Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
God entered English when the language still had a system of grammatical gender.The word and its cognates were initially neutral but underwent transition when their speakers converted to Christianity, "as a means of distinguishing the personal God of the Christians from the impersonal divine powers acknowledged by pagans."
The word may be misunderstood by some as being the surname of Jesus due to the frequent juxtaposition of Jesus and Christ in the Christian Bible and other Christian writings. Often used as a more formal-sounding synonym for Jesus, the word is in fact a title, hence its common reciprocal use Christ Jesus, meaning The Anointed One, Jesus.
Isvara (ईश्वर) shortened as Isha (ईश) is applied to mean 'God' in both religious and secular context (for example in the Gita, Arjuna is referred to as Manujeshvara which is a compound of the two words manuja, 'human' and Ishvara, thus the word means 'God of humans', i.e. 'king').
The word Shinto was created by combining two kanji: "神" shin meaning god (the character can also be read as "kami" in Japanese) and "道" tō meaning Tao ("way" or "path" in a philosophical sense). Thus, Shinto means "the way of the gods."
with God as protector / with an avenging God: motto of the defunct Confederate States of America: Deo volente: God willing: This was often used in conjunction with a signature at the end of letters. It was used in order to signify that "God willing" this letter will get to you safely, "God willing" the contents of this letter come true.
names containing El, a word meaning might, power and (a) god in general, and hence in Judaism, God and among the Canaanites the name of the god who was the father of Baal. names containing Yah, a shortened form of Yahweh. names referring to Levantine deities (especially the storm god, Hadad) by the epithet Baal, meaning lord.
The Tetragrammaton YHWH, the name of God written in the Hebrew alphabet, All Saints Church, Nyköping, Sweden Names of God at John Knox House: "θεός, DEUS, GOD.". The Bible usually uses the name of God in the singular (e.g. Ex. 20:7 or Ps. 8:1), generally using the terms in a very general sense rather than referring to any special designation of God. [1]
Most consider it to be derived from a contraction of the Arabic definite article al-and ilāh "deity, god" to al-lāh meaning "the deity, the God". [20] Indeed, there is "the interchangeability of al-ilāh and allāh in early Arabic poetry even when composed by the Christian ʿAdī ibn Zayd. [21] The majority of scholars accept this hypothesis.