Religions

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August 15, 2007

Should Christians Call God “Allah”?

Posted by Jason Dulle under Islam, Religions
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A Dutch Catholic priest, Tiny Muskens, argues that Christians should begin calling God, “Allah.” Why? To ease Christian-Muslim tensions. What might God think about this? According to Muskens God is above such bickering over what He is called.

 

Muskens was a missionary in Indonesia for 30 years, and points out how Christians in Indonesia call God “Allah.” In their language, that is the generic reference for God, equivalent to the English “God.” If they can do it, and no one has a problem with it, why can’t we do the same as well?

 

I think Muskens’s suggestion is misguided for three reasons. First, I don’t think one can make a Biblical case that God is unconcerned with what we call Him. He has chosen to reveal Himself to us with certain names and titles. We cannot just ignore those, or interchange them with some other name if it suits our fancy to do so. For example, we can’t call Him “Xenon” because we think that’s a cool name. That is disrespectful to the God who has revealed Himself, and His name, to man.

 

Having said that, I understand that the English word “God” is just an English translation of the Hebrew elohim. There is nothing special about the English word “God.” We could just as well use the French word Dieu, or the Italian Dio, or the German Gott…and would do so if we spoke French, Italian, or German, because that is the equivalent word for elohim in those languages. But we do not speak those languages. Likewise, we do not speak Arabic, or live in countries where Muslim influence has made it so that the only term that exists for God in the native language is “Allah.” So there is no reason for us to use “Allah” to refer to God.

 

Second, I think Muskens’s suggestion would have the opposite effect He envisions. It is one thing for Christians to call God “Allah” in a nation whose language has no other name for God, but it a whole other matter for those who have an alternative name to begin using “Allah” to identify their God. In the former case the usage is necessary; in the latter it is not. Most Christians are Trinitarian. The triune God of Christianity is repugnant to Muslims. To call that God by the same name as the Muslim God when it is not necessary to do so, is likely to be seen as blasphemous, for it would associate Allah with a false God. That will hardly help Muslim-Christian relations!

 

Thirdly, even if Muslims would not be offended by our change from “God” to “Allah”, what makes us think this change would ease Muslims-Christian tensions? Does Muskens think Muslims won’t be privy to the fact that the change in terminology has nothing to do with a change in our beliefs? Their problem with Christians is not that we do not call God “Allah”, but that we do not follow Islam. Calling the Christian God “Allah” will do nothing to change that fact, and thus it can do nothing to ease Muslim-Christian tensions.

 

One final thing to consider…. Why is it that Christians need to change the word we use to refer to the Supreme Deity? Why isn’t Muskens calling on Muslims to start calling Allah, “God”? I would venture to say it is because he knows they would never do so. They would likely see it as an affront to Islam, and may resort to violence and killing like they did in the case of the Danish cartoons. It’s much easier and safer to tell Christians to change their language. Muskens knows Christians are tolerant, even of those who disrespect their religion.

 

July 26, 2007

Is God Unknowable?

Posted by Jason Dulle under Nature of God, Religions, Theology, Theology Proper
[4] Comments 
Many Eastern religions make this claim about God. So do Muslims. Unfortunately it is incoherent.

To say God is unknowable is either a statement about God, or a statement about ourselves. If it is a statement about God it is an affirmation that he has no properties capable of being known. And yet having at least one property is what differentiates existence from non-existence. If God has no properties, then he doesn’t exist. If it is a statement about ourselves—our ability to know a God with specific properties—then it is self-refuting because the statement itself is a claim to know something about God: he is unknowable. If God was unknowable, we would not even be able to know that He was unknowable. This can be pointed out by asking, “How do you know God is unknowable if nothing can be known of God? Isn’t that something you know about him?”

Either way you look at it, that statement is incoherent.
 

July 12, 2007

Why have a Hindu-led prayer in the Senate?

Posted by Jason Dulle under Politics, Religions
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Today, for the first time in this nation’s history, a Hindu led the opening prayer in the Senate. When I first heard about this I was not particularly troubled. I understand that this country is not a Christian nation, politically speaking. While the political philosophy of the founders was informed by Judaeo-Christian principles, and the vast majority of the citizens of this country are Christian, our government is not. There is no governmental basis on which I can say Christian and Jewish-led prayers in the Senate are acceptable, but Hindu-led prayers are not.

