I found these reports interresting and thought I’d pass them on see what you think.
TESTING THE FAITH
Bishop urges Christians to call God ‘Allah’
Catholic leader believes it would help ease tensions between religions
Posted: August 15, 2007
3:28 p.m. Eastern
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Catholic churches in the Netherlands should use the name Allah for God to ease tensions between Muslims and Christians, says a Dutch bishop.
Tiny Muskens, the bishop of Breda, told the Dutch TV program “Network” Monday night he believes God doesn’t mind what he is called, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported.
The Almighty is above such “discussion and bickering,” he insisted.
Muskens points to Indonesia, where he served 30 years ago, as an example for Dutch churches. Christians in the Middle East also use the term Allah for God.
“Someone like me has prayed to Allah yang maha kuasa (Almighty God) for eight years in Indonesia and other priests for 20 or 30 years,” Muskens said. “In the heart of the Eucharist, God is called Allah over there, so why can’t we start doing that together?”
Muskens thinks it could take another 100 years, but eventually the name Allah will be used by Dutch churches, promoting rapprochement between the two religions, he said, according to Radio Netherlands.
However, a survey published today in the Netherlands’ largest newspaper, De Telegraaf, showed 92 percent of the more than 4,000 people polled oppose the bishop’s view, the Associated Press reported.
Some letters to the paper were filled with ridicule for the bishop.
“Sure. Lets call God Allah. Lets then call a church a mosque and pray five times a day. Ramadan sounds like fun,” wrote Welmoet Koppenhol.
The chairman of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, Gerrit de Fijter, told the Dutch paper he welcomed any attempt to “create more dialogue,” according to the AP. But he said, “Calling God ‘Allah’ does no justice to Western identity. I see no benefit in it.”
A Muslim spokesman, for Amsterdam’s union of Moroccan mosques, said Muslims had not asked for such a gesture from Christians, the AP reported.
Tensions with the Netherlands’ 1-million-strong Muslim community have been high since the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh by a Muslim avenging a film critical of Islam.
Last week, politician Geert Wilders talked about banning the Quran, shortly after the head of a group of former Muslims, Ehsan Jami, compared Islam’s prophet Muhammad with al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Muskens made similar remarks several year ago about using the name of Allah, Radio Netherlands reported. He also suggested replacing the national Christian holiday Whit Monday – celebrated the day after Pentecost – with an Islamic religious day.
The bishop also has offended Muslims, saying in 2005 Islam was a religion without a future because it has too many violent aspects.
| This is a WorldNetDaily printer-friendly version of the article which follows. To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57201 Friday, August 17, 2007 Does God care what He’s called? Posted: August 17, 2007 1:00 a.m. EasternBy Hal Lindsey © 2007 The very first news story I read yesterday morning was about a Dutch Roman Catholic bishop who is advocating that Christians rename “God” to “Allah.”Bishop Martinus Petrus Maria Muskens, (also known as “Tiny”) told Dutch TV: “Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn’t we all say that from now on we will call God ‘Allah’?” My mouth was still hanging open when I read the last part of his statement: “God doesn’t care what we call Him.” If one doesn’t believe that God is real, then it really doesn’t matter what name one chooses. It’s like naming your 6-foot tall invisible white rabbit. You can call him “Harvey.” Or you can name him “Peter Cottontail.” He won’t object either way – since he isn’t real. But if you try to rename your friend Fred from down the street, he may not be so pleased about being called George. Because Fred is a real person, you wouldn’t think about calling him George simply because somebody else likes that name better. Because God is as real as you or I, it isn’t up to us to rename Him like He was a stray basset hound. God has many names; most of them are names of praise and worship, rather than names in the sense of a personal name. They include Elohim, El Shaddai, Adonai, Jehovah (YHWH), Shepherd, Judge, Father, Counselor, Comforter, Advocate, or simply “Lord” or “Almighty God.” One name that has never been ascribed to Him in Scripture is “Allah.” Bishop Muskens’ comments found an immediate audience in America. Council on Islamic American Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper thinks it is a great idea. “It reinforces the fact that Muslims, Christians and Jews all worship the same God,” Hooper told FoxNews.com. “I don’t think the name is as important as the belief in God and following God’s moral principles. I think that’s true for all faiths.” According to the God of the Bible, God’s Name is very important to Him. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). God’s unique identity as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is very important to Him, as well. “And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. … But My covenant will I establish with Isaac” (Genesis 17:21). Have you ever noticed that it is Allah who is seeking to be identified with God, and not the other way around? There is no effort among Christians and Jews to declare God another name for Allah (with the exception of Bishop Muskens.) Being worshiped as God is Satan’s No. 1 objective to the exclusion of all else. Everything Scripture reveals about Satan exposes his agenda. He tempted Jesus in the wilderness, demanding that Jesus bow down and worship him. Paul says he will sit “as God, in the Temple of God” during the Tribulation. John says he will demand worship as a condition of participating in his economic/religious system. Notice this very important spiritual clue: It isn’t God that wants to be worshiped as Allah, but Allah who wants to be worshiped as God. It is both a distinction and a difference. Christians and Jews worship a Living God. As a living entity, God cannot be “reinvented” to suit somebody else, since He already is Who He is. The Scriptures were given us to reveal God for Who He is, rather than some impersonal, nameless spiritual entity “up there” somewhere. The doctrine of Satan is that all religions are equally valid, that all paths lead to God, that God is impersonal, unknowable, and it is therefore irrelevant to Him what we call Him or how we worship Him. If Allah and God are one and the same, then wouldn’t the worship of the Hindu chief gods, Vishnu and Shiva, also be the worship Allah and God, only by a different name? Pretty soon, everybody is God. Which is the same as saying that nobody is. Related :“Muhammad’s Monsters: A Comprehensive Guide to Radical Islam for Western Audiences” “Islam Rising: The Never Ending Jihad Against Christianity” Hal Lindsey is the best-selling non-fiction writer alive today. Among his 20 books are “Late Great Planet Earth,” his follow-up on that explosive best seller, Planet Earth: The Final Chapter,” and “Everlasting Hatred: The Roots of Jihad.” He writes this weekly column exclusively for WorldNetDaily. Be sure to visit his website, where he provides up-to-the-minute analysis of today’s world events in the light of ancient prophecies. |
Learning the Torah 