What is the name of God the Father?
It’s worth making a reservation right away that we will be talking about God, who is described in the Bible; other “gods” in this context do not interest us.
One of the most ancient religious books, the Bible, clearly states that God has a name for everything, and is even called several thousand times:
- And let them know that You, whose name is Jehovah , alone are high above all the earth. (Ps. 83:20, translation by Archpriest G.P. Pavsky)
So sang King David in one of his psalms about 3,000 years ago. Indeed, centuries have passed, but the name of God has not been erased from the memory of generations, and many people still know it today.
In Russian literature, the name of God in the form Jehovah was used by many classical writers. This site contains excerpts from their works, where the divine Name appears.
Here you can also see how foreign classics used the name of God in their works.
Orthodox priests were not afraid of the name of God before: they used it in their books and sermons.
Also, many reference books and dictionaries talk about this sacred name, so all this is no secret for those who can read...
Archaic dogmas and modern views
The idea of a humanoid God and chosen peoples is ignorant and harmful, so one can understand the delusions of atheists who completely deny mysticism and any forms and manifestations of divinity.
God was created in the image and likeness of man and this is his imperfection. Do not be confused by the text of old books that claim the opposite, because they were written in an era of ideological isolation. God has always been like those who invented him. Among the Jewish people of antiquity, it had qualities that corresponded to their ideas. Among the Hindus, he spoke Sanskrit and wore a lot of jewelry, which they loved and so on.
The idea that humans are godlike and completely different from animals, due to the possession of an ephemeral soul, arose in order to justify crimes against other species and nature as a whole. Allegedly, man is given the right to kill and exploit other living beings, and the planet was created only to mindlessly satisfy all our desires.
The peoples of the past were impervious to new ideas and clung to the traditions of their ancestors, no matter how absurd they were. But now many have access to the Internet and all kinds of information for intellectual and spiritual growth.
If earlier the world's population did not exceed 100 million, now with a population of more than 7 billion, it is a matter of survival of the species. It is necessary to change the attitude towards nature, to realize its holiness. A person must begin to respect any manifestations of life on earth, treat it with reverence and care. The earth does not belong to us, but is our common home. This is what religions should be built on, this is what our children should be taught in schools, along with other subjects.
Unfortunately, the popular texts describing God were written a long time ago, during absolutely savage and hostile times. People fought a lot, and God, in their ideas, also often turned out to be warlike and aggressive, not to mention the eastern movements, where there was no such fierce competition for resources. The lands of Asia are very rich in food, and well-fed people are usually less warlike. The word God itself, in my opinion, already has such a bloody and vicious history behind it that I would prefer to call it differently. So let’s switch to the term “Almighty” or “Egregor” and try to imagine hypothetical communication with such an entity.
So, even if we assume the existence of superconsciousness, which has unlimited capabilities and understanding of the essence of the smallest thought processes in the head of each individual, then it turns out to be useless to try to deceive it. It is stupid, being, for example, a Muslim, to eat lard under the cover of darkness, in the hope that Allah will not see, or to bring money to cults and churches in an attempt, thus, to atone for one’s own crimes and vices. If a creator exists, then he created you exactly the way you turned out. He wouldn't create his children for the purpose of boiling them in boiling water or frying them forever in the frying pans of hell, unless he was some kind of sadist.
hell or heaven. torment of sinners. divine torture and sadism of the heavenly father. who is god? what is the meaning of prayer
How God was deprived of his name in Christianity...
Take the Bible in the classical synodal (church) translation. Wherever the title “Lord” appears, there used to be the personal name Jehovah. (About 7000 times.)
The only exceptions are a few places where the name of God the father of Jesus Christ was left in place. (For example, Exodus 3:15, 15:3.)
But if you take newer translations, for example, the translation of the Russian Bible Society for 2009, then the name of God was completely removed there. The order was carried out, the evidence was hidden.
Compare:
Now for everyone who reads these translations, God has become an impersonal being, just God, Lord, Hosts...
Some baselessly claim that these are the names of God. But is it?
