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From: smb@ulysses.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: God's gender and name
Message-ID: <736@ulysses.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 12-Dec-83 16:54:28 EST
Article-I.D.: ulysses.736
Posted: Mon Dec 12 16:54:28 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Dec-83 06:39:02 EST
References: <854@cwruecmp.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
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Dave Decot has a good point about names.  But he's looking at it from a
more modern perspective.  Many primitive cultures believe that "true names"
bear great power; the ancient Hebrew culture was certainly one.  The best
examples can be found by studying Kabbalistic literature -- there are many
stories about the tremendous power of Words and Names.  Another example is
in the Book of Revelations; the business about the number of the beast
being 666 almost certainly refers to gematria -- the Kabbalistic practice of
converting a name to a numerical equivalent.  Thus, 666 is in some sense
equivalent to whoever the "beast" is, most likely Nero.