When people think of the word God, with the big G, they usually think of the God of Abraham (i.e. the God worshiped by the Jews, Christians, and Muslims), but that is not the only use of the big G version of the word.
Whenever one refers to the god of creation of a particular religion/faith, that god can be described with the big G. For example, the god of creation in Hinduism is Brahma and he is often reference with the big G version of God. In Hinduism, it is believed that all of the gods and all of creation come from Brahma. He is also part of what I like to refer to as the Hindu trinity, the Trimurti, which includes Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Vishnu and Shiva are both versions (for lack of a better term) of Brahma.
There is also the controversy of whether Muslims worship the God of Abraham. Much of this controversy comes from the Muslim use of the Arabic word Allah, which means The God. The word Allah was used prior to the life of Muhammad and thus some latch on to its previous use as proof that Muslims worship a different God than Jews and Christians. This is a false assumption. While there is truth to the historical use of the word Allah, the assumption that Muhammad was referring to those previous uses of the word and not the God of Abraham is a bit of a reach in my humble opinion. It is also a tool used to promote bigotry, divisiveness, and hatred. There are plenty of things to criticize Islam and Muslims about, so going and making up some cockamamie theory that they do not worship the same God as the Jews and Christians is just silly and a waste of time.
At the end of the day, what does it really matter what name we give to God. Do you really think that it matters? We would all be wise to try and live by the great teachings of all of the world’s religions and stop this insanity of hating each other over the name of God (not to mention all of the conflicts within Christianity over Jesus, the Holy Spirit, etc).
On a side note, did you know that there is a god.com website? The crazy things that you can find with a Google search.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
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8 comments:
Contrary to what some might think, I am not trying to prove that the god Muslims worship is not my God because I am bigoted or prejudice against Muslims or to stir up any hatred against these people.
I just think that based on what I have read and researched that Allah is not my God. This is not just some theory of mine. This is something that I have done my homework on and not just something that I made up.
However, there are many others things that are of greater importance than issues like this.
When talking about matters of faith, it doesn't matter if Muslims think they are worshipping the same God I am or not. They are still a false religion to me. They are really no better off than the Orthodox Jews are.
Aside from that, there is no need to hate a person or a particular people group because they worship differently than me or you. The only thing we can really do is to show them love like Jesus taught us to and work from there.
Some thoughts:
"They are still a false religion to me. They are really no better off than the Orthodox Jews are.
"Aside from that, there is no need to hate a person or a particular people group because they worship differently than me or you. The only thing we can really do is to show them love like Jesus taught us to and work from there."
How is completely condemning someone's belief system a form of love?
And does it not matter that most other religions have been around longer than Christianity? I would think that'd account for a much greater degree of credibility.
It's not as if the rules suddenly changed 2000 years ago.
There's also all of the facts put forth by religious scholars that show how almost every single aspect of Christianity existed long before in pagan religions.
I also am fascinated by the observation that people always think their religion is the only true one, never considering that they only reason they believe in that religion, in the vast majority of cases, is due to the random circumstance of what country and family they were born into.
Some, no doubt, just think they're lucky or chosen. But that's a pretty arrogant thought, since it means God loves them and does not love the others.
Carry on.
Where did you get the idea that I am condemning them? I really resent that remark.
Just because I disagree with their religion does not mean I am condemning a person.
Just like I don't condemn liberals just because I disagree with their political beliefs.
And I don't believe that just because a certain set of beliefs have been around longer than another makes it right.
"Where did you get the idea that I am condemning them? I really resent that remark."
I gave the quotes that led to such a conclusion.
Again: "They are still a false religion to me."
If I were to tell you that yours was a false religion, would you feel that I were treating you with love, or would you feel that I were treating you with condemnation, or disrespect, or some other negative thing?
"And I don't believe that just because a certain set of beliefs have been around longer than another makes it right."
We're talking about our entire existence. Just as I'm not going to believe some 12-year-old kid if he tells me he invented dirt, I find it hard to believe that a 2000-year-old religion applies to a world that is much, much older.
We may not know which came first, the chicken or the egg. But we know that they both came before the omelet.
Well Danny, you are right, if you told me that my religion was false, I would not think that it were a positive thing but I certainly would not feel like you were condeming me. I would take that information as your opinion and leave it at that.