But the more I thought about it, I began to be troubled. What bothered me is the apparent motive for doing this. The offering of prayer in the Senate is for the benefit of the senators. There have been Jewish and Christian senators, and thus there have been Jewish and Christian ministers who have offered prayers before the Senate. To my knowledge, however, no U.S. Senator is of the Hindu religion. If no senator is Hindu, why invite a Hindu to offer a prayer? Who does it benefit? No one in the Senate!

On the face of it, it seems the motive for inviting the Hindu was to display a sense of religious open-mindedness. I’m not talking about the kind that is open to hearing what other religions have to say, but the kind that says all religions are basically the same and deserve equal time. If there were a Hindu in the Senate, I would not object. But without a Hindu in the Senate, this prayer was nothing more than a ploy for multiculturalist, relativistic philosophy.

 

June 29, 2007

Al Mohler on why Mormonism is not Christian

Posted by Jason Dulle under Mormonism, Religions
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“We are not talking here about the postmodern conception of Christianity that minimizes truth. We are not talking about Christianity as a mood or as a sociological movement. We are not talking about liberal Christianity that minimizes doctrine nor about sectarian Christianity which defines the faith in terms of eccentric doctrines. We are talking about historic, traditional, Christian orthodoxy.

“Once that is made clear, the answer is inevitable. Furthermore, the answer is made easy, not only by the structure of Christian orthodoxy (a structure Mormonism denies) but by the central argument of Mormonism itself – that the true faith was restored through Joseph Smith in the nineteenth century in America and that the entire structure of Christian orthodoxy as affirmed by the post-apostolic church is corrupt and false.

“In other words, Mormonism rejects traditional Christian orthodoxy at the onset – this rejection is the very logic of Mormonism’s existence. A contemporary observer of Mormon public relations is not going to hear this logic presented directly, but it is the very logic and message of the Book of Mormon and the structure of Mormon thought. Mormonism rejects Christian orthodoxy as the very argument for its own existence, and it clearly identifies historic Christianity as a false faith.

“Without doubt, Mormonism borrows Christian themes, personalities, and narratives. Nevertheless, it rejects what orthodox Christianity affirms and it affirms what orthodox Christianity rejects. It is not Christianity in a new form or another branch of the Christian tradition. By its own teachings and claims, it rejects that very tradition.

“Richard John Neuhaus, a leading Roman Catholic theologian, helpfully reminds us that ‘Christian’ is a word that ‘is not honorific but descriptive.’ Christians do respect the Mormon affirmation of the family and the zeal of Mormon youth in their own missionary work. Christians must affirm religious liberty and the right of Mormons to practice and share their faith.

“Nevertheless, Mormonism is not Christianity by definition or description.”

Albert Mohler, “Are Mormons Christians? — A Beliefnet.com Debate”; available from http://albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=969; Internet; accessed 29 June 2007.

 

May 23, 2007

New York Post Headline: Time Bombs In Our Midst

Posted by Jason Dulle under Islam, Religions, Statistics
[3] Comments 

The New York Post reports

on a new nationwide poll of Muslim beliefs about suicide bombings, Al Qaeda, and the U.S. led wars in the Middle East. The findings may scare you.It’s not a good sign when 26% of American Muslims under the age of 30 believe suicide bombings and other means of violence against innocent civilians can be justified on rare occasions “in order to defend Islam from its enemies.” Nor is it a good sign when 5% of American Muslims have a favorable view of Al Queda.

Given the fact that 60% of Muslims either deny or take no position that Arabs were involved in the September 11th attack, 75% oppose the war in Iraq, and 48% oppose the war in Afghanistan, it doesn’t take a leap to think some of these U.S. Muslims see the U.S. as an enemy. And given the fact that 5% of American Muslims (117,500 people) support Al Qaeda, and 1 out of 4 young American Muslims think suicide bombings against innocent civilians is justified to defend Islam from its enemies, we would be stupid beyond pale to close our eyes to the possibility of being attacked at home by U.S. Muslims because we don’t want to be politically incorrect.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying Muslims are our enemies. There are many good Muslims who are pro-America, and would never think of doing anything to harm us. But there is obviously a viable minority among us who think otherwise, and we can’t shut our eyes to that fact. To do so would only be to our own peril.

