Slimboyfat: "How come the people who insist the pronunciation of the divine name is a deal breaker don’t say the same about Jesus, whose pronunciation in the first century clearly does not match?"
We've all heard this rebuttal before. Then don't say "Jesus"...that simple. You can use the terms Savior, Lord, Eternal Father, Great Teacher, Christ, Messiah, Anointed One or The Word. Everyone on earth will know you're talking about the Dude who layed down his life for mankind...not to mention all these expressions of endearment are acceptable to him & he welcomes them.
It's waaay different when addressing the greatest personality in the Universe, Almighty God...and being on a 1st name basis with him. Firstly...you better damn well have it spelled correctly & pronounced properly. When the Jews were offering sacrifices to God back in the day...they had to be on their toes...their being imperfect was no excuse if they presented a defective animal...notice the stern wording of Malachi 1:6-8:
"(6)A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.
“It is you priests who show contempt for my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’ (7) “By offering defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ “By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. (8) When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty."
It's no different today...God doesn't want to be called by some made-up, fictitious, diseased, lame name. WT's Geoffrey Jackson even hints/admits in the June 2015 JW Broadcast that they could of done better than 'Jehovah'! Listen to the first 10 minutes of that Broadcast and see for yourselves. Pay particular attention beginning @ 9:00 through 10:00. This clumsy Geoffrey Jackson says:
"No one knows the exact pronunciation of the Divine Name. Scholars say a closer pronunciation is Yahweh rather than Jehovah...how important is the exact pronunciation of God’s name...not soo important..." (I'm paraphrasing)
This quote coming from a guy who says he has a direct connection to the Almighty himself!