Posted on 06/28/2005 12:47:49 PM PDT by forty_years
Asked if Muslims worship the same Almighty as Jews and Christians, President Bush replied some months ago, "I believe we worship the same God." The Islamic deity, known as Allah, in other words, is the same Supreme Being to whom Jews and Christians pray.
The president's statement provoked widespread dismay among Evangelicals; one poll found 79% of their leadership disagreeing with this view. Pat Robertson pungently explained why, observing "the entire world is being convulsed by a religious struggle. whether Hubal, the Moon God of Mecca, known as Allah, is supreme, or whether the Judeo-Christian Jehovah, God of the Bible, is Supreme."
Muslims at times agree that God and Allah are different. Irshad Manji has recounted how her teachers at a madrassah in Canada taught her this. And a Jewish scholar, Jon D. Levenson, finds the claim that Christians and Muslims worship the same God "if not false, then certainly simplistic and one-sided."
This debate plays out at many levels. In the American scouting movement, Muslims promise "I will do my best to do my duty to God"; their British counterparts instead do their "duty to Allah."
This might seem like a minor semantic quibble, but the definition of Allah has profound importance. Consider two alternate ways of translating the opening line of Islam's basic declaration of faith (Arabic: la ilaha illa-la). One reads "I testify that there is no God but Allah," and the other "I testify that there is no deity but God."
The first states that Islam has a distinct Lord, one known as Allah, and implies that Jews and Christians worship a false god. The second states that Allah is the Arabic word for the common monotheistic God and implies a commonality with Jews and Christians.
The first translation is 40 times more common in a Google search than the second. Yet, the latter is accurate. Mr. Bush was right. There are several reasons to use the translation that equates Allah with God:
Scriptural: The Koran itself in several places insists that its God is the same as the God of Judaism and Christianity. The most direct statement is one in which Muslims are admonished to tell Jews and Christians "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you; our God and your God is One, and to Him we do submit" (E.H. Palmer translation of Sura 29:46) Of course, the verse can also be rendered "our Allah and your Allah is One" (as it is in the notorious Abdullah Yusuf Ali translation)
Historical: Chronologically, Islam followed after Judaism and Christianity, but the Koran claims Islam actually preceded the other monotheisms. In Islamic doctrine (Sura 3:67), Abraham was the first Muslim. Moses and Jesus introduced mistakes into the Word of God; Muhammad brought it down perfectly. Islam views Judaism and Christianity as flawed versions of itself, correct on essentials but wrong in important details. This outlook implies that all three faiths share the God of Abraham.
Linguistic: Just as Dieu and Gott are the French and German words for God, so is Allah the Arabic equivalent. In part, this identity of meaning can be seen from cognates: In Hebrew, the word for God is Elohim, a cognate of Allah. In Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus, God is Allaha. In the Maltese language, which is unique because it is Arabic-based but spoken by a predominantly Catholic people, God is Alla.
Further, most Jews and Christians who speak Arabic routinely use the word Allah to refer to God. (Copts, the Christians of Egypt, do not.) The Old and New Testaments in Arabic use this word. In the Arabic-language Bible, for instance, Jesus is referred to as the son of Allah. Even translations carried out by Christian missionaries, such as the famous one done in 1865 by Cornelius Van Dyke, refer to Allah, as do missionary discussions.
The God=Allah equation means that, however hostile political relations may be, a common "children of Abraham" bond does exist and its exploration can one day provide a basis for interfaith comity. Jewish-Christian dialogue has made great strides and Jewish-Christian-Muslim trialogue could as well.
Before that can happen, however, Muslims must first recognize the validity of alternate approaches to the one God. That means leaving behind the supremacism, extremism, and violence of the current Islamist phase.
http://netwmd.com/articles/article1056.html
Mah ze Yahweh?
There is no "w" in hebrew. Mishegoyim who didn't understand didlysquat came up with "yahweh"
Mah ze Yahweh?
