The use of “Amen”
I love this internet presence for the Eternal Faith, so any critique or questions I write in the spirit of love and trying to understand.
My question here in regards to the Canonical Hours: why does the 'Our Mother' end with 'Amen', which is the name of a Kemetic male god, (and incidentally the chief male creator god - equivalent to Zeus and Iupiter)?
With best wishes,
Dini Pantheacraft
Thank you for your kind words and for your inquiry.
The name of the Egyptian (or Kemetic) deity Amun has sometimes been spelt as Amen in English (also Amon and Ammon). It does not appear to have any etymological connection to the Hebrew word "amen".
The word "amen" means in Hebrew "so be it" and has been adopted by Christians as well as Muslims as a prayer-ending word.
The use of it in the Offices of the Gospel Appendix and other places is essentially taking "amen" to be a common English (loan) word, like "cafe" from French or "tempo" from Italian. It is not intended to imply a connection to other religions.
It could be argued that it might nevertheless tend to carry such implications and we would certainly urge anyone who feels that to be the case not to use the word.
Unlike the Scriptures, no one would hold that there is anything sacred or unchangeable about such usages. They are simply acts of worship constructed in English to help worshipers. If any part of them is unelpful to any person they may be freely adapted. The "Our Mother", in particular, is very much simply a suggestion for those who find it valuable. Many of us do not use it.