Tuesday, March 27, 2007

A Name by Any Other Name

At the following URL (http://www.touregypt.net/amenattr.htm) is a description of the King of Kings from Egyptian mythology. They called Him Amen (notice the name "amen"). Following is the description of amen from Easton's Bible Dictionary.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Amen
This Hebrew word means firm, and hence also faithful (Rev. 3:14). In Isa. 65:16, the Authorized Version has "the God of truth," which in Hebrew is "the God of Amen." It is frequently used by our Saviour to give emphasis to his words, where it is translated "verily." Sometimes, only, however, in John's Gospel, it is repeated, "Verily, verily." It is used as an epithet of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 3:14). It is found singly and sometimes doubly at the end of prayers (Ps. 41:13; 72:19; 89:52), to confirm the words and invoke the fulfilment of them. It is used in token of being bound by an oath (Num. 5:22; Deut. 27:15-26; Neh. 5:13; 8:6; 1 Chr. 16:36). In the primitive churches it was common for the general audience to say "Amen" at the close of the prayer (1 Cor. 14:16). The promises of God are Amen; i.e., they are all true and sure (2 Cor. 1:20). Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

This description of the everlasting god of the Egyptians, creator of all there is sounds to me to be very much like the God that we serve. Over time, the church has been adament about how we call our God : we want Him to be unique to us. But the Creator of the universe has been known to all and was worshipped by all. But with all religions, the truth gets lost and the ceremony is all that is remembered.

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