Wednesday, October 9, 2019

I am


The Name of the most High




I think one of the main reasons for atheism in the western world at this time has to do with God’s name.

In my opinion, the word, “God,” is too hard, too short, and too butch.  

Americans bitch and moan at the guttural sounds of the Germanic languages, claim everyone sounds like they’re coughing up phlegm when they’re saying even the most tender of endearments like, “I love you!” “(Ich liebe dich,” (German), “ Ik hou van jou,” (Dutch). or “Jag älskar dig,” (Swedish). I agree. All those uvulars and pharyngeals should be saved for swearing, not for serenading.

And yet, we’ve reduced Infinite Spirit, Supreme Being, the Big Guy in the sky to Gott, God, Gud, have made the tone of His name sound like an ice-cold fist in the face when He’s invoked.

Brahman.

 Don’t you just love what your lips do when calling up the ultimate of Hindu gods? A two-syllable sigh filled with soft ‘ah’s, curvy and seductive B’s and M's.  

Allah.

Notice how the name opens your throat, softens your tongue, and quiets your mind.

Even the Hebrew name of God, “Yahweh,” or, “Elohim,” correctly pronounced, leads you through cool pastures and quickens your soul when you utter it.

But, “God?” A little too close to “Claude” to get me feeling religious when I say it in prayer.

And the romantic big three: “Dieu,” “Dio,” “Dios.” So much more romantic than God, even when you’re using His name in vain, which the French, Italian, and Spanish often do. Still, if I were the Almighty, I’d find it a lot easier to forgive them than their Northern cousins when they say it. Wouldn’t you?

Actually, I think the best way to invoke the Infinite Spirit is by heeding the sound of your breath, saying nothing at all. This is probably why the early Hebrews were forbidden to utter His name; not out of fear of getting a cold fist in their faces, but because they instinctively knew that giving Him a name would reduce what He is to something He is not.

My favorite name for the Divine Don, comes from the Bible, in the book of Exodus:

“And Moses said to the Almighty One, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The Creator of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

The most Holy of Holies said to Moses, 
I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.'"

I am.

Sounds nice in any language, right?

Except for German, Dutch, and Swedish.
"I am what I am and that's all that I am, I'm Popeye the sailor man!"



(Who'd have ever thought he knew it?)

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