Jingo All the Way
A recent poll revealed that one out of five Americans had no religion—but said they did believe in God. The majority of the population shared that same belief, but what is it that is believed? Regardless of the answer, the common acceptance of that belief in our society is shown by how frequently in public the “Divine Name” is heard in expressions of wonderment, anger and to damn.
I was fortunate 40 years ago to spend time in India with a Christian holy man whose Indian name was Abhishiktananda. His name for The Almighty was The Divine Mystery. I adopted it at once and continue to this day to use it because it liberates me from the entrenched implications of the English “God.” That Old English name, via the German “Gott,” easily harbors as living relics negative ideas of a childhood parentally critical Deity—or old theological images shaped by Greek philosophy of an aloof, unmovable Supreme Being.
If any of these negative, unhelpful images come to mind when you hear the Divine Name, consider replacing it with one that doesn’t carry any baggage. You could use the Russian’s word for God, “Bog,” but it’s understandably undesirable since it sounds too much like dog or hog. Another possibility would be to use the holy name of the Spanish Basques-speaking peoples, “Jingo”!
Now, there’s a godly name with enormous possibilities! Consider its potential in such common phrases as “Jingo bless America” or “Jingo damn it” or “By Jingo, we’ll get it done.” Don’t too hastily reject this option by judging it ridiculous. Consider if the Basques St. Ignatius Loyola, who founded the Jesuits, ever prayed, “O Jingo, help me to renew the church.” Perhaps another Basques Jesuit, St. Francis Xavier, waiting three years as a missionary in Japan for a reply to a letter from Ignatius Loyola prayed, “O Jingo, hear my prayer that I will soon hear from Ignatius.”
Jingo is an answer to a prayer! In our nonreligious culture it is an amazingly undecipherable codename for God. You can use it frequently in public to pray for help, give thanks and to offer praise without appearing to be a religious fanatic.
I was fortunate 40 years ago to spend time in India with a Christian holy man whose Indian name was Abhishiktananda. His name for The Almighty was The Divine Mystery. I adopted it at once and continue to this day to use it because it liberates me from the entrenched implications of the English “God.” That Old English name, via the German “Gott,” easily harbors as living relics negative ideas of a childhood parentally critical Deity—or old theological images shaped by Greek philosophy of an aloof, unmovable Supreme Being.
If any of these negative, unhelpful images come to mind when you hear the Divine Name, consider replacing it with one that doesn’t carry any baggage. You could use the Russian’s word for God, “Bog,” but it’s understandably undesirable since it sounds too much like dog or hog. Another possibility would be to use the holy name of the Spanish Basques-speaking peoples, “Jingo”!
Now, there’s a godly name with enormous possibilities! Consider its potential in such common phrases as “Jingo bless America” or “Jingo damn it” or “By Jingo, we’ll get it done.” Don’t too hastily reject this option by judging it ridiculous. Consider if the Basques St. Ignatius Loyola, who founded the Jesuits, ever prayed, “O Jingo, help me to renew the church.” Perhaps another Basques Jesuit, St. Francis Xavier, waiting three years as a missionary in Japan for a reply to a letter from Ignatius Loyola prayed, “O Jingo, hear my prayer that I will soon hear from Ignatius.”
Jingo is an answer to a prayer! In our nonreligious culture it is an amazingly undecipherable codename for God. You can use it frequently in public to pray for help, give thanks and to offer praise without appearing to be a religious fanatic.
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