He who must not be named: God?

I always thought "G-d" was an abbreviation for "God-damn".

One reason not to use those transliterations is that no one knows the correct pronunciation. In the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, only the High Priest was allowed to know the name. Now that we no longer have the Temple or priests, that knowledge has been lost. The letters of the tetragammaton are basically "place holders".

What's the problem with using the name of our God/Father/Creator in your native tongue? He revealed His name to us. He said His people would use it, in whatever age they lived. Jesus said he glorified his father's name. Jesus instructed the hallowedness/holiness/santity of his God and Father in prayer, i.e. the Lord's/Our Father prayer. Not knowing the precise shape of the lips or position of the tongue or intonation of the voice should not stop anyone from using the name of God, Jehovah (English), in any language in a respectful way. The prohibition regarding the Name was the profaning of it or using it in a worthless way. My name is Robert in English. It is pronounced differently in other languages. That's better than 'Hey, Mister' or 'Hey, Man' for those who know me.

What about H-lk H-gan?

It is amusing that the Catholic Church, which generally avoids concerning itself too much with the One God concept, does not want to speak His name, purportedly out of respect. The Church encourages endless vain repetition in prayer of the word "God", "Jesus" (which one would think is a pretty personal name for an aspect of their God), Mary and various Saints. My opinion about this is that the Church just doesn't want people to think too much about monotheism, since that is not what they do.

"the proper and personal name of God"

I wonder what name Jesus had in Mind?

Jerusalem Bible.
Matt 6 v 9: Our Father in Heaven may your name be held holy.

John 17 v 26. I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.

Unlike our Lord Jesus the Catholic church has failed to uphold God's name Iwonder what scripture says about that?

Catholic Church, please grow beyond the middle ages. Debating how many angels fit on the head of pin is a similar topic. Irrational religion begets irrational pronouncements..

Who are we talking about?

I think the religious crowd are feeling disrespected. They want the unspoken name of the Hebrew god to be more revered (hence I think they want to be revered more too!).

Didn't Jesus say you are blessed if persecuted in His name?

Doesn't sound like He expected His name to be even this much revered in the world.

This is just too good to be true. "that name" Sounds like Bill Clinton in a press conference about Monica Lewinski. Of course, all the esteemed professors and directors and articles in CT put together can not erase the clear direction of the Scriptures that the Almighty Creator has a name and wants us to use it. The same holds true for Bible translators who have removed the name of God in the nearly SEVEN THOUSAND instances where it occurs in the original text. Please, you religious leaders out there who are considering this article carefully, listen to it. If you are this fundamentally misinformed about the Bible (authored by the One who cannot be named), I doubt he would want you to use His name anyway.

If you read the CNS story (linked above) you'll see that the reason for the change is to show respect for "the name of God". Yahweh is the english pronounciation of the Jewish representation of God's written name "YHWH". This practice of not pronouncing God's name can be seen by using words that mean Lord, "Adonai", "Kyrios" (Greek) and "Dominus" (Latin). So this change simply extends the respect for God's anme by not using the Jewish version.

One of the major Catholic music publishers will make the change in their next music publication, the other has had this policy ineffect since 1986.

Other posted comments around the Trinity and the Church are simply Cathoilc bashing and add no value to understanding the purpose behind the article.

Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of Yahweh shall be saved.

Now surely the pope wants salvation for his followers, surely. Hmm, makes you wonder what his true objectives are.

Isa 42:8 I [am] Yahweh: that [is] my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images (Gods).

Jer 23:27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal (Lords).

Psa 22:22 I will declare Thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.

Interesting to know the name Jesus means "Jehovah Is Salvation" yet that is okay to remain as is. Plus the fact that there are lots of names of people in the Bible (Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, as examples, there are many more) and there are the names of places mentioned in the Scriptures that are linked to the Name JEHOVAH (Jehovah-Nissi, Jehovah-Jireh for examples) that have the Divine Name within these names. Are these all to be removed also?? And how about the fact that 'alleluia' or 'hallelujah' means "Praise Jah"?

