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Is the word God a name or a title? - 11/5/2008 7:24:44 PM
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JefferyT
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Is the word God a name or a title?
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RE: Is the word God a name or a title? - 11/5/2008 10:48:57 PM
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MrFribbles
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It is a title, but the kind of title that almost becomes a name. Like we will soon be calling Mr. Obama, Mr. President. His name isn't President, but it will be his title, and will almost become another name for him. Does that make sense?
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RE: Is the word God a name or a title? - 11/6/2008 11:46:30 AM
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GHitch
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First, it's a person - Christ "The Word was God"
Then it's a name - "his name is called the Word of God"
And it's also a title
Christians also use the phrase to mean the bible or written word and some apply it to any specific thing God speaks or has spoken
Iow, the Word of God is living and Christ fulfills every aspect of that living Word.
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RE: Is the word God a name or a title? - 11/6/2008 12:46:54 PM
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Bluethread
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Let's not go running off in a hundred directions based on connotations. This is the opposite of defining a term or clarifying it's usage. Until the OP gives us clearer direction, let's answer in kind. Simple question, simple answer.
OP are you asking about the english word g-o-d or the various terms that have been translated into tha tword.
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RE: Is the word God a name or a title? - 11/6/2008 2:47:46 PM
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figmentPez
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quote:
ORIGINAL: JefferyT
Is the word God a name or a title?
It is a title, I guess, technically. Since it is what God is, by virtue of who He is. Humans receive titles by virtue of "office, rank, hereditary privilege, noble birth, or attainment or used as a mark of respect" to quote the American Heritage Dictionary. God certainly has many of those reasons to be called God. However, we wouldn't consider "human" to be a title. I say this because, in some ways, God also serves to tell us what God is, not just what His position is.
As for God's name, He gave it to Moses in Exodus 3.
Exodus3:14-15
14God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
15God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you ' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.
The word LORD here stands in for God's name in Hebrew (most Bibles use this convention). The Hebrew can be roughly represented as YHWH, often called the tetragrammaton (literally: four letters). These letters can be pronounced in many ways, the most common is, currently, Yahweh. The name means something along the lines of "HE IS", "The existent one" or "the Living One". Which makes sense. God says of Himself that "I AM", so we say of Him that HE IS.
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Read Daniel 7:13-14
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RE: Is the word God a name or a title? - 11/19/2008 2:52:49 PM
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blue1914
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It is neither - it is a woefully inadequate human reference to something far above our comprehension and understanding. It's like calling the "universe" the "universe". The word itself encompasses so much that it is beyond understanding if we attempt to describe it-the billions upon billions of stars, the billions of miles of open space, the many planets. etc. etc. Long and short, since we can't really describe it adequately (mainly because we do not understand it fully ourselves) we call it "the universe" as a "catch all" which has meaning to us (as humans) but is less than adequate to describe the expansiveness of the region-see what I'm saying?
A title is adequately descriptive - as in "Mr." to denote a man, etc. A name is a "label" of forms to describe something finite we can tangibly know the depth and breadth of-James can describe a person who might stand in front of you, etc. GOD on the other hand is so far above human comprehension and understanding that a "name" or a "title" is far from adequate to describe him-just like the universe example above.
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RE: Is the word God a name or a title? - 11/19/2008 5:03:45 PM
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BookerG
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It is both a name and a word telling us what he is. A name is a label or title to distinguish one of many. When there is only one of something, then it needs no name beyond saying what it is. If there was only one dog in the whole world, I wouldn't have to name it Fido. "Dog" is all it needs. When there was only one human being, God just called him Adam, which is simply the word man in Hebrew. It's only after Eve was created that the concept of names was necessary to tell us apart. There is only one God. All false "gods" have no claim on this label, name, title, description, whatever you want to call it.
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RE: Is the word God a name or a title? - 11/19/2008 10:16:43 PM
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cog41
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Uhhm?
Both? I'll go with both.
"I will be their god and they shall be my people"
"He is the image of the invisible God"
"He is the word God"
"the word was with God,the Word was God and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us"
Yes, I will go with both.
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RE: Is the word God a name or a title? - 11/20/2008 2:01:31 AM
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Bluethread
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BookerG
It is both a name and a word telling us what he is. A name is a label or title to distinguish one of many. When there is only one of something, then it needs no name beyond saying what it is. If there was only one dog in the whole world, I wouldn't have to name it Fido. "Dog" is all it needs. When there was only one human being, God just called him Adam, which is simply the word man in Hebrew. It's only after Eve was created that the concept of names was necessary to tell us apart. There is only one God. All false "gods" have no claim on this label, name, title, description, whatever you want to call it.
This is not quite correct, in my opinion. Adam in hebrew is a word similar to the hebrew word of ground (adamah). I do not believe he was called Adam because he was the first "man", but because he was formed from dirt. The term Adam has come to be used for what we would translate as "man" in english, because we see him as exemplifying all men. The term woman(ishshah) is a derivation of the term ish which is also translated man.
As has been pointed out to me, we need to be careful when we draw conclusions regarding hebrew terms. I myself will no doubt be corrected for not getting this quite right. My point is, from what I have seen, most biblical names and titles are not just ways of telling one person from another and it does matter what we call it. Unlike the language we speak in the USA, whatever that is, biblical references have derived meanings. One did not take a bunch of random letters and call their child that because it sounded good. A name was a thing of value, it embodied who one was.
This is why I believe the word g-o-d is not the Creators name or His title. In fact, I do not believe any arrangement of letters or sounds can really be considered His name or title. He does answer the question, "What is your name?" more than once in the Scriptures, but the answer is not always the same. I believe this is because He is answering the question based on that part of His character that is most significant at the time. Therefore, I believe when He says to not take His name in vain, He is speaking of His person or character. I conclusion, any arrangement of letters or sounds one uses to refer to Him should only be used when one hopes to hear a thunderous response.
I would leave the defining of the term g-o-d to anglo/saxon linguists, since its use in the various translations is so inconsistant.
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RE: Is the word God a name or a title? - 11/21/2008 3:47:28 PM
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Lapidoth
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quote:
Exodus3:14-15
14God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
EHYEH, ASHER, EHYEH ------ I AM WHO I AM
EHYEH ------------------------- I AM
This would be a "characteristic" imo.
God "is".
But the word God, is dealt in English by "context."
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RE: Is the word God a name or a title? - 11/22/2008 4:07:58 PM
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Bluethread
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Lapidoth
quote:
Exodus3:14-15
14God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
EHYEH, ASHER, EHYEH ------ I AM WHO I AM
EHYEH ------------------------- I AM
This would be a "characteristic" imo.
God "is".
But the word God, is dealt in English by "context."
I agree this is just one of many places where Adonai gives someone a word to use because they insist on "a name". In each of these cases Adonai appears to give a different "name". God appears to be an english catch all word that is also used to refer to pagan deities.
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"Show me wherein I have errored and I will hold my tongue." Iyov(Job)
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