A conversation on TED.com: All Jewish, Christian and Islamic people use the name HAJEAL when they refer to God for an experimental period of 366 days.

Rhona Pavis
Gaithersburg, MD
United States

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All Jewish, Christian and Islamic people use the name HAJEAL when they refer to God for an experimental period of 366 days.

I believe that much of the animousity among the members of these religions is based merely in the different names they insist upon using when they make reference to the one God they claim to believe in. HAJEAL is a combination of HAshem, JEsus and ALlah. Seems worth a try. If Islamic, Christian and Jewish people used one name for their one God, they might be more inclined to see their similarities rather than focus on their differences.

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Rhona Pavis 30+
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Nov 14 2011: Matthieu, I am glad you have been freed of religious brainwashing so that you are now able to use your own fine mindheartspiritsoulbody to live according to your highest awareness of what is right, positive, good. Maybe it is not "all in a name," but I do think the strong resistance I have observed from all Islamic, Christian and Jewish people to my idea of using HAJEAL for 366 days to bring harmony to these discontent groups of people indicates to me that these people place far too much emphasis on the mere name they use when they refer to the one God they claim they believe in. Seems worth an experiment for a mere 366 days. Small price to pay for everlasting peace, love and all that other positive stuff we human beings are capable of co-creating.
Rhona Pavis 30+
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Nov 14 2011: Matthieu, I cordially invite you to join me in using the word "HAJEAL" whenever you refer to the one God, monotheists claim to believe in. Perhaps others will join us. Perhaps this plan will work to bring about respect, trust, love, enjoyment and other positive experiences for us and our contemporary and future Earthmates who now think of themselves as significantly separate by calling themselves Islamic, Christian or Jewish and using different terms to refer to the one God they claim to believe in. It seems possible that some people might get the idea that life is supposed to be and can be a positive experience for all people. HAPPY TODAY!
Rhona Pavis 30+
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Nov 11 2011: I wonder how many people are now using the term HAJEAL when they refer to the one God they claim to believe in. When people refer to God by a particular term, e.g., Jesus, Allah, Hashem, I wonder if they feel superior to people who use other names when they refer to God.
- Matthieu Miossec 100+
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  TED Translator Associate
  
  Nov 12 2011: Probably just you to be honest.
Linus Hollis
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Nov 2 2011: Great! Why do you leave out other monotheists like Native Americans, Sikhs, etc... even Hindus and their offshoots are ultimately monotheistic in their creation concept. Having a universal name [why not Great Spirit?], though, is a wonderful idea, embraced by most people of faith along with the Golden Rule.
- Rhona Pavis 30+
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  Nov 2 2011: Linus, I would like it to apply to all religions, but this is simply a proposed experiment. I thought it might accelerate the process to limit it to 3 religions for 366 days. I hope it works. WHEN it is successful, it will be expanded to include all other monotheistic religions using a different term that shows respect for all belief systems. The goal is respect, peace, love and healthy, happy long lives for all. (The ongoing hostilities rationalized by members of particular relgions hurt everyone, are redundant, trite and diminish all who participate in alleging that their religion is somehow more correct than other religions.) I just thought it would be more efficient to limit the experiment to 3 religions that include lots of human beings who share the human desires for good lives for themselves, their offspring and possibly for humanity. We'll see. I wonder how many people have begun using the term HAJEAL when they pray to or refer to the one God they claim they believe in. Power to the positive! May HAJEAL bless you and provide you with lots of serendipity.
Rhona Pavis 30+
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Nov 2 2011: Matthieu, perhaps you do not understand the point of ALL JEWISH, CHRISTIAN and ISLAMIC people using THE SAME TERM when they refer to the ONE GOD they ALL purport to believe in. Meditate on it for a while and you will understand the point I am making. Don't you think it is strange that everyone thinks that they just happen to have been born into the ONE TRUE RELIGION? Perhaps you are one of the people who was heavily brainwashed into whatever your religion is. Do you happen to be a member of the same religion that your parents were members of? This is YOUR LIFE. Respect yourself. Think what YOU think. Believe what YOU believe. It is irrelevant to your life what dead people believed. Create your own life instead of marching to the tempo of dead authority figures.
- Matthieu Miossec 100+
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  TED Translator Associate
  
  Nov 12 2011: In case you hadn't guessed yet, I am a member of no religion at all. The religion of my upbringing is long gone. The point of my comment was to point out how optimistic it is to think that simple wordplay is going to make the three monotheistic religions more peaceful. The real problems between them are not in the name they give to God but in their beliefs which, despite their Abrahamic roots are different.
  
  At any rate none of them are true. You want to make them more peaceful? Take them out as much as possible of public life and push them back to private life where they belong.
Matthieu Miossec 100+
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TED Translator Associate

Nov 1 2011: Let's also call Jesus the Son of prod. Surely that linguistic compromise between Son of God and prophet will reconcile those who think he was the son of God and those who think he was merely a prophet. Surely we can beat most or all of the ire religions have for each other with new words!
Rhona Pavis 30+
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Nov 1 2011: HAJEAL is a name I suggest to be used by all Christian, Jewish and Islamic people for 366 days everytime they refer to God as an attempt to raise the consciousness of all Islamic, Christian and Jewish people that claim they believe in one God. It is time to end the hostilities. The destructive behavior of those who hurt and kill others with a self-righteous attitude is totally inappropriate and highly displeasing to their very own one God. It may be hurting God's feelings to be used as an excuse to vent personal frustrations by harming others in a name used to refer to God. God wants people to control themselves and to cease trying to control others. As soon as Jewish, Christian and Islamic people start respecting each other and treating each other with loving kindness, we can expand this experiment to include Hindus, Taoists, Sikhs and other religions. I am certain that God cares more about the positive behavior of people who claim to believe in him or her than in the mere word used as a name to identify God. Do you think for yourself or have you merely accepted the brainwashing of your parents and the dead people who attempted to foist their beliefs upon you? This is YOUR LIFE. You are entitled to think what you think and believe what you believe and live according to your own highest values and awareness of what is right. Insisting on a particular name (e.g., Jesus, Allah, Hashem) to refer to the one God people claim to believe in as more important than insisting on respectful, loving behavior towards living people seems out of tune with the positive will of the one positive God you may believe in. May HAJEAL bless you with much serendipity.
Rhona Pavis 30+
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Oct 31 2011: Perhaps it would be a good idea to learn about other religions. I have found that all religions have at least a few good one-liners. It might expand your spirit, understanding and respect for other people. As I said, I would be totally okay with the universal use of the word "GOD," if that would work to cause people of all religions to show respect for the thoughts, beliefs and lives of the rest of humanity. Doesn't it seem arrogant and stupid to hate strangers because they believe differently than you do or use a different name for God or describe themselves as being members of different religions? Don't you think God or HAJEAL wants all human beings to live in peace, love, truth and joy? Let us do that. If you and I do it, the positive contagion might spread to the rest of our wonderful world.......so filled with positive possibilities for all human beings and other life forms. This is YOUR LIFE. I hope you use your mind, feelings and life experiences to form your beliefs and behavior. So what if other people have other beliefs? Are you familiar with the expression "Live and let live?" Power to the positive!
Matthieu Miossec 100+
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TED Translator Associate

Oct 29 2011: I think it is naive to think that it all boils down to the way each religion calls God. There are many other contradictions that make these mutually incompatible. The divisions within Christianity, Islam and Judaism are testimony to this. How can you explain the violence between factions of the same Abrahamic religion if its all in the name? (excluding conflicts that are motivated by other socio-economical reasons)

How do you fit in Hindus, Animist, Pagans and all other non-Abrahamic faiths? One should not just ignore Hindus, there are more Hindus then Jews in this world.
- Rhona Pavis 30+
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  Oct 31 2011: Thank you for expressing your true thoughts and feelings. May HAJEAL bless you with all your heart desires.
  - Matthieu Miossec 100+
    
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    TED Translator Associate
    
    Oct 31 2011: HAJEAL most probably doesn't exist, but thanks.
Muhammad Aizat Zainal Alam 30+
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TED Translator

