Why I write G-d
I have been asked why I write “G-d” in this manner. the answer is simple really. it is the way that i can show reverence and deference to the reality that the created mind can never fully comprehend the One Who Created It… so trying to find one name “god” for this Mystery is arrogant, difficult, and utterly impossible.
I have come to a more encompassing name, the Incomprehensible Eternal One, but that is a lot to write each time I want to refer to the whole of g-d, or hint at the Mystery of BEING, and “IEO” would confuse people;)
The Hebrew people honored this reality of G-d being beyond their comprehension, by not speaking the name for G-d, by instead say, “blessed be He,” when referring to The Name for G-d as revealed to Moses, “I AM Who I AM ” (transliterated as YHWH). Then they use many other more specific names and revelations of this IEO as spoken names, Elohim, Adonai, El-Shaddai, in order to honor the personal nature of G-d. I like their humility and reverence. it reverberates in my soul. somehow, this refusal to speak or write the name of G-d, is a statement of our creature-liness in relationship to The Creator, yet I cannot bring myself to limit G-d to ‘Blessed be He,’ especially since revealing the feminine face of G-d is a passion of mine.
The accepted masculine terminology for the whole of G-d, denies the revelation, in Genesis 1-2, that we are made in G-d’s image -both male and female! We have lost the feminine revelation of G-d and we have few names to embrace or even contemplate this facet of the Incomprehensible Eternal One.
Thus I write G-d, like the Hebrews do: to allow there to be Mystery within the very name i use for The Incomprehensible Eternal One….to acknowledge the limits of our rudimentary language and its awkward inability to really name anything, beyond the accepted semiotic usage of the day and time…
The limits of language intrigue me and I often rest on the fact that even G-d became frustrated with the limits of words and spoke The Incarnation- Jesus, Emmanuel, G-d with us, in the flesh… The Incarnation is g-d revealed in the context of relationship… and this transcends the limits of language.
It is in relationship with G-d and with others that I experience the Incarnate Christ. I have come to see many faces and revelations of G-d– that have come through these relationships, as well as in the Scriptures, nature and even within the unfolding of my own soul’s communion with G-d. These revelations and names have stirred me and I am working on a compilation of them, so to offer another glimpse into Mystery, and reveal more avenues to encountering and knowing The Incomprehensible Eternal One…
The is an ongoing question and extremely relevant in this emerging culture. I would love to hear your names for G-d, how do you envision, encounter and engage with the Incomprehensible…what names/icons/images do you use for the Trinity, God the Father, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit in your spiritual journey?
How and why do they speak to you…or what if any writings/blog posts/books have expanded or challenged your thoughts in this arena… Please send me those that you are willing to share, as i am aware that some are profoundly sacred and private…and we can learn from each other…SeLaH
