In bible times, the names of individuals were more an identification—names indicated character and nature. Sometimes an individual's name was changed when he went through a transforming experience. Jacob, for example, became Israel after his experience at Peniel.See Gen. 32:24-30 . And Saul began to use the name Paul after his conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus.See Acts, chap. 9 and 13:9 .
It was natural, then, to place great emphasis on God's name as denoting His nature. God revealed Himself to Moses as "I AM" when He told Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Later, the growing perception of God's nature was expressed in names such as "the Holy One of Israel," "Shepherd," "Father," "Love." Of course, an expanding understanding of God's nature expands our perception of our own identity as His likeness.
Other Bible-based terms for God are Mind, Spirit, Soul, Life, and Truth. In Christian Science the term Principle is also a name for God. God is Principle because He is the Lawgiver, as the Bible teaches. He is the divine source of order and harmony. And His nature is scientifically provable. Science and Health says: "Our Master healed the sick, practised Christian healing, and taught the generalities of its divine Principle to his students; but he left no definite rule for demonstrating this Principle of healing and preventing disease. This rule remained to be discovered in Christian Science."Science and Health, p. 147.