That was a good attempt at an analogy with the 12 year old kid but a little kid saying he invented dirt is a far cry from what I am talking about.
In the end, I guess we will find out which one of us is right and leave it at that.
"It's not as if the rules suddenly changed 2000 years ago."
Actually that's exactly what happened.
"While there is truth to the historical use of the word Allah, the assumption that Muhammad was referring to those previous uses of the word and not the God of Abraham is a bit of a reach in my humble opinion."
You could quite easily make the opposite point here and seem just as valid. It doesn't feel compelling. I understand you feel it is a reach, but I could say the same thing (and do) in regards to the notion that Muhammad would be referring to the God of Abraham. I can see some reasoning behind the idea, but the evidence does not back it up.
To echo what Otter said, there are far greater issues at hand and while this could be used as a tool for bigotry, that does not change the truth. The fact that people have different color skin has been used for prejudice and bigotry, but that doesn't mean that we are not all different and that some people have different colored skin from others. We do. Does that mean we should hate each other for it? No, of course not. That doesn't keep us from acknowledging the facts though.
A couple of things that I’d like to comment on here –
Otter: I know that you are not a bigot in any way, but I do think that your opinion on the subject of whether or not Muslims worship the God of Abraham is wrong. We have discussed this before and are pretty much at the “agree to disagree” point.
I will say though that “false religion” statement bothered me a bit. That is the kind of rhetoric that I would expect from someone who is not as well read and intelligent as you are. I’m really not trying to be mean, so please don’t take offense to what I’m saying. As Chris said in our email discussion on this topic, one much have the humility to admit that he/she could be wrong (religiously) and without said humility one is following blind faith.
Danny: I truly believe Otter was not trying to condemn anyone. He’s a really good guy.
Sooner Fan: In response to Danny’s 2000 years ago remark, you said “Actually that's exactly what happened.” This is your opinion in the matter and not a hard fact. This again goes back to the humility issue. No one can deny that Jesus was the most influential individual in history, but his teachings in and of themselves were nothing new. You can find the same messages throughout many other religions, specifically many of the same teachings can be found in Buddhism.
You said -- “You could quite easily make the opposite point here and seem just as valid. It doesn't feel compelling. I understand you feel it is a reach, but I could say the same thing (and do) in regards to the notion that Muhammad would be referring to the God of Abraham. I can see some reasoning behind the idea, but the evidence does not back it up.” This is again a false statement. Yes you could make this argument and many do, but those many are also wrong and going against the vast majority of religious scholars throughout the world. The majority of “scholars” who push the belief that Muslims do not worship the God of Abraham are doing so because they are biased and are trying to use their “research” to convert others to their faith. This is an insidious practice IMHO. Is this what you and Otter are doing? Absolutely not. You just happen to believe in what I, and many others see, as a false opinion.
You said –“ The fact that people have different color skin has been used for prejudice and bigotry, but that doesn't mean that we are not all different and that some people have different colored skin from others. We do. Does that mean we should hate each other for it? No, of course not. That doesn't keep us from acknowledging the facts though.” So let me ask you this…is it better to focus on the differences or to focus on the similarities? Yes people are all different, but if that is how someone is going to go into a situation, the chances of finding commonalities is not that good.
Dave, you are right. At this point we are at the agree to disagree point with this topic. But I'm okay with that.
I think when I used the words false religion I was trying to convey a certain point that a few people took to me I was condemning them. What I am trying to say is that I put their religion in the same company as I do Hindus or...oh...I dunno...let's say tribal religions. I do not think that their religion is the right path to follow and I hope at some point in time they all realize this. But at the same time, and I know this might sound strange, I do respect their right to worship the way they want. That does not mean, however, that I won't try to convert them. Course, my way of trying to convert someone is totally different than someone else's.
But as far as the comments about saying Allah is not the god of Abraham. I am not making these statements because I am biased and trying to convert someone's beliefs. I am simply stating my opinion based on what I have read and researched.
In the long run though (and again, keep in mind that Dave and IARE at the point where we agree to disagree on this point) it does not really matter if Allah is the god of Abraham or not to me. If it isn't to me they are in big trouble. If it is, more power to them but I still they are going to be in big trouble when the end of days gets here.
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