God: Encyclopedia II - God - Names of God

God - Names of God

The noun God is the proper English name used for the deity of monotheistic faiths. Different names for God exist within different religious traditions:

• Allah is the unique name of God used in Islam, and also by most non-Muslim Arabs. ilah, cognate to northwest Semitic El, 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".
• Yahweh Hebrew: 'YHVH' (יהוה), Elohim, and Jehovah are some of the names used for God in various translations of the Bible. Others include El Shaddai, Adonai, Amanuel, and Amen. When Moses asked "What is your name?" he was given the answer Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh.

• See The name of God in Judaism for Jewish names of God. (Note: when written or typed as a proper noun, some observant Jews will use the form "G-d" to prevent the written name of God from becoming desecrated later on, although this is usually not observed in books or other forms of writing where the Name is unlikely to be destroyed or desecrated. Some Jews consider this unnecessary because English is not the "Holy Language".)
• The Holy Trinity (meaning the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit/"Holy Ghost") denotes God in almost all mainstream Christianity.
• God is called Igzi'abihier (lit. "Lord of the Universe") in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
• Jah is the name of God in the Rastafari movement.
• 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).
• The Maasai name for "God" is Ngai, which occurs in the volcano name Ol Doinyo Lengai ("the mountain of God").
• The Mi'kmaq name for "God" is Niskam.
• Ishvara is the term used for God among the Hindus. In Sanskrit, it means the Supreme Lord. Most Hindus worship the personal form of God or Saguna Brahman, as Vishnu, Shiva, or directly as the Supreme Cosmic Spirit Brahman through the Gayatri mantra. A common prayer for Hindus is the Vishnu sahasranama, which is a hymn describing the one thousand names of God. Ishvara must not be confused with the numerous deities of the Hindus. In modern Hindi, Ishvara is also called Bhagavan.
• Buddhism is agnostic: When asked about a supreme God, Buddha remained silent on the subject. Buddha believed the more important issue was a way out of suffering. Enlightened beings are called Arhats or Buddha (e.g, the Buddha Sakyamuni), and are venerated. Bodhisattva is an enlightened being that has chosen to forego entering into nirvana until all beings are enlightened. Buddhism also teaches about the devas or heavenly beings who temporarily dwell in states of great happiness.
• 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 the name Akal (the Eternal) or Omkar (See Aum). Help of the gurus is 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).
• Ayyavazhi asserts Ekam, (The Ultimate Oneness) as supreme one and Ayya Vaikundar the Incarnation of Ekam. There are also several separate lesser gods who were all later unified into Vaikundar.

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" as what they consider a more respectful symbolic representation. They also will not speak the Hebrew representation written in the Torah, "yih-yah", aloud, and will instead use other names such as Adonai (my lord).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Names of God", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki