The term Amen I often come across posts where people make a statement and then ask people to post the term amen in the comment field. This is done through postulation that the word amen means, so be it. What this tells me is that the person making the post is most likely a Christian, and that they have definitely not conducted a complete etymological study of the word amen. Although this term carries the connotation of agreement in several religions, its origin reveals so much more. Christianity has a very stern stance on idolatry or the worship of ancient relgions, which they consider to be pagan religions; however, the very word amen, which is arguably the most commonly used word in Christianity, originates from an ancient Egyptian religion, in which the God Amen rises from minor status to major status to become the official national god of Southern Egypt. Christians Christians say either Ahh-men or Ay-men. The Ahh-men pronunciation tends to be a bit more formal and used in liturgy, choral music, etc. An example can be heard in the closing part of Handels Messiah Worthy is the Lamb2. The Ahh-men in the final chorus is repeated dozens of times, runs to six pages in a typical choral score, and usually takes around 3 minutes 40 seconds to sing. The Ay-men pronunciation is often associated with evangelical Christians and gospel singing. Unlike Handels Messiah, the gospel chorus Amen has only five words, all the same (Ay----men, Ay----men, Ay----men, Ay-men, Ay--men.) yet can take much longer to perform as it is repeated over and over again, bringing the congregation into harmony. Jews For Jews, Amen is also an acronym for El Melech Neeman, which means Mighty, Faithful King. Muslims Muslims use Amen (Amin or Ameen) in the same way as Christians and Jews, even though the word does not appear in the Quran. Muslims say it after reciting Surah al-Fatihah, after completing their prayers, at the end of letters, etc. Buddhists and Hindus Many Buddhists and Hindus also use Amen at the end of prayers and as concurrence in the same way as the other religions. But where did it all begin? Ancient Egyptians From old Egyptian texts we can see that people regarded the Sun as the emblem of the Creator. They called the Sun Ra, and all other gods and goddesses were forms of the Creator. One of these gods was Amen; a secret, hidden and mysterious god named variously Amen, Amon, Amun, Ammon and Amounra. For the first eleven dynasties (c. 3000-1987 B.C.) Amen was just a minor god, but by the 17th dynasty (c. 1500 B.C.) he had been elevated to be the national god of southern Egypt. This position gave Amen the attributes and characteristics of the most ancient gods, and his name became Amen-Ra, that is, a supreme form of God the Creator. By the 18th Dynasty (1539-1295 B.C.) a college had been established to study Amen-Ra and as a focal point for worship. The Jews settled in Egypt for around 400 years4 from 1847 B.C. and during this sojourn there is no doubt they would have been fully exposed to the worship of Amen-Ra. By the time of their exodus from Egypt in 1447 B.C., Amen would certainly be in their language even if it was not their god. It would be a word that had associations with reverence and majesty. This is not difficult to understand. People still talk about Moses, Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha, and often use those names completely out of context as expletives. Amen was seen as a powerful god and the name continued, out of context, as an exclamation or salutation; a classic example of language evolution. From the Jews, the word was adopted by Christians, Muslims and others. So Amen was originally the name of a Pagan god, who was considered a form of God the Creator. But he was certainly not considered God, or Christ. Interestingly, most Pagans today tend not to use the word, preferring instead to say So mote it be, an old Anglo-Saxon term. Perhaps they see the word Amen in the Bible and the Tanakh and dont want to be associated with Christianity or the like. Indeed, in the Bible3 we see Jesus Christ referred to as The Amen. Christ is Gods Amen to all that he has spoken. Thereby the name used for an old Egyptian god is replaced by the same name used for Christ. Like many other words used in religion, (or art, mathematics, medicine, etc) its easy to believe that our ancestors saw no point in creating new vocabulary when existing and familar words could be recycled. Yet some people are vehemently protective of things and believe Amen is a Biblical word which is also found in the Tanakh and in Islam, and happens to sound like the name of a Pagan god. Others believe it is an Islamic word that can also be found in the Bible and Tanakh. And so on. The whole issue is hotly debated and any Pagan link denied by many. Who knows how many accidental or deliberate mistranslations have crept in over the centuries. Those who believe that God is the Great Mathematician will no doubt point to the numeric value of Amen: Finally, we may note that the word Amen occurs not infrequently in early Christian inscriptions, and that it was often introduced into anathemas and gnostic spells. Moreover, as the Greek letters which form Amen according to their numerical values total 99 (alpha=1, mu=40, epsilon=8, nu=50), this number often appears in inscriptions, especially of Egyptian origin, and a sort of magical efficacy seems to have been attributed to its symbol. (Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 1; 1907) I would advise those who adhere to the most profound tenets of Christianity to at least have a limited perspicacity of the liturgical, sacramental and ritualistic words they use without thought. In most instances, these words hold the answers to the truths that have been hidden from you for centuries. It is time to wake up and learn. Just chasing down the etymology of this one word will lead you to a wealth of information which will result in an elevated level of illumination. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace, Ph.D.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 14:57:39 +0000
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