# What Christian sect makes a big deal about "the real" name of Jesus? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152 "2016-08-08T16:54:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/1 "2016-08-08T16:54:58Z")
I was talking to someone the other day, and religious beliefs came up. When discussing their religion they made a huge deal about "the real’ name of Jesus and profound implications of the fact that that the powers that be in the church refuse to to recognize that “real name” (specifically the white powers that be). I don’t think the actual “real” name of Jesus they referred to was anything more profound that the shorten version of Joshua that was translated as Jesus from the Hebrew/Aramaic to the Greek. I’ve never heard this particular view before. While I’ve never heard of a huge significance attached to it, I’ve never heard of the whole Jesus/Joshua thing being kept secret or denied by any Christian church. My question is, is this view (of the huge significance attached to the “real” name of Jesus) associated with a particular Christian sect or cult? ---
**Author:** ![dreamregent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6f9a4e/32.png) [@dreamregent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dreamregent)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/2 "2016-08-08T17:03:48Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > I was talking to someone the other day, and religious beliefs came up. When discussing their religion they made a huge deal about "the real’ name of Jesus and profound implications of the fact that that the powers that be in the church refuse to to recognize that “real name” (specifically the white powers that be). I don’t think the actual “real” name of Jesus they referred to was anything more profound that the shorten version of Joshua that was translated as Jesus from the Hebrew/Aramaic to the Greek. > > I’ve never heard this particular view before. While I’ve never heard of a huge significance attached to it, I’ve never heard of the whole Jesus/Joshua thing being kept secret or denied by any Christian church. > > My question is, is this view (of the huge significance attached to the “real” name of Jesus) associated with a particular Christian sect or cult? The New Testament was mainly written in Greek to begin with. “Jesus” is what we ended up with but I don’t think it’s much more than a transliteration from the Greek, maybe a few steps removed. What particular sect or cult are we talking about here? ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/3 "2016-08-08T17:13:26Z")
> [@dreamregent](#): > > The New Testament was mainly written in Greek to begin with. “Jesus” is what we ended up with but I don’t think it’s much more than a transliteration from the Greek, maybe a few steps removed. But Jesus didn’t speak Greek, he spoke Aramaic (and Hebrew as a religious language). Greek was the language of the cosmopolitan urban population (that Christain teachings later spread to). So he would not have called himself Jesus (Iesous), he’d have used the Hebrew/Aramaic Yeshua. Before that conversation, I’ve never heard of any particular significant associated with this fact. > [@dreamregent](#): > > What particular sect or cult are we talking about here? That’s the thing, I don’t know. I assume it is associated with some particular sect, but I’ve no idea which (it could just be something one person came up with after spending too long on the internet). ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/4 "2016-08-08T17:23:46Z")
Well, the JW’s are very big on the name of what most Christians just call “God” to properly be Jehovah. I believe even they say “Jesus” though. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/5 "2016-08-08T17:34:52Z")
Could it be the “Jesus was really Black” theory? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/6 "2016-08-08T17:51:24Z")
[Here is one sect’s take on the “real” name of Jesus.](http://www.thenazareneway.com/yeshua_jesus_real_name.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/7 "2016-08-08T17:55:41Z")
Jews For Jesus is very big on the [importance](http://jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/v03-n10/whythatname) of the Messiah’s name being Y’shua. ---
**Author:** ![dreamregent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6f9a4e/32.png) [@dreamregent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dreamregent)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/8 "2016-08-08T18:01:28Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > But Jesus didn’t speak Greek, he spoke Aramaic (and Hebrew as a religious language). Greek was the language of the cosmopolitan urban population (that Christain teachings later spread to). So he would not have called himself Jesus (Iesous), he’d have used the Hebrew/Aramaic Yeshua. Before that conversation, I’ve never heard of any particular significant associated with this fact. True but you indicated the person you were talking to thought it was the “white powers that be” who made this change. What I meant was that this was merely due to a transliteration from one language to another. It’s not like “whitey” was trying to take over Jesus, not when the texts were written, anyway. Indeed, I suspect the people responsible for this were probably not that different from Jesus in terms of skin shade. > [@griffin1977](#): > > That’s the thing, I don’t know. I assume it is associated with some particular sect, but I’ve no idea which (it could just be something one person came up with after spending too long on the internet). Maybe it isn’t organized. > [@clairobscur](#): > > Could it be the “Jesus was really Black” theory? Yeah, I got this impression too. While I understand the sentiment, it’s not that simple. Frankly, I don’t think Jesus’ skin shade was fundamentally any different from the current population living in Israel/Palestine, particularly the portion composed of the historical local population which remained throughout the diaspora. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/9 "2016-08-08T18:06:32Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > Well, the JW’s are very big on the name of what most Christians just call “God” to properly be Jehovah. I believe even they say “Jesus” though. Wait, I thought it was YAHWEH? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/10 "2016-08-08T18:08:45Z")
His full name was Yeshua Ben Yoseph. In modern English, that’d be Josh Josephson. Or maybe he’d be Josh Carpenter. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/11 "2016-08-08T18:10:49Z")
