Edited by - Jeremiah Lee on 15 October 2002 3:28:44
Jeremiah Lee
JoinedPosts by Jeremiah Lee
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Only one "God" trinitarians?
by Anastasis inin the english language "god" is an odd alienated word.
it is an anglican word that millions of people take to be the name of a specific god.
but really, the hebrew words eloah/elohim/el etc.
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To You Know - Trinity Doctrine
by Pronger inwhile i know the wts has published pamphlets on the trinity doctrine, i thought i'd draw your attention to a book written by a secular source regarding the history of the arian controversy.
i recently read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it.
to summarize the events, it shows how the original catholic church was divided into two camps; those that believed jesus was god incarnate, and those who believed that jesus was god's first creation.
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Jeremiah Lee
There's a lot of searching on the net (no specifics now) you can do to see the other side of the Arian contraversy. Arians were quite guilty of the same, spreading lies concerning the clergy etc..
Howbeit, I feel that the 4th century had little to do with the "formation" of the Trinity. Read the early church fathers (50-200AD) and you'll see they were closer to Trinitarians than anything. ;)
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/
100 AD Ignatius of Antioch
- 100 AD Ignatius of Antioch "We have also a
Physician the Lord our God, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son and Word, before time began, but who afterwards became also man, of Mary the virgin." (Letter to the Ephesians.)- 100 AD Ignatius of Antioch "Ignatius, who is also Theophorus, unto her that hath found mercy in the bountifulness of the Father Most High and of Jesus Christ His only Son; to the church that is beloved and enlightened through the will of Him who willed all things that are, by faith and love towards
Jesus Christ our God ; even unto her that hath the presidency in the country of the region of the Romans..." (Letter to the Romans 1)- 100 AD Ignatius of Antioch "Nothing visible is good.
For our God Jesus Christ , being in the Father, is the more plainly visible. The Work is not of persuasiveness, but Christianity is a thing of might, whensoever it is hated by the world." (Letter to the Romans)- 100 AD Ignatius of Antioch "I give glory to
Jesus Christ the God who bestowed such wisdom upon you" (Letter to the Smyraeans )- 100 AD Ignatius of Antioch "Jesus Christ . . . was with the Father
before the beginning of time , and in the end was revealed. . . . Jesus Christ . . . came forth from one Father and is with and has gone to one [Father]. . .. [T]here is one God, who has manifested himself by Jesus Christ his Son, who is his eternal Word, not proceeding forth from silence, and who in all things pleased him that sent him" (Letter to the Magnesians 6-8).- 100 AD Ignatius of Antioch "Ignatius, also called Theophorus, to the Church at Ephesus in Asia . . . predestined from eternity for a glory that is lasting and unchanging, united and chosen through true suffering by the will of the Father
and Jesus Christ our God " (Letter to the Ephesians 1).- 100 AD Ignatius of Antioch "
For our God, Jesus Christ , was conceived by Mary in accord with God's plan: of the seed of David, it is true, but also of the Holy Spirit" (Letter to the Ephesians, 18:2).- 100 AD Ignatius of Antioch "[T]o the Church beloved and enlightened after the love of
Jesus Christ, our God , by the will of him that has willed everything which is" (Letter to the Romans 1).- 100 AD Ignatius of Antioch "There is then one God and Father, and not two or three; One who is; and there is no other besides Him, the only true [God]. For "the Lord thy God," saith [the Scripture], "is one Lord." And again, "Hath not one God created us? Have we not all one Father? And there is also one Son, God the Word. For "the only-begotten Son," saith [the Scripture], "who is in the bosom of the Father." And again, "One Lord Jesus Christ." And in another place, "What is His name, or what His Son's name, that we may know? " And there is also one Paraclete. For "there is also," saith [the Scripture], "one Spirit," since "we have been called in one hope of our calling." And again, "We have drunk of one Spirit," with what follows. And it is manifest that all these gifts [possessed by believers] "worketh one and the self-same Spirit."
There are not then either three Fathers, or three Sons, or three Paracletes, but one Father, and one Son, and one Paraclete. Wherefore also the Lord, when He sent forth the apostles to make disciples of all nations, commanded them to "baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," not unto one [person] having three names, nor into three [persons] who became incarnate, but into three possessed of equal honour." (Letter to the Philadelphians 2).As you noted, Rubenstein is neither a biblical scholar nor a theologian. You can see a review of his book here:
http://www.tektonics.org/RR.WJBG_0156013150.html
...where a noted Trinitarian apologists confirms it's nature and actually suggests reading it.
