[GCFL-discuss] 'When I grow up'

[Discussion of the Good, Clean Funnies List]

Hi Lance, 

greenBubble already replied to this, but I have a couple of points to
add. The original meaning of "Taking the Lord's name in vain" was, very
simply, the act of uttering the Name of the deity except when explicitly
allowed by religious law for an approved reason. (As greenBubble said, in
Jewish tradition this meant only by the High Priest, and then only on
authorized occasions within the Temple). Pagan cultures believed that if
the "secret name" of their patron god were discovered by an enemy, that
enemy could defeat them in battle. The letters JHWH, also known as the
Tetragrammaton (Greek for "four letters") was a way of referring to the
name by consonants without divulging exactly what it is. The names Yaweh
and Jehovah are variants on the same set of consonants. El or Elohim
translate more generally as "G-d" or as gods (in the plural pagan sense).
The world elohim, plural, means man gods. Used with a singular
conjugation, this plural word mean THE G-d, who possesses ALL the
attributes pagans gave to one or another of their gods. That is the
little I know, there is a lot more to it. 

Siarlys

On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 20:22:42 GMT "Discussion of the Good, Clean Funnies
List" <gcfl-discuss at gcfl.net> writes:
> GreenBubble,
> 
> How old is this tradition?
> 
> I've heard the word Jehovah was created through of this tradition. 
> Peices from Yahweh and another one of His sacred names. Took out all 
> the vowels of these two words and created J*****h. I understand you 
> don't think us typing these names online are breaking your 
> tradition, and I don't mean to impose on your tradition, but it's 
> the only way I know how to ask the question.
> 
> Thanks GreenBubble,
> In Y*hw*h we trust,
> Lance
> All the people, lemme hear you give a holler:
> IN GOD WE TRUST! IN GOD WE TRUST!
> We stamp it on our penny, nickel, dime, quarter, dollar.
> IN GOD WE TRUST! IN GOD WE TRUST!
> -- "Indivisible" by Pillar
> 
> -- "Discussion of the Good, Clean Funnies List" 
> <gcfl-discuss at gcfl.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> Carla
> 
> I appreciate your sensitivity and consideration.  I'm touched.
> 
> One of the things that I have come to like about this discussion 
> group,
> which may have been lacking at one point, is the ability to discuss 
> opposing
> viewpoints while respecting each other's right to his/her 
> viewpoint.
> 
> Here is what I wrote when we first discussed this a while back.
>         We (Orthodox Jews) treat His Name as holy, and must avoid 
> profaning
> it or destroying it. When holy books, such as Bibles, prayer books, 
> etc, get
> worn out, they have to be buried. 
>         It does not matter what language it is in. 
>         To utter G-d's Name in an unclean place (I.e., a bathroom) 
> or to
> write it on a paper which will be discarded would violate this law. 
> 
>         I keep a small prayer book in my pocket. When I enter a 
> bathroom, I
> remove it. 
>         To avoid inadvertently violating this, we never say or write 
> the
> Name in informal conversation or writings. 
>         Writing it on a computer screen probably does not violate 
> the law,
> but habits are habits.
> 
> That said, I neither require nor expect any of you to comply with 
> this rule.
> 
> greenBubble
> 
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