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What Does God Care What We Call Him?
Albert Mohler
President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
A retiring Roman Catholic bishop in the Netherlands has been making headlines around the world in recent days with his suggestion that Dutch Christians should pray to Allah.
Bishop Tiny Muskens of Breda, a former missionary to Indonesia, suggested that conflict between Christians and Muslims could be lessened if Dutch Catholics followed the lead of some Christians in Muslim-dominated lands and adopted Allah as the preferred name for God..
From Catholic News:
Speaking on the Dutch TV programme Network on Monday evening, Bishop Muskens says it could take another 100 years but eventually the name Allah will be used by Dutch churches. And that will promote rapprochement between the two religions. Muskens doesn't expect his idea to be greeted with much enthusiasm. The 71-year-old bishop, who will soon be retiring due to ill health, says God doesn't mind what he is called. God is above such "discussion and bickering". Human beings invented this discussion themselves, he believes, in order to argue about it.
Is there a valid linguistic basis for his argument? It is certainly true that the word Allah is the Arabic word for deity. Those supporting an argument like that of Bishop Muskens suggest that the Arabic word can be used as a generic term for deity.
In common English we use the word God as both a proper name and a noun. We differentiate between the two usages by capitalizing the word when we mean to refer to the specific personal God of the Bible, and by not capitalizing generic uses of the word. Thus, we might paraphrase the First Commandment like this: "God commanded His people to have no other gods before Him." The correct interpretation of this sentence requires the use and understanding of the habits of capitalization.
Those making the case for a Christian appropriation of Allah must take their argument in one of two trajectories. The first trajectory is to argue that Allah can be used in a generic way to refer to any (presumably monotheistic) deity. This case will be very difficult to make. Language, theology, and worship are so closely intertwined that it is difficult, if not impossible, to argue for a generic use of Allah. Further evidence against this trajectory is the fact that non-Arabic speaking Muslims also use Allah when referring to their god.
The second trajectory presents even more of a problem. Those following this line of argument must make the case that Allah and God refer to the same deity. This represents a huge problem for both Muslims and Christians. Allah is not a personal deity in the sense that the God of the Bible is. Furthermore, the Qur'an explicitly denies that Allah has a son, and Islam considers the notion 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. 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?
The most dangerous (and theologically dishonest) part of Bishop Muskens' argument is found in these words:
The 71-year-old bishop, who will soon be retiring due to ill health, says God doesn't mind what he is called. God is above such "discussion and bickering." Human beings invented this discussion themselves, he believes, in order to argue about it.
According to The Herald Sun [Melbourne, Australia], Bishop Muskens commented: "Allah is a very beautiful word for God... What does God care what we call him?" What does God care what we call him?
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MikelW101
9/26/2007 2:19 PM
Luke 17
1He said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!
2"It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.
3"Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
1He said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!
2"It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.
3"Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
AK209
9/21/2007 5:54 PM
On the surface it may seem a non issue, I believe there is a good point made in the article. Even though Allah may be the generic term for god, if you ask a Muslim who is Allah, I am pretty sure you will get a specific description that will point you to the god of their scripture. Also, it would be interesting to speak to a former Muslim, converted to Christianity and see what name they use when they pray. I think you will find that much like English there are gods and there is God. when a Muslim prays, they are not praying to an allah, but the Allah.
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No one has mentioned, either in the article or the comments, about the dangers of calling God, Allah, around people that are neither Muslim or Christian. What sort of message are we sending? When someone pursues their relationship with diety, who will they find? And who will be to blame?
An example as though from God:
"My followers call me God, it is my label, not my identity. If you call me Allah, and Allah you call God, I Am still who I Am. Those who knew me by my Word and actions will still know and worship me despite my trading labels. But what about those who don't yet know me? What path might they go down searching for me under someone elses label? Will they find me? What are the consequences of this label trading? Are followers of a false religion to be placated at the expense of My namesake and the salvation of those who want to know me?!"