The great medieval mystic Meister Eckhart challenges us when he declares: “The highest and loftiest thing that a person can let go of is to let go of God for the sake of God.”
How many names for God have humans come up with? And which ones might serve us best today and what new ones beckon us? One answer to that question is a simple one: There are as many names for “God” as there are languages in the world, for each language calls God by a different word. Examples: God (English); Gott (German); Dieu (French); Dios (Spanish); Dio (Italian); Allah (Arabic); Gut (Norwegian); Theos (Greek); Deus (Portuguese); bog (Russian); Dia (Irish); Elohim (Hebrew); Marta (Polish); Kalou (Fijian), etc. etc.
But that is by no means the whole story. For one thing, each language may well have multiple words for “God.” For example in English we can talk of Divinity; Spirit; Creator; Deity; Godhead; Goddess; and much more. If this is true in English no doubt it is true in other languages as well.
Every religion offers its name for the Divine: Brahmin; Krishna; Tao; Buddha; Tara; Allah; Yahweh; Adonai; Tagashala; Wankan Tanka; Oshun; Isis; Christ, to name a few.
So where else do we come up with alternative names or images of God? The Sacred Scriptures of the world are one such place; and the mystics of the world are another; and science is another. The Muslim tradition offers a powerful practice of reciting the “99 Most Beautiful Names” of God and I am grateful for that Muslim practice to which I am indebted and which I have often prayed myself (see yesterday’s video DM).
Adapted from Matthew Fox,Naming the Unnameable: 89 Wonderful and Useful Names for God…Including the Unnameable God, pp. xiv-xxvi, 155-157.
Also see Matthew Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE.
Banner Image: Dawning Light. Photo by Syahirah Salleh on Unsplash
Queries for Contemplation
Have you “Let go of God for the sake of God” in your lifetime? What prompted that deep letting go? What was the result? Eckhart says, “God’s exit is her entrance.” Have you experienced that?
15 thoughts on “Multiple Names for God”
Today’s meditation speaking/chanting the names of ‘God’ and ‘Goddess’ reminded me of Hagar in the wilderness. Hagar names God ‘El Roi’, the God who sees. By God’s inspiration she names her son ‘Ishmael’, the God who hears. Hagar was a woman totally abandoned by the culture of the time. Yesterday, hearing Matthew speak the many names of God spoken by Hagar’s offspring was both astonishing and revelatory.
Gwen, God does see and hear, “he is not like dumb idols who cannot see or hear or walk or talk…”
This essay on the many names of God reminded me of my time in Germany with my daughter, Kristine. People greeted us with “Gruss Gott.” Grüß Gott is a shortened form of Grüße dich Gott. Some say it is simply a greeting. I prefer the essential meaning of grüß Gott – God bless you. This type of religious greeting is a rare but delightful treasure.
Years ago, I helped lead a study group at Foothills Congregational Church in Los Altos, California. The group listed all the names of God that we could come up with ourselves. Because I was going through a divorce and needed a comforting God, thinking about barnyard animals I came up with “Divine, Brooding Mother Hen.” I felt very comforted, nestling under the warm, enclosing wings of God as mother hen.
The video clip Ancient Mother Calling, the images, but most moving for me was the chanting song in particular, that really touched me in today’s DM. Whom is this beautiful chant being sung by? The Ancient names of the Mother being chanted, seemed to awaken within me some forgotten memory. Thank you for sharing this.
Hello Jeanette,
“Ancient Mother” was sung by the women’s chorus “On Wings of Song,” which has worked with Robert Gass on a number of albums. This particular performance was on the album “Ancient Mother,” which includes wonderful chants to the Goddess from a number of traditions and cultures.
Enjoy!
Meister Eckhart challenges us when he declares: “The highest and loftiest thing that a person can let go of is to let go of God for the sake of God.”
What Eckhart meant is the concept of God, which may vary with each person. In 1959 I was introduced to mysticism by Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Nobel astrophysicist at the University of Chicago’s Yerkes Observatory. Chandra once wrote: “God is man’s greatest invention.”
Ron, you write, “Chandra once wrote: “God is man’s greatest invention.” It reminds me of the reverrsal of scripture that says, “And Man made god in his own image and likeness…”
Richard, that is probably true for most people. The Protestant theologian Paul Tillich wrote about the “God beyond God,” i.e. the God beyond the God of theism.
Ron, you are right on that, when it comes to Paul Tillich. I am pretty sure that he would agree with both Matthew and Eckhart…
Another ‘understanding’ of the Mystery of the Godhead — A quaternity of four ‘Divine Persons’
in Loving Communion/Oneness — Father-Mother-Holy Spirit-Body of Cosmic Christ….
Damian, Among other things I am a painter, and I have made a symbolic painting of the “quaternity of the Divine…
Another ‘understanding’ of the Godhead — quaternity of four ‘Divine Persons’ in Loving Communion-Oneness:
Father-Mother- Holy Spirit-Cosmic Body of Christ….
Richard,
Maybe you can post your painting of the quaternity of the Divine. I would love to see it!
Damian, Unfortunately, I no longer have that painting–but since you’ve mentioned it I just might try my hand at another! We have however, posted other paintings I have done in the Daily Meditations…