The Many Names for God

       Many years ago, when my daughter was four and quite concrete, she desperately wanted a kitten.  I told her I’d buy her one when it was fall.  On a lovely late September day such as this, distracted after a long day at the hospital and late picking her up from day care, I commented on the beautiful fall weather.  Naturally she wanted a kitten that night.  Naturally I honored my promise. 

       “Mama, what can I name the kitten so it will come when I call it?”

       “Sweetheart, it doesn’t matter what you name your kitten, if you call it a lot it will come when you call it.”

       This went on for several rounds, until finally I said, “Well, what do you want to name your kitten?”

       “A Lot.”

       I’m sure you get the joke, only it’s not a joke it really happened.  And since I was distracted and tired I thought maybe that was supposed to be short for Lancelot and tried to get her to pick a new name because I thought A Lot was a stupid name. Once I figured it out, we named the cat A Lot.

       What if it’s the same with God?  What if God comes to us whether we call it God, or Krishna, or Artemis—just so long as we call it a lot?  What if all God wants is to be called?  Is that so hard to imagine?  Not for me; I suspect that’s how it works.

       Every faith I have thus far studied features spiritual practices such as prayer, meditation, reading of sacred scriptures, fasting, etc.  These are excellent tools for bringing about an altered state of mind and, subsequently, an experience that is perceived as religious or holy in some way.  The experience of a devout Muslim in prayer will be similar to that of a devout Christian in prayer, and not at all like that of an atheist eating a ham sandwich.  The main thing seems to be that when we engage in spiritual practice we experience the holy.  God isn’t as hung up on dogma as we are.  The ultimate world traveler, God comes to different cultures, places and times in manners that are appropriate for that time and place. 

       Here’s a list of Hebrew words that get translated as variations on “God.”  I thought it was interesting, because these names can be viewed not as merely names for God, but attempts to name an experience of God.  And, sweetie, it doesn’t matter what you name it, if you call it a lot it will come when you call it. 

• El~                “deity,” also the root for Allah, used by modern Muslims
• El Ro i~          God who sees me
• Ismael~          God has heard  (this is the name of Abraham’s son, patriarch of the Muslim faith that binds the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths together)
• El Shadday~   often translated as “God Almighty” but it's not an easily translatable word
• Israel~           One who struggles with God
• El Elyon~       God Most High
• El Olam~       God of Forever
• Elohim~         God
• Yahweh~       Lord