by Pastor Patrick Cho

Did anyone else catch this article on msn.com? There is a Dutch bishop named Tiny Muskens who wants people of all faiths to call God, “Allah.” He says, “Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn’t we all say that from now on we will name God Allah? . . . What does God care what we call him? It is our problem.” Certainly the bishop’s remark has sparked controversy in the Netherlands. People have been commenting in local newspapers about their disagreement with Muskens’s view. On the flipside, the article introduces politician Geert Wilders who is a staunch, hateful anti-Muslim. He recently called for a nationwide ban on the Koran, likening the book to Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

It is probable that Muskens’s appeal to refer to God as “Allah” was in response to Wilders’s anti-Muslim comments. As much as the gesture was probably well-intentioned in wanting to promote more religious tolerance and understanding, one cannot help but wonder why the bishop is so content with compromising the name of God. It is hard to believe that even a Catholic could justify associating God with the false claims of Islam. Muskens has apparently already demonstrated a history of finding practical solutions to societal problems at the expense of biblical truth advocating that it is justifiable for hungry people to steal. When you sacrifice biblical truth for practicality, you can justify just about anything. Certainly it is not wrong to address societal issues, but to respond to societal problems with blatant disregard for biblical principles is flagrant compromise.