why do christians call God "God" and not Jehovah,is there a valid reason for them not other than ignorance
2006-12-02 01:56:32 · 38 answers · asked by gasp 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
They don't realize that it's in their own Bible and if they read the beginning of the King James version, there is an explanation that it has been replaced with the word LORD.
2006-12-02 02:00:27 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
We refrain from calling Him Jehovah because someone might think we were Jehovah's Witnesses and we sure don't want that. God knows we are talking to Him when we call him God. Jehovah's Witnesses have hijacked God's name and linked it to a belief that is anything but what He had in mind, for this reason many Christian groups do not use the name Jehovah very often.
2006-12-02 02:02:59 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
The Hebrew for "Jehovah" occurs nearly 7000 times in the bible.
The three main reasons for refusing to use the personal divine name of the Almighty (otherwise known as "antiYHWHism") are:
1. Superstition
2. YHWH threatens trinitarian philosophy
3. Hatred of Jehovah's Witnesses
The name "Jehovah" is an English translation of the Hebrew name pronounced as or similar to "Yahweh" or "Yehowah"; the exact original pronunciation is unknown. The four Hebrew characters corresponding to the letters "YHWH" are well-recognized as the biblical personal name of Almighty God, and are universally designated as "the Tetragrammaton" or "the Tetragram".
For centuries, most Jews have superstitiously refrained from pronouncing aloud any form of the divine Name. They base that superstition on the third of the Ten Commandments given to Moses:
(Exodus 20:7) You must not take up the name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way
http://watchtower.org/e/bible/ex/chapter_020.htm?bk=Ex;chp=20;vs=7;citation#bk7
Over the centuries, that Jewish superstition has expanded to also forbid writing or engraving any form of "YHWH", even when simply copying from one of the nearly 7000 occurrences in the Hebrew Scriptures. In recent centuries, some superstitious Jews have even forbade unabbreviated EUPHEMISMS for "YHWH"; capitalized terms such as "Tetragrammaton" and (amazingly) even "the Name" are forbidden by such superstitions.
More recently, the Jewish superstition has ballooned out of all reasonableness by also forbidding respectful impersonal TERMS referring to the Almighty; thus many Jews insist upon writing "G-d" or "G~d" rather than "God". They may even refrain from capitalizing impersonal terms such as "Creator" and "Almighty".
Naturally, the religious and superstitious practices of a person are between him and his Creator. However, in recent decades these superstitious Jews have worked to impose their superstitious sensibilities beyond their religious communities, and onto the entire populace. Thus, although "YHWH' is unanimously recognized as the personal name of God, few today use any form of it in their writings and conversation.
Interestingly, Christendom has largely joined with superstitious Jews in suppressing the use of "Yahweh" and "Jehovah". However, it seems that Christendom's anti-YHWH bias largely devolves from their hatred of Jehovah's Witnesses, the religion almost single-handedly responsible for the growing public recognition that the Almighty God of Judaism and Christianity actually does a personal name.
It seems that too many are more interested in coddling superstition than in allowing intellectual honesty and respect for the Almighty.
Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/na/
http://watchtower.org/e/20040122/
2006-12-02 09:41:48 · answer #3 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
God is an office. Jehovah is a common name. There are 10 compound names of Jehovah in the old testament. Maybe a hundred "nicknames".
We speak the name in reverence. The Jewish never even speak or write God, they use G_d sometimes.
We fear Jehovah, as in reverence, yes; but we love him more than fear him, because He is good.
2006-12-02 02:04:55 · answer #4 · answered by Jay Z 6 · 5⤊ 1⤋
He has other names besides Jehovah and we call Him other things all the time, but why should it matter. Does He really care whether we call Him God, Jehovah, Yaweh, whatever? There is only one God so why should we have to worry about saying that name specifically.
2006-12-02 02:04:45 · answer #5 · answered by myguitarisnamedjamie 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Do some research, and you will find, as I did, that the name Jehovah is from the middle ages, and of Germanic origin, if I remember correctly. It comes from YHWH which was later given vowels to try to pronounce it as a human word, and the y was changed to a j later on.
2006-12-02 02:03:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
gsap I assume you are a Jehovah whiteness. What if I could show you that your organization has lied to you for years. If I had proof, verbal proof that they mistranslated Greek from a man that they them self's clam to translate from, and much more. would you take a look at it and not assume I am of Satan because you are told I am. I would love to show you the love i found in Jesus
The name of God does not matter if your praying to a false god made by men.
Do what Jesus tells you to do be a fruit tester....
Matthew 7:16
Ye shall know them by their fruits. do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles.
You don't need the organization to tell you what the bible means all you need is Jesus. email me and I would be happy to show you what I have been shown.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father, but by me.
Read that over and over you are allowed to read the bible without the watch towers help. Read Brother.
2006-12-02 02:24:18 · answer #7 · answered by Michael P 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Some Christians do call God "Jehovah", I remember Jehovah Jireh my provider as a song at church.
If your dad's name is Jason you do not usually call your dad Jason, but you call him dad - or pa or whatever, the word dad represents Jason's relationship with you, in the same way a christian may call "Jehovah" God.
As far as ignorance is concerned, the name Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew tetragrammaton usually transilterated into our alphabet as YHVH and more probably pronounced as Yahweh. In any case God knows who we are talking to.
YHVH in ancient Hebrew sounds like "I am"
In response to your question, why do Jehovah's witnesses call Jesus Christ merely the head of the church and not the Son of God?
Jesus in Hebrew is Yeshua, spelled Y SH V H the word means Salvation
2006-12-02 02:21:09 · answer #8 · answered by angle_of_deat_69 5 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Christians use the name Jehovah. It is in our Bibles. "God" is a title, not a name. Do you know how the name "Jehovah" was derived? It is from the tetragrammaton, "YHWH" and is also pronounced Yahweh.
2006-12-02 02:03:24 · answer #9 · answered by Captain America 5 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Its just their opinion and how they were raised. Everyone was raised with different beliefs. Whether whos wrong or right is irrelavent. Im pretty sure that God, Jahovah, Lord, Jesus, Buddah, whatever you believe in, would not like to have a war based on him. From what I have read and studied for years, they are good and dont like evil anyway. Arguing over whos right isnt right at all. Think about it, if you were born to a different family, or even country, you wouldnt believe what you believe in but in something else. You would think that your religion was ignorant. Im not saying that you should change your religion but just respect others. God has many names. Judging is also a sin. keep an open mind and keep your religion close to your heart.
2006-12-02 02:03:03 · answer #10 · answered by kellieghr 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Jehovah is just an English translation of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton, YHWH.
Why should it scare anyone?
2006-12-02 02:00:25 · answer #11 · answered by THE NEXT LEVEL 5 · 7⤊ 0⤋