Amen
That's the tattoo I'm thinking about getting. Amen. I heard it means, roughly, "so be it" or "let it be." These days, that's advice that should be printed on my heart.
Further research (through dictionary.com) yields up these definitions: an expression of assent or approval, a Hebrew word meaning firm and hence faithful, sometimes translated as 'verily,' a word which expresses the wish that a prayer be fulfilled, an acronym meaning "God, King who is Trustworthy," a derivative of the Hebrew verb aman "to strengthen," and a formula of conclusion -- finis.
Additionally, newadvent.org notes that "the Greek letters which form amen according to their numerical formulas total 99," a number which "often appears in inscriptions ... and a sort of magical efficacy seems to have been attributed to its symbol." The word amen appears 99 times in some Bibles.
Other entries at dictionary.com identify amen's association with Amon-ra, a supreme diety in Egyptian religion and god of life and reproduction, and with a primeval diety worshipped as the personification of air or breath.
In other words, amen seems like a sufficiently complex word/symbol to make permanent. I've been thinking about this tattoo thing for a while now, and there aren't many things I'd be willing to make permanent. Like a cartoon character, I just wouldn't do that. Not Taz, not Marvin the Martian, not even Scooby Doo. Like a sports team, I just wouldn't do that. Not the Broncos, not the Dogies, not even the Cowboys. Well, okay, maybe a bucking horse. It's better in Wyoming, is all I gotta say.
Further research (through dictionary.com) yields up these definitions: an expression of assent or approval, a Hebrew word meaning firm and hence faithful, sometimes translated as 'verily,' a word which expresses the wish that a prayer be fulfilled, an acronym meaning "God, King who is Trustworthy," a derivative of the Hebrew verb aman "to strengthen," and a formula of conclusion -- finis.
Additionally, newadvent.org notes that "the Greek letters which form amen according to their numerical formulas total 99," a number which "often appears in inscriptions ... and a sort of magical efficacy seems to have been attributed to its symbol." The word amen appears 99 times in some Bibles.
Other entries at dictionary.com identify amen's association with Amon-ra, a supreme diety in Egyptian religion and god of life and reproduction, and with a primeval diety worshipped as the personification of air or breath.
In other words, amen seems like a sufficiently complex word/symbol to make permanent. I've been thinking about this tattoo thing for a while now, and there aren't many things I'd be willing to make permanent. Like a cartoon character, I just wouldn't do that. Not Taz, not Marvin the Martian, not even Scooby Doo. Like a sports team, I just wouldn't do that. Not the Broncos, not the Dogies, not even the Cowboys. Well, okay, maybe a bucking horse. It's better in Wyoming, is all I gotta say.
Comments