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Christianity Today, August (Web-only), 2007 |

Weblog: Motive Still Unclear in Deadly Mo. Church Shooting

Plus: What's next after Taliban release of two Korean hostages, Catholic bishop suggests calling God Allah, and other stories from online sources around the world.

Compiled by Ted Olsen | posted 8/15/2007 03:59PM

Today's Top Five

1. Gunman kills three, wounds four in attack during church service "Liars, liars, you're all liars," Eiken Elam Saimon said, according to police, as he shot the pastor of First Congregational ...

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Osahon Alexander Idiaghe

Posted: August 21, 2007 8:42 AM

I totally support Tony Jordan. It seems that we've lost our purpose. There are somethings that we should not just discuss. Muslims are busy killing our brethrens around the world. These people are not concerned about what is true but we Christians have been given power but we do not know this thing cos Christ said "We do err not knowing the Scriptures nor the Power of God". Where are the days of Elijah, Elisha, Paul and others who naturally moved in Power. We have grown too cold. Am not saying that we should kill them cos they are God's creation but the Bible said "In the day of His Power His people shall be willing". These people need to see Signs and Wonders b4 they can beleive Christ. Allah is not just a name that they call God, there is more to this name than the eyes can see. Catholic church is owned by the devil, they have lead millions into DECEPTION and the devil will still do more. The stature of mary started cryin blood as if to tell us dat it is real. lets get real.

Tony Jordan

Posted: August 17, 2007 7:36 PM

Nothing that any Roman Catholic Bishop, or for that matter Pope or priest says, that's inconsistant with the Word of God, surprises me! Allah IS NOT just another name for the Almighty God of historic divine revelation, as revealed in His Word, the Bible! "The historical background concerning the origin and meaning of the Arabian "Allah" reveals that Allah cannot be the God of the biblical Patriarchs, the Jews, or the Christians. Allah is merely a revamped and magnified Arabian moon deity" (Islam Unveiled, The True Desert Storm, by Dr. Robert A. Morey, p.56). To put bluntly, 'Allah' is Satan masquerading as 'god' deceiving multitudes in the process. As Morey states, " Neither is 'Allah' a Hebrew or Greek word for God as found in the Bible. Allah is an Arabic term used in reference to an Arabian deity." (Ibid., p.46). The Jesus of Catholicism is another (hereron) Jesus, the spirit of Catholicism is another (hereron) spirit, and the gospel of Catholicism is another (heteron) word

Ian Stuart

Posted: August 17, 2007 12:06 PM

Allah should be written Al'lah (two separate words) because it means "The God" and refers to the one and only God that Muslims believe is the same God as the God of the Jews and Christians. It is not however, a personal Name like Yahweh which was the Name God revealed to Moses. So when saying Allah once is merely saying The God in Arabic. The phrase does not refer to a different God but does entail a different understanding of the nature of that One God.

Jesus Christ

Posted: August 17, 2007 10:21 AM


To my Arabic-speaking disciples: Forgive the ignorance of my English-speaking disciples. They know not what they do.

Frank Clark

Posted: August 16, 2007 8:12 PM

In Seminary I was blessed to have a wonderful Prof who for 38 years was a missionary to Muslims. He wrote and spoke Arabic fluently and explained the use of Allah by believers in Christ. He told stories of the conversion of Muslims to Christ at risk of their lives and that their prayers were still dedicated to Allah but their vision of whom they were addressing had changed from the god of Islam to God, Christ's Father, creator of all. Also, history/language students know that for 600 + years from the ascension of Christ to the invention of Islam, Arabic speaking believers called God Allah. They still do. That the name is now used by Muslims does not change the origin of the word,only their intent in using it.

tony	Posted: August 16, 2007 6:03 PM


Was this question meant to be some sort of IQ test? At any rate, the folks who answered "no" suggest that many American Christians are either (a) proud to be members of that dumbed-down, ignorant but self-righteous population who occupy the below-average side of the intellectual divide, or (b) too dumb to know they are members.

Jim Buck

Posted: August 16, 2007 4:25 PM


Allah is not God. Allah is a synonym for Satan. Islam is Satan worship.

Raymond Takashi Swenson

Posted: August 16, 2007 1:17 PM

In Japanese the name used by Christians for God is usually "kamisama", which could be roughly translated as "Most honorable Spirit". "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "The God". It is directly related to "Jahweh"="Jehovah", in the two related Semitic languages of Arabic and Hebrew. You are saying it when you say the names "Jeremiah" and "Isaiah". Muslims don't think of God the same way that Jews do, and both disagree with various Christian formulations, especially about Jesus being part of or in God. But the word used by an Arabic Christian is indeed "Allah." You should not confuse the word, an artifact of a particular language, with the idea of God or the reality of God. When Peter and the other apostles were speaking to Jews from many lands on the day of Pentecost, they spoke in their many languages, and clearly spoke of God in those different languages, but He was the same God. If you were a missionary, you would learn God's name in the language of the people you taught.

Tom Wadsworth

Posted: August 16, 2007 1:08 PM

Christians who speak Arabic will be greatly disappointed to know that most American Christians believe it's not "okay to call God 'Allah'." What would English-speaking Christians think if most Arabic-speaking Christians believed that it is not "okay to call Allah 'God'"? After all, the word "God" does not even appear in the original Christian scriptures (in Greek and Hebrew). However, "Allah" is mentioned hundreds of times in the Arabic translation of the Bible. This survey demonstrates an appalling lack of intelligence and sensitivity on the part of English-speaking Christians. To reply to the earlier comment ... the survey did not ask if "we all" should call God Allah. It just asked if it is "okay" to do so.

Bud Smith

Posted: August 16, 2007 11:38 AM

To suggest that we all call God "Allah" is a denial of the witness of Acts 2 that everyone heard the Gosple in his/her own language. Arabic speaking people should certianly use the natural name of "Allah" but to suggest we all do it is inconsistent with the Biblical witness. Does God only speak Arabic - or does He speak all languages? Acts 2 suggests the latter. As to the "language of heaven," we'll let varioous language groups present their case now - but only heaven itself will reveal how we communicate with one another when we by God's grace get there!!

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