Obscure verb provides name for God
One obstacle missionaries Adam and Julie Martin faced while preparing Bible lessons for the Akolet people of Papua New Guinea was finding a name for God.
Their first option was just to use the word God -- often a good choice -- but the word God had no meaning for the Akolets.
Then they considered using one of the names of the powerful spirits in Akolet culture. But none of these spirits have attributes even remotely similar to the Creator of the universe. In fact many had negative characteristics that should not be associated with God.
"Would you believe," wrote Adam, "that there is a verb in Akolet that means to ’make something out of nothing or to create’? It is an archaic word simply because no human makes something out of nothing. So when would you even use a word like that?"
Adam and Julie decided that Ker Etolingka meaning our Creator was an excellent name to use to introduce the Akolet people to God.
Adam and Julie are translating the portions in Genesis and Exodus needed for evangelistic Bible lessons. They are also preparing to begin a literacy class in April.
Pray for Adam and Julie as they minister among the Akolets. Pray also for Sapu and Kola who have joined the five men currently helping with Bible translation and writing Bible lessons.
Their first option was just to use the word God -- often a good choice -- but the word God had no meaning for the Akolets.
Then they considered using one of the names of the powerful spirits in Akolet culture. But none of these spirits have attributes even remotely similar to the Creator of the universe. In fact many had negative characteristics that should not be associated with God.
"Would you believe," wrote Adam, "that there is a verb in Akolet that means to ’make something out of nothing or to create’? It is an archaic word simply because no human makes something out of nothing. So when would you even use a word like that?"
Adam and Julie decided that Ker Etolingka meaning our Creator was an excellent name to use to introduce the Akolet people to God.
Adam and Julie are translating the portions in Genesis and Exodus needed for evangelistic Bible lessons. They are also preparing to begin a literacy class in April.
Pray for Adam and Julie as they minister among the Akolets. Pray also for Sapu and Kola who have joined the five men currently helping with Bible translation and writing Bible lessons.