How many times was Christ begotten?

by GOrwell 33 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  godrulz

  Just as Logos eternally applies to Christ/Son, so monogenes ('only begotten' weak KJV translation) is eternal with Him. Verses about being begotten (not monogenes) in other contexts relate to His resurrection (words have a semantical range of meaning, especially when they are different underlying Gk. words). The Johannine use of monogenes is different than the Pauline or Lukan use of gennao (and its roots).

  You are guilty of an exegetical fallacy, assuming the same Gk. word always means the same thing or that the same English word always has the same underlying Greek word.
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  GOrwell

  So, from your post, you would say that the Logos was both eternally begotten and at the same time, never begotten. Since he has always existed, this means that the Logos was *never* begotten and the actual 'act' of begetting never took place.

  So how can the Logos be begotten, when the Logos never was begotten? Do you see the paradox here? And why JD and yourself were so reluctant in answering?
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  godrulz

  We did not know what you were getting at, but suspected you were confusing things based on misunderstanding of word studies. Some say the Son was eternally generated/begotten, but this is more Catholic/philosophical than explicitly biblical.

  The problem is that monogenes/only begotten has nothing to do with beginning, being created, bringing forth, etc. Verses are clear that the Word is eternal, uncreated. Monogenes implies unique, one of a kind. The Word is God/eternal. A different word (gennao, etc.) is used for begetting of children through sex. A son can be monogenes if he is special, the only one. When used of Christ, it shows His unique relationship and equality with the Father. The contexts that talk about His resurrection and gennao roots (vs monogenes) should not be mixed in. This is the problem with KJV English vs Greek word studies.
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  EntirelyPossible

  I think the larger and more fundamental point and issue here that everyone is missing is this... i begotten me some a few times lately. Booyah!