The four Hebrew letters for the Divine Name, Jehovah, YHWH, appear some 7000 times throughout the Scriptures. Why so many times if it's not to be used? That wouldn't make sense.

The Divine Name means 'Causes to Become.' There is a lot to be said about the Divine Name and the Scriptures say that all who call upon this name in trueness and faith will be saved. How would people do that if they are instructed through their clergy not to use it at all? hmmm...the real enemies ot the Bible are coming to light here (or is it to darkness?).

The Tetragrammaton is found almost 7000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. That is more times than any other title used to denote God by far. Now tell me, do you think that God didn't want to use His name if he had it written down so many times.

Also, archeological excavations of ancient Isrealite cities have unearthed an abundance of proof that the Isrealites used the name of God frequently in their everyday lives. The tradition of not using God's personal name started centuries after the last words of the Hebrew Scriptures were penned.

In fact, there is much evidence that Jesus and his diciples used God's name a lot.

Rob posted;

Other posted comments around the Trinity and the Church are simply Cathoilc bashing and add no value to understanding the purpose behind the article.

So if I don't agree with any of your beliefs my comments are bashing!

So believers are legitimate and non believers are not! How hypocritical! If you force all people to socially respect His name, where is the persecution?

Nope, instead of bravely facing individuals with your personal experience of belief, you want to sell it to the masses as an affront to god himself!

So god is hurt because we use his name in vain? Those of you who has never done it (used god's name in vain)"cast the first stone".

People who truly believe(take the writings literally), hold god's name in reverence without trying to force anyone else to do so.

After all it is supposed to be a "personal" relationship(with god) not a group one!

I'll re-emphasize what someone else said - God's name is in the Bible over 7,000 times. Clearly the notion that it's unspeakable is a recent invention. How would any of us feel if we were told that our name was unspeakable? For those who believe that the Bible is God's book, who has the right to decide that his name shouldn't be in his own book where he put it?
It's true that the original pronunciation is lost. But it's common knowledge that Jesus' name wasn't pronounced the way we say it. No one considers it blasphemous to speak that name. All over the world God is known by his name, Jehovah, or by varied pronunciations in other languages.

When the angel who became Satan sinned, Jehovah made sure that no one would know the devil's name. Satan means "resister." Since then, this resister has tried to remove God's name from the Bible and our vocabularies, and he's done a good job of it. This is just another example of the Catholic church (and other protestant churches) being Satan's dupes!

When you address someone in a group, you use their personal name. The apostle Paul said:
"There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life." 1 Cor 8:5, 6 NLT

No doubt he read aloud the personal name of God when he quoted Hebrew verses that listed that name. i.e. :
"Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish. That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth." Ps 83:17, 18 AV

Jesus and the apostles never exhibited any obligation to follow any of the unscriptural superstitious traditions of the Jews of his day. Why should true Christians be influenced by such false reasoning revived today?

"The Tetragrammaton is found almost 7000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. That is more times than any other title used to denote God by far. Now tell me, do you think that God didn't want to use His name if he had it written down so many times."

When reading the Torah (1st 5 books of the Hebrew Bible) in Hebrew, the tetragrammaton is not pronounced. Instead, we substitute "Adonai" ("Our Lord"). As said previously, no one knows how to pronounce it. It's a placeholder for the true name.

There is an interesting allusion to this topic in the "Doctrine and Covenants", a book which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe contains modern-day revelation and regards as scripture.

Doctrine and Covenants Section 107, verses 1-5 reads:

"There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood. Why the first is called the Melchizedek Priesthood is because Melchizedek was such a great high priest. Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God. But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood. All other authorities or offices in the church are appendages to this priesthood."

