Thursday, July 17, 2008

My Thoughts for today

This world is full of hate. Hatred can be felt from many sources. Can come from family. Can come from friends. Can come from anywhere. Because I'm a Witness I get hate from all over the place. Yes Today I will open up about my religion. Maybe this will give you some insight to what we believe in. I say I get hate from all over the place. I get hate each day. We have good news to tell the people. People don't have to be rude, they can simply say, no thank you I'm not interested and close the door. Instead they hate and they show it. I remember one time that my son, wife, and I knocked on this door. The guy that answered was full of hate. He called my name a bad word. He yelled at my son. We just stood there till he was done and said " thank you, have a great day" We walked away.

Back in the day I would have punched this guy in the face at the very moment he raised his voice at me but I was trained to love. I remember one of our sisters knocked on the door and someone showered her with a bucket of cold water. So much hatred for just wanting to talk about God. There is no reason to be rude. In our religion we believe that Jesus is the son of God not God himself. Many believe that God and Jesus are one. Many believe that God transformed himself into a baby to come to earth. In Luke Chapter 1 verse 30 and 32 it states that an angel announced in advance his conception and birth, saying: “This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.” Notice that the angel said, not “God,” but “Son of the Most High.” Son of the most High.

Another Event that shows that Jesus is the son is when Jesus presented himself to be baptized. On that occasion God’s own voice said: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.” And so John the Baptist, who witnessed the event, said of Jesus: “This one is the Son of God. You can see those scriptures at Matt. 3:17; John 1:34. Notice it states son of God not God himself. Jesus’ apostles and friends repeatedly identified him in this way. Said Nathanael: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God.” (John 1:49) Peter exclaimed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16) Martha confessed: “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” (John 11:27) The apostle John wrote so people might believe that “Jesus is the Christ the Son of God.” (John 20:31) And of the apostle Paul’s ministry it is said: “He began to preach Jesus, that this One is the Son of God.”—Acts 9:20.

Did Peter, Paul, John or any other of Jesus’ followers preach that he was God? No, from these scriptures it is clear that they taught he was God’s Son. Many point to John chapter 1 verse 1 where it states that and I quote "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" It's funny because I remember talking about this very scripture with a friend. But does this text really say that Jesus is God Almighty? Actually in the original Greek the language is not that explicit. Thus the New World Translation reads: “In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.”

However, some persons may claim that it is wrong to translate the text that way. They say that according to the rules of Greek grammar it must be translated “the Word was God.” But is this so?The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Vol. XIII, No. 4, October 1951, observed: “Grammar alone cannot prove how the predicate in this verse should be translated, whether ‘God’ or ‘a god.’” And indicating propriety for the rendering “a god,” The New American Bible (1970) in its section “Biblical Terms Explained” says under the word “God”: “In John 1:1, the Word is called ‘God’ but the original Greek term used here, theos [God], is not the usual word for God, ho theos [the God].” The truth is, just how John 1:1 should be translated cannot be definitely determined solely by rules of Greek grammar. As Divinity Professor John Martin Creed noted: “The Prologue [John 1:1] is less explicit in Greek with the anarthrous [theos without the article ho (the)] than it appears to be in English.”

Thus this text alone is inconclusive in identifying whether Jesus is truly “God,” or is a subordinate, lesser “god.” Do the few other texts where “Jesus is, or might be, alluded to as ‘God’” prove that he is really Almighty God? As already noted, there is “uncertainty” that Jesus is the one called “God” in some of these texts; and other texts are “highly dubious.” For example, 1 Timothy 3:16 says, “God was manifest in the flesh.” But most modern translations read instead, “He who was manifested . . .” This is because, as the footnote of the American Standard Version explains: “The word God, in place of He who, rests on no sufficient ancient evidence.”

Also, it cannot be proved that Jesus is the one called “God” at 2 Thessalonians 1:12. Regarding this text that reads, “According to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ”, Theologian Vincent Taylor says: “It is manifest that Paul is speaking first of God and secondly of Christ.”The Roman Catholic scholar Karl Rahner puts 2 Peter 1:1 in the same category with 2 Thessalonians 1:12, explaining that in the Greek, theos “here is clearly separated from ‘Christ.’” Again, Separated.

Another text that is said to show that Jesus is God is Romans 9:5, which says: “Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.” Vincent Taylor notes that there are differences of opinion, but adds: “I think the balance of opinion falls on this side, and that Christ is not addressed as God.”Thus modern translations commonly render the text in a way to make a clearer distinction between God and Christ.

In connection with Titus 2:13 the question is whether the Greek should be rendered ‘the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,’ or ‘the glory of the great God, and of our Savior Jesus Christ.’ As Vincent Taylor observes: “The grammarians range themselves on both sides. Thus, as with John 1:1, grammar alone is not conclusive in showing how the text should be translated.
Therefore the teaching of the rest of the Scriptures regarding the identity of God must govern the rendering of certain texts—whether they should represent Jesus as truly “God,” or as separate from and subordinate to Almighty God. What does examination of the Scriptural evidence reveal?

