I must pay tribute again in this blog to Peter Rollins and his latest book. I can't state for certain exactly what parts of what I will write are ideas directly from Rollins as his thoughts have blended with mine and thoughts I have been cognitively chewing on for a while...so with that, what about God's very name being not at all a noun, but instead, a verb?
The Biblical text I am specifically talking about is when Moses asks God His name (Exodus 3:14). God replies with "I am who I am". Many people have read that and understand it to be a cryptic answer that could imply or be understood to be a number of things. However, like so many things in the Bible, an alternate translation is equally as viable as "I am who I am". The alternate translation is, "I will be what I will be". Even in English, this is lacking. The basic implication in the difference is that God's name become a verb rather than a noun.
So what? Well, if that is the case, God goes from a being...a person place or thing bound by usual parameters of a noun, to being an event, an interaction with His creation that takes place not just in the ideas or within the realities of beings. This would make sense in the context of so many scriptures...for example, Jesus will go on to say in the Biblical text that as we have done for others, we have done as unto God...the action of the reality of God. Additionally it would make total sense in the description of God as "God is Love" and love being best understood as a verb...it's something you do.
This is a new idea that has been bouncing around in my mind so I want to think on it a bit more. I may write more about it or I may not...who knows? However, I do like the idea...and find great meaning in the idea that God's vastness expands well beyond even the words I can speak or the meanings I can attach to God.
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I am going to try to leave a comment one more time and if it does not work then I am going to be saying soem ugly verbs.
I think that the very word God is a word of action.God is worship, God is praise, Gos is goign out and feeding the people who need him. So to me God had always been a verb.
God, also is a verb becasue it is a word that follows commandsments. Go out and seek men to follwo me and fight for me ,whi will stand for me and be verbs. GO, is a verb is the sense that when you paraise him you are doing an action. Whether it be praying, or raising your hands, or dancing, or raising your handsing your hands in praise. The very worg GOD is a verb becaue the very word GOD means taking an action to praise our one and only savior. ANd this of course is just my opinion ,but when you worhsip God, you are doing soemthing at that time to worship himm. It could even be a small group study,but that is still work and that still makes Gods name a verb. So I am hoping that you can foloow where I am giong with this. God,is worship in action. That is what I am trying to say.to worship God, whether it be prayer, bible study, quiet time, singing along with the radio with a parise and worship tape or song you hear that you like that is work. So no matter how you praise God it is work and that makes the very word God, a veryb.!
JAMIE
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