etymology, definition and truth of the word god as a word used to describe the undescribable transpersonal self.
the truth and definition of god
the etymology of god
The root-meaning of the name (from Gothic root gheu; Sanskrit hub or emu, "to invoke or to sacrifice to") is either "the one invoked" or "the one sacrificed to."
From different Indo-Germanic roots (div, "to shine" or "give light"; thes in thessasthai "to implore") come the Indo-Iranian deva, Sanskrit dyaus (gen. divas), Latin deus, Greek theos, Irish and Gaelic dia, all of which are generic names; also Greek Zeus (gen. Dios, Latin Jupiter (jovpater), Old Teutonic Tiu or Tiw (surviving in Tuesday), Latin Janus, Diana, and other proper names of pagan deities.
The common name most widely used in Semitic occurs as 'el in Hebrew, 'ilu in Babylonian, 'ilah in Arabic, etc.; and though scholars are not agreed on the point, the root-meaning most probably is "the strong or mighty one."
Entered the English language from the old Germanic Gotte
god as the Absolute
Now .. taking this a little further .. especially the phrase .. "to invoke or to sacrifice to" is either "the one invoked" or "the one sacrificed to." we can see a parallel all of the world's texts .. a reference to "The Absolute", "Atman" .. the Tao .. and all of the other texts which use a "conjoined phonetic doublet" as the name (either as a phoneme or grapheme) of their "supreme"
god the way of all things
essentially .. the 'one' (the way of all things) from which all things come and to which all things (eventually) return; the one which is sacrificed for us (personality) and the one to which the personality returns
god and Yh-Vh
As is the continuance of be-ing .. from the Tetragrammaton Yh-Vh .. the perfect interpenetration of the masculine and feminine .. an unpronouncable (name) by the personality -- literally translated as I AM -- but most correctly as "I AM in the continuance of my Be-ing" because, gramatically, Yh-Vh is the present continuing tense of the english words 'be' or 'is'
god and the divine
Now .. the Catholics/Christians (and the patriarchy) refer to this as "HE" .. using the "Divine" attributed to the Latin Deus ..
However, the roots of Divine are Sanskrit and they are masculine and feminine as in deva and devi
The problem with "god" in Western thought is that it is tied to the canonical dogma .. "Supreme and Infinite Personal Being, the Creator and Ruler of the universe"
whereas if we look for an equivalence in all of the other cultural philosophies, we find "the way from whom all came and the way to which all return" - which is ALWAYS written in the present continuing tense (of whatever language) .. and is ALWAYS gender-neutral (ie neither masculine nor feminine).
god the Creator
When one ventures into the 'mystical' side of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, we find that the Creator of the Physical is feminine (black, fertile - of the earth) but that creation only takes place when there is a Union with the Masculine ..
(Mary and Gabriel; and also the story of Kunti in the Mahabaratra and her son Karna which bears a strong resemblance to Job and Moses)
Within Bible History, it is worth following the evolution of the translations as the word YHVH in the earlier texts gradually became replaced by the word 'god' in the more recent editings.
God and the mysteries
This, of course, adds another dimension to "the image of god" that we are likened to .. and fits perfectly within the framework of the Transpersonal as a return to your "cosmic wholeness" ..
the word God cannot pass the lips of a new born infant
yet .. YHVH does ..