God bless,
Lee
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re: question on the magi
by A Paduan ini think that i read somewhere that jws believe that the magi who followed the star were 'evil' .
is that the case - if so how did they figure that?
paduan
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Jeremiah Lee
What is interesting to note, is the fact that God warned the magi in a dream of Herod's plan. Seems to me to be appoving of Christ's worship..cf..Rev5:13. Why give gifts to a baby?!
Why not knock that star out of the sky anyhow....but yet wait to merely warn the Magi in a dream. Am I the only one seeing this problem here?
God bless,
Lee
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Should JESUS be worshipped or prayed to?
by LittleToe ini want to consider this point, free from the trinity / arian debate.
there have been an abundance of threads that have deteriorated into these doctrine, and it clouds this issue because tempers get raised.. so, please, can we keep it simple.
should jesus receive our worship, right here, right now?.
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Jeremiah Lee
Thanks Little Toe . After having debated christadelphians for so long, one gets used to having to 'overemphasize' things a bit.
On to the topic...
Is anyone going to consider my previous scriptural citations on 'prayer to Jesus'?
God bless you all in the highest, ><>
Lee
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Should JESUS be worshipped or prayed to?
by LittleToe ini want to consider this point, free from the trinity / arian debate.
there have been an abundance of threads that have deteriorated into these doctrine, and it clouds this issue because tempers get raised.. so, please, can we keep it simple.
should jesus receive our worship, right here, right now?.
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Jeremiah Lee
What's important to note is that Heb1:6 was originally applied to YHWH. Why would a monotheistic Paul lift this passage directly from the OT as applicable to the Father and in turn apply it to Jesus? Why not just state that the angels worshipped Jesus? Because the 'worship' given in the OT is to be given to the Son in the same way. See again Rev5:13. All of heaven and earth i.e. ALL CREATION are giving TRUE WORSHIP to the Father and Son. Wonderful...
God bless you,
Lee
Edited by - Jeremiah Lee on 13 August 2002 6:1:59
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Why do so many people believe that jesus is god?
by Legendary U.2.K. ini still say that, christiaity is f--- up in these last days.. christianity teaches that the messiah is god, when the bible clearly points out that jesus is a prophet sent by god... jesus prayed to god<----that's the biggest proof... so i think if anybody believe that jesus is god, is not only an'-ti-christ(not accepting) but also a liar, foolish, and you knoweth nothing, and you are not close to god or christ, you are closer to that devil which we call satan....
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Jeremiah Lee
Just before this thread dies out:
Proverbs8 I agree with. See here http://www.tektonics.org/JPH_AOA.html for a nice essay by JP Holding.
I believe Jesus was the 'wisdom' of Prov8. However the question to ask is 'why not use the Hebrew words for 'create' i.e. 'bara' or 'asha' over the word 'qanah', which is a more of a verb which implies 'to get'.
Additionally,
Begotten~Acts13:33. ;-)
God bless,
Jeremiah L.G.
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Should JESUS be worshipped or prayed to?
by LittleToe ini want to consider this point, free from the trinity / arian debate.
there have been an abundance of threads that have deteriorated into these doctrine, and it clouds this issue because tempers get raised.. so, please, can we keep it simple.
should jesus receive our worship, right here, right now?.
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Jeremiah Lee
G'day Little Toe,
I'm glad you asked for us to keep our replies simple (and no Trinity!!!!).
One major consideration that influences me is that. of Jesus, it is said that "all authority and power" has been given him. Now if he's the "main man", then he's logically the one I want to talk to. Seems clear to me.
Thomas had it right!
Cheers, Ozzie
Amen
God bless,><>
Lee
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50
Should JESUS be worshipped or prayed to?
by LittleToe ini want to consider this point, free from the trinity / arian debate.
there have been an abundance of threads that have deteriorated into these doctrine, and it clouds this issue because tempers get raised.. so, please, can we keep it simple.
should jesus receive our worship, right here, right now?.
