The Arabic word for God is Allah, and missionaries wrestle with what to say in evangelism. For instance, should they track with the classic Campus Crusade opening, “Allah loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”? It seems odd, since a lot of baggage goes with that word, including its frequent use by terrorists, who shout “Allah Akbar” (Allah is great) as they kill innocents. So some translators prefer to use the Arabic expression for “the Lord,” Al-Rabb.
Of course, the same name can be used for two different persons, as when we find a batch of John Smiths in the phone book. Similarly, the “Allah” whose nature and works are revealed in the Bible is distinguishable from the Koranic Allah. There are many ways to demonstrate this, but let’s take the case of God’s agape love—as in “God is love” (1 John 4:8b). This is not simply the acquisitive desire of eros, the friendship love of phileo, or the instinctual, mothering love of storge. It is the self-sacrificial love of a Father who gives up His “only begotten son” to murderous torturers in order that a host of unsavory characters might be spared destruction.
Muslims speak of the “99 names of God,” which include references to his kindness—expressed, for instance, as “exceeding beneficence” (Ar-Rahman), “exceeding mercy” (Ar-Rahim), and “generosity” (Al-Karim). But these are the virtues of a potentate who has plenty of resources to spare without injury to himself. In contrast, the God of the Bible exhibits a costly love, not just in terms of how big a splash His generosity makes on the recipients, but also in terms of the pain it causes Him in the giving. Consider Romans 5:8, which teaches that, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ [God’s Son; God Incarnate] died for us.”
While the Koran’s Allah shares the Christian God’s capacity to “avenge” (Al-Muntaqim) and “afflict” (Ad-Darr), he does not provide a self-sacrificial way of escape. The Muslim Jesus (Issa) is only a prophet, and his suffering no more injures God than, say, the death of John the Baptist.
Not surprisingly, this plays out in contrasting Christian and Muslim ethics. Consider the Christian, Paul, who wrote, regarding his fellow Jews, who were missing salvation, “. . . I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:3). Notice Paul was not saying that he was willing to martyr himself for entry to paradise, but rather to forego paradise if necessary.
Yes, Arab peoples are known for their hospitality to the stranger who comes to their home. These people, many of whom are Muslims, will share their food and drink, even when these provisions are in short supply. They may have to miss meal of lamb because of their generosity. But this is a far cry from the generosity-unto-personal-ruin of which Paul speaks.
In this same vein, Christian saints and Muslim saints are of a different stamp. Muslims are inclined to venerate the warrior Mahdi, buried in Omdurman, Sudan, or the pious Sufi mystic Ali Hujwiri. Christians, on the other hand, more readily turn to a Gianna Beretta Molla, who refused both cancer treatment and an abortion, so that her child rather than her might live. Or the missionary Jim Elliot in the book Through Gates of Splendor, who fired his pistol in the air to scare away his native attackers in Ecuador. His refusal to turn the pistol on these “infidels” meant the loss of his own life, since they weren’t ready to face God on high.
When your god is not willing or able to suffer real loss to help his enemies, it is not surprising when his disciples follow suit. What a difference it makes to worship the God whose personal sacrifice was horrendous, the God who set the template for self-forgetful love in service to sinners, even those who would do believers harm.
Mark, I understand what you have communicated. However, Allah is the only word for God in Arabic and was used centuries before Islam came into being by Arabic-speaking people. It is the only word for God in both Old and New Testaments in the Arabic Bible and is the only word for God used by Arabic-speaking Christians today. Following is an article I wrote (“Allah Does Not Belong to Islam”) published by the Christian Research Journal:
Allah
Does not Belong to Islam
Article ID: DI220
By: Helen Louise Herndon
This article first appeared in the Viewpoint
column of the Christian Research Journal, volume 25, number 1 (2002).
For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal
go to: http://www.equip.org
Since September 11, scores of commentaries
have been written about terrorism and Islam, many from Christian leaders. It is
remarkable how writers unfamiliar with the Arabic language have ventured
comments, if not judgments, relating to the term Allah. It is as if
anything to do with Allah must be demonized in order for us to feel
righteous and justified.
In a news clip on KFUO-AM Radio in St. Louis,
shortly after the 9-11 tragedy, Tim LaHaye, noted evangelical speaker and
coauthor of the Left Behind series, said, “Allah is not the God
the Bible. He is an evil spirit that results in murder.” I have to assume Tim
LaHaye is not fluent in Arabic! He is, however, not alone in referring to a Qur’anic
interpretation or concept of God. Many Westerners seem unaware that Allah
is the God Arabic-speaking Christians worship. The Arabic Bible is replete with
the word Allah, beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation. Jesus
Christ is even called the son of Allah in the Arabic Scriptures.
