Exodus reads “I am the Lord your God. You shall not have other gods before me” and yet in this past weekend we prayed for unity with Muslims. Why would we want to unify with those adoring a false God?”
Fr. Joe happened to see this question submitted on Monday morning before I did and he offered a succinct and spot on answer. He responded “In reading your question I see that the apparent contradiction you highlight comes from a misunderstanding of Catholic teaching. Muslims do not worship a false God, they worship God. We use the name God in English; the name for God in Arabic is Allah and the Hebrew name for God is Yahweh or Elohim. All three Abrahamic religions worship the same God. I highly suggest you read the very significant document from the Second Vatican Council on our relationship not only to the Abrahamic religions, but to other regions as well. Its only two and a half pages long, entitled Nostra Aetate, 1965.”
Below are a few adapted excerpts from the document Fr. Joe cites, the full document is here: www.urbandharma.org/pdf/NostraAetate.pdf
“In our time, when humankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely the relationship to non-Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among people and nations, she considers above all what all people have in common and what draws them to fellowship.
One is the community of all peoples, one their origin, for God made the whole human race…One also is our final goal, God. God’s providence, manifestations of goodness, and saving design extend to all people….all religions try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all people….
The Church exhorts her children, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love, in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these people….
The church has a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has also spoken to humanity. They endeavor to submit themselves without reserve to God, just as Abraham did, to whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own. Although not acknowledging him as God, they venerate Jesus as a prophet; his virgin Mother they also honor, and even at times devoutly invoke….they highly esteem an upright life and worship God, especially by way of prayer, alms-deeds and fasting. Many quarrels have arisen between Christians and Muslims. We plead with all to forget the past, and urge a sincere effort be made to achieve mutual understanding; for the benefit of all, let us together preserve and promote peace, liberty, social justice and moral values….
Our relation to God and our relation with one another are so linked together that Scripture says: "He who does not love does not know God" (1 John 4:8)….The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination or harassment due to race, color, condition of life, or religion. On the contrary, we ardently implore the Christian faithful to "maintain good fellowship among the nations" (1 Peter 2:12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all people…
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