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Jeremiah Lee
The account of Stephen speaking directly to Jesus should be taken in context. His words were a consequence of a vision he had where he saw "the Son [Jesus] of man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55-60 - NJB), so his words were not part of a prayer in the usual sense of the word, but rather a beseeching of the figure he saw before him.
A beseeching or appeal nonetheless. What do we do specifically so often in prayer? Appeal to, converse. Whether in a vision or in the invisible presence of, is of no difference.
I cited numerous examples of prayer to Jesus earlier on in the thread. Those must be accounted for as well.
3.
>>>John 20:28, where Thomas says "My Lord and my God", must be measured by Jesus words at verse 17:
"Jesus said to her [Mary], 'Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God'" (NJB - see also Revelation 3:12 [Greek 'tou theou mou' = 'the god of-me'])<<<Jesus having a 'God' over Him is of no problem. In direct accordence with Phil2:6 Jesus subordinated himself to the Father, taking Him on as 'his God'. Likened unto the 'Angel of YHWH' and the alternate interpretation of "name-bearing" Jesus took on the 'role' of man, in order to save man. Note how Jesus, with the exeption of the model prayer given to the disciples, never refers to the Father as "our God" but always "my God" or "my Father". Jesus is his son by nature, rather than by adoption as are we. Now note the distinction made.
As for Jn20:28 "And Thomas answered and said unto Him, 'My Lord and my God'. i.e. '
Ho kurios mou kai ho theos mou' which literally translates as "The Lord OF me the God OF me". Note how Thomas states this directly to Jesus.
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>>>Concerning "worship" that is a more involved subject, as we must not simply take the usual English translation as the last word on what it means in every instance. The Greek word often translated "worship" ('proskuneo'), primarily denotes extreme respect and subjection, and according to Strong's Concordance may be derived from the word for 'dog' ('kuon') in the sense of that animal 'licking' (like 'kissing') its master's hand. This same word is used in the Septuagint (LXX - Greek version of the OT) at Genesis 33:3, where Jacob bows ('proskuneo') seven times before his brother Esau, so this word was used appropriately of human beings giving great honour to other human beings, without it constituting 'worship' in the sense that we are accustomed to using it.<<<Correct. The Greek word 'proskuneo' can certainly have a broad range of meaning. Needless to say, the word is used as well to denote religious implications. Hence passages like Revelations 19:10 or Acts 7:43 etc...
Hence it is important to note the context of such passages, in order to derive the proper implications. Wherefore we take ourselves to Rev5:13 where ALL of creation, who are distuished from the Father and Son, are giving THE honor THE praise and THE glory to the Father and the Lamb, THE top honor. Note that there is no distinguishing between the worship, honor etc. given to the Father and Son. It is given equally to both, and properly so..cf..Jn5:18; 23.
Additionally note the setting, Heaven. Do you really think the angels and elders within the context are performing mere 'obeisance' to God? The context eliminates the potential for a double-standard.
Thus from Robertson's Word Pictures of the NT:
And to the Lamb
( kai toi arnioi ). Dative case. Praise and worship are rendered to the Lamb precisely as to God on the throne. Note separate articles here in the doxology as in Rev_4:11 and the addition of to kratos (active power) in place of ischus (reserve of strength) in Rev_5:12 .God bless you in the highest,
Lee
Edited by - Jeremiah Lee on 11 August 2002 8:5:37
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Should JESUS be worshipped or prayed to?
by LittleToe ini want to consider this point, free from the trinity / arian debate.
there have been an abundance of threads that have deteriorated into these doctrine, and it clouds this issue because tempers get raised.. so, please, can we keep it simple.
should jesus receive our worship, right here, right now?.
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Jeremiah Lee
Jesus WAS prayed to:
Acts 7:59-60;
9:13-14,17,21; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 16:22; 2 Corinthians 12:8-9- cf. Genesis
4:26, 12:8; Psalm 31:5; Joel 2:32God bless you,
Lee
Edited by - Jeremiah Lee on 10 August 2002 6:10:53
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My CoC Book Came Today!
by Swan inmy copy of crisis of conscience came today!
i also got a copy of understanding mind control among jws.
so far i am very impressed with both of them.
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Jeremiah Lee
Where can I get a cheap copy?
May God guide and keep you, ><>
Lee