Name:
Email:
Posted: March 6th, 2007 at 12:59am By: Janet Conner
Last Friday I sent an email to everyone who attended one of my sacred journaling workshops in the last six months. I asked a simple question: "What do you call God?" I asked because I've called my workshop "Dear God" for a year now and I'm ready for a new and more powerful title, one that conveys the idea that writing with a sacred intention actually activates the voice of God on the page.
Well, the question "What do you call God?" may sound simple enough, but that doesn't mean it's easy or even clear. Asking the question generated a wellspring of ideas and history and even some controversy.
From the beginning, humanity has struggled with what to name the unnamable. "God" is the going term, and we toss it around in everything from advertising to prayer to swear words, but it's just an old Germanic/Dutch/Saxon word for "supreme being." Before there was our European word "God," there was Allah. And before Allah, there was Yahweh. And before society got behind the idea of one God, there were hundreds of names for hundreds of gods. Norse gods and Greek gods and Roman gods and Celtic gods. Asian gods and African gods. Indian gods and Aboriginal gods. Wherever humans dwelled, there were gods — and those gods had names.
Today there is a growing sentiment that the word "God" is too limiting, too masculine, too religious, too judgmental, too something that somehow pushes people away — which, of course, defeats the very purpose of calling upon the name of God. So the world has been struggling for a while to come up with new, gentler, more inclusive and magnetic names for God.
There's "Universe," for example. In the recent DVD phenomenon "The Secret," the word "God" is mentioned a few times, but the speakers also use Infinite, Power, Law, One, Creator, Holy, Genie, All, Energy, Spirit, Spiritual Being, Source, Source Energy, God Force and Infinite Possibility. The word they use most often is "Universe." Which makes sense, because God created the whole shebang, the whole universe. As Rev. Michael Beckwith of "The Secret" likes to say, "God is not in us; we are in God." In other words, the universe is all God. But, as my email buddies pointed out, it's tough to have an intimate conversation with "The Universe." Try it. Say, "Dear Universe" and see what happens. None of my fellow sacred writers felt comfortable addressing God as "The Universe." It seems a bit too cold and distant and big — way too big.
So, you see, "What do you call God?" is not such an easy question. I heard from dozens of people who confessed that they've struggled with this very question. They expressed frustration with their search for the name of God and acknowledged that thus far they have not found the perfect word. But they humbly offered their suggestions anyway. A few of their God-names are: Higher Spirit or Great Spirit or Spirit of Faith or just plain Spirit, Friend or My Friend, One or Dear One, Creator, Omnipresence, Holy One or Holiness, Essence, Life Force, Light or Lumen, Almighty, Universal Mind or Great Mind or Divine Mind or Master Mind, Being or All Being, Heart or Heart of Hearts, Energy, All That Is, Mystery or Great Mystery, Beloved or Dearly Beloved, Presence, Beauty, Joy, Father/Mother God, Mother of All Life, Lord, Source, Divine One or Divinity or Divine Spirit or Divine Presence, Truth, Giver, Wonder, Witness, Listener, and Everything.
In the end, Spirit was mentioned more than anything else. When I write, I address God as "Dear God," but since reading my friends' emails I have two new favorites: One and Friend. Think about it. Imagine having an internal conversation with The One, meaning the beginning, the all, the alpha and the omega. I like that. Dear One. And then there's Friend. How sweet is that? Dear Friend. And God is certainly that, your one complete and perfect friend. The friend who listens fully and will not let you get away with anything. The friend who gently and lovingly points out the errors in your thinking, the discrepancies in your behavior, and all the ways you get in your own way and block your own good. Yep, God is definitely Your Perfect Friend.
But before I settled on a new name for God, I thought I'd better check it out with some original sources. God did weigh in on this a few times. In Genesis, when Abram was 99 years old, "Yahweh appeared to him and said, 'I am El Shaddai.'" El translates as "God," Shaddai translates as "almighty" or "destroyer." I Googled "El Shaddai" and learned that there are seven holy names of God in the Jewish tradition: El, Elohim, Adonai, YHWH, Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, Shaddai, and Tzevaot.