There is no "w" in hebrew. Mishegoyim who didn't understand didlysquat came up with "yahweh"
That's a little trickier. As another poster pointed out, Islam is a false construct all the way through. It includes elements of Judaism and Christianity, but not as Jews and Christians understand them. Where there is an account in the Koran that differs from the Hebrew scriptures, Muslims will say that the Hebrew scriptures are a corruption. Where the New Testament teaches, for example, the deity of Jesus Christ, the Koran will tell its readers not to believe that. If I recall correctly, the Koran (or at least Muslim teaching) identifies Miriam the sister of Moses with Mary the mother of Jesus. So not only was Mary a virgin, but she was reeealy old, too!
I wouldn't have any problem with Islam as a creed if it hadn't included false teachings about Jesus Christ. The false teachings are part and parcel of Islam. If Islam did not have that element, I would consider it just another religion.
But back to your question. (And, by the way, Christians worship ONE God, too.) Christians regard the coming of Christ as the fulfillment of promises God made through his covenants with Israel, and extending his new covenant to the world. I know there is some disagreement about whether the new covenant canceled out the old. I would say it has not. And although Jews do deny that Jesus is the Son of God, and do deny the Trinity, if God's covenant is still in force, they would worship the same God but not in the same way, and without the same understanding. And I accept that as God's own business.
Jesus teachings about himself often have to do with his own uniqueness. As a Christian, I am bound to accept what he teaches. But I am also bound to respect Jews. "Salvation is from the Jews," Jesus himself points out.
The biggest problem with Bush is he has followed the globalist /humanist (Socialist /Communist) world view on Religions. HE has found it convienent to level all religions and hold all in utter indifference- the very thing Joseph Story said would have created universal disapprobation if not universal indignation. Bush may think
or say we worship the same God -but the point is moot when the enemy who is killing Americans --and Iraqi and Afghani
are of a quite different view of who we worship.And who Allah will favor.
Have you allowed for the possibility that you might be wrong?
False. Many Mizrachim and Sephardim traditionally pronounce the vav (i.e. the "waw") was a "w," and secular linguists believe that the "w" is the historically correct pronounciation.
So it's likely that Biblical Hebrew did have a "w" sound. Only misheaskenazim forgot it over time.
First of all, 'allah' is not God. As another sage poster said, there are demons who answer to that name. As to the correct 'name' for God Almighty, THE Creator of Heaven and Earth, 'Yahweh' is historically accurate, as I understand that name is based upon the Hebrew letters 'YHWH', referring to the God Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken.
Islam is nothing but one of many satanic deceptions designed to fool people into thinking that there are 'many ways' to reach God, the devil indeed influenced the writers of the Koran into actually including some charitable passages about how to show mercy to women and children, taking care of those in need, etc., but that is *exactly* how the devil operates: he is able to appear as an angel of light, to present just enough of the truth to seem legitimate, but at the core of his presentation, there is nothing but spiritual (and eternal) poison, which leads to physical AND spiritual death, and seperation from the REAL God.
Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life", NO-one cometh unto the Father except by Me", and that means exactly what it says, that NOBODY is going to reach Almighty God EXCEPT by the Manifestation of God in the flesh, the Son of Man, the ONLY begotten Son of God, Who lived out His life on Earth for one, and ONLY one reason: to offer that Life as a Living Sacrifice for our sins, individually and collectively, for God's Word states that ALL men have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Jesus accomplished His Mission, for on the third day, He arose from the dead, and now sits at the right side of God the Father Almighty. He was victorious over evil and death, and that is why even on the Cross, His last words before dying were "It Is Finished".
Jesus never sinned. And by the Law, He could indeed have chosen NOT to die, to call down those 10,000 angels to save Him as He was dying upon the Cross, because His sinless nature empowered Him (if he so wished) to literally live forever. But because (as John 3:16 says so well), "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life."
THAT is another difference between Christianity and all other religions: every religion with the exception of Christianity teaches some variation of 'salvation by works', meaning that you just live a good life, do some good deeds, try not to do bad things, and generally be a good Joe, and "you'll make it".
That is a diabolical lie straight from the depths of Hell.
