Sunday, October 3, 2010

The many names of the higher power

There have been many names for the higher power thrown around since time began. In the Bible there are several names that HE goes by including but not limited to:

EL, ELOAH; ELOHIM; EL SHADDAI; ADONAI; YHWH / YAHWEH / JEHOVAH; YAHWEH-JIREH; YAHWEH-RAPHA; YAHWEH-NISSI; YAHWEH-M'KADDESH; YAHWEH-SHALOM; YAHWEH-ELOHIM; YAHWEH-TSIDKENU; YAHWEH-ROHI; YAHWEH-SHAMMAH; YAHWEH-SABAOTH; EL ELYON; EL ROI; EL-OLAM; or EL-GIBHOR.

Those are just some of the versions of HIS name stated in the Bible. Lets carry on into other cultures. In the Muslim culture:

Al-Khāliq(the creator); Ar-Rahim(the merciful); Al-'Azīm( the magnificent); As-Samī(all hearing); Al-Basīr(all seeing); Al-Ghafūr(all forgiving); Al-Hasīb(the bringer of judgement); and many, many more.

There are about 100 Muslim names for GOD. How about Greek mythology? There has got to be names for GOD in Greek Mythology:

King of the Gods; God of the Sky; Lightning and Thunder; God of the Earth; also known as Zeus

In other cultures HE is referred to as:

HORUS in Egyptian Myth; ODIN in Norse Tradition; JUPITER in Roman mythology; Takami-Musubi in Shinto/Japanese belief; etc.

In Hindu culture GOD is referred to as Shiva; Rudra; Shankara; Vishnu(his avatars: Rama, Krishna, Buddha); etc.


I could go on and on about names. Just know that there are so many variations of the name but only one thing matters; They are all similar in description. They are the same higher power; different cultures and different languages call for different names. We can not be blind in this fact. A great video to watch is not just about names, but a lot more than just that. Check it out!

Go to Youtube and look up a video series called "Zeitgeist". Definitely set aside some time to watch these videos because they are a bit long.

No comments:

Post a Comment