probably can't find an English copy of the Bible with "Yahweh" in it. It is translated with capital letters "LORD" in the Old Testament. And Yahweh is not used in the Greek New Testament. Nor is there an English translation of the Bible which uses "Elohim" or "El" in the Old Testament or "Theos" in the New Testament. The term that is used is "God" - an English translation. You do not use the original language when you speak of God. You use a term from your language, an English term. That doesn't make using the term wrong because God speaks to us in our language.

Is Calling the Christian God 'Allah' Wrong?

mw1967 »

Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:18 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 1

I respect Dr. Mohler very much and would agree that for Dutch Christians to use the term "Allah" for God would be at the very least strange. However, I do think that it needs to be understood that there are countries where the Christian population also uses the name "Allah" to refer to God. The Bible in their language has "Allah" as the translation for the Hebrew words "El" or "Elohim" and the Greek word "Theos" when referring to the one true God I do not believe they are being any more inconsistent in using that term than we are in using the term "God" as our translation. Before you react to that, please, examine from where the word "God" originated. Also, I think that we need to understand the origins of the Hebrew word "El" and the Greek word "Theos" and how they were used to refer both to the One true God and to false, pagan gods.