Oct 29 2011: I'm truly sorry Rhona.But as Muslims, it is against our religion to do such things.However, there are other ways for all of us to unite ( not just Jews, Christians and Muslims but ALL of us).I'll be glad if you are willing to discuss this further with me because like you, I too struggle to find the solution to this never-ending problem : How do we unite? Personally, I believe in this saying : "You can believe in anything that you want but you must never impose what you believe on someone else".The root of all this problem is that people impose what they believe in on someone else.Now how do we find the solution to this problem?
- Linda Hesthag Ellwein 50+
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  Host TED Attendee TED Translator Associate
  
  Oct 29 2011: I agree wholeheartedly. When I first saw this post, I admit I went right past it because of the name suggested. It seemed unlikely any religion would refer to their higher power as something other than how they've been directed in their holy books. However, admittedly, my first thought was why not God? Recognizing that doctrines vary widely.
  
  What would allow it to work for Muslims, in your opinion? The Muslim community is the only one I'm not familiar with, and don't know how they perceive those of other faiths? Can you tell us more about that?
  - Muhammad Aizat Zainal Alam 30+
    
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    TED Translator
    
    Oct 30 2011: My dear, Allah is an Arabic word for God.The Arab Christians also use the word "Allah" when praying.There should be no problem I suppose if we want to use the word God for a change.What matters is that I still refer the word God to the supreme being that I worship everyday.It all comes down to your heart.
- Rhona Pavis 30+
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  Oct 29 2011: Muhammad, Perhaps it is "all in the name." It seems a trivial thing to do in order for the great possibility of making Muslims, Christians and Jews let go of their irrational hostilities and arrogance and bringing peace, love and respect to the humanity that is now suffering as a result of the negative behavior based upon each religion assuming they are the one true religion. Humility and compassion would serve the happiness of humans far better than any of these religions are serving humanity. They all deprive the current population of their own beliefs based on their own experiences and turn people into nonthinking robots marching in lockstep with their dead ancestors. HAJEAL is my attempt to unite Christians, Jews and Muslims into the reality that their one God desires them to respect and love each other and decease from all hurtful words and acts. Power to the positive!
  - Muhammad Aizat Zainal Alam 30+
    
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    TED Translator
    
    Oct 30 2011: I do agree with you but instead of creating something in common between these three religions, why not find something in common between them.Something that already exists in these three religions.That way, we can realize that deep inside, we are all actually the same.In my opinion, we must never blame religion for all that has happened to us.It's how we think and articulate about religion itself.
    - Rhona Pavis 30+
      
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      Oct 31 2011: If you were born into a Lutheran or Hindu family, what would you believe? I am glad you realize that "deep inside, we are all actually the same." That is a reason to respect, love and be honest with each other, knowing that others are as wise, wonderful and sensitive as we are. I hope that all of your positive dreams are fulfilled. Thank you for your heartfelt comments. Perhaps we are making progress in co-creating a happy world for all human beings. We have the power. We can do it. Let us. If we are truthful, good and participate in positive acts, use positive words we can elevate the well-being of humankind. We may as well.
  - Muhammad Aizat Zainal Alam 30+
    
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    TED Translator
    
    Oct 30 2011: Maybe I should explain this to you so that we'll all understand a little bit better about each other :
    
    I don't know about other religion but in Islam :
    
    1)Both Allah and Jesus exists in our religion, but,
    2)Allah is God
    3)Jesus is just a person, a prophet.
    4)To equate Jesus and Allah as the same being would be wrong and contradicting.
    
    On the other hand, using the word God would be a better solution if you still insist in proposing your idea here.I hope this clears the air here.have a nice day.
Karen Best
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Oct 28 2011: While anything that might help is certainly worthy of pursuing, I think it goes much deeper than the name of the God or prophet one believes in. As pointed out this also eliminates belief systems other than mono-theistic.
Based on religion, there is fighting over land.
There is fighting over freedom of individuals (and gender).
There is fighting based on one holy book being "right" over centuries of man kind.
I think it will take more than choosing a unified name for a benevolent or non-benevolent being.
Jak Xenon
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Oct 28 2011: also, if this was successful and most monotheist religions worship HAJEAL, then you have created a huge divide between monotheism and polytheism, which is not such a good plan.
- Ed Schulte 30+
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  Oct 28 2011: well placed comment jak
  
  but the bottom line of any "name" mind game is just that ..it is a "name" placed there by human mind on a mind created concept.
  
  this was covered long before the Abrahamic God ( which is what the New name proposed as HAJEAL is) concept was patented.
  