Consider John 1:18, which reads: “No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is in the bosom position with the Father is the one that has explained him.” Here Jesus is called “the only-begotten god.” And is it not clear that he is separate from and subordinate to “the Father,” the God with whom he enjoys a choice position?

This conclusion is clearly apparent to the objective investigator of the Scriptures. Martin Werner, as Professor in the University of Bern, observed: “Wherever in the New Testament the relationship of Jesus to God, the Father, is brought into consideration, whether with reference to his appearance as a man or to his Messianic status, it is conceived of and represented categorically as subordination.”

Examples of Jesus’ subordination to God are cited by Theology Professor Boobyer: Jesus “confesses or denies men before God. He intercedes with God on our behalf and as heavenly paraclete [“helper”] pleads our cause with the Father, he is the mediator between men and God (1 Tim.5) Paul is quite explicit about it. . . . to quote from the relevant passage in the New English Bible translation ‘. . . when all things are thus subject to him, then the Son himself will also be made subordinate to God . . . and thus God will be all in all’

But not only in heaven, while here on earth also Jesus showed his subordination and subjection to God. For example, Jesus acknowledged, “The Father is greater than I am,” and declared, “I cannot do a single thing of my own initiative; . . . I seek, not my own will, but the will of him that sent me.” Note that the will of Jesus is one will and that of God another! Obviously Jesus is not God, but is God’s Son, subordinate to him.—John 14:28; 5:30.

So there you have it. Jesus and God are two separate people. Many will still believe that they are one and that's fine but that's not my belief. Jesus never referred to himself as the Almighty God. His followers never said he was the Almighty but yet many in this world say he is? From the scriptures I mentioned it clearly again shows that they are not the same person. They are different. You might reason that Jesus was in human form while his spirit form was in Heaven. There is no scripture to support that. You might reason about the Trinity. There also is no scripture in the bible that supports that as well. Did Jesus and his disciples teach the doctrine of the Trinity?

To have the complete picture, all these pieces must be present.

With this better understanding of the term “Trinity,” we can now ask: Was it a teaching of Jesus and his disciples? If so, it should have appeared fully formed in the first century of our Common Era. And since what they taught is found in the Bible, then the Trinity doctrine is either a Bible teaching or it is not. If it is, it should be clearly taught in the Bible. It is not reasonable to think that Jesus and his disciples would teach people about God and yet not tell them who God is, especially when some believers would be asked to give up even their lives for God. Hence, Jesus and his disciples should have given the highest priority to teaching others about this vital doctrine.

At Acts chapter 17, verse 11, people are called “noble-minded” because they were “carefully examining the Scriptures daily as to whether these things were so,” things taught by the apostle Paul. They were encouraged to use the Scriptures to confirm the teachings even of an apostle. You should do the same. Keep in mind that the Scriptures are “inspired of God” and are to be used for “setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) So the Bible is complete in doctrinal matters. If the Trinity doctrine is true, it should be there.

I invite you to search the Bible, especially the 27 books of the Christian Greek Scriptures, to see for yourself if Jesus and his disciples taught a Trinity. As you search, ask yourself:

1. Can I find any scripture that mentions “Trinity”?

2. Can I find any scripture that says that God is made up of three distinct persons, Father, Son, and holy spirit, but that the three are only one God?

3. Can I find any scripture that says that the Father, Son, and holy spirit are equal in all ways, such as in eternity, power, position, and wisdom?

Search as you may, you will not find one scripture that uses the word Trinity, nor will you find any that says that Father, Son, and holy spirit are equal in all ways, such as in eternity, power, position, and wisdom. Not even a single scripture says that the Son is equal to the Father in those ways—and if there were such a scripture, it would establish not a Trinity but at most a “duality.” Nowhere does the Bible equate the holy spirit with the Father. For many reading, this will be hard to believe but see if you can find it and get back to me. Don't listen to what any priest says or even what I say. Do your own research. Look in your own bible. If a priest starts to talk from his own mouth without showing supporting scripture then ask for supporting scripture. How did the Trinity even start? Look up Constantine’s Role at Nicaea and also look up Athanasius to get a better understanding of how the Trinity started.

But keep in mind that if it's not in the bible and if Jesus did not teach this then maybe you should examine just how you worship. Everything we know and learned should only be from the bible and if it's not found in the bible then it's added by men. To close I will ask that you look at this scripture Revelation chapter 22 verse 18 where it states that if anyone adds anything to this scroll God will add the plagues to him that are written in this scroll and if anyone takes anything away from it God will take his portion away from the trees of life. Questions - email Dycerulz@gmail.com. Like I said, I will touch on everything.

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