ALL men (and women) have sinned. God said so. And God cannot and WILL not tolerate sin in His Presence. The ONLY way that humanity can be reconciled to God, to be made presentable unto God, is by the Blood of Jesus Christ, shed upon the Cross, for the Redemption of our sins, and ALL have sinned, NO-one is righteous, not one. We all have a genetic sin nature that we cannot escape.
Jesus Himself stated that He is the Son of God. He stated that He is the only Way to eternal life, and that means that either Jesus is exactly what He said He is, or He was the greatest liar (or madman) in all of recorded history.
I believe that Jesus is everything He said He was, and more.
Now anyone can read over some of my posts on FR, and some are irreverent, some are off-color, some are obnoxious and offensive and I admit that many are probably not very Christ-like. But that is because I (like everyone) live and operate in the flesh, and that flesh is prone to sin, it is inclined to run after all of the ungodly things in this world, and I am a sinner, just like all of you. But like many of you, (and I would like to think ALL of you ultimately) I am a sinner saved by Grace. I am not without sin, but I am a work in progress and there are days when Christ has to lean on me more than others. There are times when my thoughts are not always directed towards God, but at the end of each day, I bring my failures, my shortcomings, my transgressions to King Jesus, and I tell Him I'm sorry for letting Him down that day.
And True to His Name, He dusts me off, tells me to just keep doing the best I can, to trust Him, and assures me that He is always with me.
Does that mean that I will eventually cease and desist from saying what I think about people, places and things here on FR that offend my sense of fair play? Does it mean that I will suddenly start saying nice things about Jimmy Carter (who I consider one of THE greatest traitors in American history)? No, probably not. I will continue to be the same person I am that I am today, because in order for me to be perfected, to be made acceptable to Almighty God, I must die the physical death, the flesh must return to the dust from which it came, so that my spirit, which I entrust to Jesus Christ, can return home to the Father, from whence it came.
I believe wholeheartedly that I will live long enough to see the actual Return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and while I do not (and cannot) know the exact day and time, or the manner in which He will return, I know that He WILL return, exactly as God's Word has stated, and when His Kingdom comes, and His Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven, we will all be transformed not only as new creatures, but transformed with the sudden knowledge, understanding and realization that God ALWAYS had everything under control, and that evil may have been able to prevail for a short time, but like the devil, it too, will be banished forevermore.
So is 'allah' God?
No. I talk to God every day, and His Name is that Name above every name, He is King of kings and Lord of lords, His Name is Jesus Christ, and He is the One in whom I have entrusted my soul.
Amen.
He said Yahweh!
STONE HIM.
STONE HIM.
The Prez is wrong.
There is only one God, and it ain't allah.
In a word, no.
By the way, the Ladino speaking Sephardic side of my familypronounces vav as vav.
What's All This Hubbub About Hebrew?
The Bible was written in Hebrew. The Hebrew Bible is our instruction manual. If you were following a recipe for a beautiful meal but the cookbook was written in French and you only spoke/read English all you prepared would likely be an inedible disaster. This applies to the instructions from YHWH as well but has much more important consequences, a lack of understanding this book can lead to either life or death. Learn the Language!
Most linguists assume that the letter Vav was pronounced as W in ancient times.
In Modern Hebrew it is pronounced V.
Recently linguists have reconsidered this position and some now think it may have been V in ancient Hebrew as well.
Our main knowledge of ancient Hebrew pronunciation comes from the living traditions of Jewish communities throughout the world, which preserve vastly different pronunciations of Hebrew.
Of all these traditions, only the Yemenite community pronounces Vav as "W", possibly under the influence of Arabic. All other Jewish communities pronounce(d) the letter as "V".
Some linguists suggest that the different pronunciation traditions of modern Jewish communities actually preserve differences from ancient Hebrew.
We know that the ancient Israelites spoke a number of dialects of Hebrew and some of these dialectic differences expressed themselves in varying pronunciation of the consonants.
