THE GREAT MAGNET is what conceptual journalist Hunter S. Thompson called our mysterious Subject in his Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. Typical of Thompson’s grim, savage outlook, the Great Magnet is mentioned only indirectly. It may be neither prayed to nor appeased; only its workings observed with scalpel-tongued irony.

Each day of 2011, Metaphorager.Net will feature a different name for that-which-some-people-call-God. Some will be original, others traditional. If you want to see your favorite here, send it to scoop@sonic.net with the subject line “365 Names.”

ELOHIM. Hebrew for “gods,” “divine beings,” “judges.” In the Torah, this Name denotes God’s judgmental aspect. It’s also the first one given in the Torah, and as it’s associated with the first creation story some consider that tale a metaphor for the dawning of consciousness: that Reality is not created from Nothing so much as it’s distinguished from Chaos.

Each day of 2011, Metaphorager.Net will feature a different name for that-which-some-people-call-God. Some will be original, others traditional. If you want to see your favorite here, send it to scoop@sonic.net with the subject line “365 Names” and whether or not you want to be credited.

THE SELF-EVIDENT is That which does not need to justify Its existence. An analogy is found in the answer to the question, “How do you know you’re reading this?”

Each day of 2011, Metaphorager.Net will feature a different name for that-which-some-people-call-God. Some will be original, others traditional. If you want to see your favorite here, send it to scoop@sonic.net with the subject line “365 Names” and whether or not you want to be credited.

This name of God, the most holy to Jews, is that by which God asked Moses to introduce Him to the Israelites in the Book of Exodus. Lacking vowels, it is literally unpronounceable; the transliterated spelling is YHVH. Where it appears in Torah or prayer, hardcore Jews instead say “Adonai” (my Lord) or “Hashem” (The Name) and associate thsi name with God’s merciful (as opposed to judgmental) aspect. Those qualities seem apropos for our first installment in the 365 Names Of God Project. May the MultiMonickered please bless my efforts.

Each day of 2011, Metaphorager.Net will feature a different name for that-which-some-people-call-God. Some will be original, others traditional. If you want to see your favorite here, send it to scoop@sonic.net with the subject line “365 Names” and whether or not you want to be credited.