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Different
Names of God
Different names for God exist within different
religious traditions:
Abba is a name given to the Christian God. The name is used rarely and is
Aramaic for "daddy", an allusion to "God the Father".[5]
Allah is the Arabic name of God, which is used by Arab Muslims and also by most
non-Muslim Arabs. ilah, cognate to northwest Semitic El (Hebrew "El" or more
specifically "Eloha", Aramaic "Eloi"), is the generic word for a god (any
deity), Allah contains the article, literally "The God". Also, when speaking in
English, Muslims often translate "Allah" as "God". One Islamic tradition states
that Allah has 99 names while others say that all good names belong to Allah.
Similarly, in the Aramaic of Jesus, the word Alaha is used for the name of God.
Yahweh, Jehovah (Hebrew: 'Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay', יה-וה ) are some of the names used
for God in various translations of the Bible (all translating the same four
letters - YHVH). El, and the plural/capital form Elohim, is another term used
frequently, though El can also simply mean god in reference to deities of other
religions. Others include El Shaddai, Adonai, Emmanuel. When Moses asked "What
is your name?" he was given the answer Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, which literally means,
"I am that I am," as a parallel to the Tetragrammaton Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay. See The
name of God in Judaism for Jewish names of God. Most Orthodox Jews, and many
Jews of other denominations, believe it wrong to write the word "God" on any
substance which can be destroyed. Therefore, they will write "G-d" or "Gd" as
what they consider a more respectful symbolic representation. Others consider
this unnecessary because English is not the "Holy Language" (i.e. Hebrew), but
still will not speak the Hebrew representation written in the Torah, "Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay",
aloud, and will instead use other names such as "Adonai" ("my Lord", used in
prayer, blessings and other religious rituals) or the euphemism "Hashem"
(literally "The Name", used at all other times). Another name especially used by
ultra-Orthodox Jews is "HaKadosh Baruch Hu", meaning "The Holy One, Blessed is
He".
YHWH, the name of God or Tetragrammaton, in Phoenician (1100 BC to AD 300),
Aramaic (10th Century BC to 0) and modern Hebrew scripts.In early English
Bibles, the Tetragrammaton was rendered in capitals: "IEHOUAH" in William
Tyndale's version of 1525. The King James Version of 1611 renders YHWH as "The
Lord", also as "Jehovah", see Psalms 83:18; Exodus 6:3.
Research in comparative mythology shows a linguistic correlation between
Levantine Yaw and monotheistic Yahweh, suggesting that the god may in some
manner be the predecessor in the sense of an evolving religion of Yahweh.
Elohim as "God" (with the plural suffix -im, but used with singular agreement);
sometimes used to mean "gods" or apparently mortal judges.
The Holy Trinity (one God in three Persons, the God the Father, the God the Son
(Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit) denotes God in almost all
Christianity. Arab Christians will often also use "Allah" (the noun for "God" in
Arabic) to refer to God.[citation needed]
Deus, cognate of the Greek θέος (theos, '(male) deity') is the Latin word for
God, and will be used in Latin portions of Roman Catholic masses. [1]
God is called Igzi'abihier (lit. "Lord of the Universe") or Amlak (lit. the
plural of mlk, "king" or "lord") in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Jah is the name of God in the Rastafari movement, referring specifically to
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia.
The Maasai name for "God" is Ngai, (also spelled:'Ngai, En-kai, Enkai, Engai,
Eng-ai) which occurs in the volcano name Ol Doinyo Lengai ("the mountain of
God").
The Mi'kmaq name for "God" is Niskam.
Some churches (United Church of Canada, Religious Science) are using "the One"
alongside "God" as a more gender-neutral way of referring to God (See also
Oneness).
Bhagavan - "The Opulent One", Brahman -"The Great", Paramatma - "The Supersoul"
and Ishvara- "The Controller", are the terms used for God in the Vedas. A number
of Hindu traditions worship a personal form of God or Ishvara, such as Vishnu or
Shiva, whereas others worship a non-personal Supreme Cosmic Spirit, known as
Brahman. The Vaishnava schools consider Vishnu or Krishna as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and within this tradition is the Vishnu sahasranama,
which is a hymn describing the one thousand names of God (Vishnu). Shaivites
consider Shiva as the Supreme God in similar way to the followers of Vaishnavism.
The Supreme Ishvara of Hinduism must not be confused with the numerous deities
or demigods which are collectively known as devas.
Baquan is a phonetical pronunciation for God in several Pacific Islander
religions.
Buddhism is non-theistic (see God in Buddhism): instead of extolling an
anthropomorphic creator God, Gautama Buddha employed negative theology to avoid
speculation and keep the undefined as ineffable [citation needed]. Buddha
believed the more important issue was to bring beings out of suffering to
liberation. Enlightened ones are called Arhats or Buddha (e.g, the Buddha
Sakyamuni), and are venerated. A bodhisattva is an altruistic being who has
vowed to attain Buddhahood in order to help others to become Awakened ("Buddha")
too. Buddhism also teaches of the existence of the devas or heavenly beings who
temporarily dwell in celestial states of great happiness but are not yet free
from the cycle of reincarnations (samsara). Some Mahayana and Tantra Buddhist
scriptures do express ideas which are extremely close to pantheism, with a
cosmic Buddha (Adibuddha) being viewed as the sustaining Ground of all being -
although this is very much a minority vision within Buddhism.
Jains invoke the five paramethis: Siddha, Arahant, Acharya, Upadhyaya, Sadhu.
The arhantas include the 24 Tirthankaras from Lord Rishabha to Mahavira. But
Jain philosophy as such does not recognize any Supreme Omnipotent creator God.
Sikhs worship God with these common names Waheguru Wondrous God, Satnaam (True
is Your Name), Akal (the Eternal) or Onkar (some similarity to the Hindu Aum).
They believe that when reciting these names, devotion, dedication and a genuine
appreciation and acceptance of the Almighty and the blessings thereof (as
opposed to mechanical recitation) is essential if one is to gain anything by the
meditation. The assistance of the guru is also believed to be essential to reach
God.
In Surat Shabda Yoga, names used for God include Anami Purush (nameless power)
and Radha Swami (lord of the soul, symbolized as Radha).
The Bahá'í Faith refers to God using the local word for God in whatever language
is being spoken. In the Bahá'í Writings in Arabic, Allah is used. Bahá'ís share
some naming traditions with Islam, but see "Bahá" (Glory or Splendour) as The
Greatest Name of God. God's names are seen as attributes, and God is often, in
prayers, referred to by these titles and attributes.
The Shona people of Zimbabwe refer to God primarily as Mwari. They also use
names such as Nyadenga in reference to his presumed residence in the 'heveans',
or Musikavanhu, literally "the Creator".
Zoroastrians worship Ahura Mazda.
To many Native American religions, God is called "The Great Spirit", "The Master
of Life", "The Master of Breath", or "Grandfather". For example, in the
Algonquian first nations culture, Gitche Manitou or "Great Spirit" was the name
adopted by French missionaries for the Christian God. Other similar names may
also be used.
Followers of Eckankar refer to God as SUGMAD or HU; the latter name is
pronounced as a spiritual practice.
In Chinese, the name Shang Ti 上帝 (Hanyu Pinyin: shŕng dě) (literally King
Above), is the name given for God in the Standard Mandarin Union Version of the
Bible. Shen 神 (lit. spirit, or deity) was also adopted by Protestant
missionaries in China to refer to the Christian God.
Principle, Mind, Soul, Life, Truth, Love, and Spirit are names for God in
Christian Science.[6] These names are considered synonymous and indicative of
God's wholeness.
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