Yahweh: The name of a pagan god?

[Brother Ben]

Yahwehists, The Sacred Name Movement, and a pagan god

I have not done extensive study on this, but it is of significant interest to look into the possibility that the name, "Yahweh," is not only God's name, or God's "Sacred Name," (for those of the sacred name movement,) but it has shown up in ancient text as the name of a couple of different pagan gods.

How? As many know the word in our bible, Jehovah, comes from the four letters that equate our YHWH. Some ancient writers called him the Tetragrammaton, or the "Four Letter Name God." Most times in the Old Testament, it is simply listed as Lord.

It is perhaps true that God was known only by the word "Elohim" from Adam until Abraham. Abraham called God "Lord," ...in Hebrew Adonai (). Yet God said in he was revealed to Abraham as Elshaddai and that by his name "Ehyeh" as given to Moses at the burning bush, he was not made known to Abraham. It was because Abraham called God "Adonai" that the Jews inserted this title meaning "Lord" into the scrolls at every instance "Ehyeh" was originally written after the revealing of it at the burning bush. There, when Moses asked God about his name, God said it was "Ehyeh asher Ehyeh" (translated I Am that I Am): and told Moses, tell them that "Ehyeh" (or I AM) has sent you.

(From article: Yahweh is a pagan name.) link

Apparently, because the Hebrew language does not employ vowels as we know them, early translators pretty much guessed what the proper pronunciation of YHWH was.

This is significant for the hardcore, Yahwehists, and Sacred Name folks because they say if you don't have the name right, you can't even be saved.

These groups always bring up a red flag. Paul said:

2 Cor. 11
[1] Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.
[2] For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
[3] But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Jesus does not make salvation that hard. It's not in the spelling of the name, but faith in the real Jesus of the Bible. All that Yahweh stuff, (to me) is a red herring. They are usually off course also in Sabbath keeping, law keeping, etc.

Just thought this was interesting, ya'll check it out and tell me what you discovered.

Ben

[rachel4]

I will read the article shortly, but I will say in this initial post that I have known IRL a person who followed this type of group. Honestly, it sounds very much like a cult to me. I finally had to block him on Facebook because he posted constantly, and I mean 40 posts or more a day! More importantly, what he posted was all very out there, it really sounded like religiously tinted craziness.

Blessings,
Sister Rachel

[JohnMark]

I ran into a group of these people on another forum. I refer to them as "namers". They are so legalistic they outdo the Pharisees. I tried to show them that we are under grace and not the law but they would not listen. The name question is second place to their wanting to live under the Old Testament rules.

It didn't matter what verse I showed them (or collection of verses) they refused to see.I have never seen anyone as blind as they are. They believe they are the only true believers, even though they themselves argue about the right pronunciation of YHWH and cannot agree. They say they keep the sabbath but they cannot.If you press them about it and if you show them this, they get mad. I would say getting mad at Christians is their national past time!

To be quite blunt, they hate Christians and the name Jesus Christ especially. They will say all kinds of things to degrade the name of Jesus and rabidly insult those who call themselves Christians. If you point out their many inconsistencies (they have no temple, you can't keep the sabbath around the world at the same time, they cannot be circumcised in Old Testament fashion, etc) they change the subject!

One kept wanting me to see the connection between cretin and Christian.He was trying to insult me. I looked up the word cretin and it was a derivative of Christian, a name given to retarded/deformed people as an act of charity. The feeling being these people were still capable of being Christian despite their physical/mental problems. When I pointed this out and said he came across as somebody who would mock the physically/mentally challenged, he changed the subject.

I was finally "defriended" by their leader. He and I went several rounds and every time I would show the holes in his arguments he would, as they always will, change the subject. They never admit anything they believe could be wrong and they take Scripture out of context like no one I have ever seen. It boggles the mind to see how they think.The funniest thing they ever said, maybe the only truly funny thing they ever said, was when one posted a message about me to another namer-Look out for this guy, he is some kind of Baptist!

[Brother Ben]

"Some kind of Baptist!" ;D

Strangely, and sadly, there are several "cult-like" groups that have their origins in baptist groups. The SDA church was started by a former Baptist named, Miller. He lost leadership and they put in the apostate Ellen G. White with her kooky prophecies and interpretations.

When thinking about groups that try to put one back under the law, I always remember this poem:

Run, John, the Law commands,
And gives us neither feet nor hands.
Better news, the Gospel brings,
It bids us FLY! And gives us wings!