  "The Tau that can be spoken is not the true Tau" is a pointer both atheist and non-atheist can live by
  - Jak Xenon
    
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    Oct 28 2011: indeed.
Jak Xenon
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Oct 27 2011: we could always just promote a more hindu way of thinking of other religions. respecting and facilitating peaceful relations with other religions but silently believing you are right and they are wrong. if they were raised in a region and under a family who practice another religion, then your god(s) must have a reason for placing them in that region and family. respect your god(s) choice to place them there.

by the way I'm atheist. no preaching from me. just spreading ideas of tolerance.
Louise Asselin
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Oct 27 2011: Believing in one true God beit Jesus Christ, Allah or Hashem does not necessarily mean you cling to negative feelings, thoughts and behavior.

I believe you can respect your neighbour regardless of their belief. As a Christian, I'm not interested in worshipping Allah or Hashem. That doesn't mean that I do not respect my neighbours because they do - I respect their choice and hope they reciprocate.

It can be insulting to some (for the record I do not take offence personally) to suggest they equate their one true God with others' gods - it is diminishing to their belief and ignorant to think it's that easy to do.

I understand why you presented your idea and your intention is for a more peaceful, respectful world. Thank you for posting your idea!
- Rhona Pavis 30+
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  Oct 29 2011: You are welcome.
Rhona Pavis 30+
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Oct 27 2011: My point is simple and clear: ALL Islamic, Christian and Jewish people use ONLY the name HAJEAL (HAshem/JEsus/ALlah) for 366 days as an experiment to find out if the members of these religions appreciate the concept they claim to believe in that there is ONE GOD who wants them to all respect and enjoy each other and life.
Considering the current situation, this experiment certainly seems worth a try by those who claim to desire peace and who claim to believe there is one God. Why cling to negative feelings, thoughts and behavior when positive is possible?
- Helen Hupe 20+
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  Oct 28 2011: Rhona...............Why cling to negative feelings, thoughts and feelings ?
  Why indeed ? Animals instinctually are territorial. Humans have inherited this instinct and I believe that man has tried to make this look respectable by using various religious beliefs to support their actions. Probably without being conscious of his motives. Also doing negative things in the name of God frees one from guilt, though it should not. But the people who use religion as an excuse to persecute and murder are not critical thinkers nor are they authentc. They accept other peoples' teachings and are led as lambs to do whatever the leaders require. I think that there is also the herd instinct at work because everyone wants to belong to something.. They do not know the joys of abadoning their animal nature and climbing up the mountain to empathy and compassion.
  - Rhona Pavis 30+
    
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    Oct 29 2011: Helen, Seems to me that negativity requires more energy and causes more pain than positivity. POWER TO THE POSITIVE!
Salim Solaiman 50+
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Oct 27 2011: So what is your point ?I see they are fighting with each other since the begining.Are not we all human being look similar at least with our basic structure at macro level......why we created so many divisions in different names?

By the way there are lot more similarities in those religions you mentioned which are
All are abrahamic religions
All share same myth of creationism
Being the last one The Quran agrees other two religions are also send by God/Allah

Some rituals are also similar

But end result CRUSADE ....JIHAD..........which is still on...........
- James van der Walt
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  Oct 27 2011: Yip, I agree. Why not just stick to god... it's a common word to all isn't it? If they all use the same name then they will have to admin that their god is also the god of the other religions. Then they will loose all their power... and where's the money and power in that?
  - Rhona Pavis 30+
    
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    Oct 29 2011: I agree with you. The word "God" would work. I wonder why it has not. That's why I suggested this experiment covering just 3 religions for starters. Of course you are correct about the probable motivation of the originators and proponents of "religions." There is also, of course, the control-other-people (instead of controlling your self) factor. Power to the positive!