Today I ran across an article on MSN.com called "Dutch Bishop: Call God Allah to ease relations". It raises some very sincere questions in my heart. How could there be such thing on earth as religious tension? Why does it matter that I call him God, while others call Him Allah, some call Him Jehovah among a million other names I don't even know. I believe the Savior is One with God - one in heart, mind and purpose, others believe that Jesus Christ and God are literally one person. I sincerely believe that the Savior lived, died and was resurrected for us; others believe that same Savior still hasn't come, and they wait anxiously for him. I do believe in His Gospel, and I believe that we'll receive blessings and even salvation to the degree that we understand and live the gospel that He taught. The Gospel is a beautiful thing that allows for individual progress, but that's another entry entirely. What is this debate about God's names? Why does it matter if I call him God, or Heavenly Father, or Deus, or Pai Celesial and somebody else calls him Allah or Jehovah? Isn't He the same person? Aren't we all good people trying to make sense out of this life and prepare for what happens after this life? Doesn't our belief in God and Allah and Jehovah make us better, happier people, and don't we feel peace knowing that He's there and that He loves us? Is it wrong for a child to call his father dad or papa or pa or daddy or papai? Spoken reverently and in the spirit of worship, I think he's pleased when we address him, no matter what name we use. The Catholic bishop has been criticized and mocked for what he said, but I don't think he's too far off.These are sincere thoughts and feelings. What do you all think?
Here's the article:
AMSTERDAM - A Roman Catholic Bishop in the Netherlands has proposed people of all faiths refer to God as Allah to foster understanding, stoking an already heated debate on religious tolerance in a country with one million Muslims.
Bishop Tiny Muskens, from the southern diocese of Breda, told Dutch television on Monday that God did not mind what he was named and that in Indonesia, where Muskens spent eight years, priests used the word "Allah" while celebrating Mass.
"Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah? ... What does God care what we call him? It is our problem."
A survey in the Netherlands' biggest-selling newspaper De Telegraaf on Wednesday found 92 percent of the more than 4,000 people polled disagreed with the bishop's view, which also drew ridicule.
"Sure. Lets call God Allah. Lets then call a church a mosque and pray five times a day. Ramadan sounds like fun," Welmoet Koppenhol wrote in a letter to the newspaper.
Gerrit de Fijter, chairman of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, told the paper he welcomed any attempt to "create more dialogue", but added: "Calling God 'Allah' does no justice to Western identity. I see no benefit in it."
A spokesman from the union of Moroccan mosques in Amsterdam said Muslims had not asked for such a gesture.
Religious tensions on the riseSigns of tension had already surfaced in the last two weeks after the head of a committee for former Muslims was attacked and populist anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders called for the Koran to be banned.
Bishop Muskens, who will shortly retire, has raised eyebrows in the past with suggestions that those who are hungry may steal bread and that condoms should be permissible in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Some Dutch Muslims welcomed his comments as a valuable gesture of support coming just days after Wilders branded the Quran a "fascist book" in the vein of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" which legitimizes violence.
Wilders, whose new party won nine seats out of the 150 in parliament in last November's elections, is well known for his firebrand remarks on Islam.
He said an attack by two Moroccans and a Somali on the head of a Dutch group for "ex-Muslims" had spurred him to write. Issues of immigration and integration had faded from the Dutch political agenda over the last year, after a period of unprecedented social tension sparked by the 2004 murder of Theo Van Gogh, a filmmaker critical of Islam, by a Muslim militant.
Bishop Tiny Muskens, from the southern diocese of Breda, told Dutch television on Monday that God did not mind what he was named and that in Indonesia, where Muskens spent eight years, priests used the word "Allah" while celebrating Mass.
"Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah? ... What does God care what we call him? It is our problem."
A survey in the Netherlands' biggest-selling newspaper De Telegraaf on Wednesday found 92 percent of the more than 4,000 people polled disagreed with the bishop's view, which also drew ridicule.
"Sure. Lets call God Allah. Lets then call a church a mosque and pray five times a day. Ramadan sounds like fun," Welmoet Koppenhol wrote in a letter to the newspaper.
Gerrit de Fijter, chairman of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, told the paper he welcomed any attempt to "create more dialogue", but added: "Calling God 'Allah' does no justice to Western identity. I see no benefit in it."
A spokesman from the union of Moroccan mosques in Amsterdam said Muslims had not asked for such a gesture.
Religious tensions on the riseSigns of tension had already surfaced in the last two weeks after the head of a committee for former Muslims was attacked and populist anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders called for the Koran to be banned.
Bishop Muskens, who will shortly retire, has raised eyebrows in the past with suggestions that those who are hungry may steal bread and that condoms should be permissible in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Some Dutch Muslims welcomed his comments as a valuable gesture of support coming just days after Wilders branded the Quran a "fascist book" in the vein of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" which legitimizes violence.
Wilders, whose new party won nine seats out of the 150 in parliament in last November's elections, is well known for his firebrand remarks on Islam.
He said an attack by two Moroccans and a Somali on the head of a Dutch group for "ex-Muslims" had spurred him to write. Issues of immigration and integration had faded from the Dutch political agenda over the last year, after a period of unprecedented social tension sparked by the 2004 murder of Theo Van Gogh, a filmmaker critical of Islam, by a Muslim militant.
(See it at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20279326/?GT1=10252)
Kal-
I love you. And I totally agree- 100%. Really, it may be an old funny phrase that says "why can't we all just get along" but really, how true is that. What does it matter what we choose to call God, Heavenly Father, Allah. As long as we all can create a mutual respect for one anothers religions. I believe that BELIEVING and RESPECTING is what Heavenly Father wants from all of us. Not to come to some mutual decision on what His name is. Thank you for this post. You really give me a lot of things to think about!! AND FYI- thanks for the blog! I check often and I love it. I LOVE AND MISS YOU!!
Sarah