# Deconstruct this logic please Allah = Jehovah



## Eoghan (Jan 29, 2013)

[The angel told Muhammad to tell everyone to worship the one god, whose name is Allah. ‘Allah’ is the Arabic word for the English word “God”. So you see, Muslims worship the same God that Jewish people and Christians worship.]

Where do I begin?


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## Tim (Jan 29, 2013)

You begin by asking for a definition of God.


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## BobVigneault (Jan 29, 2013)

In that Muslims and Jews do not worship one God in three persons, and do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as fully God and fully man, refusing the witness of the Holy Spirit, they cannot be worshipping the one true God.


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## Jerusalem Blade (Jan 29, 2013)

It is true that Arabic-speaking Christians use the name Allah for the Christian God, but the Christian God and the Muslim god are far from the same. How to demonstrate that? Go to their respective Scriptures. The revelation of the will and character of each shows them antithetical.


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## Eoghan (Jan 29, 2013)

How then do we respond to the Bible translators who use "Allah" in Arabic translations?


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## Covenant Joel (Jan 29, 2013)

Eoghan said:


> How then do we respond to the Bible translators who use "Allah" in Arabic translations?



There is no other word for God in Arabic, so no response is needed. Those who work in contexts where it is one of several possible translations have a more difficult question, but in Arabic translations, there is no other word.


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## BobVigneault (Jan 29, 2013)

The word "god' has no real meaning, there is no real etymological part within the word to give it meaning. When God gave Moses his name he was saying some things about himself that effect this discussion. 1. He was saying that no one outside himself defines who He is, 2. no one outside himself defines his power and 3. no one outside himself defines his purpose so the word we use "God" is really shorthand for the God of the Bible. God is not defined by a word but by his revelation of who He is in inspired scripture. Most importantly to the Christian is how God is revealed in Christ Jesus - Colossians 

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross." (Colossians 1:15-20 ESV)

And again in Hebrews "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power."

And John, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
(John 1:1-4 ESV)

The word "god" is only defined by it's context and it's context is the Word of God in it's fullness and especially in it's incarnation, the Lord Jesus.


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## irresistible_grace (Jan 29, 2013)

Eoghan said:


> [The angel told Muhammad to tell everyone to worship the one god, whose name is Allah. ‘Allah’ is the Arabic word for the English word “God”. So you see, Muslims worship the same God that Jewish people and Christians worship.]
> 
> Where do I begin?



ONLY if Allah = God of Abraham, *Isaac & Jacob (aka Israel)* is the one true living * TRIUNE God*, the Father, the Word & Holy Spirit
And, be able to prove from Scripture that these three are one God, the same in substance equal in power and glory!

My best friend in College was a Muslim and her argument was the same except she also added that we [muslims & Christians] are all children of Abraham (which is why I emphasize the Isaac & Jacob).
When my husband was a Chaplin a Muslim tried to prove that Christians are not monotheist because we worship three gods and went to town on the word "begotten"


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## Eoghan (Jan 29, 2013)

Covenant Joel said:


> Eoghan said:
> 
> 
> > How then do we respond to the Bible translators who use "Allah" in Arabic translations?
> ...



Eh, that's embarrassing. Couldn't you just transliterate? Come to think of it a large section of Daniel is in Arabic (Daniel 2.4–7.28) - what term did he use for God, I don't believe he used Allah?

[BIBLE]Daniel 2.4–7.28
[/BIBLE]


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## PuritanCovenanter (Jan 29, 2013)

אלהּ (Aramaic)
'ĕlâhh


So basically it is Allah. Well it seems that way. And it probably matters what kind of Aramaic. There are Arabic and Jewish dialects. It wouldn't = (יהוה Jehovah) I Am either. It would more reflect Elohim for majestrate if I am correct.


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## PuritanCovenanter (Jan 29, 2013)

Pulled this off wikipedia. Don't know how reliable it is so have at it. I thought it was plausible. 



> The term _Allāh is derived from a contraction of the Arabic definite article al- "the" and ʾilāh "deity, god" to al-lāh meaning "the [sole] deity, God" (ὁ θεὸς μόνος, ho theos monos).[SUP][8][/SUP] Cognatesof the name "Allāh" exist in other Semitic languages, including Hebrew and Aramaic.[SUP][9][/SUP] Biblical Hebrew mostly uses the plural form (but functional singular) Elohim. The corresponding Aramaic form is ʼĔlāhā ܐܠܗܐ in Biblical Aramaic and ʼAlâhâ ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ in Syriac as used by the Assyrian Church, both meaning simply "God".[SUP][10][/SUP]_


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## Covenant Joel (Jan 29, 2013)

Eoghan said:


> Covenant Joel said:
> 
> 
> > Eoghan said:
> ...



Two things:

(1) We don't just transliterate in English. We translate "elohim" and "theos" as "God." We do not just transliterate those words into English, so to expect others who speak another language to do so does not follow.

(2) The portions of Daniel you cited are not in Arabic, but rather Aramaic, so your point is not valid from those passages (though as Randy points out, the words are not too far off). 

The simple reality is that "allah" is the word for God in Arabic. As Randy also pointed out, it's essentially the definite form of "God." In Arabic, if it was "ilah," it would mean "a god." Every Arabic translation of the Bible uses الله (allah) for God because there is no other word for God in the Arabic language. Of course, there are words for Lord, Savior, Jesus, etc, but "Allah" means God, and Christians have been using it since before Muhammad was born.


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## charispistis (Jan 29, 2013)

Just take the name of Jesus for example... 

Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons have "Jesus" in their doctrine, but that's not the same as the second Person of the Trinity Jesus.


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## moral necessity (Jan 29, 2013)

Eoghan said:


> [The angel told Muhammad to tell everyone to worship the one god, whose name is Allah. ‘Allah’ is the Arabic word for the English word “God”. So you see, Muslims worship the same God that Jewish people and Christians worship.]
> 
> Where do I begin?



I would point out that, even though they translate Jehovah as Allah, their Allah is not truly Jehovah, because they do not go through Christ in order to reach him. Jesus said, "no man comes to the Father except through me." Therefore, Allah is not Jehovah at all, but rather a different "god".

Blessings!


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## Jack K (Jan 29, 2013)

Even false religions recognize some truth. In the case of Islam, there's a correct recognition that there is one God ("Allah" if you're speaking Arabic).

However, wrong notions as to the character, persons and work of the one God put Islam fundamentally in opposition to what is true and to the one God Muslims think they know. They are so greatly mistaken about him that it would be misleading to say they worship the "same God," even though the word used remains the same one Arabic speaking Christians use for the true God.


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## tommyb (Jan 30, 2013)

I always point out that just above the front door to the Islamic "Dome of the Rock" in Jerusalem it is written, "God has no son". This is not the same God Christians worship - by definition.


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