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The meaning of "Amen".
Howdy folks,
According to Donald Michael Kraig in his book Modern Magic (2003:62) the word "amen" has its roots in the Literal Kabalah. It is, according to him, a kind of acronym (the kabalistic word for it is "notarikon") for a Hebrew phrase: Al Melech Nehehmahn, "God is our faithful king".
I was just wondering how many people (particularly how many Christians) are aware of this interpretation and of those who are aware, how many believe it to be true.
I'd like to hear any thoughts on this and any comments or thoughts on the word "amen" and its use in general.
Thanks,
Take care,
Eyvind
According to Donald Michael Kraig in his book Modern Magic (2003:62) the word "amen" has its roots in the Literal Kabalah. It is, according to him, a kind of acronym (the kabalistic word for it is "notarikon") for a Hebrew phrase: Al Melech Nehehmahn, "God is our faithful king".
I was just wondering how many people (particularly how many Christians) are aware of this interpretation and of those who are aware, how many believe it to be true.
I'd like to hear any thoughts on this and any comments or thoughts on the word "amen" and its use in general.
Thanks,
Take care,
Eyvind
That's a very weird meaning of "amen".
If i remember correctly, it simply means "we/i agree" in reponse to a community prayer, in arabic. Since arabic is similar to Hebrew, it most likely means the same thing.
may God bless you.
If i remember correctly, it simply means "we/i agree" in reponse to a community prayer, in arabic. Since arabic is similar to Hebrew, it most likely means the same thing.
may God bless you.
| source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen wrote: |
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The word Amen ... is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and in the Qur'an. |
Don't see any other defination for the word when doing a define: amen in google.
I always thought Amen meant something like "and let it be", or something like that, and I've sort of always liked that thought. It makes Christianity a little bit more "down to earth", when asking after a prayer that the future will be so. More like a wish, or a asking, than a actual word of worship.
I have really no knowledge what so ever about Qu/K-(spell ut how ever you want)-balah, so I can't really speak for or against this statement. But it's common knowledge that you may find many "hidden messages" both in the Bible, and in every so-called holy text.
I have really no knowledge what so ever about Qu/K-(spell ut how ever you want)-balah, so I can't really speak for or against this statement. But it's common knowledge that you may find many "hidden messages" both in the Bible, and in every so-called holy text.
I've never heard the definition above. I always understood "amen" to be similar to "so mote it be", which is used in many neo-pagan traditions: simply an affirmation or a hope that whatever was asked will be true.
in turkish language also we use the same phrase,it comes from arabic language.
I have been told that the meaning of amen is "Så är det" or "So it is" in english. That might be wrong though.
Thanks for all the responses so far.
According to my Hebrew lexicon (The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon) amen is an adverb and is translated directly as "verily, truly".
It seems to be used in modern times (by Christians, at least) in two main ways: 1) as a closure to prayers; and 2) as a kind of "here here!" agreement to what other people are saying.
Assuming the kabalistic notarikon has a historical development (and is not the result of Kraig's modern occult interpretation) then do you suppose it was developed after the word "amen" had been in strong use in the two ways mentioned above? Or do you think the notarikon meaning is what helped to steer people into using it this way (the mystical meaning adding a kind of magical power to the utterance)?
Take care,
Eyvind
According to my Hebrew lexicon (The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon) amen is an adverb and is translated directly as "verily, truly".
It seems to be used in modern times (by Christians, at least) in two main ways: 1) as a closure to prayers; and 2) as a kind of "here here!" agreement to what other people are saying.
Assuming the kabalistic notarikon has a historical development (and is not the result of Kraig's modern occult interpretation) then do you suppose it was developed after the word "amen" had been in strong use in the two ways mentioned above? Or do you think the notarikon meaning is what helped to steer people into using it this way (the mystical meaning adding a kind of magical power to the utterance)?
Take care,
Eyvind
i'm a Christian but i never knew of that meaning. I randomly remember someone saying it meant 'i agree' but i'm sure that may be incorrect
I've always learned Amen to mean "So be it" in Hebrew.
That's about the silliest poll I've ever seen.
The fellow that wrote that book needs to read Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen
The fellow that wrote that book needs to read Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen
Not everything people write in books is true. In particular when it concerns interpretation of the Bible you can't be careful enough. Many people have been deceived in many ways and ended up in weird cults. You have to check it out for yourself if it's true.
| jwellsy wrote: |
| That's about the silliest poll I've ever seen.
The fellow that wrote that book needs to read Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen |
I'm sorry jwellsy, but I can't help feeling insulted by that.
| I wrote: |
| I was just wondering how many people (particularly how many Christians) are aware of this interpretation and of those who are aware, how many believe it to be true.
|
Why would you think this is a silly poll (let alone the "silliest" poll you'd ever seen)? I was careful to use the word "interpretation" not "meaning". And I certainly wasn't impling that it is an undisputed fact (the "assumption" in my second post was a hypothetical one made in hopes of stimulating deeper discussion). I just wanted to get a feel for what people had heard about it.
Having said that, I find it rather humourous that you would cite Wikipedia as an authoritative source. Sure, it's useful as a starting point for research, but there are more than a few universities that have banned students from citing it in their papers. Perhaps there is a good reason for this.
| Arnie wrote: |
| Not everything people write in books is true. ...*snip*.... You have to check it out for yourself if it's true. |
This goes without saying and is, in my opinion, the whole reason we go to school. Critical thinking. It's why I posted this poll in the first place. There's a lot more "out there" than just what's on the net (regardless of what the Wiki-worshipers think)... and there may be *shock, gasp* more out there than what's in books!
The comments from the Christian point of view seem to be pretty consistent. This is, in iteslf, an interesting result of the poll. Thanks to all who have contributed thus far. But is there anyone out there that would care to comment on this thread from a kabbalistic (or modern occult - I know there are some Thelemites out there!) point of view?
Thanks.
Take care,
Eyvind
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