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¿Qué tiene que ver conmigo? por Teófila Gottfried
Lo que leemos en la Biblia tiene que ver con todos los seres humanos, sean cristianos o judíos, ateos o agnósticos, budistas, musulmanes o adherentes a alguna de las filosofías o nuevas religiones que surgen en el mundo. ¿Por qué? Ver mayor información sobre este interesante libro.
Scripture of The Day - St. John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Escritura del día - San Juan 14,6
Jesús le dijo: Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida; nadie viene al Padre, sino por mí.
Bibelstelle des Tages - Johannes 14,6
Jesus spricht zu ihm: Ich bin der Weg und die Wahrheit und das Leben; niemand kommt zum Vater, denn durch mich!
The Arabic Word for God: Is NOT Allah: Proof In The Koran
The Quran itself and its translations to any language absolutely prove Allah is the name of a specific deity, and not just the Arabic word for God. Below are just three of the numerous examples taken directly from the Quran showing that Arabic has a generic word for god like every other language.
Quran 19.81 says:
وَاتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ آلِهَةً لِّيَكُونُواْ لَهُمْ عِزًّا
English translation: They have taken gods instead of Allah, to achieve power.
Note: If Allah is the Arabic word for God, the sura would have to read: "They have taken Allahs instead of Allah to achieve power."
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Quran 11.54 says:
إِن نَّقُولُ إِلاَّ اعْتَرَاكَ بَعْضُ آلِهَتِنَا بِسُوءٍ قَالَ إِنِّي أُشْهِدُ اللّهَ وَاشْهَدُواْ أَنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِّمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ
English: All we say is that one of our gods has caused you evil." He said, "I bear Allah as my witness, and you also bear witness that I am innocent of what you associate with Allah.
Note: Again, if Allah means God, the sura would have to say, "...one of our Allahs has caused you evil..."
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Quran 11.101 says:
11.101 وَمَا ظَلَمْنَاهُمْ وَلَـكِن ظَلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَمَا أَغْنَتْ عَنْهُمْ آلِهَتُهُمُ الَّتِي يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللّهِ مِن شَيْءٍ لَّمَّا جَاءَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ وَمَا زَادُوهُمْ غَيْرَ تَتْبِيبٍ
English translation: English translation: It is not We who have been unjust to their inhabitants, but they have been unjust to themselves. Their gods, whom they invoked, instead of invoking Allah, availed them nothing when the command of your Lord came. They did but increase their doom.
Note: Again, clearly, it is impossible for Allah to mean God, because the sura would be saying they invoked Allahs instead of invoking Allah, which makes no sense.
Not only do the numerous suras of the Quran clearly prove Allah is most definitely not the Arabic word for the generic word God, the Quran also proves Allah is a distinct being very much in opposition to the God of the Christian Bible. That is not opinion. That is fact. The God of the Bible has a Son who came to earth, and died on the cross. Allah has no son, period. Therefore, we know for sure he is not the same entity as God the Father. Despite the attempts to align Allah with God by calling him the merciful, and the almighty, Allah is a very different god, which is why he has a different name...a name different from the many names and titles of triune God of the Bible.
Looking at this from a purely linguistic point of view, we're reminded of a translator's duty to translate the original message without adding to it or taking away from it. We all have free will to serve and worship any god we want, even if that's the devil. But that worship should not be in ignorance.
The promotion of this affirmation has become so strong that a new translation of the Bible into Arabic that omits the proper name, Allah, is under way. The generic Arabic word for god (any god) will be used instead. This allows for the proper names of the God of Israel to also be linked to the generic Arabic word for god, "ilah." Likewise, this would allow a Hindu to be able to link the proper names of his Hindu gods to "ilah," instead of being forced to call Hindu gods, Allah. Also, the atheist would be able to say in Arabic that there is no god (ilah) at all, of any name, instead of being forced to say that there is no specific god named Allah. If an atheist says that there is no Allah, he's simply denying the existence of only one specific deity. He would have to use the generic Arabic word for god to deny the existence of any and all deities.
What's the Big Deal?
Okay, so Allah is not the Arabic word for god, rather it's a proper name for a specific spirit. Nevertheless, what is the big deal about Arabic-speaking Christians using this proper name to refer to the God of the Christian Bible? We know that most speakers of Arabic are much more familiar with the name Allah being used to speak of God than the generic Arabic word for god. The Bible says that God looks on the heart. If a Christian refers to God as Allah, does not God look on what is in that believer's heart when he says Allah, rather than on the fact that Allah is the proper name of another deity?