In short, we believe the higher priesthood was referred to anciently, and is referred to today, as the Melchizedek Priesthood to avoid the too frequent repetition of the name of the Supreme Being.

It always amazes me that the 'Ones' who 'THINK' that they are 'HOLY', are the leaders who remove their flocks from the path that God himself has laid out. Their opposite 'thinking' has led many to be confused and bewildered as to simple truths as expressed in the Bible. They care more for their own namesake then that of the one who created everything. The Bible identifies these as 'false shepherds' and those for their own namesake. You people. by the way,that is what you are, people, put yourself up to be looked upon as 'Gods' rather then as servants of the people, minsters of others. There is still time to turn around and readjust your thinking. Remember that we are 'dust' and as Psalms 83:18 says:'That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the most high over all the Earth". It doesn't say Pope, Priest, or any other Haughty title, does it? Jesus said: to Him be the Glory and Honor forever . . . that says it all.

What a unique name, Jehovah. It can only belong to one..
He explained the meaning, "I shall prove to be what I shall prove to be"
and that's how Moses was to identify the one who dispatched him to the
Pharoah to seek release of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. And truly
he did prove to be whatever was needed to accomplish his purpose regarding
his people and the clearing of his name from any reproach associated with
having his people enslaved . I think it's great that the churches of so called
Christendom don't want to use his name.. It makes it perfectly clear for anyone
searching to know exactly where the True God can be found.

Since certainty of pronunciation is not now attainable, there seems to be no reason for abandoning in English the well-known form "Jehovah" in favor of some other suggested pronunciation. If such a change were made, then, to be consistent, changes should be made to the spelling and pronunciation of a plethora of other names found in the Bible, i.e. Jeremiah becomes Yirmeiah, Isaiah becomes Yeshayahu, and Jesus would either be Yehohshua (Hebrew) or Iesous (Greek). The purpose of words is to transmit thoughts. In English the name Jehovah, as used by faithful folks for centuries, identifies the true God at least as well as and probably better than any other rendering of the Name that He gave himself for us for our respectful use, as the faithful of old did in their language, Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, whatever.

People say we shouldn't try to pronounce God's name since we don't know what the correct way of saying it is; using that reasoning; how do we know how to say Jesus' name correctly?
To me, God having a name and me being able to use it in prayer and worship makes God more real, more personable; otherwise He would be too far off and eventually fade from everyone's life almost as if He never existed at all.
Does anyone that reads and believes and has faith in the bible or their religion really want this to happen?

Psalms 83:18 says Jehovah, alone, is the MOST high over all the earth! Here it is spelled out for man to learn who is over all the earth. Yes, He wants us to know and USE His name! As Jesus said, Hollowed be thy name...(or sanctified)

(Isaiah 43:10-13) . . .“YOU are my witnesses,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “even my servant whom I have chosen, in order that YOU may know and have faith in me, and that YOU may understand that I am the same One. Before me there was no God formed, and after me there continued to be none. 11 I—I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no savior.” 12 “I myself have told forth and have saved and have caused [it] to be heard, when there was among YOU no strange [god]. So YOU are my witnesses,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “and I am God. 13 Also, all the time I am the same One; and there is no one effecting deliverance out of my own hand. I shall get active, and who can turn it back?”

Here's a question. If you had a hard name to pronounce like "Rathbunshinawatra" or something. Would you rather people at least try to pronounce it or that they just call you "boy" or "man" or "sir"? I personally would think it inappropriate to refer to me as "hey man".

The Bible itself clearly states: "And it shall come to pass, that WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL IN THE NAME OF JEHOVAH shall be delivered" (Joel 2:32) Saint Peter reiterated we would need to understand his name to survive at Acts 2:17-2 directly quoting Joel. Paul also emphasizes the importance of preaching about the name Yahweh or Jehovah by quoting directly from Joel at Romans 10:13-15: "for WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?" If the importance of something is reiterated 3 times and we ignore, will we have any excuse? Woe to those who hide the name of God.

