Welcome one and all. This site is intended to explore what it means to be a follower of Yeshua Ben Yosuf, aka Jesus, and hopefully it will be a place where reasonable and respectful conversations can take place regarding the current state of Christendom and where it might be headed. Gnu Christians believe that the Gnu Athiests have correctly pointed out the significant shortcomings of all religions, of churches, and of individuals who claim to be Christians. Gnu Xians also believe that many Christian fundamentalists are focused on 2000 years of church dogma and doctrine rather than on the life and teachings of Yeshua. When it comes to following Jesus in the post-Christendom era, Gnu Christians aspire to project the spirit of the words of the late Stephen Huneck posted outside the Dog Chapel in Vermont - "All Breeds and All Creeds are Welcome - No Dogma Allowed."



Sunday, November 21, 2010

GIVE THE RABBI SOME PROPS

You probably noted the reference to Yeshua Ben Yosef and may have wondered "what the heck?"  If you clicked on the link, you read that this is the actual name of the person generally referred to as Jesus.  From the Nazarene Way

"Yeshua is the original Aramaic proper name for Jesus the Nazarene, who lived from about 6 B.C.E. to 27 C.E. (A.D.)  The word "Jesus" is actually a mis-transliteration of a Greek mis-transliteration. It is most proper to call Him Yeshua. It was indeed his proper name, given to him by his parents, and only in Hebrew does this name have any meaning. In Hebrew Yeshua means both "Salvation," and the concatenated form of Yahoshua, is "Lord who is Salvation." The name Jesus has no intrinsic meaning in English whatsoever.  The first letter in the name Yeshua ("Jesus") is the yod. Yod represents the "Y" sound in Hebrew. Many names in the Bible that begin with yod are mispronounced by English speakers because the yod in these names was transliterated in English Bibles with the letter "J" rather than "Y". This came about because in early English the letter "J" was pronounced the way we pronounce "Y" today. 

Today's tradition of pronouncing His completely hellenized name as "Jesus" has indeed obscured His true name, "Yeshua," and has shifted its perceived meaning much like most of His original teachings.  Even His name, it would seem, became a part of this understanding. The name Jesus or Jesus Christ is often used in everything from idle conversation, to bumper stickers and jewelry, to enforcing false teachings, to justifying wars and political agendas, and is even used as a profanity. The name Yeshua however, has remained pure and holy, known and used only by those who would uphold His name and teachings in the highest regard and thus reserving His holy name for use only in spiritual matters and the most humbled and sincere of prayer and obeisances."

To which this Gnu Christian says "Amen."  So, there will probably be times when the name Jesus will be used and times when Yeshua is used, but it should be understood that his name is Yeshua.



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