Do you think God would be OK with being called 'Joe' for short instead of Jehovah or 'God' (which is not even a real name )?'

Something I read in a book by Kurt Vonnegaut ... its the height of human arrogance to think that some supernatural being who can wish universes into reality would actually give a toss to what we think ..

Yeah.

Call him that if you want ,he knows your limitations.

Ask Him.  And yes, those are real names. 

oz, being a fan of KV and those who think their remarks are extraordinary in the realm of everyday thinking, I might add that I liked Kurt.  He was great for someone searching.   Maybe you are of that age.  I have since outgrown Kurt and that kind of snide, arrogant and YES totally called-for part of the spiritual search.  It is fine to dwell in the absurdity of being rational and trying to even fathom God. 

That is fine and makes sense.

But then, I began to ask myself.  What about all those OTHER people.  What about all the saints and sages and world leaders who CHANGED the world.  Oz, what about all the unexplained by science MIRACLES?   What about when GOD shows Himself so blatently that only the blind can deny Him any longer?

I always demand confirmation of anything I may want to believe.   We cannot, of course, prove that God doesn't exist.   But I can certainly find no scientific explanation of things I have witnessed that have been also witnessed by someone else in a situation where there is no explanation.

I tell this story often because it is quick and simple.

I am a Sai Baba devotee.  He is an Indian.  With Big hair.  People do not forget him once they see  him.  But, I digress.  I had pictures of him.  My mother was horrified.  We lived in the same house, she is Catholic and this offended her.  She thought her friends would come over and think she'd lost her mind. 

So, I understood.  I put the pictures away.    

I had them in my room and would feel such a swelling of love for this Image I would kiss it.  (I'm NOT like this normally) LOL  I would kiss it.  And I kissed him on the lips.   Not romatically, but I thought that was some sort of breech of propriety to kiss what I believed to be GOD on the lips.  So, I told Him while looking at His picture that I was certain he understood my intention.  I was certain He knew I believed Him when He said to think of Him as your mother, father, best friend and most intimate, trusting presence. 

So, about a week later, my mom says something off the top of her head.   She says to me in passing.  "That was so weird.   I had a dream about that guy you pray to last night." 

I froze.  No one dreams of Sai Baba.  It doesn't happen unless He is really THERE.  LOL  you cannot BELIEVE how many people PRAY to have a dream of Sai Baba.  Well, my mom, who could care less about Him and even does not like Him at ALL, has this dream about Him.

Well, that is not so extraordinary, since I put Him in her Consciousness on some level.  No big miracle. 

Until I asked her what He said.

She says, "He didn't say anything.  He just got closer and closer to me.  Then he softly kissed me on the lips"

(I guess it wasn't that short of a story after all)

Joe's Witnesses sounds ok too.

Maybe 'God' is short for Goderich or something.

I personally would not go with Joe.  God is a title.

Ok.

I'm not going to argue add they are your beliefs and I respect them ... and yes there had been many good hearted people inspired by religion who have changed the world for the better .. and most of the moral teachings are a good thing ... I just don't believe you need a supernatural being at the top to still have those things :)

Hello my2cents. You are one of the few that seem to know that God is a title. Most 'mainstream Christians' seem to think that God's name is God or LORD. Do you use God's name Jehovah?

A couple of related questions:

http://answermug.com/forum/topics/does-your-bible-have-god-s-name-in-it

http://answermug.com/forum/topics/why-do-some-versions-of-the-bible-say-god-and-some-lord-in-the

I would think that if 'Joe' was a legitimate shortened equivalent in a language, 'Joe' would be fine. I suppose that the language would likely have to be consistent in translating the Y to J (Like Hebrew to English does) and the H to E though. 

“Jah” is a shortened form of the name Jehovah.

(Exodus 15:2, 3) My strength and my might is Jah, since he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.  3 Jehovah is a powerful warrior. Jehovah is his name.
(Psalm 122:4) The tribes have gone up to it, The tribes of Jah, According to the reminder to Israel, To give thanks to the name of Jehovah.

(Revelation 19:6) And I heard what sounded like a voice of a great crowd and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of heavy thunders. They said: “Praise Jah, because Jehovah our God, the Almighty, has begun to rule as king!

All right thanks. That's interesting.

You're welcome. Interesting to me that a non-believer like yourself realizes that God is not a name while it seems that most 'believers' among the mainstream think that God is God's name.They have caused some confusion by removing God's name from their Bibles.

Always learning something.