using the name "jehovah"

by finallyfree! 39 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  factfinder

  @P Sacramento- regarding Jesus name- the fact is we KNOW how to say it as it was originally pronounced, yet we use Jesus INSTEAD.

  My relatives, well some, have Hebrew names. We use the English pronunciations instead.

  Again- why is ok to use what we know are not the correct way to pronounce these names, but not ok to use the name Jehovah?

  And if some feel it is a dishonor to Jehovah to use his name then why do those who think Jesus is God feel it is not a dishonor to use his name instead of God or Lord?
• 

  factfinder

  @Nobleheart- that is good you feel a close bond of affection with Jehovah by calling him Father and thinking of him as such.

  Personally- I was never able to think of him as my FATHER as I had a real one.

  I think of God as my maker, my creator, but the father thing never worked for me . You must feel very close to God and secure in your relationship with him.
• 

  Pistoff

  This statement assumes that god authored the bible, and/or that those who passed on oral traditions, copied the written versions and finally edited and redacted in the years before Jesus reflected what this god thought.

  Why is it important to JW's and others who insist on using the name to differentiate God by using a name?

  IMHO, calling God Yahweh, or YHWH, was to differentiate him from other gods; it is really a tacit admission that the Israelites were not monotheistic throughout their history. The use of el, as in Bethel, Israel and other names and places like it show the influence of El on the Israelites; after a time the names changed to Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc, with names consistent with Yah.

  The second thing I think is that the witnesses constant use of Jehovah softens the shock of what they hear from the platform and what they think to themselves.

  As in this:

  The faithful and discreet slave, through the governing body, are Jehovah's channel of communication. This sounds less radical than saying God speaks through the governing body.

  Jehovah will sustain you vs God will save you.

  My 2 cents.
• 

  Retrovirus

  Thank all, it's very educational on this site (well, sometimes )

  My rather simple thought was that when my jw friends kept saying "Jehovah God", it sounded like God needed them to remind him of his name!

  It was one of the 2 reasons why they discontinued the "Bible" study, that I wouldn't use it. They told me it must please God as it was the most commonly accepted pronounciation in the world. . . Yet who did they say ruled the world ?

  Retro
• 

  factfinder

  @Reto- they stopped studying with you because you did not use Jehovah's name? That was not right...IMHO

  It's funny the impressions others have of witnesses using Jehovah's name!
• 

  PSacramento

  @P Sacramento- regarding Jesus name- the fact is we KNOW how to say it as it was originally pronounced, yet we use Jesus INSTEAD.

  My relatives, well some, have Hebrew names. We use the English pronunciations instead.

  Again- why is ok to use what we know are not the correct way to pronounce these names, but not ok to use the name Jehovah?

  And if some feel it is a dishonor to Jehovah to use his name then why do those who think Jesus is God feel it is not a dishonor to use his name instead of God or Lord?

  You need to re-read my post.

  I make it clear that while Jesus is a translation of a KNOW NAME, Jaeshua/Joshua in this case, Jehovah is NOT that, it is a combination of YHWH and Adonai.
• 

  freydo

  Jews won't say The Name period. x-tians and Jews substitute titles, jw's use an adultertated form(ditto for Messiah) and there's no concensus among messianics and others. But the Creator obviously thought his name was important. Humans thinking that it doesn't matter has led to thinking that his instructions must not matter either. What is it that is hard to understand about "Thou Shalt Not?"

  Revelation 16:10-11
  
  "The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done."
• 

  PSacramento

  But the Creator obviously thought his name was important. Humans thinking that it doesn't matter has led to thinking that his instructions must not matter either. What is it that is hard to understand about "Thou Shalt Not?"

  And yet His Name didn't appear in any of the 10 commandments.

  The commandment of "not taking the Lord's name in vain" means far more than using the name YHWH in vain, it goes beyond that to all that God signifies and stands for, but at it's core it was an oath to NOT use God's name to make false Oaths.
• 

  freydo

  Revelation 14:1 - "Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads."
• 

  PSacramento

  Revelation 14:1 - "Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads."

  So, if we are to take that part literally, then there is there a literal LAMP and a literal 144K people standing on the literal Mount Zion with YHWH and JAHESHUA written LITERALLY on their foreheads?

  Dude...