And in Exodus 3:13, Moses is worried about anyone believing that he's actually been talking with God, "Look," he says to God, "if I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" Good question. Abram is one sharp guy for asking. "God said to Moses, 'I am who I am' (Exodus 3:14) ... 'This is my name for all time, and thus I am to be invoked for all generations to come'" (Exodus 3:15). Sounds pretty emphatic. There's just one problem. What does "I am who I am" really mean? Scholars have been debating that for a few thousand years.
In the Muslin tradition, God has 99 names, from the first, Allah, to the 99th, As-Sabur (The Patient, The Timeless). A holy practice is to recite all 99 names in order. That would certainly cover all the bases, but I can't quite see myself writing all 99 names in one fell swoop. It would take me so long to complete the salutation that I might never get around to the conversation.
Do you see how complex this question is? The more you dig and the more you read, the less you actually know for certain. Instead of making things clearer, the research indicates that every tradition has many, many names for God.
Which, in the end, is a good thing. Because the truth is: We don't have to agree. There isn't any ONE perfect name for God; there are many beautiful traditions and many beautiful names. And the only one that matters is the one that you choose, the one that you use, the one that makes your heart sing. It's your conversation with "I am who I am" — begin it as you wish. Use the name you love, or experiment with a new one every day. Use biblical names, Muslim names, pagan names, modern names or names you make up. I am confident of only one thing: God answers to them all.
(Next week: What do we talk about with God?)
— — —
Janet Conner, S.E. (Spiritual Explorer), is the author of the Spiritual Geography series and is currently writing a book on the power of writing to activate the voice of God. The Spiritual Geography books are available through Amazon or Spiritual Geography. Reach Janet at {email janetconner@tampabay.rr.com}janetconner@tampabay.rr.com{/email}.© copyright 2007 by Janet Conner
Permalink
Last Friday I sent an email to everyone who attended one of my sacred journaling workshops in the last six months. I asked a simple question: "What do you call God?" I asked because I've called my workshop "Dear God" for a year now and I'm ready for a new and more powerful title, one that conveys the idea that writing with a sacred intention actually activates the voice of God on the page.
Well, the question "What do you call God?" may sound simple enough, but that doesn't mean it's easy or even clear. Asking the question generated a wellspring of ideas and history and even some controversy.
From the beginning, humanity has struggled with what to name the unnamable. "God" is the going term, and we toss it around in everything from advertising to prayer to swear words, but it's just an old Germanic/Dutch/Saxon word for "supreme being." Before there was our European word "God," there was Allah. And before Allah, there was Yahweh. And before society got behind the idea of one God, there were hundreds of names for hundreds of gods. Norse gods and Greek gods and Roman gods and Celtic gods. Asian gods and African gods. Indian gods and Aboriginal gods. Wherever humans dwelled, there were gods — and those gods had names.
Today there is a growing sentiment that the word "God" is too limiting, too masculine, too religious, too judgmental, too something that somehow pushes people away — which, of course, defeats the very purpose of calling upon the name of God. So the world has been struggling for a while to come up with new, gentler, more inclusive and magnetic names for God.
There's "Universe," for example. In the recent DVD phenomenon "The Secret," the word "God" is mentioned a few times, but the speakers also use Infinite, Power, Law, One, Creator, Holy, Genie, All, Energy, Spirit, Spiritual Being, Source, Source Energy, God Force and Infinite Possibility. The word they use most often is "Universe." Which makes sense, because God created the whole shebang, the whole universe. As Rev. Michael Beckwith of "The Secret" likes to say, "God is not in us; we are in God." In other words, the universe is all God. But, as my email buddies pointed out, it's tough to have an intimate conversation with "The Universe." Try it. Say, "Dear Universe" and see what happens. None of my fellow sacred writers felt comfortable addressing God as "The Universe." It seems a bit too cold and distant and big — way too big.