 

 

May 22, 2007

Quote of the Day: When Not to Use "Cult"

Posted by Jason Dulle under Quote of the Day, Religions
[2] Comments 

“Look, I don’t think that it’s useful to bring up Mormonism as a cult in the political discussion. It’s not relevant to Romney’s candidacy and most people misunderstand what we mean by ‘cult.’ There are two definitions – a sociological one that involves brainwashing and coercion, and a theological one that examines doctrine. Average people think of the former and misunderstand the point.”—Melinda Penner

 

November 21, 2006

Why Religious Freedom Flourished in Christian Societies

Posted by Jason Dulle under Politics, Religions
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I was listening to a lecture delivered by Michael Novak in April of this year on the topic of the universal hunger for liberty. He began by offering a basic, and yet perceptive explanation for why it was that a robust version of religious liberty first flourished in a society of people who held a Judeo-Christian worldview. According to the Judeo-Christian worldview God wants the friendship of man, but He gives us the liberty to choose whether we will accept His friendship. He does not coerce us into a relationship with Him. Each man bears the responsibility of making that choice. This duty is personal in nature. Neither family nor the state can bear this responsibility for the individual. Given the personal nature of this responsibility, the government’s responsibility is to allow each man to perform his duty toward God. This translates into religious freedom.

 

October 24, 2006

TIME magazine: America by the Numbers

Posted by Jason Dulle under Odds & Ends, Religions, Social, Statistics
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Check out TIME magazine’s interactive webpage breaking America down by population, religion, etc. They have some amazing illustrative graphs and charts. Very good info.

 

October 23, 2006

When Not Seeing is Believing

Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Atheism, Religions
1 Comment 

In the October 9th 2006 edition of TIME magazine Andrew Sullivan wrote a cover piece titled “When Seeing is Not Believing.” It was the latest in fashionable attacks on conservative, “fundamentalistic” Christianity. Sullivan’s attacks were not limited to Christianity, but all religious believers who possess certainty about the ultimate questions of life. If you take your religious faith seriously, and think what you believe is a real description of reality, Sullivan is talking to you. Certainty is the enemy of our times according to Sullivan. To be doubtful is to be humble is to be tolerant is to have peace.

 

There were so many outlandish claims, and such an abuse of rationality that I will not even begin to dissect it for you here. I would suggest you read the piece for yourself.

 

What do you find to be his most outlandish claim? What logical fallacies and/or mistakes of reasoning were you able to spot? I’m interested to see if you walked away with some of the same observations I did.

 

October 19, 2006

Part-time Faith

Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Atheism, Religions, Statistics
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The Associated Press ran a story about a recent study that examined the religious beliefs of college professors. The study found that approximately 25% of professors are atheist or agnostic (which is about double the national average). What about the other 75%? According to the AP article “the rest say they believe in God at least part of the time, or at least in some kind of higher power.” That’s right, they are part-time believers! From 8am-5pm they are atheists, but theists from 5pm-8am.

 

This was not a slip of the pen, either. “Believe in Higher Power or God some of the time” was an actual category in the study, in contrast to “believe in God.” Funny stuff!

 

September 21, 2006

Is religious belief responsible for war and killing?

Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Problem of Evil, Religions, Sin, Social
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It has been awhile! I should have made a post informing you that I would not be blogging for a period of time, but I had no idea I would be taking a break as long as I did. I moved from Long Beach to San Jose at the end of August due to a new job. With the move, long work hours, a long commute, making week-end trips back to L.A., email problems, and a broken computer, blogging has not been possible. But I am back. I hope to be blogging on a daily basis again (or every other day).

 

So much to talk about! Where do I begin?!?! I’ll start off easy, and then hit you with some heavier thinking. I would like to make a few comments regarding the charge that religion is responsible for most of the world’s wars and bloodshed.

