FROM THIS MONTH'S EDITOR
From the outset, we’re in trouble. Why that word at all? Why not Yahweh or Allah? Or, for that matter, Rama, Shiva and fellow deities of the Hindu pantheon? Or a non-god like the Buddha?
That’s even before we get to the thorny issue of gender. Surely feminist theology has been around long enough for us not to be automatically referring to chief deities as ‘he’?
These are all valid points. But during the course of putting together this magazine I could not help noticing that most people use the ‘name of God’ not in a religious context at all. It is an extraordinarily expressive linguistic tool – or expletive if you prefer.
So many of our expressions have religious derivations (including the infamous British ‘bloody’), and so deeply ingrained are they, that even when we try to take the God-element out of them the effect can be quite contrary. I’m thinking about how ‘God’ as in ‘for God’s sake’ has, in some vocabularies, been substituted with another Anglo-Saxon monosyllable. The sacrilege somehow makes the expression more self-consciously religious. You could say that’s quite appropriate, given the Almighty’s reputation for ubiquity.
With as many views on, and feelings about, the subject of gods and religion as there are people on the planet, a magazine called ‘In the name of God’ is bound to be heading for controversy. NI readers are not usually backward in coming forward with their views. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
