The ever present Allah issue.
Allah! I'm so sick of ignorance. "My God isn't Allah" or so says every Haylee, Kaylee, Austin, Dylan, and Hunter (the new Tom, Dick, Harry, Suzy, and Jane) in America these days.
I know a few Arab Christians. My parish was founded by Arab Christians, many of whom speak fluent Arabic. While most are Lebanese, some are Palestinian, Egyptian, Syrian, etc.
Here's a language lesson for everyone. In Arabic the word for God is Allah. This word for God (Allah) was used by Jews and Christians before Islam was even a pipe dream. It comes from an older (out of use) contraction al-ilah (al meaning 'the' and ilah meaning 'god'). This word is not owned by Muslims. It is rather generic, much like the English equivalent word (God).
The Arabic word for Jesus is Isa.
I personally don't care what someone promoting pc garbage (Prime example of this being: "Why don't all English speaking Christians show their solidarity with Muslims by calling God Allah b/c we all believe the same thing anyway, yackety shmackety") has to say or what the reactionary anti-pc brigade has to say in return, if none of them understand that Allah is the generic term for God in Arabic then they're all wrong. Not believing in the Muslim God doesn't change the fact that Allah is the Arabic word for God. Of course, Christians, Jews, and Muslims all disagree over the nature of God (so from each perspective worship a totally different God from the others), however, there has yet to be a more specific word in Arabic (or English for that matter) to make such a distinction.
Arab Christians shouldn't have to change their language to suit ethnocentric westerners who have an equivalent language issue with which to contend.
I know a few Arab Christians. My parish was founded by Arab Christians, many of whom speak fluent Arabic. While most are Lebanese, some are Palestinian, Egyptian, Syrian, etc.
Here's a language lesson for everyone. In Arabic the word for God is Allah. This word for God (Allah) was used by Jews and Christians before Islam was even a pipe dream. It comes from an older (out of use) contraction al-ilah (al meaning 'the' and ilah meaning 'god'). This word is not owned by Muslims. It is rather generic, much like the English equivalent word (God).
The Arabic word for Jesus is Isa.
I personally don't care what someone promoting pc garbage (Prime example of this being: "Why don't all English speaking Christians show their solidarity with Muslims by calling God Allah b/c we all believe the same thing anyway, yackety shmackety") has to say or what the reactionary anti-pc brigade has to say in return, if none of them understand that Allah is the generic term for God in Arabic then they're all wrong. Not believing in the Muslim God doesn't change the fact that Allah is the Arabic word for God. Of course, Christians, Jews, and Muslims all disagree over the nature of God (so from each perspective worship a totally different God from the others), however, there has yet to be a more specific word in Arabic (or English for that matter) to make such a distinction.
Arab Christians shouldn't have to change their language to suit ethnocentric westerners who have an equivalent language issue with which to contend.