In a mirror, dimly

In Christianity Today there was a recent article:

Barring Yahweh

The Vatican gives orders to excise the name from worship. Do Protestants agree?

Observant Jews have traditionally not used the name Yahweh, refusing to pronounce the so-called proper name of God out of respect, or to be sure they do not misuse it. Now neither will Roman Catholics, at least in their worship services.

“Protestants should be following their lead,” said Carol Bechtel, professor of Old Testament at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. “It’s always left me baffled and perplexed and embarrassed that we sprinkle our hymns with that name,” she said. “Whether or not there are Jewish brothers and sisters in earshot, the most obvious reason to avoid using the proper and more personal name of God in the Old Testament is simply respect for God.”

Both Yahweh and Jehovah have been removed from the Christian Reformed Church’s Psalter Hymnal, turning “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” into “Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer.”

The article finished by saying

Protestantism has long traditions of both using and avoiding the name Yahweh, according to John Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. “Some people said using Yahweh emphasized for them the transcendence of God, which you might say is precisely the goal of not saying the term.”

Seems to me that people are missing the point entirely given that we are to relate to God on a personal level:

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)

So in honour of missing the point, I offer one of my favourite worship songs:

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 at 4:12 pm and is filed under Faith, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.