Theological Issues

Allah:The Noun and the Name – The Root of Confusion

Allah – The Noun and the Name The Root of Confusion* Confusion continues to reign over some Malay Muslim scholars, as is evident from their fumbled handling of the semantics of Allah, because there is no definite article in the Malay language. It would be helpful for them to reconsider the significance of definite article … Continue reading “Allah:The Noun and the Name – The Root of Confusion”

Allah – The Noun and the Name

The Root of Confusion*

Confusion continues to reign over some Malay Muslim scholars, as is evident from their fumbled handling of the semantics of Allah, because there is no definite article in the Malay language. It would be helpful for them to reconsider the significance of definite article in the Arabic and other Semitic languages.

Definition of Proper Noun

Confusion begins when we learned in elementary school the traditional definition of a noun: a noun “refers to a person, place, or thing.” But this definition is inadequate as it excludes words like ‘explosion’, ‘moment’, thunder, etc.

Modern linguists therefore define nouns not in semantic (meaning-based) terms but in distributive terms, that is, how they are used in relation to other syntactic categories in the language. The English language has the convenient usage of the determiner ‘the’. Hence, ‘the explosion’, ‘the moment’ and ‘the thunder’ are recognized as nouns. Continue reading “Allah:The Noun and the Name – The Root of Confusion”

Allah dan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab

29 Januari 2013 Allah dan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab Artikel ini diterjemahkan dari Bahasa Inggeris dari website Krisis & Praxis Mengapa Tidak Mungkin Menggantikan Allah dengan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab Orang Muslim di beberapa negara lain di dunia (Arab, Afrika Utara, Pakistan dan Indonesia) tiada bantahan dan tidak bimbang akan kemungkinan keliru apabila orang Kristian … Continue reading “Allah dan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab”

29 Januari 2013
Allah dan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab

Artikel ini diterjemahkan dari Bahasa Inggeris dari website Krisis & Praxis

Mengapa Tidak Mungkin Menggantikan Allah dengan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab

Orang Muslim di beberapa negara lain di dunia (Arab, Afrika Utara, Pakistan dan Indonesia) tiada bantahan dan tidak bimbang akan kemungkinan keliru apabila orang Kristian menggunakan perkataan Allah. Sebaliknya, segolongan orang Muslim Malaysia pula mendakwa mereka keliru; suatu fenomena yang sangat aneh. Pemerhatian ini membuktikan kebenaran kepada andaian bahawa isu Allah ini merupakan isu Melayu buatan dan bukan isu Muslim sebenar. Sebenarnya, bantahan yang dirancang terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi pada 31 Dec 2009 untuk membenarkan Catholic Herald (dan orang Kristian) menggunakan perkataan Allah harus dilihat sebagai manipulasi sinis oleh ahli-ahli politik Melayu untuk mendapatkan undi daripada masyarakat mereka. Continue reading “Allah dan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab”

Religious Dialog and Democratic Deliberation

RELIGIOUS DIALOG AND DEMOCRATIC DELIBERATION Dialog does not take place in a vacuum. Recognition of contextual pressures and normative ideals Excerpt: J. C Murray once noted that what distinguishes civil society from a mass or a herd is its ability to engage in ongoing rational deliberative dialogue. Taking a quote from Thomas Gilby he wrote, … Continue reading “Religious Dialog and Democratic Deliberation”

RELIGIOUS DIALOG AND DEMOCRATIC DELIBERATION

Dialog does not take place in a vacuum. Recognition of contextual pressures and normative ideals

Excerpt:

J. C Murray once noted that what distinguishes civil society from a mass or a herd is its ability to engage in ongoing rational deliberative dialogue. Taking a quote from Thomas Gilby he wrote, “Civilization is formed by men locked together in argument.” Conversely, without dialog, civility – and with it civil society – dies. The reason is that without a public consensus that is forged through public deliberation, there is no bond of solidarity to command allegiance to common values that hold civil society together. Continue reading “Religious Dialog and Democratic Deliberation”

The End of the World: Getting it Right (Part 2)

End of the World or the beginning of God’s New World? Biblical prophecy is God-centred. It strengthens faith and assurance by reminding us the God is sovereign in history regardless of increasing chaos in the world. Repent from itchy ears that seek to hear the latest ‘revelation’ from God. Make eschatological hope (concerning end-time matters) … Continue reading “The End of the World: Getting it Right (Part 2)”

End of the World or the beginning of God’s New World? Biblical prophecy is God-centred. It strengthens faith and assurance by reminding us the God is sovereign in history regardless of increasing chaos in the world. Repent from itchy ears that seek to hear the latest ‘revelation’ from God. Make eschatological hope (concerning end-time matters) a foundation for faithful living and growing conformity to Christ, not an escape from discipleship. Continue reading “The End of the World: Getting it Right (Part 2)”

Mayan Apocalypse 21 Dec 2012? Doomsday is Nearer Than You Think (Part 1)

How strange can it be? Everybody is excited about the Mayan ‘prophecy’ regarding the end of the world on 21 Dec 2012. Mankind has only 7 days left but nobody seems to be panicking. People are more worried about having only 11 days left for Christmas shopping. Can it be that the world is really … Continue reading “Mayan Apocalypse 21 Dec 2012? Doomsday is Nearer Than You Think (Part 1)”

Can it be that the world is really coming to an end? Indeed, Doomsday is nearer than you think! Continue reading “Mayan Apocalypse 21 Dec 2012? Doomsday is Nearer Than You Think (Part 1)”