Arabic-speaking Coptic, Roman Catholic,
Orthodox, Maronite, evangelical, and Reformed Christians worship Allah,
which is simply the word or term for God in another language. Islam does not
hold a copyright to the term. In fact, Arab Christians existed before Islam
appeared on the scene. Christians who worship Allah number in the
millions, and their biblical version of Allah differs from the Qur’anic
version. To demean or demonize the word for God in another language does a
great disservice to believers who speak that language. Opportunities to win a
hearing or dialogue between Christians and Arabic-speaking Muslims vis-à-vis
Jesus Christ are also minimized.
It is time for all of us, especially
Christians, to exercise caution when it comes to attacking the term for God in
a language foreign to most of us. No other term exists in Arabic for the God
Christians claim to be the one, true God. Western Christians do not normally
use Hebrew terms for God in their languages. They cannot expect Arab Christians
to use any other term or word for theirs. Allah is equivalent to the
English God, the French Dieu, or the Spanish Dios.
In a World magazine issue on terrorism
and Islam, Marvin Olasky, editor, referred to Allah as not being the God
of the Bible. He wrote, “Muslims say their God is all-wise and
all-compassionate, but Allah merely displays man’s understanding of what
wisdom and compassion are” (World, 27 October 2001). This statement
causes confusion. To say rather that the Muslim concept of Allah differs from
the Christian concept of Allah, in my opinion, would be helpful.
Throughout Western history, many people have
corrupted the term God. For instance, the Ku Klux Klan demeans,
diminishes, and denigrates the English word God; yet, English-speaking
Christians have not permitted such corruptions to rob them of their use of the
term God. Likewise, the same is true for God in Arabic.
Terrorists may misuse the term Allah, but they cannot rob millions of
their word for God.
Perhaps we could better understand this error
if we translate some of these judgments and criticisms into English. For
example, some Christians might say, “God is not the God of the
Bible.” They also might say, “God is a demonic force causing murder,”
and so on. How can Christians then proclaim Christ to people who know of God
by that term? If God is demonized, it also becomes impossible to
encourage people to love God, to worship God, or to believe Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Would we be willing to give God a
different term after centuries of using God in our language? Some are
linguistically destroying the term for God used by millions of their
coreligionists in other parts of the world. God loves the world,
including those who speak Arabic.
It is imperative that the term Allah
not be totally destroyed in Western minds. Otherwise, even Arab Christians will
be questioned as to their authenticity and worship of the one, triune God,
according to Christian orthodoxy. Such linguistic destruction also threatens to
harm relationships with Muslims and potentially arouses hatred. The problem is
linguistic, not theological.
Arabic was spoken at Pentecost, a watershed
event in church history (Acts 2:8–11). Its usage regarding the worship of God
predates English. In fact, Muhammad may have borrowed the term from
Christians and Jews of his day. A Washington University anthropology professor
states, “Allah is the south Semitic version of the north Semitic
Elohim…so that the Eloh and Allah versions appear to come from
the same Semitic root.” Let’s exercise caution in speaking of Islam’s different
tenets and not demonize Allah, who is found throughout the Old and New
Testaments in the Arabic Bible, as is God in our English version. The
apostle John said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Allah,
and the Word was Allah” (see John 1:1). We can join our Arab brothers
and sisters in Christ who often say, “Allah be praised!”
Ms Herndon presents a cogent argument for the use of the word “Allah” when discussing God with Muslim individuals. The logic is unassailable, but I would also posit that using the same logic, one may suggest that it is also perfectly logical to use the word “Baal” when discussing God with individuals from the area around Israel. After all, their ancestors did use that word. Now, As a Christian, how did that sound to you? It should sound just as reprehensible to use the word previously used to represent the Arabic “Moon God” when discussing the one true God.
Samlam460, before English-speaking Christians chose the word God, or Spanish-speaking Christians chose the word Dios, or French-speaking Christians chose the word Dieu, etc., Arabic Christians were calling Elohim Allah. Today, every Arabic Bible, every Arabic hymn speaks of Allah and praises Allah. They did so way before Muhammad was born and Islam became a religion.
Besides, both the Latin-derivative words and the Germanic-derivative words for God were originally associated with false Gods. The word Allah is related to the Hebrew Elohim
I have been searching the Internet relative to the origins of the word “God.” The English and Germanic origin of “God” is pagan. The same is true of both the Latin and Greek words for “God.” The word “Allah” is closer to the Hebrew and Aramaic word for God than are the western names for God. The Semitic languages are more related. I believe all of this is noteworthy. This is why it is important to be careful before accusing a word in another language of something unacceptable without a broad overview of history and linguistics.
If the Arabs are using allah in their bibles and in their churches, tehn they are greatly mistaken. allah is a proper name used for the god of islam. IT MUST NOT be used to call upon God almighty, the God of Abraham. If the word just means god, then I think it is better if Christians use in these countries use the name of God instead of this word allah. Better you say Jehovah when referring to God almighty and NOT allah. This is unacceptable and for Christians going to these countries to evangelize, do not encourage them to say allah, say Jehovah instead call him by his name, YHVH. Allah as far as I am concerned is a demon.
Then it is wrong for Jesus to call God Alaha because it comes from the same root as Allah.