I don't ask the above question because I am mocking religions, but because if God had a name wouldn't it be cool to call Him that? The Jehovah Witnesses believe God's name is Jehovah. He is Jehovah God - God Almighty.
My favorite part of my Bible studies with Bonnie are what isn't "scripted." We often deviate from the writings to delve further into the beliefs of the faith. Today was no exception. Since Bonnie started studying with me, I have been very interested in why most Christian faiths don't believe God has a name, when it clearly mentions it in the old Hebrew texts, and in many Bibles from the early 1900s. Our New Jerusalem Bible has Yahweh in the place of Jehovah. In no way am I suggesting that the Jehovah Witnesses have all the correct answers, rather why not call God, Jehovah?
Where does Jehovah originate? The Hebrew tetragrammaton is YHWH.
The Witness readings explain the two main reasons that contemporary Bibles replace the over *7,000 YHWH names with God, Lord, or Eternal.
The first reason is that the original name isn't known because Hebrew didn't have vowels. Some have interpreted the YHWH to be Yahweh and others Yehovah. But should it matter the exact name? Or is it more important to create a friendship with God? I personally think the later. And we use Jesus (note the vowels), which could have been Yeshua, Joshua, or Yehoshua. So if we use Jesus, why not use his fathers name, Jehovah?
The other reason is that a long standing of the Jews believes God's name should never be pronounced. The Witnesses believe that the Jews misinterpret the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:7 (NIV) - You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
The Messenger translation has a bit different interpretation of Exodus 20:7 - No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won't put up with the irreverent use of his name.
Therefore, the Jews don't say his name (i.e. Jehovah) for fear God Almighty will find them guilty.
When I was growing up I took a Catechism class that didn't prove well for me. I was kicked out a couple times, and I was shamed into writing apologies and returning to the beliefs that didn't feel right to me. One of the questions I had back then was, why do we call God, God? I was told that because there are no other Gods, his is THE GOD.
Jehovah God (God Almighty) never said, "I am the ONLY God." He said, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me." So who are these other gods? The Witnesses say the Satan is a god - a demonic god. He has powers, but God Almighty (Jehovah God) is the most powerful of all.
Bonnie brought Wendy today. She is the sister of Lori, the woman that gave me the bookmark from Italy a couple weeks ago. The women I have met have been so pleasant and warm. Wendy was funny, and she had a great sense of humor.
We also spoke of the Lord's Prayer. The Witnesses look at this prayer as a "model prayer," rather than something to just recite. Wendy asked me, "Do you know what 'hallowed' means?" I said it means "sacred." I know this because when I was in Catechism I had to discypher the Lords Prayer line by line. Not the most fun I've ever had. The Witnesses don't state this prayer, but they use it as a model for all the prayers they say to Jehovah. The verses before the prayer as as follows:
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you pray do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
Bonnie also brought further reading on Jehovah's name - a pamphlet called, "The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever." I am looking forward to reading and learning more.
*Bonnie has a neighbor that counted the amount of Jehovah's in her Bible. Yes, it took a long time, but there were definitely more than 7,000. This neighbor of hers sounds like a Michelle kind of person - very anal!
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