honoring God in the arts ...

[DeanZF]

I was contacted "off-forum" by someone who shared that "There never was the name Jehovah for God". I think that contact was prompted by this thread, so I'll answer it here.



Believe me when I say that we know that. Believe me also when I tell you that there is an equal or greater furor over exactly what Messiah's earthly name was. As a Gentile, I came to know Him as Jesus, and I call on Him in that way. He seems to hear and forgive me if I've gotten it wrong.



I am not making light of the issue. Helena & I both feel strongly that there is power in words and words used correctly. Under normal circumstances, we do not use the name "Jehovah" as we know that it is offensive to our Jewish friends, and that in offending them, we do not honor our God. If the original post in this thread is read carefully, that's obvious, I think.



HOWEVER, there is a place for everything. I am also a big believer in meeting people where they are rather than slapping them in the face with an intellectual correction. Something about drawing more flies/ants/people with the sweet savor of life than the vinegar that we might provide by that sort of correction. If Messiah were to come back today and walk the streets of some "Deep South" town with a very thick accent, or certain areas of Chicago or any other large city and find Himself in a pocket where the street slang and accent were just as thick, how would He be greeted? Many people might feel as though His name is butchered in ANY language, and even moreso when those who have heavy accents or who don't read or speak well try to pronounce some local representation of His name. Would He wheel on His heel, stick His nose in the air, sniff and walk off disgusted? Nah! He'd talk with the people and get to know them so well that bad pronunciation would not matter. He knows us, and He knows that when we all get to heaven, we won't even HAVE to ask, we'll know instantly how to pronounce it.



The arguement is similar for the use of the tetragrammaton. And as with all arguements, there seem to be more than just two sides. Some people are hypersensitive to seeing any reference to the name of the Almighty in printed form AT ALL. Some fix the English rendition by using G-d or G_d so that we really don't print it. And some would add "wink wink nudge nudge" after that sentence. Folks know that whether we use God or G-d we're still talking about one and the same. If I am in a situation where I know that there will be people offended by the exposure of His middle letter (the "o"), I won't use it. Not out of piety or personal conviction, but because I don't want to throw up a road block for those who seem to be easily offended. Are they just looking for an excuse to criticize? Are they really so zealous for "The Name"? Do their daily lives and reputations line up with that zeal? These are all questions that go through my mind.



Yes, in Israel, there are those who are indeed offended when someone uses the G-word in conversation. Some are offended if it is used within their services!! Others are at times careless with it and some think that's a violation of the commandment. Think "texting" and the simple OMG that does not normally stand for "Oh My Gosh!" I remember absolute hissy fits being thrown when someone said "gosh durn it" knowing that it was a substitute for a cuss or curse word. Will those same folks be fussing when they see "G-d"??



And the word police (like DeanZF) who want as much accuracy as possible so that everyone knows who's being talked about. Capitalize the pronouns and the euphimisms so that we know Who is being discussed when we talk about "The Bread Of Life". Or do we not capitalize "the" and "of"?? Hmmmmm.



Sorry for the rant here and it's certainly not meant to insult or to seem defensive, but our Creator's intention was that we know Him and that we call upon Him by NAME. Are we going to get bent out of shape when there are SO many languages and each of them has several names by which He is known? El Señor, Dios, Deus, and more. And what of the new believer who doesn't have the lingo down yet? Is that person to be shot at dawn for getting "The Name" wrong? I think there's room in the inn for a bit of tolerance for those who don't know yet and for those who don't see it quite our way.



It'll be "okay". <EMOJI seq="1f607">:innocent:</EMOJI>