 

Those antagonistic toward religion generally blame religion and religious belief for all the wars and violence throughout history. They argue that if people did not embrace religious beliefs there would not be so much cruelty in the world. J. Budzizewski responds to this charge by pointing out that “cruelty isn’t caused by believing things; it’s caused by believing cruel things.”<!–[if !supportFootnotes]–>[1]<!–[endif]–>[1] Aptly said. The problem is not that people have religious beliefs, but rather what it is they believe to be true. If one’s religious beliefs contain cruel content, they will act cruelly. But there is nothing inherent in religious belief itself that causes people to act cruelly.

Not only is this charge logically flawed, but it is historically mistaken as well. The fact of the matter is that atheistic ideologies have been responsible for more deaths than all the religious wars throughout history combined. In the 20th century alone approximately 115-120 million people were killed by Communist regimes and totalitarian governments: Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, Hitler, Mao Zedong, and the Khmer Rouge. So contrary to popular belief, the charge of cruelty and destruction lies at the feet of atheism, not religious belief.

<!–[if !supportFootnotes]–>

<!–[endif]–>

<!–[if !supportFootnotes]–>[1]<!–[endif]–>J. Budziszewski, “The Truth Part”; available from http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001345.cfm; Internet; accessed 07 September 2006.

 

August 13, 2006

Arab-American Woman Debates Muslims on Al-Jazeera

Posted by Jason Dulle under Islam, Religions
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Check out this video showcasing a televised debate between Wafa Sultan (Arab-American psychologist and secularist) and a couple of Muslims on Al-Jazeera TV, broadcast back on February 21st 2006. Sultan was obviously speaking from somewhere in America based on how bad she let her opponents have it when it came to the Muslim religion. She made some very good points that are worth hearing. It’s a 5 ½ minute video.

 

HT to Mark Meeker

 

June 14, 2006

SETI and the Nature of Faith

Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Intelligent Design, Religions
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David Darling of the SETI Institute (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) wrote an article on http://www.space.com entitled “Of Faith and Facts: Is SETI a Religion?” to respond to charges that it is a religion. In his attempt to demonstrate how the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence is not a religious endeavor Darling offered what he believes to be the criteria for something to be properly identified as a religion, and then showed how SETI does not meet those criteria. He wrote:

 

Religions are characterized by two factors: worship—in other words, some system of devotion directed toward one or more omniscient and supranatural beings—and faith in the absence of material evidence. SETI qualifies as a religion on neither of these counts. Unless I’m very much mistaken no SETI researcher offers prayers to the subject of his or her quest…. … [W]e already have material evidence for intelligence in the universe: it consists of the brains you’re using right now to assimilate these thoughts. Unlike a religion which relies on pure faith that a god exists, we don’t need faith that intelligence and technology exist.

 

While I agree with Darling that SETI is not a religion proper, I would argue that it is a faith commitment based on unproven presuppositions and lacking in empirical support similar to many religious beliefs (this does not take away from the fact that SETI’s methods of design detection are indeed scientific). But this is not the purpose of my post. I am more interested in Darling’s view of what constitutes religion, or more particularly religious faith.

According to Darling faith is “the absence of material evidence,” also termed “pure faith,” a.k.a. blind faith. This is the typical “confidence without evidence” view of faith shared by so many people, both religious and non-religious, and unfortunately Christian and non-Christian.

While this may be the view of faith in some religions, by no means is this the Christian view of faith. Christian faith is not a blind leap, wishful thinking, or a commitment of the will in the absence of reason, but rather a carefully considered and reasoned judgment in reality. Faith is a persuasion based on reasonable evidence. Faith involves placing trust in what we have reason to believe is true. We believe, not in spite of the evidence, but because of the evidence. This is the Christian view.

 

That is why the idea that science and theology are in two different domains (or magisteria) that do not, and should not intersect is utterly opposed to Christian theology. On the Christian view God is the creator of the universe and He has left us evidence of His involvement with creation, thus theological truth and scientific truth should intersect if the Judeo-Christian religion is true. But if purely natural, blind, unguided, unintelligent, and purposeless processes are the best explanation for how the universe both came into being and came to exist in its present form, Christianity is shown to be false. Why? Because Christianity makes certain truth claims that can be falsified or verified by science. Christianity is not a religion based on wishful thinking. It is not a religion built on philosophical teachings that merely prescribe a certain way of life. No, Christianity is a religion whose God acts in history. It is based on certain historical truths. If science and history can demonstrate that God did not do in history what Scripture says He did (such as creating the cosmos or raising Jesus from the dead), then the foundation of Christianity crumbles, and the Christian religion along with it. Since the God of our Scriptures also claims to be the Creator of our universe and Lord over history, what we find in one domain (science) affects the other (religion). So contra Darling, Christianity is an evidence-based religion that rejects a “confidence without evidence” view of faith. While it is true that faith lacks absolute certainty, faith is not blind.

