Prayers to Allah offered at PCUSA’s General Assembly plenary session [TheLayman]

Prayers to Allah offered at PCUSA’s General Assembly plenary session

on Jun 22 in 2016 General Assembly (PCUSA), Presbyterian News and Analysis tagged 222nd General Assembly, Allah, Gradye Parsons, Heath Rada, PCUSA, prayer, Presbyterian Church (USA) by Paula R. Kincaid



“Allah bless us and bless our families and bless our Lord. Lead us on the straight path – the path of all the prophets: Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad,” and so went the prayer offered up by Wajidi Said, from the Portland Muslim Community, as part of the “first order of business” during the opening plenary session of the 222nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Wajidi was taking part in the assembly’s scheduled time of remembrance for those killed in the recent Orlando terrorist attack and those killed last year in the shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, S.C.

“In the days leading up to this assembly we all know that our nation’s peace has once again been ripped apart by an act of mass violence,” said Heath Rada, moderator of the 221st General Assembly, when introducing it.

The violence, he said, “tore at each of our hearts as it reminded us of too many tragedies and too many victims. We are all touched by the tragedy of violence in some way. Being from North Carolina, I am reminded of the Chapel Hill shooting of Muslims, and I am concerned of course as I recognize that yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the shootings at AME church in Charleston.”

Rada said that Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons requested the staff leadership of the PCUSA’s ecumenical and interfaith ministries — Robina Winbush, Laurie Anderson, Rick Ufford-Chase and Laurie Kraus, — “ to provide for us as a first order of business an opportunity to lift up these tragedies that are so much on our minds.”


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http://www.layman.org/prayers-allah-offered-pcusas-general-assembly-plenary-session/

 

This is wonderful. All prayers praising God are beloved by Him

 

Blasphemy, and apostasy
I'd expect nothing less from the PCUSA

 

If at a religious gathering of Muslims they started offering prayers to Jesus, I'd wonder how that would go over.

If I went to Sunday Mass and the Rector started praying to Allah, I'd leave.

 

How woefully ignorant those supposed Christians are of Scripture. They just joined in worship of false god.

St John the Apostle, the man who walked with Christ, tells us in his first general epistle the following:

1 John 2:22-23

Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ. He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either, he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Muslims deny that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God. Their worship is false to a false god. As Jesus told the religious Jews of His day, "you are of your father the devil, he was a murderer from the beginning" so must we hold all who reject Jesus or try to add Jesus as one of another entity to their religious system. Jesus was very exclusive. He taught you can only reach God through Him. Ever wonder why so many prayers in the Prayer Book end with us going through Jesus to God? Jesus said "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me you would have known My Father also, and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." John 14:6-7.

Rectors should be teaching on John's first epistle. Very good theology as John was teaching against much of what is happening in the Church today.

And if I was at Mass and someone started in on praying to allah or the flying spaghetti monster, I would probably have a Jesus moment as our Lord did in the Temple.

Jesus did not accept lies or anything that goes against the teaching and revelation of God. Neither should we.

Blessings

Fr. Mark

 

Please good people, if you research more deeply you will find that Allah is simply the Arabic translation of God just as Dieu is the French and Gott is the German. Arabic Christians also use the word Allah when praying!

 

That is indeed true.
But I think it is the fact that a non-Christian prayer (in this case obviously Islamic) is being offered at a Christian assembly that is disconcerting.
We reject that Muhammad is a prophet.

 

I'd be gone too and I don't think that I would be in any danger of having the door hitting me on the way out either! LOL!

 

Arabic Christians are not Muslims. The two are incompatible.

