Expert: Sal - 4/2/2004

Question
i am 19 going on 20 and have been catholic all of my life.  my family was never really religious, but i cnfirmed my senior year in h.s. and began to go to mass by myself. my boyfriend is a jehovas witness. and i am kind of confused as to some things now. for one is God's name really Jehova, and if so why is it that they make it seem like a conspiracy of the church for us not to know God's name?  also we are allowed to haev crosses right? because doesn't the Bible say to not make idols? i have heard that mary magdalene is not really a prostitute, and that the church clarified this but people continue to mistake her with the story before her of a no name prostitute, is any of this true?  did mary haev any other children, do they not mention that her and joseph had other children? i won't bother you anymore, i guess if you could answer any of that i would be greatful. thanks.

Answer
Dear April:

Allexperts.com keeps a record of answered questions. I checked and found that I had answered you, but allexperts must have lost the response. Sorry for the problem. Here is the answer that I sent. Please let me know if I can be of further help.-Sal

God's name is not Jehovha. That name came about because God's name in Hebrew is YHWH. Since the Jews did not want to pronounce God's name for fear of breaking the commandment, "Thou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain." So they would read Adonai when ever God's name appeared in the Bible. Adonai means Lord. Someone took the name of God, YHWH, and added the vowels from Adonai. This caused the name YoHaWiH which was pronounced Jehovah. The name of God is actually Yahweh pronounce Ya-way. Jehovah is a mistaken name for God. Why Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) make a conspiracy out of it is that they are completely wrong and try to hide this behind a conspiracy.

Crosses may be worn without violating the commandment to have no idols. God does allow for the use of images in worship services (if you would like more info on this let me know and I will show the evidence from the Bible proving this).

The prostitute in the Bible is not named. Therefore, she may or may not have been Mary Magdalene.

The Blessed Virgin Mary had no other children besides our Lord. No where in the Bible does it say that Mary and Joseph had children together. There are, however, references to the "brothers and sisters of the Lord". A careful study of these instances reveals no conclusive evidence that Jesus had actual blood brothers and sisters (if you would like I can go over these passages and explain from the Bible why I conclude this). They were most probably cousins or children of Joseph from a previous marriage.

Your questions are no bother at all. Please let me know if I can be of further help to you.

God Bless You,
Sal