 

 

p.s. after completing this post I read an interview between Deborah Solomon of the New York Times and the pre-eminent evolutionary philosopher and ardent atheist, Daniel Dennett in which the same “faith is blind” line is given. Solomon asks Dennett, “So what can you tell us about God?

Dennett responded, “Certainly the idea of a God that can answer prayers and whom you can talk to, and who intervenes in the world – that’s a hopeless idea. There is no such thing.”

 

Solomon responded in turn, “Yet faith, by definition, means believing in something whose existence cannot be proved scientifically. If we knew for sure that God existed, it would not require a leap of faith to believe in him.” Not only does Solomon believe that faith cannot be verified, but that if it were it would cease to be faith. Furthermore, Solomon creates an all-or-nothing dichotomy when it comes to faith and proof. Either one believes something without any evidence whatsoever, or they have so much evidence that it cannot be doubted. Such is not the case when it comes to religious faith, or even knowledge in general for that matter.

 

May 1, 2006

The Gospel of Judas

Posted by Jason Dulle under Apologetics, Archaeology, Bible, Religions, Theology
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Several of you have asked about my take on the Gospel of Judas. I spent a lot of time researching the document over the past few weeks. The fruit of my research is presented as the cover article in this week’s edition of Ninetyandnine.com. You can read the article here.

 

March 20, 2006

Barna Examines the 76 Million Unchurched Adult Americans

Posted by Jason Dulle under Religions, Statistics
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The Barna Research Group’s latest study is concerns the unchurched adult population in America. They found that one third of adult Americans have not attended church in the last six months. Of the nonchurched population, 62% consider themselves Christians, and 24% atheist. Three out of ten non-churched are Catholics, 1 out of five are Baptist. The area of the country with the greatest amount of unchurced adults is the West (43%) and the Northeast (40%). Click here to read the article, to read more about the beliefs and practices of those we are trying to reach with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

 

February 24, 2006

German court convicts man for insulting Islam

Posted by Jason Dulle under Islam, Political Incorrectness, Politics, Religions
[3] Comments 

From Reuters:

A German court on Thursday convicted a businessman of insulting Islam by printing the word “Koran” on toilet paper and offering it to mosques.

The 61-year-old man, identified only as Manfred van H., was given a one-year jail sentence, suspended for five years, and ordered to complete 300 hours of community service, a district court in the western German town of Luedinghausen ruled.

The conviction comes after a Danish newspaper printed cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad — sparking violent protests around the world from Muslims who saw the images as sacrilegious and an attack on their beliefs.

Manfred van H. printed out sheets of toilet paper bearing the word “Koran” shortly after a group of Muslims carried out a series of bomb attacks in London in July 2005. He sent the paper to German television stations, magazines and some 15 mosques.

Prosecutors said that in an accompanying letter Manfred van H. called Islam’s holy book a “cookbook for terrorists.” He also offered his toilet paper for sale on the Internet at a price of 4 euros ($4.76) per roll, saying the proceeds would go toward a “memorial to all the victims of Islamic terrorism.”

The maximum sentence for insulting religious beliefs under the German criminal code is three years in prison.

While this may not be happening in America, it is happening in a Western nation where they are supposed to value freedom of speech and tolerance. While I believe Manfred’s actions were foolish, being jailed for them is just plain scary. More and more we are seeing people being censured in Western countries from criticizing other religions (besides Christianity of course, which is always fair game) or homosexuality. I fear for the future of the freedom of speech, and the freedom of expression. The new religion in town is pluralism, whose moral code is relativism, and whose only law is the acceptance of every view as equally valid.

 

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