Another reason not to use “God:” It isn’t a name. Unlike “Shiva,” “Yhwh,” “Aphrodite” or “Inktomi,” “God” is just a general class capitalized for the sake of convenience or propriety. Its use as a proper noun should be seen to be as awkward as saying “my friend, whose name is Friend Smith” or “her husband, whose name is Mr. Husband Brown.”

Islam has a much more honest approach. Founded within the context of violently tribalistic polytheism, Islam refers to its god as “Allah,” meaning something like “the-god” or “the-one-and-only-god.” Hence, the refrain “there is no god but Allah” means something like “there is no god but The-One-God.” It is an un-name, an obvious place holder. A related Islamic tradition is the 99 names of The-One-God. Principally a tool for individual meditation, the 99 names are honest enough to use as god-names things that The-One-God does and/or is. There is no pretention here of assuming that a mere name could capture the essence of The-One-God, a habit you’d think more monotheists would pick up.

Could we just consider “God” to be a personification like “Lady Luck” or “Mother Nature?” Perhaps, but then it can’t carry any more weight than any other personification. Does a monotheist want the name of his god to be on par with “Mother Nature,” a mere poetic reference? Even the neopagans who worship what most of us would understand to be Mother Nature don’t normally call her that–they prefer something like the generic “mother goddess” or the proper names of specific goddesses from various mythologies.

If you don’t know the name of your god, perhaps it is because your god is not a person. Perhaps your belief bring you closer to something more impersonal like “god-ness” or “deity.” Then why not say so? If you understand your god primarily through it’s attributes or purposes, why not refer to it as such, drawing on the 99 names for inspiration? If your god is a person (however you want to stretch that term), why don’t you know his or her name? Unless your god has told you otherwise, your god’s name isn’t “God” any more than your name is “Person” or “Human Being.” Perhaps your god keeps his or her name a secret. If that’s so, why? What’s the story?

According to one way the story is told, the god Yhwh keeps his name secret from everyone until Moses came along. And even then he promptly commands people not to use it–the whole “not taking his name in vain” bit. (It’s his name, don’t wear it out, eh?) Jewish thinkers had the good sense to substitute “Adonai” for the-name-that-shall-not-be-named, a tradition that spills over into English translations as “Lord.” (The use of “Yhwh” in the biblical text is distingished by printing “LORD,” in all caps.) In a monarchy, the habit would have carried quite a punch. But in a democratic era we have no lords or masters and don’t take kindly to being told we should have one even if he is a god. Any in any case, “lord” isn’t a name–it’s a title.

So, monotheists, what is your god’s name?