Theology Thursday: Buffet 3

Welcome to Theology Thursday! Theology is the study of God, his relation to the world, and our relation to him. I hope these newsletters help enhance your faith and deepen your love for God and his people, the church.

It's a Theology Thursday Buffet!
Welcome to the third Theology Thursday Buffet! Occasionally, I’ll switch from addressing one topic in long form and instead answer several reader-submitted questions in shorter form.

If you have a topic you’d like to see included in a future Theology Thursday, please respond to this email (or any future Theology Thursday email) with your question! And don’t hesitate to ask, because if you’re curious about something, it likely means somebody else is too.

Let’s grab our plate and dive in.

The Names of God
A reader-submitted question: My current Bible Study keeps referring to different names for God and that each name has a different meaning. For example: Yahweh, the name God used for himself to remind his people that he wants a relationship with them. What are some of the other names and what do they mean? How can we use that and apply it to our reading or everyday life?

The Bible uses many names for God, each revealing a unique aspect of his character and how he relates to His people. One significant name is El Shaddai, meaning “God almighty,” which emphasizes God’s power and sufficiency. This name reminds us that in our weakness, God is strong and fully able to meet our needs. Another name, Jehovah Jireh, meaning “The Lord will provide,” comes from the story of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22). It reassures us that God sees our needs and will provide in His perfect timing.

The Hebrews had a divine name used exclusively for God: Yahweh, or YHWH, without the vowels. LORD (all caps) is our English translation of YHWH, called the Tetragrammaton. The Tetragrammaton is the name of God in the Old Testament, written as four Hebrew consonants: Yodh, Heh, Waw, and Heh. The word “Tetragrammaton” is Greek for “the four letters.” In the Bible, the Tetragrammaton is the only personal name used to refer to God.

Jehovah Rapha, “The Lord who heals,” reveals God's care for our physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. Jehovah Shalom, “The Lord is peace,” reminds us that true peace—especially in anxious times—comes from God alone. El Roi, “The God who sees,” used by Hagar in Genesis 16, assures us that we are never invisible or forgotten.

There are more: Immanuel (“God with us”), Adonai (lord/master), Qanna (“...the LORD, whose name is Jealous…” - Exodus 34:14). Elohim is the more generic Hebrew term for “gods” or “godhood.”  

In your personal prayer time and time in the Bible, consider using these specific names for God. They help us move from seeing him as a distant creator to recognizing his active, personal involvement in our world and our lives. As we read Scripture, identifying which name of God is being used can reveal more about the passage’s meaning. In daily life, calling on a specific name of God can anchor our prayers, provide comfort, or strengthen our faith during trials. Each name invites us to trust God more fully by remembering who he has revealed himself to be.

Does God hate? 
An MCCer came upon Psalm 5:5-6 and asked me: “Hate is a strong word…I didn’t think God hated anyone?” 

Here’s Psalm 5:5-6 from the NIV: “You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies.”

The word "hate" hits us as harsh in our context, but it pops up many times in the Bible to show us that God opposes what is evil and what distorts his love. Sometimes the language is used to indicate God’s disapproval of ideas or actions, and sometimes of actual people.  

Some more examples: 

Deuteronomy 25:16: For the Lord your God hates anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.

Psalm 11:5: The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion.

Proverbs 6:16-19: There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Proverbs 15:9: The Lord hates the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

These are strong words but, remember, the Bible wasn’t written in English, and language evolves over time. It’s clear enough that when these passages and others use language like “hates” or detests” it means he disapproves, is set against, or opposes something because it damages peoples’ view of him or relationship with him or each other. 

But there are times when the Bible says “God hates” a person, and it doesn’t really mean what we usually mean when we use the word “hate.” In the story of Jacob and Esau - found in Genesis 25 - Jacob becomes the recipient of his father’s inheritance and God’s blessing, while Esau becomes a slave. Malachi 1:23 has God saying “...Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” In this sense, God “hating” Esau points to Esau’s position outside the family of God; outside the favor of God (for a number of reasons we’re not going to get into here). It doesn’t mean God had unjust or unrighteous emotional anger or malice toward Esau. That would be out of line with God’s character. 

So, yes, in some contexts and with a proper understanding of language, God “hates.” But his hatred is not like ours: it doesn’t indicate sin. In fact, he hates sin most. He hates anything that serves to draw his creation farther away from him. 

Why don’t I capitalize the pronouns of the trinity?
I’ve gotten this question a couple times. Here’s my really short answer: when you write a ton about God, Jesus, and the Spirit, it’s actually really difficult to be consistent with all the capitalizations. Some are easy, like “He,” “Him,” etc. But when you get into all the other terms used to describe God or “names” for God, it’s actually pretty difficult to figure out what to capitalize and what not to.

Some people capitalize every possible adjective that accompanies writing “God,” such as “Creator,” “Almighty,” “Messiah,” “Lamb,” “Holy,” “Eternal,” “Divine,” “Good.” I think that gets pretty clunky and difficult to write/read pretty quickly, so I generally opt to not capitalize anything except for the three primary names of the trinity: God, Jesus, Spirit. It’s not a perfect system, however, and even my quest for consistency is sometimes inconsistent. Oh well.

Here’s a longer answer by a theology professor/author I respect and have learned a lot from, A.J. Swoboda:  


TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN!
- Pastor Brady

Have a question for Theology Thursday? Send an email to office@minierchristian.org and we'll respond, or we'll include in a future Theology Thursday Buffet.