I received a delightful reply to a previous post. And I will try to respond to it here:
1. The fact that the Jews use(d) the name Adonai in place of the tetragrammaton seems to illustrate the very problem that I'm concerned about: Calling God Adonai is not sufficient. As I understand it, Adonai could and was used in reference to many different entities. Since it simply means "lord," it simply recognizes the other as superior. Using this in reference to YHWH fails to credit God with his infinitude or his holiness or any of his other attributes that place him so far beyond our grasp that we had no chance of contacting him until he took the initiative.
Most of our society has reduced the concept of God to such a common level that we no longer see him in his majesty. We celebrate the birth of Jesus. But we tend to miss the point: That the infinite, transcendent God of the universe humbled himself to come in human form.
2. I grant that there is value in revering the name of God. I wish I could find a term that does not literally translate the tetragrammaton and yet conveys God's transcendence. Do you have a suggestion for another term that would meet both criteria?
3. It's quite alright for you to suggest that I am advocating a break with tradition. I learned that from my father and he from his mother. And there have been enough people in the Christian movement who have also broken with tradition. I am not interested in breaking with tradition simply to do something new or different. But when a given tradition--in this case using only the word LORD to refer to God--loses its significance, perhaps it is time to consider a break. And when--and I think such a time has come--when a tradition actually contributes to the demeaning of the transcendence of God, then it seems it might be time to seriously try such a break.
4. I respect your views. I hope you know that by my attempt at an orderly response, I am paying you one of the highest compliments I can give you: You and your thoughts are worthy of my consideration and further discussion. "Iron sharpens iron."
In Christ,
ef
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Ich entschuldige mich, es gibt den Vorschlag, nach anderem Weg zu gehen. viagra ohne rezept bestellen cialis generika 5mg [url=http//t7-isis.org]viagra f?r die frau bestellen[/url]
Que no malo topic http://nuevascarreras.com/comprar-cialis-es/ cialis 5 mg pvp Penso che fare errori. Scrivere a me in PM, parlare. [url=http://nuevascarreras.com/tag/cialis-generico/ ]cialis generico [/url]
Que mensaje encantador [url=http://csalamanca.com/category/viagra/ ]comprar viagra en andorra [/url] no estГЎ claro http://csalamanca.com/ viagra spain
Post a Comment