A Fine-Tuned and Designer Universe

Precis: The precise values of the physical constants of nature and the serendipitous state (initial conditions) of the beginning of the universe all point to a cosmic designer who has fine-tuned the universe. The evidence available from contemporary science suggests that theism provides a more plausible explanation for the emergence of life in the universe … Continue reading “A Fine-Tuned and Designer Universe”

Precis: The precise values of the physical constants of nature and the serendipitous state (initial conditions) of the beginning of the universe all point to a cosmic designer who has fine-tuned the universe. The evidence available from contemporary science suggests that theism provides a more plausible explanation for the emergence of life in the universe than naturalism or atheism. Continue reading “A Fine-Tuned and Designer Universe”

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Argument in the Allâh Controversy. Part 2/3

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 2/3 Allâh is Certainly Not a Proper Noun/Personal Name Introduction: Allâh and Other Loan Words in the Quran for God The fundamental and contested presupposition in the present dispute on the use of Allâh is whether there are words so exclusively defined by a single … Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Argument in the Allâh Controversy. Part 2/3”

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 2/3

Allâh is Certainly Not a Proper Noun/Personal Name

Introduction: Allâh and Other Loan Words in the Quran for God
The fundamental and contested presupposition in the present dispute on the use of Allâh is whether there are words so exclusively defined by a single linguistic system that their usage is reserved for that linguistic system alone. In this regard, scholars like Dr. Mohd Sani Badron, Prof Khadijah Mohd Hambali and Mohd Aizam operate on the assumption that Quranic Arabic and subsequently, Bahasa Malaysia have sole proprietorship over certain words (especially the word Allâh) since these words been ‘purified’ (Islamicised) for the purpose conveying Islamic truths. As such, they call for Christians to be banned from using the word Allâh as improper usage of the word by Christians will lead to corruption of revealed truth. Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Argument in the Allâh Controversy. Part 2/3”

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 1/3

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 1/3 (Part One of Three Parts) The Court of Appeal may appear tardy in taking up its review of the High Court decision that ruled in favour of the Catholic Herald (and Christians) concerning the right to use the word Allah. However, the government has … Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 1/3”

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy.

Part 1/3 (Part One of Three Parts)

The Court of Appeal may appear tardy in taking up its review of the High Court decision that ruled in favour of the Catholic Herald (and Christians) concerning the right to use the word Allah. However, the government has been actively mobilizing its scholars to disseminate arguments to buttress its position of banning Christians from using the word Allah. Presumably, their arguments will influence judges to favor the government in future hearings in the Courts . Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 1/3”

Postmodernity and the Crisis of Truth

Anthony Thiselton links Postmodernity to the crisis of truth. To this one would naturally ask the question, “Why a crisis of truth�?? Is the linkage a matter or causality, that is, to suggest that Postmodernity is the cause of the crisis, or is the linkage merely descriptive? In the latter case, Postmodernity would be a description of a general condition of society where people in general and intellectuals in particular have lost confidence in attaining consensus regarding matters of truth.

What are the contours of the contemporary crisis of truth? One cannot help but be struck by the proliferation of theories spinning across the various disciplines of Western academia. Such proliferation is accompanied by intense disputes with no obvious winner. There is no evidence that the competing theories will be subsumed under an overarching, unifying framework. The resulting fragmentation of knowledge leads to doubts about the viability of the academic enterprise in securing certain or indubitable knowledge

A few years ago, I was asked to respond to a paper written by Anthony Thiselton at a conference on postmodernity. Thiselton subsequently published his paper, but it doesn’t seem like there is any chance that my paper will be published. I might as well share it with my readers and friends before the topic (or at least what I wrote) becomes irredeemably out of date:

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POSTMODERNITY AND THE CRISIS OF TRUTH
A Response to Anthony Thiselton
POSTMODERNITY ON LOCAL TERMS
Anthony Thiselton’s paper has an obvious polemical thrust. As such, it is easier to determine what Thiselton rejects rather than what he affirms concerning the matters of theory of truth. He mounts a strong critique of the pragmatic version of Postmodernity exemplified by Richard Rorty. In this regard, I share much in common with Thiselton. As such, it would be more useful for me to attempt a critical appropriation rather than a critique of his paper. By critical appropriation I mean the need to identify and analyze the dynamics of Postmodernity. By appropriation I mean my intention to relocate the discussion of Thiselton’s paper from an evidently Western context to an Asian one. Continue reading “Postmodernity and the Crisis of Truth”

Image of God and Human Personhood

The image of God becomes most evident in the unique human capacity to respond to God’s offer of covenant relationship. To echo Robert Jenson, human distinctiveness is simply that we are related to God as his conversational counterpart. Because God speaks to us, we know he is personal. As we answer him, we too are personal.

Image of God and Human Personhood

The Majesty of Man
Humans stand out among living creatures with special characteristics that include the use of complex language and symbolic thought, the production of culture and technological innovations and fostering community based on moral values. It is most significant that only humans display religious longings and sing hymns. In this regard, Christian theology is right in seeing the uniqueness of man lies in his relationship with God: Only man is an ordered being, an addressed being, a responsible being. Only man is called to prayer.

The Psalmist (Psalm 8) exclaims a sense of wonderment, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Humans may be made lower than heavenly beings, but he is entrusted with dominion over the creatures. Humans are under God but over creation. Continue reading “Image of God and Human Personhood”