Monday, September 19, 2005

God of Abraham, Allah, and McCarrick

Mark Shea jumps into the Cardinal McCarrick/Allah brouhaha, opining that Domenico Bettinelli is a hair-trigger reactionary.

Maybe.

Shea doesn't place a lot of emphasis on the fact that the Cardinal was speaking in English, and although Shea adduces the argument that John Paul II often used the term "God of Abraham," he flatly ignores the fact that McCarrick SAID "Allah" (not God of Abraham.)

Whether 'Allah' is used by Maronite Catholics (who worship, after all, in Aramaic) or whether 'Allah' is a variant of 'Elohim' is irrelevant--McCarrick is not a Maronite.

Finally, Shea attempts to apologize for McCarrick on the basis that 'Yahweh' is not tri-une, either--that is, that the Hebrew concept is not Trinitarian, as is the Christian one.

Yeah--but--the fact that Mohammad was a heretic is significant here. The Jews have NEVER thought of God as a Trinity (although there are references to the Trinity in the Old Testament.) Mohammed, on the other hand, had some understanding of Christianity before he went off the rails.

All in all, Shea's defense is weak. Face it, Mark--the Cardinal's attempting a Clinton-schmooze move here. You're trying to lipstick a piggy.

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