The Islamic version of naming God contrasts with the Jewish reluctance to put a face or name to an invisible G-d and who use only about three or four designations and give (him/her/it) a name.  I don’t know the 99 names of an Islamic God other than “Allah” which I know means “God”.  But the ancient Hebrews wrote it all down in their books that became the “Torah” or “Law” and specifically cited “God” as the author sometimes speaking through Moses.  “El”, “attah”, “adonoi”, “melech” and other usages translate from the basic phrase used by Jews in the Torah as “Blessed are YOU, O LORD our GOD, RULER of the universe.

One interesting artifact from the Hebrew attempt to deal with the unseen, unknowable, universal and all powerful deity who spoke with Abraham and Moses was the unpronounceable spelling of “Yeh he yeh” which gave rise to the Christian name for God that is sometimes used as “Yahweh” and which became “Jehovah”.

I suppose the Moslem, Christian and Jewish involvement with a single deity is that an invisible, all powerful and eternal God needs to be around to combat all the other gods that pagans and unbelievers in THE ONE GOD believe in. It is easy to see that nature or Nature in its guises as light and dark, wind, heat and cold and fertility should inspire the simple to believe that there are many aspects of god.  The Hindu belief in this has given rise to a monotheism that has more representations in statues than Catholicism.

We should not forget that many believe in LUCK, talismans, gestures, prayer and in pitchmen who want to sell you something.

Scientism is interesting but not very scientific.  If you read “A Stranger in a Strange Land” by Robert Heinlein you will find where the idea came from. Christian Science is also interesting but may be dangerous to your health.  They have a very fine Reading Room outreach program.

Scriptures are also interesting.  I personally find that the “Old Testament” is very readable.  I cannot say the same thing for the Quran that I have read several times.  I find my copy of the King James Version of the Bible that I brought with me from one of my stays in a hotel, quite satisfactory.  The Duay version of the same work differs only in a few minor places.  The story of the Angel Moroni that Mormons quote is an odd story that adds to both the Old and the New Testaments.

What I am saying is that we have made a mess of a simple idea – One God.