"...fundamental for theory is the idea that language is not a nomenclature: it articulates the world rather than simply representing what is already given..."
- Jonathan Culler
The word "God" is the same as any other word.
It derives from the Indo-European root "gheu", which means "to call, invoke". The definition of God comes from an evolution of meaning from a verb indicating "to invoke" into a noun meaning "the invoker".
God is a symbol for a something one calls out to, thereby bringing them into the mix and whatever situation happens to be happening.
An action becomes a being, word-wise.
An individual completes the action of calling out, invoking something that, eventually, that act becomes the something called upon.
The word has a special power, but as far as I've seen it's only as a word. The name of "God" isn't God. God is a word that describes a something that can be called into action for a variety of ways. Invoke always gave me the sense of potions and spells.
God as a magical spell.
In Korean, the name for God is Ha-nuh-nim. It means, roughly, sky person ("nim" is often used as an additive for proper addresses such as ma'am or sir). It ascribes to God a geographical place. The English term ascribes the Being's foundation in an act: being the called upon, the invoked.
In the Western tradition, God is often defined as love.
Ferdinand de Lacan said love was a metaphor for the bond between human beings. Other metaphorical words would be like, hate, adoration. Love is the strongest of the positive bonds between human beings.
God is love, therefore, is a metaphor defined as a metaphor.
Metaphorless, it would go something like "something one calls upon/invokes is a strong bond between two beings".
Calling upon something or someone which we perceive is stronger than us is a common bond among all human beings. We all fall short of our own expectations, which can extend to eternity and back at times.
Belief in God is something that enacts an understanding between human beings: we long for help in this world, we look in the eyes of one like us an acknowledge that all cannot be done.
I think it's fascinating that the word God has the power to become God in our minds. It means words, and ideas they are connected to, are extremely powerful.
The Bible is full of metaphors (one could say the Bible is a metaphor for truth or belief, yes?): images beyond images that tell a story (which is another image). I've never before thought of the Bible as layer after layer of images until writing this, but it is. It is a stack of photographs (which is also a metaphor), which create several larger images (or metaphors). Is the entire scripture a metaphor? Are there two separate metaphors for both the Old Testament and New Testament? Does the metaphor "God" denote different ideas in the different books?
I like "metaphor". Itself a word. Itself a metaphor. Metaphor being a symbol for something else. A simile being an image which is similar to something else. The Lord's Supper would be a metaphor for Catholics and a simile for Protestants.
God would be a metaphor for them both.
