Is my time up in the Roman Catholic Church?

[CentralFLJames]

God in Arabic is “Allah” and God is called Allah among Christian Arabs.

God Bless,
Michael

It’s regrettable that the etymology of Allah comes from pagan sources but I guess God can make anything right. And if Jesus can accept the title “Lord of Lord and King of Kings” we Christians can’t be too upset either since the word King comes to us by way of the pagans and the likes of King Nebukadnezar and the pagan kingdom of Cush etc.

Lacking a way to be forgiven of sins there are only 2 ways a Muslim can be assured of descent chances of gaining heaven. The first way is a martyrdom in Jihad or a fatwa – why there is so much zeal when the Mullahs issue one since hell is the higher probability without martyrdom. But I wish someone would start teaching the 2nd and easier way. The 2nd way is gain heaven is to recite the 99 Names of Allah. Frankly I think we could do more to garner world peace by sending a legion of Jesuits over to the Mecca and Medina and teach the Muslims their own religion and in particular paradise via door #2. It just seems that if we could get everyone to take a day off and just learn all Allah’s names then everyone could relax in assurances of getting their quota of 72 Virgins and stop the Jihad and fatwas and join the great secular Kumbaya of universal salvation for all. I have always speculated that the Mullahs took a lesson from the Pharisees and are withholding information on the easy way to paradise so they don’t loose relevancy. It’s time to spill the Hummus on the whole racket…

Here is the name of God we need to teach the Muslims
** الودود Al-Wadūd The Loving, The Kind One**

James

 

[LilyM]

Then we can do away with the word “Idolatry” and “idolater” altogether.
I dont think the polytheists in India intends to worship false gods. But they do.

For starters the polytheist in India never even intends to worship the one true God. Even those Hindus who are devotees of one particular deity would freely acknowledge that many other gods do exist.

And I doubt any of them in a million years would identify the object of their worship as being the God of Abraham. Which is also the critical difference between Muslims (who do identify as an Abrahamic faith) and Buddhists, Confucians, pagans, worshippers of the American Indian persuasion and so on.

You seem to be glossing over these two absolutely critical distinctions in putting Muslims in the same pigeonhole as Hindus or other polytheistic or pagan religions.

 

[GodIsGracious]

Very interesting. I wonder how many other Catholics believe that the Muslim God is the same as the Christian God?

I used to think so. I no longer do.

It is like Grace said, just because someone is a monotheist, it does not mean they worship the same god as Christians. Some schmoe could have only one god and worship that one god. However, that god happens to be a door knob.

It is not the same god as the Christian God.

 

[LilyM]

I used to think so. I no longer do.

It is like Grace said, just because someone is a monotheist, it does not mean they worship the same god as Christians. Some schmoe could have only one god and worship that one god. However, that god happens to be a door knob.

It is not the same god as the Christian God.

But the worshipper of the doorknob (like the sun-worshipper of Ancient Egypt, who were monotheists, or Zoroastrians, also monotheists) does not even in his wildest dreams think that that doorknob is the God of Abraham, or that that ancient Egyptian sun-god or the god of the Zoroastrians are the God of Abraham.

Significant difference there between merely worshipping a single deity (monotheism) and calling that one deity that one worships by the name of the One True God - the God of Abraham.

 

[GodIsGracious]

But the worshipper of the doorknob (like the sun-worshipper of Ancient Egypt, who were monotheists, or Zoroastrians, also monotheists) does not even in his wildest dreams think that that doorknob is the God of Abraham, or that that ancient Egyptian sun-god or the god of the Zoroastrians are the God of Abraham.

Significant difference there between merely worshipping a single deity (monotheism) and calling that one deity that one worships by the name of the One True God - the God of Abraham.

Sorry. But it is still very tough for me to buy into this idea. They can claim be from Abraham, does it mean it is so? Not necessarily.

This is getting dangerously close to say that there is salvation outside of the Catholic church, and if that’s the case, there is no need to be Catholic.

 

[LilyM]

Sorry. But it is still very tough for me to buy into this idea. They can claim be from Abraham, does it mean it is so? Not necessarily.

This is getting dangerously close to say that there is salvation outside of the Catholic church, and if that’s the case, there is no need to be Catholic.

Not at all. I believe that their theology and understanding are of course very seriously flawed (though not so much so as to necessarily negate their being an Abrahamic faith). Just as the flaws in the understanding of Christ among our fellow Christians doesn’t necessarily negate their claims to be Christian.

And I don’t by any means claim that their faith is salvific absent invincible ignorance, the interpretation of which phrase I leave to God. Which is well-established Church teaching.

As has been amply pointed out, there is a big BIG gap between worship and salvation…

 

[GodIsGracious]

Not at all. I believe that their theology and understanding are of course very seriously flawed (though not so much so as to negate their being an Abrahamic faith). And I don’t by any means claim that their faith is salvific absent invincible ignorance, which I don’t particularly interpret broadly but which is well-established Church teaching.

As has been amply pointed out, there is a big BIG gap between worship and salvation…

Agreed on your last point.

When even Muslims admit that Christians do not worship the same God, then need to take them for their word. i.e. We do not worship the same God.

At this point, the most I can do is accept that this is what the Catholic church teaches, but that’s about it.

 

[LilyM]

Agreed on your last point.

When even Muslims admit that Christians do not worship the same God, then need to take them for their word. i.e. We do not worship the same God.

At this point, the most I can do is accept that this is what the Catholic church teaches, but that’s about it.

Put it this way - some Muslims may well not worship the same God. Depending on their understanding of Him. IBeliefs across the different strands of Islam, I’m sure, vary as widely as they do across the different strands of Christianity. By the same token, some who call themselves Christian would appear not to be so, not by any reasonable definition of that term.

Doesn’t mean we can blanket generalise and say that ALL non-Catholic Christians don’t worship Christ, or that ALL Muslims don’t worship the God of Abraham.

 

[GraceDK]

God in Arabic is “Allah” and God is called Allah among Christian Arabs.

God Bless,
Michael

That’s evident.
I believed as a certainty that when we speak about Islam and I say allah vs. God, you would understand that I mean the Koranic concept of god vs. the True God. I still write it with no capital letter, because I dont think the two persons are the same. The two revelations give me no indication that we have to do with the same source.

 

[Michael_Francis]

Having exhausted its topic, this thread is now closed.