Since I'm an atheist, I don't see any inerrant source for the proper name for a god.
So it's left up to the believers to say what name(s) they've given to (or believe was
given by) their god (or gods)
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"God is not the name of God, but an opinion about Him."
- Thread starter Sunstone
- Start date
So it's left up to the believers to say what name(s) they've given to (or believe was
given by) their god (or gods)
Earthling
David Henson
Not quite. In Latin they are Deus and in Greek they are Theos.
For even though there are those who are called “gods,” whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many “gods” and many “lords,” there is actually to us one God the Father, out of whom all things are, and we for him; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are, and we through him. 1 Corinthians 8:5-6
Cooky
Veteran Member
Okay, well then it's Deo and Theo. Point is, every language has it's own word.
Earthling
David Henson
What about ... Swahili? Mungu! I looked it up. I don't know if that's singular, or what d'ya call that? Plural of excellence.
Cooky
Veteran Member
Good question.
Earthling
David Henson
I think so. Westerners are sort of - nuts when it comes to the word God.
Edited To Add And names too. The various forms of the name Jesus, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, English, Italian, etc. can upset them greatly. And the "proper" English name for Jehovah is supposed to be the Hebrew? Where does that come from?
Cooky
Veteran Member
Reminds me of Islam, where the Koran can only be read in Arabic. Seems a little outrageous IMO.
Earthling
David Henson
Outrageous. The nature of religiosity. It's like "Off" Broadway.
God is not a name, it is a reference, an understanding of the nature and characteristics of a being that the word points to. Titling a being as God is not a naming, but a statement of certain ideas held by the speaker about the being that is so titled.
I take the quote to mean that any word is utterly insufficient to describe divinity. The best we can do is throw out words which paint a picture which is still far from reality.
So Muslims have 99 Names of Allah. Zoroastrians have more, I think 101 names of God. There are many Avatars, God becoming man, in the East. And so forth.
This analogy comes to mind: How would a dog describe a human: the provider, the lover, the snuggle, the petter, the punisher, the walking companion and so forth. All of these and many more would be aspects of what it means to be a human, from the dog's perspective.
Father Heathen
Veteran Member
Names are things humans invent for our own use, and not just names, but also perceptions and portrayals. What we think we know about god says far more about us than it does any actual god.
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
"God has no name but the opinions and labels in which we describe him."
Oh. Means to me. If I were christian, I'd think ill of this because our opinions can be false and from man but the name of God can not.
Personally, it could imply that god is beyond his name but is shaped "to be understood" by our opinions about him.
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
I think its more god is a place holder and description and character (and opinion) of who god is to the worshiper. For example, my mother's name is samantha*. I call her mother because of how I see her, her character, and how she relates to me.
I don't call her samantha unless I want to address her formally. But I would use the name father or god unless in heavy devotion, than I will call him by in this name/jehovah. Through her name I know who he is not the opinion I give him via human history.
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The word "god" is derived from the German word Gott which in turn derived from the proto Germanic word gutan.
First used in the form "God" in Codex Argenteus in the 6th century.
My opinion is it was a nice word to substitute various and differing names.
Pre gutan the source of the word is unknown, only assumed
God is a noun, a title. Just like you call your GP, doctor, or someone you bump into Mr. or Mrs. You know it refers to a person, but it is not a personal name. Can a title be used to form an opinion about the subject? Sure.
it is the intrinsic state of it's being, to be generative, creative, productive, begetting..................
I agree with the first part, "God is not the name of God". There are a lot of gods, and they're distinguished by their names. The Christian god is called Yahweh, for instance.
The second part, "but an opinion about Him" apparently means that, yes, there's an entity A, but no, A isn't a god / God unless in your opinion [he] is ─ in other words, the power of attributing godness to A rests with the individual.
The trouble is, there seem to be a lot of assumptions unexplained. Does entity A have to have particular qualities before you can legitimately deem [him] a god? Like being real, for example? Like having magic powers? Or can anyone, real or imaginary, play?
And what changes when you deem A to be a god / God? Just you, or does A's new status have a wider relevance? If you deem A a god / God, do you thereby take on specific obligations, or only those (if any) you feel like?
How would it actually work? Why would it matter?
god (n.)
Old English god "supreme being, deity; the Christian God; image of a god; godlike person," from Proto-Germanic *guthan (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Dutch god, Old High German got, German Gott, Old Norse guð, Gothic guþ), which is of uncertain origin; perhaps from PIE *ghut- "that which is invoked" (source also of Old Church Slavonic zovo "to call," Sanskrit huta- "invoked," an epithet of Indra), from root *gheu(e)- "to call, invoke." The notion could be "divine entity summoned to a sacrifice."
But some trace it to PIE *ghu-to- "poured," from root *gheu- "to pour, pour a libation" (source of Greek khein "to pour," also in the phrase khute gaia "poured earth," referring to a burial mound; see found (v.2)). "Given the Greek facts, the Germanic form may have referred in the first instance to the spirit immanent in a burial mound" [Watkins]. See also Zeus. In either case, not related to good.
the spirit of love
till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.
in the idea of a power, force that flows to and fro like breathing, wind, mind.................................
The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.
like water
All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
like mind
involution and evolution, or introspection and extrospection
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