Lagi pandangan orang Kristian

Saya pernah memaparkan sejumlah soalan kepada rakan penganut agama Kristian dan pandangan mereka mengenai isu terjemahan perkataan God dalam Bible sebagai Allah dalam tulisan saya "Soalan untuk umat Kristian". Saya juga ada meletakkan sejumlah pautan tentang pandangan pemimpin dan pakar agama Kristian dalam artikel "Pandangan Ikhlas dan Rasional seorang Kristian" dan "Kalimah Allah - Tun M dan Ustaz Nasharuddin nyatakan kebimbangan".

Kali ini saya suka untuk berkongsi pandangan seorang lagi pemimpin Kristian, seorang Pastor dari Gereja Baptist di Australia, bernama Brutus Balan, yang dikongsikan melalui Facebook (FB).

Katanya, "The word 'Allah' no matter the origin is understood in the Islamic context today. It is not a word that depicts the Trintarian Yahweh-Elohim of the Bible. It is wrong for any translation of the Bible to use this word 'Allah' as it does confuse and blur the difference between what the Bible teaches as the true God and the 'Allah' of the Quran. It cannot be considered as a mere argument over semantics for Christians of the prorestant variety. Why could not the Christian media, press and tranlstions of the Bible and Churches use the Hebrew word 'Yahweh' transliterated for 'Lord' and 'Elohim' for God, in Malay, Arabic or any other language instead of 'Allah'? It is both confusing for the Malay Muslims and Christians as to which God one is referring to with the use of 'Allah' as it differs theologically. There is the danger for both sides untaught of its respective theologies to think it is the same concept of God which is as far apart as the poles. Furthermore, can the Indian Christians start using the word 'Brahma' for the God of the Bible in their Bible translations and Church use? Is 'Brahma' then the same God as the Bible or the 'Allah' of the Muslims? The interchangeable use of 'Allah' for the God of the Bible will blur and confuse."

Ujarnya, "Let the Muslims use 'Allah' to refer to their deity and Christians should not provoke their sensitibilities. Christians must distinguish themselves in their doctrine and not use an Arabic word for the Biblical God. Call Him Yahweh-Elohim or Tuhan. This is an unnecessary unrest over an Arabic word that confuses the trinitarian mono-God of the Bible with that of the Muslims. As for the Muslims, there is no need for violence for the name 'Allah'. As they often say, 'Allah is great', let him defend his own name and reputation for a great god need no puny human assistance. Christians should back off and not insist."

Katanya lagi, "WE are all human with the same passions and purpose. Our race is not our choice but our faith is and can be freely discussed without fear of threat. In the meantime, we need to live in peace and love for mutual benefit and blessing. Violence and force never wins any friends but the degradation of human values and the detriment of ones faith and his deity.There is no alternative but to co live in peace with our neighbours."

Selain Pastor Brutus Balan, seorang penganut Kristian bernama Jeff Tan menyebut, "Eli is a GOD name Jesus cried out why, why you forsaken me. Jesus is derived from the Hebrew word for "Joshua" (Y'shua) or "Je-Hoshua" meaning JEHOVAH IS SALVATION. JHWH is Salvation. If we insist to use Allah, sooner you will forget the name God reveal HIMSELF as redemption. and I can feel a lot of Christians in this group don't know the beautiful name of JESUS."

Seorang lagi penganut Kristian bernama Tony Chew menyatakan bahawa mengikut Kamus Bahasa Melayu, Lord bermaksud Ketua, Bangsawan, Tuhan, Tuan dan Yang Mulia.
Manakala God bermaksud Tuhan atau Dewa. Jadi dia mencadangkan, "to avoid Christians to be seen as confrontational cult and at the same time not to compromise our belief, I would like to suggest Lord God to be translated as Tuhan Ketua, Tuhan Tuan, Tuhan Yang Mulia, Yang Agung, Tuhan Bapa, Tuhan Eli and Tuhan Elohim. Lord Jesus can be translated as either Tuhan Jesus or Tuan Jesus depending on what we believe in. Since the Catholics belief is in God oneness, so the most appropriate translation would be Tuan Jesus. Tuhan Jesus would be more suitable in the belief of plurality of God. Afterall, when God revealed His name to Moses, this was what He said, "What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." 3:13-15. God says who he is n by wht name he is to be called. Ths divine name is mysterious just as God is mystery: Isa 45:15; Judge 13:18."

Insya-Allah saya akan berkongsi lagi pandangan yang menarik dari pemimpin dan penganut agama Kristian agar umat Kristian yang beriya-iya mahu menggunakan kalimah Allah sebagai terjemahan kepada God dalam Bible akan memahami kenapa ia dianggap sebagai tuntutan yang keterlaluan dan tidak berasaskan kebenaran dari kaca mata agama Kristian sendiri.