Dutch bishop suggests using “Allah” for “God”
Bishop Muskens … told Dutch television on Monday that God did not mind what he was named and that in Indonesia, where Muskens spent eight years, priests used the word “Allah” while celebrating Mass. … “What does God care what we call him? It is our problem.”
(via memeorandum, reported in WaPo [2015: link broken] and MSNBC)(2015: also e.g. in Dutch press.)
Unlike some of the people who think they have a direct line to God, if this Bishop claimed it, I might believe him.
What a great way to remind everyone that there is only one God. (Right? I mean, that’s a central tenet, isn’t it?) In which case, some reciprocity in naming is an excellent way to put that front and center in all our minds.
And a great way of reminding everyone how far we’ve slipped from really believing that.
