Space For God
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Is God's name just a name?
Posted: 16/09/2008God continued with Moses: "This is what you're to say to the Israelites: 'God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.' This has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known. Exodus 3:15
I've sometimes wondered about God's name and I particularly remember thinking 'what's the big deal?'... Isn't it just a name? "A rose by any other" and so on. I do understand that names can carry great significance. I certainly don't call God "the God of your fathers" or "the God of Abraham", but I'm sure that in the context of when it was written those words meant alot to the people hearing them.
I was intrigued when I learnt that the word Father in the Lord's Prayer would have been a name of great respect and reverence at the time it was written and possibly translates more closely to 'teacher' than to a cosy contemporary concept of God as Dad.
I've always found the name Mother to be very powerful name for God. For me it unlocks something... a closeness I never knew was possible. At the same time the name mother demands respect and grants permission to the feminine. I did not realise the masculine language of my religion was so stifling until I experienced the overwhelming transformation that happened in the way I hear God speaking to me through words that include me in the picture.
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Keep in mind that in ancient Roman Empire the term ‘father’ didn’t mean biological father, but rather ‘pater familias’, or head of household… my two cents’ worth anyway…
— Miles the Penitent · Sep 16, 11:41 am
Thanks Miles! That’s exactly what I was trying to get at. It was also a very subversive name in ancient Rome because Ceasar was referred to as ‘father’.
— steph · Sep 18, 02:56 pm
great writing thanks! you put it so simply – the unlocking and the closeness… wonderful reflection!
— mel · Sep 21, 05:57 pm