Saturday, September 16, 2006

YHWH

For instance, my Spock-me says that there is absolutely no way that the omnipotent creator of the Universe has a name, YHWH for instance.

I presume you're not so much focusing on the name itself, but rather that God would have a name at all?
Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"

God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " (Exodus 2:13-14)

I see that as more God saying, "Look, I really don't have a name ... I simply AM. But if you insist, tell them 'I AM' sent you."

From what I understand, in times of old and still in many places around the world, a person's name is more than just a label used to refer to them. It's considered something akin to their very person; their nature and being. To carelessly toss around a person's name is offensive. It is that which helps understand the "Do not use the Lord's name in vain" commandment.

Also, you're aware that the Bible has a whole slew of names used for God? Not just YHWH, but many others. We typically don't see them in our translations, but the web page listed here shows the original and different names and their meanings.

So I guess I'm perplexed why you would find it so hard to believe that the almighty and eternal creator would provide a name (or set of names) so his limited creatures could refer to him?

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