Religious compromise
The second point of view is “intermediate”. It is a kind of compromise. Relying on modern scientific knowledge and sentiments prevailing in society, its supporters at the same time adhere to the main religious postulate about the creation of the world and man by God. According to them, after the Fall, man completely broke off communication with his Creator and, as a result, was forced to re-look for the path to Him. It is this process that they call religion.
How many names does God have?
God, Lord, Hosts, Creator, Creator, and so on - these are all titles that give only a qualitative description of God, showing his position and abilities.
For example, many of the titles that are applied to God are also applied to other persons.
The titles "god" and "father" are applied not only to God, but also to Satan, as seen in these verses:
- For those who do not believe, whose the god of this world has blinded... (2 Cor. 4:4)
- Your father is the devil... he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)
This is what distinguishes a personal name from a title. A personal name identifies a specific person. The name Jehovah is not applied to anyone other than the true God.
Another good argument is one of the Ten Commandments:
- Do not take the name of Jehovah your God in vain; for Jehovah will not leave unpunished anyone who takes name in vain. (Ex.20:7) Translation by Archimandrite Macarius
Note that it says "do not say the name " in the singular, not " names ". And the personal name of God “Jehovah” is specifically indicated, which must be treated with respect.
Another argument is the fact that God's personal name appears in the Bible about 7,000 times, which is more than the number of all other titles combined.
There is another misconception that although there is a name, it is not necessary to pronounce it in everyday life. This allegedly violates the third commandment.
But if you read translations of the Bible, where the name of the Christian God appears wherever it should appear, it is clear that in biblical times people freely pronounced this name in their daily lives.
- Gideon said to them, “Neither will I rule over you, nor will my son rule over you; Let Jehovah rule over you . (Judges 8:23)
As you can see, in biblical times people FREELY used the sacred name of God in everyday life. The Bible is not a simple book. This is a book from God about God.
But there is another, but significant problem: the majority of believers stubbornly do not want to use the name of God . Why?
Punishment and reward
The concept of hell and heaven has a very detrimental effect on immature minds. The role of man here is usually reduced to the role of a dog, and the mysterious God appears in the form of a jealous and very harsh master. If you live up to the hopes of the heavenly elder, he will reward you with an eternal high in heaven, and if you disappoint him, you will forever end up in a cauldron of boiling oil. We are not talking about any love for God here, and in fact, all the beliefs of fanatics are built on an animal fear of punishment.
It is fear that makes them, foaming at the mouth, prove their point of view, because if it is wrong, their life will end up being a complete disappointment. A truly intelligent person tries not to cause pain to others out of love for the creator, out of conscience, he wants to ease the lot of those who are weaker or more deprived of benefits. But, alas, in our society the main motive for outwardly pious behavior is fear.
It is clear that getting into eternal heaven is unrealistic. Those who decide the destinies of other people are especially deprived of such a chance: the military and politicians leading them. The most successful, in my opinion, description of the similarity between hell and heaven can be found in the Indian Vedas. According to them, even the most pious warriors and kings end up in hell in order to experience the suffering they cause. The same applies to everyone else except the righteous. First, temporary hell, and then temporary heaven, and so on around the circle of samsara in countless rebirths. This concept is more rational than eternal torment or eternal high.
How to pronounce God's name correctly?
One of the excuses is that today no one knows how exactly the name of God was pronounced. And besides, the form of pronunciation “Jehovah” accepted today is considered incorrect by some modern learned theologians.
They argue that it would be more correct to consider that the name of God sounds like Yahweh, or Yahweh. However, they don’t have agreement here either.
Interestingly, recently the French archaeologist and Hebraist Gerard Gerteau published his research in the book “ The Name of God - Its History and Pronunciation ,” where he argues:
God's name was most likely pronounced Yehua or Yehoah with the Hebrew aspirated X, as in English and Greek, and stress on the penultimate syllable.
His book is devoted to the reconstruction of the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton and received a large number of positive reviews from leading experts.
Why is Jehovah correct and not Yahweh?
One of the methods is a comparative study of theonyms - Jewish names, which include the Tetragrammaton.
