Why are the other names of God not used in Christianity?
score:4
A very long time ago, the Church decided that it was important for people to hear the gospel in their own language. That's at the core of why the New Testament was written in Greek and not in Hebrew. The earliest churches used the common languages of the day. The Roman Catholic church picked up Latin along the way and it's still their official language. For several reasons, the church didn't really keep up with the tradition and held on to the Latin mass well into the 20th century. Martin Luther picked up the tradition again by translating the Bible into German. He was then followed by several translators over the centuries who translated the Bible into their native languages. That tradition continues today with Bible translators who work to give small tribes Bibles in their own languages.
Translators try to be as accurate as possible but conveying the meaning takes priority over literal word for word translations so little nuances like that sometimes get lost. English speaking Christians sometimes use the different names of God in Hebrew and in English for worship and prayer. They're just not usually in the translation of the Bible we use.
Upvote:5
To be clear, Christians do use other names of God in some contexts.
Michael Card's song El Shaddai was wildly popular in the 80's, and is often credited with launching the career of Amy Grant.
I remember singing Jehovah Jireh, and dozens of other songs like that.
Kay Arthur has a popular study based on the names of God, directed especially at women.
That list came to mind in the first 30 seconds of thinking. There are many, many others.
As to why these aren't more popular? I'd suggest it's simply linguistic. People gravitate towards the familiar when addressing a person. Even if the Duke of Cambridge has 4 main names and 21 titles, they're still going to call him "Prince William" ninety nine times out of a hundred. It's the same with "God." Hebrew is hard to pronounce, has the appearance of being overly formal in the King James, and generally is more foreign to the culture of mainstream American evangelicalism than anything else. In spite of that, as shown above, we often incorporate it. As such, I think the question should actually be reversed - why use the Hebrew as much as we do?
More post
- 📝 Which are the sins that will not be forgiven in the age to come?
- 📝 According to Calvinism, is it possible to believe in predestination, yet reject Christ?
- 📝 Is Jehovah Jesus Christ?
- 📝 The lie of the Old Prophet
- 📝 Does the Eastern Orthodox Church consider belief in the existence of Jesus' soul before the incarnation a heresy?
- 📝 Which liturgical rites (forms of Mass) are presently used in the Roman Catholic Church?
- 📝 How does the Swedenborgian Church interpret Psalm 110:1 and Mark 15:34?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the use of extra-Biblical books in the study of Christ?
- 📝 Why was the gift of the Holy Ghost not operative during Christ's mortal ministry according to LDS doctrine?
- 📝 Did Jesus wear tefillin?
- 📝 How does scripture suggest "How Can I Love God More"?
- 📝 Did the religion of Christianity arise in AD70?
- 📝 Religious Offshoots of Christianity Ranked by Population
- 📝 How does God communicate to people today?
- 📝 What does it mean to say the Bible is the "Word of God" and how is it justified?
- 📝 What were the early Christians officially persecuted for?
- 📝 What does the LDS Church teach about infallibility?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about the soul?
- 📝 How did the Roman Punishment "cross" became a holy symbol to Christians?
- 📝 What are the fruits of the Spirit?
- 📝 Is the term 'word of God' in the New Testament equal in authority to the designation 'scripture'?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for speaking in tongues for deliverance and spiritual warfare?
- 📝 The calling and experience of Ministry
- 📝 What Did the "Geneva Reformers" Have Against Exodus 2:22?
- 📝 Protestants, why do some Christians suffer so much more than others?
- 📝 In what order would you recommend when reading the books of the minor prophets for better understanding?
- 📝 Did the Annunciation and Good Friday coincide?
- 📝 Did the Community of Christ denounce the Book of Mormon?
- 📝 Confessional Lutheranism: How does Unlimited Atonement work?
- 📝 What is the historical basis for the claim that there were hundreds of eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Why are the other names of God not used in Christianity?
- 📝 What are the different names of God in the Bible and what do they mean?
- 📝 Why does God command the Israelites not to boil a goat in its mother's milk?
- 📝 Did Paul write other letters that are not in the Bible?
- 📝 According to reformed theology, why are certain important doctrines not "obvious"? [i.e. why does the Westminister Confession even exist?]
- 📝 Why did God describe the light as being good, but not the darkness?
- 📝 If God doesn't tempt us, why does the Lord's Prayer petition Him to "lead us not into temptation"?
- 📝 Why does Jesus have to be fully God and fully man? Is it not sufficient to be the son of God and fully man?
- 📝 Why did God not want man to have the knowledge of good and evil?
- 📝 If we will have free will and be sinless in Heaven at the same time, then why did God not create a world with sinless free creatures to begin with?
- 📝 Why did Ezekiel say that God gave laws to the people that were not good?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about this question- Why do Jesus and God have two seats in heaven when they are the same God?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis that people who are attracted to the same sex were not created by God that way?
- 📝 Why are the same palms used on Palm Sunday used for Ash Wednesday services the next year?
- 📝 Why is God the Father referred to as "Eternal Father" in LDS writings when He is not believed to be eternal?
- 📝 Was there a reason why God sent Jonah to Nineveh and not some other city?
- 📝 Why are days like "Sunday" or "Monday" not mentioned in the Bible?
- 📝 What are the main reasons of EOC for why the Protoevangelium of James was not to be included in the canon?
- 📝 What are the traditional reasons ascribed to why God saw it fit that Jesus be born of a virgin?
- 📝 How can apologists argue that if Jesus did not rise again then Christianity and the Church would not have lasted, when other religions have?
- 📝 Why was the revelation that God has the Only Begotten Son not given in the Old Testament?
- 📝 Are there theological explanations for why God chose the Church to preach the gospel instead of more effective and efficient alternatives?
- 📝 Why do Jehovah's Witnesses believe that angels are doing the talking between God and mankind?
- 📝 What Scriptures are used to justify the belief that Christians of Denominations other than a specific one will be rejected by God?
- 📝 Why is the name Jehovah not used more in the Book of Mormon?
- 📝 In light of the list found in Isaiah 11:1-3, why are there seven gifts of Holy Spirit and not six?
- 📝 How do Latter-day Saints answer the question of why human beings are not created with a perfect character from the outset?
- 📝 Why are many Christians antagonistic towards the idea that God has a form?
- 📝 Are there any authors that who believe Eph. 4:11 is not describing titles but general characteristics of how God created the church to work together?
- 📝 Did the authors of the Westminster Confession of Faith ever explain why they thought God could not be the author of sin?