What IS Gods name anyway?

by NikL 37 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  thinker

  In reading Exodus chap. 3, I don't think God really gave His name. Moses asks, and God said literally "I will be what I will be". A name in jewish tradition defined a person. When a person was radically changed his name was changed as well. What God said was "I can be whatever I want to be"; therefore God is by defintion unnameable.

  Read it closely. Moses says "These folks will want to know your name, what should I tell them?" God doesn't say "My name is...". Instead He says "Tell them ..." To me this indicates a less-than-direct answer.

  In the Jewish faith God's name was secret and whispered only by the high priest once a year. If it was written right there in Ex. 3:14 every Jew would have known it.

  Edited by - thinker on 22 January 2003 20:54:59
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  Farkel

  : In reading Exodus chap. 3, I don't think God really gave His name. Moses asks, and God said literally "I will be what I will be".

  That's the Watchtower version. It means (if I recall correctly) "I am that I am," or "I am what I am." In otherwords, God is saying God is God! The former (Watchtower version) is a stupid meaning. Anyone will "be what they will be" in the future when they are being what they are being. After they're already in the future being what they are being will "be" what they are. DOH!

  Oh, well, this is all primitive tribal explanations for God, long before Aristotle defined the former rules for logic. Those Israelites didn't a have logical bone in their bodies. Snakes don't talk in the Garden of Eden or any other place on this planet. They don't have vocal chords. Period. I rest my case.

  Farkel
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  Dia

  I believe the name, Jehovah was the invention of a Catholic monk some centuries ago. He crossed the word for Lord and another (the tetra...?) and came up with this name.

  Funny how JWs know nothing about its origin.

  The Jews believe that the name of God should never be pronounced or attempted to be pronounced and I would agree. (Interesting that there is no 'J' in the Hebrew alphabet).

  The awareness and experience of God by man is eternal, throughout the world, on every continent and in every generation, throughout time.

  And, no matter how we name it, call it, pronounce it, we are all talking about the same thing.

  And that's why He's God.
• 

  xenawarrior

  I thought God's name was Farkel.

  XW of the "ya learn something new every day" class
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  siegswife

  I agree with most of what Eduardo and Alan said. I don't think that I can agree the pronunciation isn't important, though. I think that's why, as Farkel and others pointed out, since Jesus didn't use God's Name when he prayed we shouldn't either. We don't know how to say it.

  Sieg and I both have names that are difficult to pronounce and we correct people when they don't say them right...or, if strangers call who are probably telemarketers and they screw up our name(s) (which happens often) we tell them that person doesn't live here.

  Lea (my nickname)
• 

  Farkel

  siegswife,

  : I think that's why, as Farkel and others pointed out, since Jesus didn't use God's Name when he prayed we shouldn't either. We don't know how to say it.

  Heh, heh. Do you remember that scene in the very funny movie Splash with Darrell Hannah and a very young Tom Hanks where he asked her what her name was?

  Perhaps God's name sounds something like that, and every time someone says it, it will blow out tons of human eardrums and break a lot of nice, Waterford Crystal glasses. That would not be a nice scene.

  Perhaps it's just best to call him "Dad Up There" or something. Besides that, if One is the ultimate God One don't need any name. People will just refer to you as "Sir God" or "Ma'am God." The really good Gods don't get pissed off if people mess up on a little protocol.

  It's those crappy little Gods that get pissed off on grammar, and pronunciation errors about their crappy little names and they threaten to kill every one who messes up in that regard. But being the crappy little Gods that they are, they can't (and don't) do anything but squack about it in some stupid book written by a bunch of stupid and primitive humans and hope that some will take them seriously. Such is the way with crappy little Gods who promise everything and deliver nothing.

  Farkel

  Edited by - Farkel on 23 January 2003 0:6:15
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  siegswife

  LOL...I'm half deaf anyway so what the hell.

  I'm not saying that I think God would get all snippy if people don't say His Name right. It's more like what I said about me and sieg. The people that know us wouldn't screw up our names, and the people that call us and do are probably people we don't want to talk to anyway (like telemarketers).

  Like Jesus said that some people would be saying they did all sorts of things in his name and he would tell them he never knew them. Those people have an agenda that he doesn't want to be a part of.

  How can JW's claim to be honoring God's Name when they don't even know it?
• 

  Mac

  His name is Floyd..........not very romantic or awe inspiring. The ancients knew this--who's gonna follow a god named Floyd no matter how powerful, all knowing or pissed off he is? Thus the divine name was rendered FLYD, in an attempt to hide the true pronunciation of the name too silly to pronounce. This didn't work either so other random vowel combinations were tossed into a hat and YHWH was selected. This hadn't the ring to it they had hoped for either but it was getting late and no one really thought the issue was worth missing supper over so Jah it is, for better or worse!

  mac, of the arcane knowledge class
• 

  Farkel

  siegswife,

  : The people that know us wouldn't screw up our names, and the people that call us and do are probably people we don't want to talk to anyway (like telemarketers).

  : Like Jesus said that some people would be saying they did all sorts of things in his name and he would tell them he never knew them. Those people have an agenda that he doesn't want to be a part of.

  : How can JW's claim to be honoring God's Name when they don't even know it?

  Pssssst. (I know it, but I'm not supposed to tell anyone. If I reveal it to you, do you promise not to tell anyone? Promise? Ok. God's name is "Irving." Please don't let this Sacred Secret(tm) out, ok? He's not really happy with that name he gave himself and he can't change it, because he'll look flakey if he does.)

  Mum is the word here. Keep this information very close to you, 'k?

  Farkel
• 

  Farkel

  mac,

  : His name is Floyd..........not very romantic or awe inspiring.

  My granddad's name was Floyd and my father's middle name was Floyd. And that is not God's name. As I've proven with my "indisputable facts" on this thread as did my great mentor Joseph Franklin Rutherford did on so many other occassions, God's name is "Irving," and not Floyd.

  I've done all the hard research on this. Trust me. You don't know squat about this.

  (Are you a friend or are you a foe?)

  Farkel