Naming God

In 1913, Russian imperial marines stormed an Orthodox monastery at Mt. Athos, Greece, to haul off monks engaged in a dangerously heretical practice known as Name Worshipping. Exiled to remote Russian outposts, the monks and their mystical movement went underground. Ultimately, they came across Russian intellectuals who embraced Name Worshipping—and who would achieve one of the biggest mathematical breakthroughs of the twentieth century, going beyond recent French achievements. Loren Graham and Jean-Michel Kantor take us on an exciting mathematical mystery tour as they unravel a bizarre tale of political struggles, psychological crises, sexual complexities, and ethical dilemmas. At the core of this book is the contest between French and Russian mathematicians who sought new answers to one of the oldest puzzles in math: the nature of infinity. The French school chased rationalist solutions. The Russian mathematicians, notably Dmitri Egorov and Nikolai Luzin—who founded the famous Moscow School of Mathematics—were inspired by mystical insights attained during Name Worshipping. Their religious practice appears to have opened to them visions into the infinite—and led to the founding of descriptive set theory. The men and women of the leading French and Russian mathematical schools are central characters in this absorbing tale that could not be told until now. Naming Infinity is a poignant human interest story that raises provocative questions about science and religion, intuition and creativity.

What’s in a name? The Names of God: 52 Bible Studies for Individuals and Groups offers a unique approach to Bible study by presenting a 52-week study focusing on the names and titles of God and of Jesus, one designed to help readers experience the Lord in fresh and deeper ways. . By studying such rich and varied names as Adonay, El Shadday, Abba, Yeshua, Lamb of God, and Prince of Peace, readers will encounter a God who is utterly holy, powerful, surprising, merciful, and loving. Each week’s study includes: • Background information to help readers understand the name • A key Scripture passage in which the name was first or most significantly revealed • A series of questions for individual or group study • A list of Bible passages for further reflection Based on Praying the Names of God and Praying the Names of Jesus but containing additional questions for reflection and study, this unique Bible study is designed to help individuals and groups explore the most important of God’s names and titles as they are revealed in the Bible. Also included is a helpful pronunciation guide to the Names of God in Ancient Hebrew and Koine Greek.

A fresh look at how Christians and Muslims speak of God Naming God entails labeling the ineffable. And yet the Bible itself oscillates between denying that God can be named and describing how God shows Godself anyway. In Naming God, the result of the 2021 Building Bridges Seminar—an international dialogue of Christian and Muslim scholars—the contributors examine the many ways Christians and Muslims refer to and describe God and the significance of naming God differently. This book provides guidance and materials that will benefit faith leaders as well as students and scholars of theology, dialogue theory, and conflict resolution. Nonspecialists will benefit from an entry-point into the theme of naming God, while specialists will be challenged to develop and deepen their thought on this important topic.

An in-depth exploration of the complexities—and perhaps audacity—of naming the unnameable. Almost forty contributors from all Jewish denominations and from around the world wrestle with Avinu Malkeinu and the linguistic and spiritual conundrum it presents, asking, “How do we name God altogether, without recourse to imagery that defies belief?”

Generations of Christians, Janet Soskice demonstrates, once knew God and Christ by hundreds of remarkable names. These included the appellations 'Messiah', 'Emmanuel', 'Alpha', 'Omega', 'Eternal', 'All-Powerful', 'Lamb', 'Lion', 'Goat', 'One', 'Word', 'Serpent' and 'Bridegroom'. In her much-anticipated new book, Soskice argues that contemporary understandings of divinity could be transformed by a return to a venerable analogical tradition of divine naming. These ancient titles – drawn from scripture – were chanted and sung, crafted and invoked (in polyphony and plainsong) as they were woven into the worship of the faithful. However, during the sixteenth century Descartes moved from 'naming' to 'defining' God via a series of metaphysical attributes. This made God a thing among things: a being amongst beings. For the author, reclaiming divine naming is not only overdue. It can also re-energize the relationship between philosophy and religious tradition. This path-breaking book shows just how rich and revolutionary such reclamation might be.

St. Gregory Palamas (ca. 1296–1357) is among the most well-known and celebrated theologians of late Byzantium. This book provides a comprehensive account of the essence-energies distinction across his twenty-five treatises and letters written over a twenty-year period. An Athonite monk, abbot, and later Metropolitan of Thessalonica, Gregory is remembered especially for his distinction between God’s essence and energies, and his celebrated doctrine still generates a great deal of debate. What does Palamas actually mean by the term energies? Are they ‘activities’ that God performs, and if so, how can they be eternal and uncreated? Indeed, how could God be simple if he possesses energies distinct from his essence? Going beyond the Triads and the One Hundred and Fifty Chapters, this book explores Palamas’s answers to these long-standing questions by analyzing all of the treatises produced by Palamas between the years 1338 and 1357. It seeks to understand what Palamas means when he speaks of God’s energies, how he seeks to prove that they are distinct from the divine essence, and how he explains that this distinction in no way violates the unity and simplicity of the one God in Trinity. Essence and Energies is a useful resource for upper-level undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars interested in Byzantine theology in the fourteenth century.

When Life Gets Too Hard to Stand, Kneel You are called to be a prayer warrior. But which name should you call upon? God has more than one name—each represents a different aspect of His character. When you know which name to call, you will pray more effectively, and more specifically to your need. In this book, Dr. Tony Evans provides tools to transform your prayer life as you get to know God in new ways. You will... experience God as Jehovah Jireh, "the Lord will provide." allow God to be El Simchatch Gili, "God my exceeding joy." make God Your Jehovah Ori, "the Lord my light." know peace through Jehovah Shalon, "the Lord our peace." take God as your power source as Jehovah Uzzi, "the Lord my strength." make wiser decisions by sitting at the feet of Peleh Yo'etz, "Wonderful Counselor." Revitalize your prayer life by connecting your needs with the characteristics of God's names!

Focus on 52 female heroes in Scripture, and you’ll discover yourself in the process. Women of the Bible: 52 Bible Studies for Individuals and Groups is designed especially for those who want to delve more deeply, either alone or in a group, into the lives of women like Ruth, Anna, Esther, Leah, Rachel, Mary, Elizabeth, and other women who encountered the living God. This study edition of the bestseller, Women of the Bible, includes an introduction to each woman, major Scripture passages, study materials, and cultural backgrounds. There are 52 studies, one for each week of the year. Newly gathered study aids include helpful charts as well as a complete listing of all women of the Bible, with Scripture references. Space is included to record your thoughts and insights. Each timeless biblical story mirrors the challenges and changes today’s women face. Through understanding these women’s lives, this easy-to-use study resource will help you discover God in their stories–and yours.