by Tyler_Durden 9 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come" Matt 6:9,10 (KJV)
Question time: is it possible to be a 'true' Christian and not use God's name
I'm an ex-Dub but I still believe serious bible study means you gotta name check Jehovah/Yahweh.
What do others think? Is God's name really that important? Is it as important as the name Jesus? Or has man (and the Dubs) turned it into something it's not???
Tyler
Hallowed?? Hallowed?? be thy name?
I always thought it was "Our Father who art in heaven HAROLD be thy name....
You mean I've been praying to Harold all these years?...sheeshhh no wonder he don't answer!
DOH.
To me, The name is not that important as I was taught as a witness. My kids call me daddy, not by name. I call my dad, dad. I almost feel closer to God when I call him Father. Now if I knew for sure that he heard my prayers... Well thats another post.
I think the first question that would pop into my mind is, If using the name Jehovah/Yahweh is so important, why didn't Jesus use it when he gave the Lord's prayer? Here he is, giving us the very model of what a correct prayer should be, and he doesn't use the all-important name of God to address the prayer?
I think there's a very good reason why the name Jehovah/Yahweh does not appear in the New Testament: Jesus Christ was Emmanuel, "God with us". Because of what He did, it was His name that was now all-important. The scriptures bear this out:
Acts 4:12
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Edited by - NeonMadman on 4 January 2003 9:58:30
First of all ......NOBODY has a clue how it is pronounced correctly. It's a guess. Why would God demand his name to be proclaimed and held in high regard ....when he doesn't tell us how it is properly pronounced.The witnesses admit the proper way is yahweh......yet choose Jehovah.......why don't they use the "proper one"
Hallowed or holy reverence to his name is a bunch of crap anyway. His "name" stood for a lesser diety to people before god's chosen people. They too worshipped Jehovah. The first century gnostic Jews despised Jehovah as a cruel god who made the wicked carnal world. and killed people........where "Jesus" would come as the true God and deliver mortal man.
Why would I hallow an ancient Pagan diety that the jews adopted and made him to be Almighty God? ( Yes....these words shock many.....but you can see for yourself by checking it out a little )
I think you'd want to use the scriptures as a guide, Tyler. Particularly those scriptures that set the example by quoting Jesus. How often do you see him using the tetragrammaton?
Have you ever spoken to someone who used your name over and over again. Tyler how are you doing today, Tyler? Tyler, I have to tell you a funny story tyler. Tyler, you won't believe Tyler what happened the other day, Tyler. Tyler, I was on the street, and Tyler, would you believe what I saw there Tyler? I think people should think about why God told us what his many names were. The same reason that you tell people your name. So that they may know who you are, not so that they can annoy the crap out of you using it over and over and over. Also, how sad he must be to note how people can fight and argue over something so trivial.
Have you ever spoken to someone who used your name over and over again. Tyler how are you doing today, Tyler? Tyler, I have to tell you a funny story tyler. Tyler, you won't believe Tyler what happened the other day, Tyler. Tyler, I was on the street, and Tyler, would you believe what I saw there Tyler?
Sounds like many of the prayers I used to hear at the Kingdom Hall. They'd use "Jehovah" a minimum of 3 times in a sentence.
Hallowed be thy name
I believe this means more than what we think of as a mere 'name'. To me this means 'total respect to who YOU are'. (IMHO)
Jesus never used it. Whatever he may have meant when he said "hallowed be thy name" he clearly didn't mean that the name "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" should be used
