Your opinion

  • Thread starter Thread starter erik_none
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
E

erik_none

Guest
Do you believe Muslims worship the same God as us?

Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. I remember in my RCIA the leader saying we did not worship the same God, yet the Catechism states we do.

What do you think?
 
Can you give the reference number in the Catechism you are speaking of?
 
erik_none said:
Do you believe Muslims worship the same God as us?

Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. I remember in my RCIA the leader saying we did not worship the same God, yet the Catechism states we do.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
Yes they do, the Catechism is not wrong.
 
Hi Erick!

The Catholic church teaches there is only one God and that He is a Trinitarian God.
Since there is only one God…anyone worshiping a god, could be said to be worshiping our God…since there is only one.

However, the Musilim view of who that God is , is MUCHHHH different than the God we Catholics have come to know who has revealed Himself to us.

God bless
 
Maybe yes and no?

I have a muslim friend and we would discuss our religions. I learned from her (she was definitely less than devout, but this is what I learned) that up until the story of Abraham our Bible and their Quran were basically the same. Once we got to the story of Abraham, I found out that they believe Abraham was married to Hagar and Sarah was the servant he slept with to have a child.

I’ve never read the Quran so I’ve never verified that.

So, my opinion is that it’s the same God, but Muslims don’t actually know God and seem to have been misled as to who He really is.
 
This is from the Catechism

841 The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. “The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.”[330]
 
erik_none said:
Do you believe Muslims worship the same God as us?

Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. I remember in my RCIA the leader saying we did not worship the same God, yet the Catechism states we do.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
No, the catechism does not state that we do.

vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM

841 The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day."330

844 In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that disfigure the image of God in them:

Very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than the Creator. Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair.333
 
I believe that Muslims believe that they are worshipping the same deity that Abraham worshiped. I also believe that they have been deceived.
 
JM3 said:
No, the catechism does not state that we do.

vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM

841 The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day."330

844 In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that disfigure the image of God in them:

Very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than the Creator. Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair.333
Click to expand...
What about the part after what you bolded?

“…together with us they adore the one, merciful God…”

Clearly, their understanding of God is very different from the Catholic understanding. The Jewish understanding is different, too, as is the understanding of many non-Catholic Christians. That doesn’t mean the God they worship is a different God, though. That’s what the Second Vatican Council was getting at (the passage from the Catechism is quoting a document from Vatican II).

Erik, perhaps your RCIA director was simply emphasizing that our understanding of God is different from that of the Muslims (which is true). It all depends on what part you emphasize. You can emphasize the similarities or emphasize the differences. Neither approach is wrong per se. Just don’t overlook one or the other.
 
Joe_5859 said:
What about the part after what you bolded?

“…together with us they adore the one, merciful God…”
Click to expand...
That would depend on how the Church understands “…together with us…”. Perhaps, it means ‘whatever they believe that is in line with what we believe’. I’m not aware of anything from the Church that clarifies this. The footnote for this section also says to see Nostra Aetate 3.

vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html
  1. The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
Click to expand...
Perhaps, they mean that “they…worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.”, as we do.
 
843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life."332

332 LG 16; cf. NA 2; EN 53.

vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19751208_evangelii-nuntiandi_en.html
53…We wish to point out, above all today, that neither respect and esteem for these religions nor the complexity of the questions raised is an invitation to the Church to withhold from these non-Christians the proclamation of Jesus Christ. On the contrary the Church holds that these multitudes have the right to know the riches of the mystery of Christ[76] - riches in which we believe that the whole of humanity can find, in unsuspected fullness, everything that it is gropingly searching for concerning God, man and his destiny, life and death, and truth. Even in the face of natural religious expressions most worthy of esteem, the Church finds support in the fact that the religion of Jesus, which she proclaims through evangelization, objectively places man in relation with the plan of God, with His living presence and with His action; she thus causes an encounter with the mystery of divine paternity that bends over towards humanity. In other words, our religion effectively establishes with God an authentic and living relationship which the other religions do not succeed in doing, even though they have, as it were, their arms stretched out towards heaven.
Click to expand...
 
WE believe in the Trinity. Do the Muslims? They think of Christ as a prophet, not as the Son of God made man. I have no idea what they think of the Holy Spirit. Doubt that they do.

Why would God have His Son come to earth and die for us and then, 600 years after His death, He sends a Gabriel to convince Mohammed that Allah is God? Also Gabriel beat Mohammed having become annoyed with him that he would not believe. Does that sound like something God would do?
 
Yes. There is only one God. How people interpret who God is, and what Scripture says is where all the differences lay.
 
Yes and no.

Muslims worship the same monotheistic God as the Jews and Christians, as opposed to the pagan multiple gods. It is clear that Islam is influenced by Christianity. The Koran shows great respect for Christ’s Mother.

Some parts of the Koran are tolerant of Jews and Christians and some are violently opposed. The last 1500 years have been a mix of war, cold war, and some peace with the Muslims.
 
Pax Christi.

Wasn’t Allah a moon “god” who had three daughters?

And if so, are we allowed to acknowledge this fact, and talk about it?

God bless.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top