I was studying the Bible with a man from a group called the Holy Spirit Church. He made a point about the name of God, saying that his church uses the name "Yahweh" instead of "Allah." Allah is the normal Indonesian for God. His church has also changed their Bible; every "Allah" has been changed to "Yahweh." As we know, Yahweh is the O.T. word for God, his personal name. He said the Indonesian Bible Institution has been wrongly translating the word God. He said that Yahweh is the real name of God; Allah is an Arabian or Moslem God, not the Christian one. What does Bible says about this? Is this really a problem? -- Pierre Fritzgerald Coenrad (Indonesia)
In the Old Testament there are two common words for God. Elohim stresses his divine power; Yahweh is usually the name used in personal interactions, and it is also his covenant name. On the other hand, neither is a personal name in the way that Pierre or Johan or Budi is. (Yahweh actually comes from the verb "to be," and means something like "I am," or "I am what I am.")
To me, it is not a big deal. In the United States, "God" is the word used by many religious groups for their deity. What does the word mean? Should we avoid it, and use "Yahweh" instead?
We could, I suppose. Would we have to pronounce it in the correct (Hebrew) way, in order for God to listen to our prayers?
I think you see where this is leading. In my opinion, in other words, it does not matter very much how we say his name, though I can certainly understand why people in an Islamic culture would want to make the distinction between the Muslim god and their own.
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