Too often, people abandon spirituality because Christians give God a bad name. But renaming God can rescue a floundering faith.
“God” Doesn’t Work for Everyone
Unfortunately, God doesn’t work for everyone. What I mean is, that the word “God” doesn’t resonate with many people anymore. Each person who has given up on a traditional Judeo-Christian concept of God has their reasons. Some have suffered emotional abuse and physical violence in God’s name. For others, God is too tied together with patriarchy, or with regional religious conflicts. Many have difficulty imagining a Superman or Santa Claus in the sky. Still others have walked away from the Church and God because Christians have given God a bad name through their political or social stances.
While some who deconstruct their religion abandon God altogether, others are not prepared to embrace atheism. Though they question inherited Sunday school theology, they just can’t shake the idea or feeling of a higher power. They wish they could relate to God, but that word has too much baggage.
“Hey, You!”
“God” means different things to different people. But generally, the word conjures the notion of a Supreme Being, often in Heaven, surrounded by angels, ruling the universe. When the name “God,” or even the typical concept of a deity, doesn’t work anymore, it may be time to try renaming God. One person I know, angry at the divinity she was raised to trust, quit calling God “God” altogether. Instead, she raised her fist to the heavens and simply shouted “Hey You!” And that’s the name that still works for her. Renaming God can give you the language you need to address your spiritual issues.
Renaming God
Renaming God may be unsettling. But remember, people have been renaming God since the beginning. In the first pages of Genesis, God is Elohim. This is a type of singular-plural, like “army” which is one thing but comprised of many. For this reason, the word Elohim gets properly translated both as “God” or “gods.” Elohim is the name that Abra(ha)m used for God. But when he meets Melchizedek, priest of El Elyon, Abra(ha)m gives an offering and shares a ritual meal. When he learns of this new god El Elyon, the Hebrew patriarch decides it is okay to call God by that name, too. So, the first one to believe in the god we call “God” determined it’s okay to rename God.
This tradition continues. Just a few chapters later, for Joseph, God is El Shaddai, or God of the Mountain. Later, when God reveals the divine presence to Moses in a burning bush, the prophet asks God’s name. God reveals Godself as YHWH, commonly translated as “I Am.” This is just the beginning of the Jewish and Christian practice of renaming God.
Jesus renamed God as well. Traditional Jewish prayers began, “Blessed art Thou, O Lord (Adonai) our God (Eloheinu), King of the Universe (melek ha-olam),” offering three wonderful names for God. But, like the temple tables, Jesus completely overturned people’s notion of prayer when he addressed God as “Father (Abba).” If the patriarchs, prophets, and Jesus himself can rename God to suit a new concept of the divine, you can, too!
Reimagining God
Jesus knew that words like “Lord” and “King” were too tied up in the language of political power. These words carried too much baggage. So, he felt free to reimagine God as a divine Daddy who gave him comfort and direction. But for those with abusive or absent fathers, this name for God might not work.
Some have moved beyond the notion of God as a person at all. They have not given up on the divine essence, but relating to a personal deity feels charged with all sorts of problems. In his book, The God We Never Knew, Marcus J. Borg points out that the Bible is full of non-anthropomorphic names for God. God is called the Rock, the Living Water, Breath, and Fire. God is the Bread of Life, our Banner, our Peace, our Righteousness, Alpha and Omega, Ancient of Days, Branch, Lion of Judah, and more. If the Bible can offer such a diversity of ways you can relate to God, certainly you can rename God yourself!
God of My Understanding
My loved ones who are involved in twelve-step programs often use two names for God that they find helpful. They call God “Higher Power,” and “The God of My Understanding.” Why do they do this? Because twelve-step programs are distinctively spiritual, but they are not religious. They do not adhere to any particular dogma or doctrine, other than a belief in the Divine.
They use these terms, too, because they understand that their members come from all different backgrounds. God is not a one-size-fits-all theological proposition. Rather, God presents to each person individually, depending on their need. Instead of a Christian debating a Muslim, or a Hindu arguing with a Jew, twelve-step programs encourage each person to have their own concept of and relationship to God. The God of My Understanding might be different from your Higher Power—and that’s okay. What’s essential is that we share the ability to trust a God who’s got us.
New Series: “Renaming God”
In this new series, “Renaming God,” I will examine some of the more well-known names for God that you don’t hear every day. I will also suggest some alternative names for God you might not have heard before. None of these names of God will be from the pantheons of polytheistic religions. Some may be names of God from other monotheistic faiths, that are compatible with the character of the Christian God. Still others will be entirely new divine names for you to consider.
Maybe your faith has been floundering for a while. Perhaps you’ve deconstructed to the point where all you know for sure is that God exists—but you don’t know how to relate to that God anymore. Renaming God can rescue a floundering faith. I hope you’ll join me as we explore some new ideas together.
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