John Burgeson wrote:
.............................................
> When I teach Stephen Ministry classes there is a poster I display and often
> refer
> to which speaks to this. It reads:
>
> "God" is not God's name.
> It is the marks and noise we humans make to refer to the great mystery
> that lies beyond -- and within.
....................................
Yes, "God" is simply a generic term & the "God" of the Pledge of
Allegiance, e.g., is really the "unknown God" of Acts 17. "Believing in God"
and 75c will get you a cup of coffee.
However, the Christian claim is that God is not just "the
great mystery"
insofar as God has revealed Godself in the history of Israel which
culminates in
Jesus. Part of that revelation is a name - YHWH and eventually
"Father, Son and
Holy Spirit." These are not simply "marks and noises we humans make" but God's
self-identification (via, of course, human language). The point of course is
not that there is any magic in these letters or sounds but that our
knowledge of
God, partial though it certainly is, can be based on God's revelation
of who God
is.
Shalom,
George
George L. Murphy
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
"The Science-Theology Interface"
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