It's refreshing to see that the great majority of the commentators on this subject are in favor of using the greatest Name in the Universe, namely, JEHOVAH (in English). Their reasons are also well founded, based on God's inspired Word, the Bible. The prophet Isaiah foretold that the day would come when the knowledge of Jehovah will fill the earth as the waters cover the oceans and seas. From the comments I've just read I would say that we are seeing the beginnings of the fullfillment of Isaiah's words. May all lovers of the Creator's personal Name be alive to see the final fulfillment of this prophecy.

Two reasons not to try to pronounce / transliterate the Tetragrammaton - respect for the traditions of the Covenant People, and acknowledging that naming anything inevitably limits that thing and often implies human mastery or control of that thing. By definition, the fullness of God cannot be named in this way, and the traditional substitutiion of Adonai is something which I think Christian public worship should respect.

Abraham used the name. Moses used the name. Millions of Jews throughout history used the name. In fact, a prohibition to not use the name was only given by by rabbi Abba Shaül in 2 CE in accord with recent Jewish superstition. If Abraham and Moses used the name, who is any man or custom to tell me not to use the name? The fact that it is printed over 6,000 times in the scriptures is evidence God wants us to know and use his name. The tradition is invalid.

I so agree we need to use Jehovahs name, he gave it to us to use, so we need to respect him and use it. We also take on the name Jehovahs Witness.

I'm not sure I understand the reasoning on this one. So, it's not okay to pronounce the name of God (the father-YHWH) out of respect because it's too holy. But... it is okay to pronounce the name of God (the son-Jesus). What's the difference?

It is very clear to all, that avoiding the use of our creator's name does not show respect in any way, shape, or form. This certainly twists the meaning of honor and respect and cannot be intelligently argued. Evidence in the original scriptures points to the importance of using Jehovah's name for salvation, as well as, obtaining a personal relationship with him. Anyone who chooses not to use his name can do so at their own expense, not my problem. The Pope's decision to force his parishioners not to use God's name is a grave sin which he, eventually, will be held accountable for. Let's hope all honest-hearted Catholics will continue to use God's name as the Bible commands and not follow the superstitions of any man. We are all personally accountable to our God, Jehovah, and that should be our concern, that we do not lose our relationship with him as Satan would prefer. Let's not let Satan win out folks!

Hallalujah (Praish Jah)-"Jehovah" for the majority of the reasonable thinkers out there. As for those who are shallow or unreasonable including and especially the clergy...they are only being identified in the same way Jesus himself identified them in his day. In Matthew 23: He called them...(the religious leaders)... VIPERS. HYPOCRITES, BLIND GUIDES-'misleading people' because of their customs and traditions. In John 8: speaking to a small group of the Jews the account shows how Jesus did more than rebuke them for not accepting 'him' as the son of God, he used the strongest of language and in verse 44 of chapter 8 he told them:"You are from your father the DEVIL, and you wish to do the desires of your father" that truth was not in them and that they were not from the true God because they refused to listen to the truth (vs 47). Those today who also are unreasonable by denying not only God's Son but God-JEHOVAH himself by refusing to use glorify and honor his most holy name as sovereign of the entire universe...Ps 83:18, Don't you think the same can be said of them? (Using Jesus words above?)

It brings tears to my eyes to see my brothers and sisters standing up so zealously, and courageously for the name of the ONLY true God Jehovah. Acts 1:8

The reason we don't know how to pronounce God's name is that someone in their idea of correctness, decided not to use it contrary to what the Bible says. So, if we stopped using the name Joe, for example, and forbid the use of it, in 4-5 thousand years someone would come along, unearth it and realise, wow, we don't know how to say it. Doesn't mean it's wrong to use it. The Bible is clear that it is necessary for salvation to use it and to get to know our creator... I find it ironic that we are discouraged to say God's name or even to know it but we all know the first name of the Devil.