So for example, the Gileadites said "Shiboleth" while the Ephraimites said "Siboleth" (Judges 12:6). It is possible that some ancient Israelites said "W" while others said "V".
The main support for this comes from the fact that Oriental Jews, who spoke Arabic as their day to day language (up until 1948), continued to pronounce the Hebrew letter Vav as "V" even though this sound is not found in spoken Arabic.
At the very least it proves this pronunciation predates the Islamic conquests.
Modern Hebrew pronunciation is roughly a mix of the Ashkenazic pronunciation of the consonants and the Sephardic pronunciation of the vowels.
Modern Hebrew pronunciation has the following sounds:
Aleph - no sound, used as a vowel holder, like in English "Eat"
Bet Degusha - B
Bet Rafa - V
Gimel - G (as in "give")
Dalet - D
He - H (as in "hello"); in Tel Aviv it is identical to Aleph
Vav - V (identical to Bet Rafa)
Zayin - Z
Chet - CH (as in German "Bach", Scottish "Loch"); some pronounce it like a hard "H" or Mexican Jota
Tet - T (identical to Tav)
Yod - Y (as in "yellow")
Chaf Degusha - K (as in Karaite)
Chaf Rafa - CH (as in German "Bach", Scottish "Loch")
Lamed - L
Mem - M
Nun - N
Samech - S
'Ayin - identical to Aleph; some pronounce it like Arabic 'Ayin, a gutteral sound.
Pe Degusha - P
Pe Rafa - F
Tsadi - TS (as in "cats")
Kuf - K (identical to Kaf Degisha)
Resh - R (like the French "R"); some pronounce it like the Arabic "Ra".
Shin - SH
Sin - S
Tav - T
The vowels are as follows: Patach, Kamatz, Chataf-Patach = A as in "father"
Tsere, Segol, Chataf-Segol = E as in "help" (approximately) Holam, Kamatz Katan (when recognized),
Chataf-Kamatz = O as in "cold"
Shuruk, Kubutz = OO as in "cool" (approximately)
Chirik = ee as in "feed"
Sheva Na' = i as in "if"
Sheva Nach = no sound
If you look closely you will see Modern Hebrew has 26 separate sounds whereas "standard"
Biblical Hebrew (the dialect most of the Tanach is written in) had approximately 36 sounds (or according to some opinions 41 sounds).
Allah is Satan. The Evil One.
You don't expect his followers to call him by his real name, do you? Evil is duplicitous.
His name is Death- and he IS their 'god'.
I believe that "Jehovah" is a pronunciation of the three Hebrew letters that are used to spell "Yahweh"
NO!
No. He's made-up by a salesman named Mohammed.
They'll stone you when your playin' your guitar...
Here are the possibilities:
1. There is no God.
The Jew would say I dont care if I spent my life loving G-d, even if there is no G-d, I am a Jew and I will always be a Jew and I love G-d.
The atheist would say, see, I told you so.
The Muslim would say, uh oh, I wasted my life hating Jews and Christians when I could have been fornicating and sinning.
The Christian would say, I dont care, I still love Jesus and nothing can take that away.
2. There is a God, but he is Allah, the Muslim deity.
The Jew would say, I dont care what you do to me, I love the G-d of love, the G-d of peace, the G-d of Israel and Im not gonna change.
The atheist would say, uh oh, I think I made a big mistake.
The Muslim would say, yeah, plenty of virgins and wine!
The Christian would say, Sorry, but I still love Jesus.
3. There is a G-d and He is the G-d of Israel, but He doesnt have a Son named Jesus.
The Jew would say, so, thats news?
The atheist would say, uh oh, I made a big mistake.
The Muslim would say, oh, shiite, Im in big trouble.
The Christian would say, thats OK, I still love Jesus and I love His father, too.
4. G-d had a Son and His name is Jesus (Yeshua).
The Jew would say, I made a mistake, G-d, I stand corrected, forgive me, Yeshua.
The atheist would say, uh oh, I made a big mistake.
The Muslim would say, uh oh, not this shiite again.
The Christian would say, Hey, Lord, we love you.
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