So, you see, "What do you call God?" is not such an easy question. I heard from dozens of people who confessed that they've struggled with this very question. They expressed frustration with their search for the name of God and acknowledged that thus far they have not found the perfect word. But they humbly offered their suggestions anyway. A few of their God-names are: Higher Spirit or Great Spirit or Spirit of Faith or just plain Spirit, Friend or My Friend, One or Dear One, Creator, Omnipresence, Holy One or Holiness, Essence, Life Force, Light or Lumen, Almighty, Universal Mind or Great Mind or Divine Mind or Master Mind, Being or All Being, Heart or Heart of Hearts, Energy, All That Is, Mystery or Great Mystery, Beloved or Dearly Beloved, Presence, Beauty, Joy, Father/Mother God, Mother of All Life, Lord, Source, Divine One or Divinity or Divine Spirit or Divine Presence, Truth, Giver, Wonder, Witness, Listener, and Everything.
In the end, Spirit was mentioned more than anything else. When I write, I address God as "Dear God," but since reading my friends' emails I have two new favorites: One and Friend. Think about it. Imagine having an internal conversation with The One, meaning the beginning, the all, the alpha and the omega. I like that. Dear One. And then there's Friend. How sweet is that? Dear Friend. And God is certainly that, your one complete and perfect friend. The friend who listens fully and will not let you get away with anything. The friend who gently and lovingly points out the errors in your thinking, the discrepancies in your behavior, and all the ways you get in your own way and block your own good. Yep, God is definitely Your Perfect Friend.
But before I settled on a new name for God, I thought I'd better check it out with some original sources. God did weigh in on this a few times. In Genesis, when Abram was 99 years old, "Yahweh appeared to him and said, 'I am El Shaddai.'" El translates as "God," Shaddai translates as "almighty" or "destroyer." I Googled "El Shaddai" and learned that there are seven holy names of God in the Jewish tradition: El, Elohim, Adonai, YHWH, Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, Shaddai, and Tzevaot.
And in Exodus 3:13, Moses is worried about anyone believing that he's actually been talking with God, "Look," he says to God, "if I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" Good question. Abram is one sharp guy for asking. "God said to Moses, 'I am who I am' (Exodus 3:14) ... 'This is my name for all time, and thus I am to be invoked for all generations to come'" (Exodus 3:15). Sounds pretty emphatic. There's just one problem. What does "I am who I am" really mean? Scholars have been debating that for a few thousand years.
In the Muslin tradition, God has 99 names, from the first, Allah, to the 99th, As-Sabur (The Patient, The Timeless). A holy practice is to recite all 99 names in order. That would certainly cover all the bases, but I can't quite see myself writing all 99 names in one fell swoop. It would take me so long to complete the salutation that I might never get around to the conversation.
Do you see how complex this question is? The more you dig and the more you read, the less you actually know for certain. Instead of making things clearer, the research indicates that every tradition has many, many names for God.
Which, in the end, is a good thing. Because the truth is: We don't have to agree. There isn't any ONE perfect name for God; there are many beautiful traditions and many beautiful names. And the only one that matters is the one that you choose, the one that you use, the one that makes your heart sing. It's your conversation with "I am who I am" — begin it as you wish. Use the name you love, or experiment with a new one every day. Use biblical names, Muslim names, pagan names, modern names or names you make up. I am confident of only one thing: God answers to them all.
(Next week: What do we talk about with God?)
— — —
Janet Conner, S.E. (Spiritual Explorer), is the author of the Spiritual Geography series and is currently writing a book on the power of writing to activate the voice of God. The Spiritual Geography books are available through Amazon or Spiritual Geography. Reach Janet at {email janetconner@tampabay.rr.com}janetconner@tampabay.rr.com{/email}.© copyright 2007 by Janet Conner
Permalink
Add your comments