The word "GOD," derived from a pagan deity?

[Guest]

I have a couple friends that I don't fellowship with much at all, who used to consider themselves "Christians," but now claim they aren't, and that Christianity is full of pagan practices and affiliations. For example, they feel that to address or refer to our Creator as "God," is to be irreverant at best and unholy at worst, [if these two can be differentiated]. For example, it is claimed that:

• GOD (god) Common Teutonic word for personal object of religious worship, formerly applicable to super-human beings of heathen myth; on conversion of Teutonic races to Christianity, term was applied to Supreme Being.” We derive the pronoun “GOD” from “GOTT”, a Pagan deity.

It is on this basis that they present one of many alledged paganic elements in modern Christianity, since virtually all Christians use the word "God" in addressing or referencing Yahweh. Any thoughts?

[Guest]

Do you think the Lord is so petty that he gets bent out of shape about word origins?

[Guest]

Honestly Michelle, I view this in the same manner as I do towards the Oneness Pentecostal insistence that we must be baptised with the words "In Jesus Name" as we are being immersed, or else our baptism is invalid and our salvation remains incomplete. For example, Boyd writes:

• The God presupposed in this theology will damn a person on a technicality. Love is not enough for this God! The work of the cross is not enough for this God! Thus His own grace and righteousness are not enough for His people! Salvation hangs not on what God has done for someone who accepts Him, but on the technical correctness of a procedure that the believer performs for God!
  
  In contrast to everything the reformation stood for, salvation among Oneness Pentecostals cannot be understood as an unconditional, loving, divinely established relationship that cuts through all the sin and failings of otherwise hopeless sinners. Rather, it consists of a relationship that will never even be started until certain technically right words are pronounced and certain technically right deeds are carried out. In the Oneness view, salvation is not a relationship between a passionately loving Father and His undeserving children. It is more like a relationship between a meticulous, perfectionistic employer and his fearful employees.
  
  In my estimation, therefore, the God of Oneness Pentecostalism is an intensely compulsive God who wagers the eternal salvation or damnation of a soul on a "truth" so obscure that all the great saints and scholars throughout church history have completely missed it. And this, I believe, is not even close to the gracious God revealed in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. 1

Though Boyd is talking about the baptismal formula so vehemently proposed by the "Jesus Only" advocates, I believe this same thing applies to the "sacred name only" advocates, that is, supposing they are correct in their beliefs about what the original name of the LORD and and His Messiah was/is. My reasons for posting this stuff here was to see what others have to say about this, not because I necessarily believe it.

You see, I have some friends that I used to always hang out with like everyday in my teenage years, who are now all influenced by this type of stuff. In fact, the four of them no longer want anything to do with Christianity, because they feel like they have been lied to. Two of them are in prison, one of them seemed to placed faith towards Christ, and the fourth one regularly went to a non-denominational church off and on for several years. One of them came across this book called "Fossilized Customs" by Lew White, a guy that currently lives in my city. Consequently, they all now have adopted the views propogated in the book. In fact, Lew White is the author of the two topics I posted. I just seen one of the guys yesterday, and he seems to feel like because he has found "the truth" and mentally adheres to it, he's alright with God. However, he unrepentantly does many things that are obviously sinful. Since he (and perhaps the other three) would most likely view me as one who partakes in pagan practices, I don't know how I can bypass their views and proclaim to them that Jesus is Lord, and that they must pledge their allengience to Him who sits on the throne to be saved. This is why I am posting this stuff here and invoking discussion.

Greg Boyd in Oneness Pentecostals and The Trinity, pgs 146-147

[Guest]

[url=ttp://www.wvss.com/forumc/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=426]Evangelion[/url], A fellow forum member, had this to say about the origin of the the english word "God":

The English word "God" is actually derived from a pre-German word, which is not "Gott" but something else entirely. Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

• The earliest written form of the Germanic word god comes from the 6th century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. Most linguists agree that the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was based on the root * ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".
  
  The capitalized form God was first used in Wulfila's Gothic translation of the New Testament, to represent the Greek Theos. In the English language, the capitalization continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and "gods" in polytheism.

Source.

So you see, the origin is perfectly harmless, and has no pagan connotations whatsoever. Not only that, but it was deliberately capitalised to demonstrate a clear distinction between the God of the Bible and the false pagan gods of early polytheism.

[Guest]

hey soaring eagle,

I missed the Greg Boyd quote from two posts up. I listen to Greg Boyd frequently and can imagine hearing him saying that. Thanks for putting that up there.

Thanks also for the wikipedia article about the etymology of the word "God." What that article does for me is to make it clear that the justification for so much skepticism is based on shaky, at best, or downright erroneous information, which nevertheless causes those with weak faith to doubt. God bless you for putting so much effort into researching this for your friends, as well as others who might read what you've posted.