Dutch bishop suggests calling God "Allah" to ease tensions
 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20279326/?GT1=10252

Interesting article. Interesting bishop.

I think we should call God "Bob"

But spell it backwards?

Bob smokes a pipe

Now there's an idea sure to lead to religious tensions. Last time I checked, a number of Christian denominations do NOT believe that the Christian God and Muslim Allah are the same entity.

It's one thing to believe that the Christian God and Allah are not the same devine entity, but apparently most of the nimrods opposed to the Bishop's suggestion believe that "God" is God's name.


According to Judeo-Christian tradition (and perhaps doctrine), God's name is neither to be spoken nor written by the unclean masses. So why not called God "Allah" if it promotes some sort of compassion between Jews, Christians and Muslims?


(Just don't call him Jehovah, or god-forbid, Yaweh. Ooops, now I've done it. Straight to hell I go.)

Because calling God "Allah" would be using the name of a false god to describe the supreme God. I've had some experience with a version of this Christianity, and in that belief system Allah is a false god leading people astray and against whom the Christian God is doing battle. To them, it would be like calling God "Satan" to please devil-worshiping cults. It's not about compassion for them, it's about truth, and epic supernatural conflict.

By the same token, why don't the Muslims just start saying god instead of allah in the name of everyone just getting along.

If you're a Christian and you go to an Arabic speaking land and you talk about god you say "allah." Because that is the word for god. Saying "allah" in English is like going to Germany and refusing to say "gott" because that would be an insult.

Unless you believe that god only speaks in English and allah only in Arabic.

yeah, Im good with that. :D



and a rose, by any other name...etc