Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!decwrl!sun-barr!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: lae@io.UUCP (Larry Enos) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: gulf crisis, spiritual help for peace Message-ID: Date: 18 Sep 90 07:17:33 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Interleaf Inc, Cambridge, MA Lines: 72 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , jrossi@jato.jpl.nasa.gov (Joe "Bart" Rossi) writes: > > Our understanding of God is not complete, and many people aren't > sure whether to call God God, Allah, Jesus, Jehova, Krishna. At > a certain point, though, at least with me, you realize that > the Nameless will hear anyone who in their minds believes they > are seeking the Creator, whether or not they have his name > correct or not. God knows it is He that they are seeking, > and he knows that they are sincere. > > And prayer works for those who pray to Allah as well as for the > those who pray to Christ. The Devil may be able to lie but > I highly doubt his ability to answer the prayers of those who > seek the God Of Love, AS THEY UNDERSTAND HIM. > You stated correctly that your understanding of God is not complete. God is not nameless, as you believe, at least not to orthodox Christians and Jews who have believed in Him for thousands of years. Moreover, you cannot approach Him using whatever name you choose. Consider the following verses from the Old Testament, which is the unique source that both Christians and Jews recognize for understanding about God: Exodus 6:2-3,6 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am YHVH; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but my Name, YHVH, I did not make known to them. ... "Say therefore to the sons of Israel, I am YHVH." Isaiah 43:10,11 "You are my witnesses," declares YHVH, "and My servant whom I have chosen, in order that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am YHVH; and there is no other savior besides Me." Therefore, to orthodox Christians and Jews, YHVH (which may be rendered as Jehovah) is the Name of the one true God. Likewise orthodox Christians believe that this same God exists in the person of Jesus Christ. To us, the name Jesus (which is a rendering of the Hebrew name Jeheshua, which can be translated as `YHVH Savior') is the name that God has now ordained by which men can be saved. Consider the following verse: Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. Therefore, I cannot agree with you that you can approach God by any name. You might call this bigotry, but that is only because you do not understand the importance of His Name. To those who know Him, God's Name is His Person; and to approach Him, you must use His Name, as stated in the following hymn: How we love the glorious Name, the Name of Jesus. It's the Name above all names on earth and in Heaven. As we breath this precious Name, darkness and death cannot remain, for we call and get the Person of that Name. If you call Allah, Buddha, Gaia, Krishna, etc., you might get those persons (although it's unlikely since they either never existed or are now dead), but you will never get the unique, true, living God. Sincerely, Larry Enos (one who calls on His Name)