After all, when the apostles were deciding what things the Gentiles should do to be saved, did they say anything about what they had to call God in their native languages when they were converted to Christianity?
In the Bible we read, "For all the gods of the nations are idols. But, the Lord made the heavens" (Psalm 96:5). This lets us know that any god who does not answer to the description and revelations that the God of Israel does, is an idol god. Simply put, Allah does not have a Son who is the Savior of the world. And, Allah despises natural and spiritual Israel. On the contrary, the God of the Christian Bible calls Israel the "apple of his eye" (Deut. 32:10). The conclusion is crystal clear: Allah does not answer to the description and revelations that the God of Israel does. Therefore, if we are going to believe biblical scripture, Allah cannot be anything other than an idol. Remember, we're looking at this from a BIBLICAL perspective. We would come to a different conclusion if we were looking at this from the perspective of other spiritual writings such as those followed by a Hindu, Buddhist, or any other religion.
Idolatry in a Name
King David declared, "Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god (idol). Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their NAMES into my lips" (Psalm 16:4). David did not say that he would not pronounce from his lips foreign WORDS that translated to the generic term for a deity. He said that he would not take up the NAMES of idols. So, we can imagine that David would not have objected to the use of the generic Arabic WORD for god, "ilah," but would have objected to taking up the proper NAME, Allah, into his lips to refer to his Lord, the God of Israel.
Christians are told, "...Keep yourselves from idols..." (1 John 5:21). Christians, are we really to think that our Lord, who is a jealous God, so jealous that one of his names is Jealous (Exodus 20:5, 34:14) is pleased with being called by the name of an idol? Does a person named James want people to call him by the name of Kevin, Mark, or Frank? We show respect to someone by calling him or her by his or her name, not by someone else's name. Likewise, we honor God by calling Him by the names that He told us are His names. We do not call our Lord by the name of Zeus, Thor, Baal, or Dagon, because these are proper names for specific idol gods. Why then should we call our God by the name, Allah, which is a proper name for a specific idol god?
As we are keeping in mind the holiness of the names of God, let us remember that all of the fullness of God is now in one name: JESUS. We read:
"Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is NONE other NAME under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:10-12).
"That at the NAME of JESUS every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth" (Philippians 2:10).
Yes, the Arabic word for God is a big deal.
Arabic Speaking Christians
Since Allah does not mean God, but rather refers to a specific and very different entity, what are we saying about Arabic speaking Christians who pray to Allah? We know that there are many Arabs who have truly received the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Are they any less of a Christian than believers who speak other languages in which the proper name of an idol is not used for God? Of course not. They are as much a part of the family of Christ as anyone else.
None of this, however, changes the fact that Allah is not the generic Arabic word for God. It does not change any of the truths that have been learned about the name of God. When we learn something, we are to receive and act on that new knowledge. Remember, the apostle Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, had been a persecutor of the Christian church. But, he persecuted the church out of ignorance. He honestly believed that he was doing service to God. At the moment he came into the knowledge of the truth, he did not let anything keep him from making all of the changes necessary to totally please Christ.
He wrote of himself, "Who was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious. But, I obtained mercy, because I did it IGNORANTLY in unbelief" (1 Timothy 1:13). When the Lord offered correction to Saul, he accepted that correction. He repented and turned his back on everything of his culture and life that interfered in any way with giving the highest honor, obedience, and reverence to our God, the Lord Jesus.
He said, "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of ALL things, and do count them but dung (garbage), that I may win (have) Christ" (Philippians 3:8).
May the Arabic word for God be what is fully acceptable, pleasing, and reverent in the sight of the Lord, not what is popular, traditional, easy, or familiar.
Highly Recommended Reading:
Who Is Allah?
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Is There Logic In The Idea Of Religious Harmony?
Based on true events, The Third Man by Angela Sheffield, brings the Bible up close and personal as the characters face real issues of life: Betrayal, deceit, romance, bitterness, anger against God, hopelessness, will power, perplexity, triumph, unforgiveness, mental illness, and the "Alcohol made me do it" excuse. Read chapter one FREE now.
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