Almost always the first element of such names is Jeho- or Jehu- (Yehoshua, Jehoanan, Jeconiah, Jeholiah, etc.). At the same time, the variants on Io(u)-, less often Ie-, are simply abbreviations from Ieho(u)- (John, Jonah, Joab, Joseph, Judah, etc.).
Another argument is that the Tetragrammaton differs from the Hebrew name Yehuda (Judas) by only one letter - D. Removing D, we get the modern pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew, and the ancient one should not differ much from the modern one.
In his opinion, it is almost 100% possible to establish that the Tetragrammaton had four syllables, and not two, as in the Yahweh version, while the first was I, and the last was A.
The third line of evidence goes back to the authoritative Jewish scholar Maimonides, who said that the Tetragrammaton was pronounced “according to its letters.”
In the Hebrew language, the same letter could serve as both a consonant and a vowel. When pronouncing, the vowel version was used. The vowel pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton "according to its letters" was E-E-U-A.
But on the other hand, is it so important how exactly the name of God is pronounced?
For example : today no one knows exactly how the name Jesus was pronounced in Hebrew (literally this name means “the help or salvation of Jehovah”), but this does not prevent everyone from using the form of this name that is common in this language.
Previously, in Rus' they said Jesus, and then everyone was forcibly forced to say Jesus, and now few people are outraged by this.
For example, your name is FEDOR (from Greek - GOD’S GIFT), if children pronounce KHVEDOR, or KHFEDAR, or FEDA, etc.,
You will still understand that they are calling on your NAME, especially if you know that the children respect your name, honoring it and appreciating its meaning, which has the meaning of “GOD’S GIFT.”
Would you blame your children if they distorted your NAME, resorting to you for help with hope and love for you.
Materialist Point of View
And finally, the third point of view is “evolutionary”. Those who adhere to it insist that religious ideas arise at a certain stage in the development of society and are a consequence of the inability of people to find rational explanations for natural phenomena.
Perceiving them as the rational actions of certain beings more powerful than himself, man created a pantheon of gods in his imagination, attributed to them his own emotions and actions, thereby projecting into his fictional world the features of the society in which he was located. Accordingly, with the development of society, religious ideas became more complex and colored in new ways, progressing from primitive forms to more complex ones.
Let's summarize:
As you can see, I do not pretend to know the truth here, but I am making a modest attempt to convey grains of awareness to the masses. Essentially, elementary things are described here, but alas, society is so mired in ignorance and outdated worldviews that it does not want to think for itself and accept responsibility for its actions. Most are looking for a shepherd, an authoritative boss, and generally someone who will decide for them, which is actively used by various cults and organizations. I hope that you, my dear reader, are not one of those people.
Spread common sense whenever possible. If you found this material convincing, then give it to your loved ones to read. Remember that most suffering is self-inflicted. Basically, these are not volcanic eruptions and floods, but just banal ignorance, manifested as violence against others, alcoholism, fanaticism and other vices. Conscious people are to some extent responsible for those who think less sensibly. We must, to the best of our ability, try to reduce the suffering of others and bring light where it is needed.
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God is often identified with the absolute, and His properties: eternity, knowledge, happiness
Many thinkers have identified God and the absolute. If God created the world when there was nothing but God, then he must have created this world from himself.
Not everyone agrees with this idea. We look at spiritual things in a very down-to-earth way. What is the material in the other world? And is it necessary at all? Should God be limited by the laws of our reality?
Whether God created the world from Himself is unknown to man
Eastern traditions very succinctly characterized the properties of God:
- eternity - He was, is and will be;
- knowledge - He knows everything;
- happiness - He is in bliss.
In Orthodoxy we see the same idea, but less clear. Different authors contradict each other. What are properties? What is typical. For some authors, the property is eternity, for others it is that God is a Trinity.
And yet, if we focus on the Eastern model, we can give the following list of the properties of the Almighty:
- omnibenevolence;
- immutability;
- omnipresence (infinity);
- omnirighteousness;
- all-bliss;
- omnipotence;
- eternity;
- omniscience;
- spirituality.
If you wish, you can reduce everything to the same formula, or, conversely, deepen and develop each of the qualities into a whole topic.
