This just in from the world of syncretized Christianity:
Dutch bishop: Call God ‘Allah’ to ease relations
Roman Catholic leader stokes already heated debate on religionAMSTERDAM – A Roman Catholic Bishop in the Netherlands has proposed people of all faiths refer to God as Allah to foster understanding, stoking an already heated debate on religious tolerance in a country with one million Muslims.
Well, what about this? Should Jews and Christians consider “Allah” to be a valid Name for the LORD God Almighty?
The closest word that “Allah” might be related to in the Tanakh is the Aramaic ‘Elah. Now ‘Elah is a valid Title for the LORD God of Israel. Unfortunately, Islam is entirely bigoted in its theology and would dourly disavov all the other valid Names and Titles of the LORD, most importantly these two: YHVH and Yeshua….
Since Islam is a such a young religion, I think it should respect its elders in the monotheistic faith community and agree to use the Names YHVH and Yeshua instead of Allah. That will go a long way to understanding them and effecting rapprochement.
Now as for this Catholic bishop, I wonder if his syncretism finds place for those who decide to become suicide bombers? Perhaps this cleric thinks that Christians should make Allah Akbar! a rallying cry for opposing perceived grievances they see in the world?