 

Someone referred to Allah as a "false God". This is untrue. Allah is one of the many forms of address or names which He has revealed to us such as Lord, Fathet, Creator, Kyrie, Deo,Almighty, Yahweh, Jehovah. Surely all prayers addressed to any of His names are good. There is only one God and one people who are all his servants and bound by His bidding in whatever language He choses

 

God is not just one though, he's also three. Three in one and one in three... To say he's only one would be to worship a false God

Also they referred to Jesus as one of the prophets, and Mohamed as a similar type to Jesus, when in reality Jesus is the incarnate Son of God, eternal and uncreated, while Mohammed was a warlord and a pedophile

 

Thank you, Spherelink, and I'm sorry to say that there are definitely differences. I wish it weren't so, but I support what Spherelink has said. Muslims reject Trinitarianism, seeing it as polytheism, and the Trinity is fundamental for us. Who Jesus is is also fundamental for us.

I can't sugarcoat it. I wish it was really simple and we could all just agree. I would love this. However, I am a follower of Christ, first, foremost and forever.

 

And you will be blessed for it dear sister

 

I have to say that if any Christian prayed these words in the wake of Orlando we may well be accused of gross insensitivity, homophobia and dot dot dot.

As Christians all we share the outrage that our brothers and sisters in humanity, created in the image and after the likeness of God, have been mercilessly slaughtered without just cause, or due process. We commend them to Almighty God and pray blessing, peace and strength for their families as they walk the journey of grief. May they Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory.

I believe it is hard for Muslims and Christians to pray together, without a huge amount of sensitivity, and it almost certainly implies a shared consultative process of preparation to find the words we can say together.

I accept that Allah is the same word as God, one is Arabic and the other is English. I have problems with prayers in the context of the community of faith which mention Jesus without acknowledging Son-ship, Lordship, Divinity, Something. My problem with the specific prayer here is that Jesus is relegated to a line of prophets. Jesus did prophesy, however it is not our usual practice as Christians to refer to him as a prophet, perhaps with the exception of referring to him as 'The Prophet' as used in 4G, being a reference to the expected return of Moses as giver of the Law. The best position I could possibly imagine this prayer be is an Arian position, and I doubt it would pass muster there. The thing about public prayer, is it is something we offer to God together and so we say 'Amen'.

I have prayed with people of different faiths, and it is a careful exercise to celebrate and build on what we have in common, and to work together for our common objectives. I accept the no doubt well meant offering from the Muslim community, and in the context of a pluralist society I give thanks for it. I would be glad of a little more sensitivity given the context in which it was offered. In it's current form I would have big trouble with an 'Amen'.

I also feel as Christians in a pluralist, and increasingly secular, west, it is essential that we understand who and what we stand for, and we have a crack at being authentic. The risk is, that if we don't stand for something, we will fall for anything.

I note that PCUSA have unified ecumenical and interfaith ministries. I think that there ought to be a world of difference between these two ministry areas.

It is probably more important that we pray, rather than getting worried about what other people pray.

kyrie eleison

 

But wasn't the prayer in English?

Also, by referring to Muhammad as a "prophet" it makes his intended message clear.

 

This is confusing. My view is that the Islamic prayer was inappropriate. My boss loved to open meetings with prayer - but would always address them to "God" as he understood well that 98% of the workplace was Christian.
I take Muslims as I take the Jews (but then - I have no theological education).

We each need to be true to our own faiths before rushing to be seen to be embracing others.

 

The prayer was offered by a Muslim guest. If you were invited to pray at a mosque, would you use the name Allah or God to offer your prayer? I'm sure you would say God as you are a Christian and God is the Christian way of addressing Him. No doubt you would also address Lord Jesus in your prayer?

 

or perhaps one might pray,

Lord of of mercy, ruler of all, help us so respect the marks of your creation that each of us carries, so that we might always strive for peace, and bitterly lament and control our capacity for violence. Help us respond to bloodshed, violence, and atrocities like the Orlando massacre, with wisdom, justice and love. Help us respect each other as a sign of our respect for you. In your merciful name we pray.

 

I am living in a Muslim country (Malaysia) where Christians are forbidden to use the word Allah for our God. The muslims do not see the Father God and Allah as one in the same.

 

That's so sad and so wrong