Jeezus…
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in ReligionTom Strong with an interesting look at the holy name:
And another thing: whatever your personal opinion on Christ, can we please please come to an agreement to stop calling him Jesus? Or, as it is pronounced in the vernacular, Jeezus?I recognize that Jeezus is fun to say. It’s got rhythm, a good cadence – frankly, it makes a terrific cuss word. Hell, I say it as a cuss word all the time. There’s only this problem: it wasn’t the Son of Man’s goddamn name.
His name was Yeshua (or Yehoshuwa) – which was the Hebrew form of Joshua. Joshua. Joshua! Joshua Christ, Somebody’s Lord and Savior, amen. The name “Jesus” descends from the Greek equivalent of Yeshua, Iasues. But the two names were equivalent!
Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “(Jeezus!) Strong, get over yourself. So what if he’s called Jesus? That’s just the way language evolves.” But here’s the problem: By calling Yeshua Jeezus, English speakers effectively destroy his humanity, because in the English language it is taboo to name your child Jesus. In Spanish, by contrast, “Jesus” (Hey, Seuss!, also fun to say) is a common name.
You say Jeezus, I say Hey-suess…let’s call the whole thing off…
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February 10th, 2006 at 9:31 am
So does this mean that my name is now going to become front-and-center in people’s prayers, sermons, protests, curses, acceptance speeches, post-sporting-event interviews, anti-Christian polemics and what have you? Great, juuuuuuust great.
Evidently Elton John and Bernie Taupin overlooked this little detail when they wrote (and John recorded) the song “Levon”. (“He calls his child Jesus/Because he likes the name…”) Oh well, at least they weren’t that far off with the bit about the NYT saying God is dead. Actually by now most of the rest of the MSM has joined in too.
February 10th, 2006 at 11:56 am
Next thing you know, he’ll be going after naming boys “Sue”.
February 10th, 2006 at 11:56 am
Jesus is alive and well, and he’s bagging fertilizer in a factory in Toledo, OH.
There’s a Jesus working on the line in one of our plants. It’s kind of funny to talk to a guy in a factory uniform that has “Jesus” on the name tag. I’m tempted to steal one of his shirts, because that would be cool to wear to the bar.
February 10th, 2006 at 1:36 pm
Denying his humanity? He clearly doesn’t understand the culture very thoroughly. Similarly in Irish there is a special form of the name Mary – Maire used for the Virgin – “Muire”. It is never used for anyone else, and I have never heard anyone say that this somehow denies the Virgin Mary’s humanity. This reminds me of a new brainfart I have sen – people writing “G-D” instead of “God”. They may have their theological reasons, but it is bad Englsih – in fact it is no part of Englsih culture.
March 9th, 2006 at 7:57 am
[...] I recently found a post that discusses the possibility that Christ’s name was actually Yeshua (or Yehoshuwa) – which was the Hebrew form of Joshua. In this discussion found on Donklephant, it was pointed out that the name “Jesusâ€Â? descends from the Greek equivalent of Yeshua, Iasues. [...]
April 26th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Somebody Up There Likes Me
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