A worker has been fired over a pin

I just saw in the news that Muslim militants in Malaysia are demonstrating and have burned several churches because a court in that country ruled that Christians can legally call 'God' 'Allah'.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/01/08/malaysia.churches.attacked/

The 'NYTimes' story about the same events points out that Arabic-speaking Coptic Christians in Egypt call 'God' 'Allah' and that Christians routinely do the same thing in Malay-speaking Indonesia.

 

Yeah, I saw that too ..... and the Muslims are always furious when it happens!

 

So from these posts it seems my premise that Allah = a specific name is false? Is Allah then just another word for "God" that can be used generically?

Basically my question is:
Is Allah a name or a title?

eg. supposing God = a title, and Yahweh = a name.
Which of these is "Allah"? name or title?

 

In light of the Allah-vs-God riots, I should have been more specific in my previous post. I guess I was thinking western Christians would be horrified to use "Allah" as "God." It may be acceptable in a very few non-Western cultures but not likely in western civ.

Based on the etymology of "title" I'd opine that Allah, Yahweh and God are all names, not titles.

Now my head hurts from so much theology. Easier to discuss how many angels can dance on the head of that pin!

 

Ha ha! Let me get my holy microscope.

I've always considered "God" a title, that's why I've told many a Christian friend that saying "Oh my God" likely does not violate the ten commandments (because I was contending that God isn't a name). (On an unrelated note, I don't believe that commandment applies to what people today think it does, I believe it has more to do with taking an oath, ie. don't swear on God's name and then break the oath!

Would you care to elaborate on the statement "Based on the etymology of "title" I'd opine that Allah, Yahweh and God are all names, not titles." starting with the meaning of the word "etymology".

 

Yah. My dad was a prof of linguistics so words fascinate me. (I know, I need to get a life.)
Etymology -- the origin, history, derivation of a word:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/etymology
Definition of title:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/title

And ...... just how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

 

I need a higher powered holy electron microscope to answer your question. I have one on order from the ancient catholic church. It also comes with a few years forgiveness for me or a favored friend or relative. It was supposed to arrive last week. I wonder if it was a scam?

So, what is the etymological(sp?) background of the word "God" that would have bearing on this discussion? I guess I have no idea how the word came to be or what it was originally.

 

As long as it wasn't your new "friend in Christ" from Nigeria.
http://www.419eater.com/index.php

Ask and ye shall receive (but don't hold yer breath on that holy electron microscope!):
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/god

Most western sources agree that "God" in monotheism originated with the Jews. However as I posted before, the Greeks had a hierarchy of gods, with "God" being the ..... hmmm, how shall I put this as my prof explained it ...... that use of "God" meant, to the Greeks, the top guy, the main man. I was taken by surprise when reading the Greek philosophers and kept seeing references to god and God. Quite bewildering. (From the Great Books program so we read the original works, translated of course.)

 

God, Allah, Dios, Dieu etc all translate to "God" (broad) but not necessarily as "God's special specific name." That is how I see it, but this is obviously a controversial subject.

Jehovah, Jah, Yahweh (etc) all translate basically to "the actual name of God." I typically use Jah, although I don't ally myself with Rastifarians or anything. Jah seems to be more popular with younger people.

I see the riots as a vocal minority. Most people genuinely do not care about other people's religions and private expressions thereof. And obviously Christians in the East may still use Allah in place of the English term in private, so why bother trying to legally regulate it? I'm sure they see the futility in that, so why not issue the edict.

My GF is from Alabama and I am from Oklahoma, and we both say "We just can't keep our stupid people off TV." Every Nigerian I've met in person has been friendly and ethical. But for 10'000 (or more) ethical Nigerians, you've got ten guys running mail fraud and one guy trying to blow his junk off on a plane. (And failing).

 

Yes, definitely controversial. On the other hand, that Pantybomber! Next thing ya know we'll not only have to sit primly in our seats while flying, hands folded, head down, won't be allowed to speak, but we'll also be stark-nekkid! Then the next wannabe-bomber will stuff the works up his ..... ahem ..... and then we'll all be subject to ..... er ...... uh ...... closer examination, if you catch my drift.

 

"PANTYBOMBER!" LOL! Really, how hard is it to blow off your testicles? Stories abound of people who've done it on accident and this guy can't manage to do it on purpose? Egads.

I have my reasons for not wanting to be nekkid in public (lol), but my GF's former nipple rings set off the metal detectors once. Hilarity ensued. They did the wand... beep beep.... and realized that her nipples had some sort of metal contraption on them! She explained the situation and the security guard seemed genuinely interested in getting hers pierced as well. (My GF loves telling this story and her retelling is bloody hilarious).

 

It's the Arabic contraction of 'al' ('the') and 'illah' ('God'). 'The God'.

It's not a proper name (like 'Fred'), but it's not being used to indicate a general divine function either, since it refers to what Islam (and Judaism and Christianity) insist is the one and only true God. Not just a god, but the God.

In English, that point is usually made by capitalizing the word 'God'. When English-speaking Christians write about Egyptian or Mesopotamian gods, they write the word 'god' with a small 'g'. That's become kind of standard in English usage and even non-Christians tend to follow the convention.

But there are pecularities and it isn't always consistent. The philosophers' God (first and final cause, ground of being, creator/demiurge, Neoplatonic 'One' or however it's being conceptualized) is typically capitalized. That's true even when writers are writing about ancient Greek philosophy (which was often rather monotheistic). So if you are talking about Marduk and Serapis you are talking about 'gods', but if you are talking about Aristotle's prime mover or the Stoic logos, then apparently you are talking about 'God'.

Perhaps that oddity in usage came about because the late antique and medieval Christian (and Jewish and Islamic) theologians adapted a lot of the earlier Pagan speculation to their own religious ends.

Linguistic usage evolves over the centuries just like everything else.

 

fascinating. How near-sighted of me to assume. I was under the impression that Allah was a name and God was ONLY a title, and both of those assumptions have been challenged!

As for the holy electron microscope, it arrived in the mail today and I just found out that I'll have to be in school for the rest of my life to determine how many angels are in this picture. My pin is either covered in angels or fuzzy blob monsters.

 

You're forgiven cuz you had not yet rec'd your holy electron microscope. Henceforth you are expected to be knowledgeable in all things holy and unholy. Please provide periodic updates on your discoveries!

 

And I bet after that very close "wanding" she didn't even get dinner and a movie from her "examiner."

Note to self: Flying sucks these days. If there's something important going on far away then they can come to my neck o' the woods.

 

I hired a priest with a doctorate in the holy-sciences to interpret the pictures of the head of my pin and he scheduled an exorcism and took my pin to his lab...

 

Whaaaa?? Y'mean he doesn't have a holy electron 'scope? How can we get a good count of dancing pin-angels if he exorcises them first?

Oh, Thomas Aquinas would be so proud!