Names of God
YHWH, the name of God or Tetragrammaton, in Phoenician (1100 BC to AD
300), Aramaic (10th Century BC to 0) and modern Hebrew scripts.For more
details on this topic, see 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 god), Allah contains the article, literally "The God".
Also, when speaking in English, Muslims often translate "Allah"
as "God".
Yahweh Hebrew: 'YHVH' (????), 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).
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