I know a true religions nutjob who believes this and he subscribes to the Yeshua theory. However, I don’t think he belongs to a specific sect, but heard that somewhere and cherry-picked it for importance in his solo “spiritual” journey. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/12 "2016-08-08T18:24:54Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > His full name was Yeshua Ben Yoseph. In modern English, that’d be Josh Josephson. Or maybe he’d be Josh Carpenter. [“Ben” or “bar”?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/33/what-was-jesus-real-name) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/13 "2016-08-08T18:25:56Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > Wait, I thought it was YAHWEH? Yahweh comes from the Hebrew YHWH, which is the name for God that God gives to Moses and is translated as “I Am.” Many Jews and Christians consider the name to be holy, and most Bible translations substitute the word LORD (in all caps) where YHWH is used, except where it is first given in Exodus: > [@](#): > > But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” “Jehova” is the Greek(?) transliteration of Yahweh. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/14 "2016-08-08T18:29:04Z")
This is the group that I’m familiar with. They claim that no translation of God’s name is valid: rather, one must use the original Hebrew. That belief comes from Acts 4:12–“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Personally, I think they take it just a trifle TOO literally. > [@](#): > > We affirm that it is necessary and most important to our salvation that we accept the revealed, personal Name of our Heavenly Father YAHWEH and the Name of His Son, our Savior YAHSHUA the MESSIAH. [https://www.assembliesofyahweh.com/statement-of-doctrine/](https://www.assembliesofyahweh.com/statement-of-doctrine/) ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/15 "2016-08-08T19:19:41Z")
Some of the fundamentalist sects in the South, such as [this one](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faithful_Word_Baptist_Church), are fanatic in their insistence that Jesus called himself Jesus and not Yeshua, Joshua, etc. How they manage to argue this is quite beyond me but argue it they do and at interminable length. These are the same guys to whom the King James Bible is the literal word of God, and if God says it was Jesus then Jesus it was! ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/16 "2016-08-08T19:26:03Z")
The group that \*\*Flyer \*\*linked to is part of a larger bunch of sects called the [Sacred Name Movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Name_Movement). They basically developed in the early 20th century out of the Adventist movement of the 1800s, which puts them in common company with the SDAs, JWs, Armstrong Churches of God and other groups. According to the article I linked, they were somewhat influenced by the JWs, but went even further. The JWs insist on the name “Jehovah,” but will also use terms like “God” and “Lord.” The Sacred Names groups generally reject these terms as pagan, and insist that the only proper way to refer to God and Jesus is by the Hebrew version of their names. There are even disputes among some of the SN groups about how the names should be pronounced. JWs, on the other hand, acknowledge that “Yahweh” may be a more accurate pronunciation of the divine name than “Jehovah,” which is an amalgam of the consonants YHWH and the vowels for _Adonai_, the Hebrew word for “Lord.” They say that they prefer to retain the pronunciation, “Jehovah,” because it is the version of the name that most people are familiar with, though in modern times, I think it’s just the pronunciation that people will tend to identify with their group. A barnd name, if you will. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/17 "2016-08-08T19:28:15Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Some of the fundamentalist sects in the South, such as [this one](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faithful_Word_Baptist_Church), are fanatic in their insistence that Jesus called himself Jesus and not Yeshua, Joshua, etc. How they manage to argue this is quite beyond me but argue it they do and at interminable length. These are the same guys to whom the King James Bible is the literal word of God, and if God says it was Jesus then Jesus it was! Hey, if the King James Bible was good enough for the apostles, it’s good enough for me! /s 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/18 "2016-08-08T19:30:41Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > The group that \*\*Flyer \*\*linked to is part of a larger bunch of sects called the [Sacred Name Movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Name_Movement). According to the Wiki page of Assemblies Of Yahweh, they claim not to be associated with the Sacred Name Movement. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/19 "2016-08-08T23:53:28Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Jews For Jesus is very big on the [importance](http://jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/v03-n10/whythatname) of the Messiah’s name being Y’shua. That was the group I was going to mention. Even have a Bible they like to use: The Complete Jewish Bible. Though I’m not sure the translator is a J4J. He definitely styles himself as being an actual Jewish person who wants to show the Jewish roots of the New Testament. One of the biggest changes is in how he translates “not under law” to try and get around the Jewish objections to the concept. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152/20 "2016-08-09T00:08:55Z")
I got diverted thinking about casual names. Was there a shortened, slang or casual nickname for whatever he might have officially been named? Jake, Joe, Jess, for instance? If you indeed have a friend in Jesus. Is he your bud Jake? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-christian-sect-makes-a-big-deal-about-the-real-name-of-jesus/762152.md?page=2)