Dome of the Rock: anti-Christian

[amor]

Now it seems like you are defending the name of "Allah" being interchanged for the God of the Christian Bible.

Short article from the Jewish encyclopedia poiinting out that Allah or as they transliterate it -Ilah- is the Arabic equivalent of the (closely related) Aramaic elah and the Hebrew (and biblical name for God) Elohim. It also points out that all three probably have there roots in a term from Old Arabic

Jewish Encyclopedia

I am also adding a little graph thingy on the names of God used in the Old Testament. This points out that the Aramaic Elah (refered to above) is used to refer to God in the book of Daniel. If Elah is acceptable in the book of Daniel, I feel that Arab Christians will have few problems if they continue to pray to Allah. I woder if the same can be said of those who still insist on castigating them

Nebula raised a very good question that I will repost here.

Maybe - but do Arab Christians believe that the "Allah" they worship is the same "Allah" the Muslims worship?

That is the crux of the issue.

I don't see why you expect Arab Christians from having a collective view on this matter when it is clear that individual non-Arab Christians would have different answers to your questions.

Do you consider yourself as worshiping the same deity as all English speaking theists (Orthodox Jews, Liberal Jews, Shia moslems, Sunni moslems, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholics Mormons, Branch Dravidians, Moonies, the suicidals followers of Jim Jones etc) who consider themselves as worshippers of "God"? Does your answer influence your own personal use of the term?

[amor]

Amor, this does not support your position. The Jewish Encyclopedia is not trying to draw any connection between the "Allah" of modern Islam, with how ancient Arabs spoke. It is not saying that "Allah" is the same as Elohim.

Arabic ,Aramaic and Hebrew are cognitive languages, and there are some similarities there. Take the words Salaam and Shalom. They do not have the same meanings but they are in a limited sense "connected."

The ancient Arabs were still pagans. Upon adopting Islam, they traded one form of paganism for another.

My position is justifying the use of the term Allah by contempory Chiristian arabs, not contemporary Muslim arabs. As to ancient Arabs some were pagan, some were christians and some were Jews.

[Guest shiloh357]

You can exclude for the most part these, from your list of worshippers of God:

Shia moslems, Sunni moslems, Mormons, Branch Dravidians, Moonies, the suicidals followers of Jim Jones etc)

Shia and Sunni Muslims are pagans and do not worship God. The others are just cults, and if they had been worshipping God, they would not have been following wierdos like Koresh, Moon, Smith, and Jones.

[nebula]

Amor -

I need to ask you a couple things before we keep going around in circles.

1) Are you an Arab?

2) What do you believe about Jesus?

[amor]

You can exclude for the most part these, from your list of worshippers of God:

Shia moslems, Sunni moslems,  Mormons, Branch Dravidians, Moonies, the suicidals followers of Jim Jones etc)

Shia and Sunni Muslims are pagans and do not worship God.  The others are just cults, and if they had been worshipping God, they would not have been following wierdos like Koresh, Moon, Smith, and Jones.

The point is they refer to themselves as worshipers of God, and this does not stop you doing the same. You seem to make one rule for English speaking Christians - they can call God God even though heretics, pagans and apostates use the same word, and another for Arabic speaking Christians - they can't use the word Allah , merely because muslims use the same word, and despite the fact that Arab Christians were praying to "Allah" before Mohammed was even born.

Edited July 31, 2004 by amor

[Guest charlie]

Stevehut

amor, you do make some logical points.

If we're gonna start asking the nationality and race of all the posters here let me say I'm a white anglo saxon protestant english speaking male. I believe shiloh is Jewish but not sure if he's he or a she. What is everybody else out there? And does it really matter to God?

[nebula]

All right -

I'm Caucasian, female. I have been a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, the Word of God made flesh, the Light of the World, since I was about 4 or 5 years old.

And it matters to this debate.

The whole argument we are currently in began as a decoy, IMO. Muslims want to argue that we all follow the same God. I am pointing out that the one Muslims call "God" or "Allah" is not the same One we Christians call "God" or the Arab Christians may call "Allah."

This is the real issue.

The God/Allah of Islam did not incarnate himself on this Earth and die as the final sacrifice for our sins, rise on the third day, and ascend into Heaven.

The God/"Allah" for the Arab Christians did!

[Guest charlie]

And it matters to this debate.

The whole argument we are currently in began as a decoy, IMO. Muslims want to argue that we all follow the same God. I am pointing out that the one Muslims call "God" or "Allah" is not the same One we Christians call "God" or the Arab Christians may call "Allah."

I feel that you wanted to know amor's nationality/race in order to discredit his/her views/opinions based on that. Maybe I'm wrong but that is the impression I got as to where you wanted to "take this". If I'm wrong I apologize.

Either way amor does make some good points in regards to the use of language imo.

While we may not belive Muslims worship the same God as us anymore than we believe those who follow Judaism worship the same God as us, we don't have a patent on the word itself. All three religions did begin in the same region and english was not the original language spoken in any of them.

[nebula]

Charlie - I just need to know where amor is coming from.

Although I disagree with your statement that Christians and Jews worship a different God. We worsip the God of the Old Testament as they do - we just believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Granted, the belief has been "Gentilized" over time, but the core is still there.

[Guest charlie]

Although I disagree with your statement that Christians and Jews worship a different God.

The core of the matter is that anyone who denies Christ is the anti-Christ. If you're going to say Jews (Judaism) worship the same God then don't turn around and pick an argument with a Muslim who says the same thing, that smacks of hypocracy impo.