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To Harrak: more about JesusReader comment on item: How the Cartoon Protests Harm Muslims [by Leading to a Separation of Civilizations] Submitted by Richard the Lion heart (United States), Feb 22, 2006 at 00:52 Dear Harrak,You asked a lot of questions and I will answer them to the best of my abilities. Some of the questions you asked I thought made no sense but I will try to answer them anyway. You asked whether God suddenly decided to be three entities? Well if you read the old testament you will see that God manifested himself as the Holy Trinity. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Genesis 1:26) Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-- (Genesis 3:22) "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." (Genesis 11:7) Not only is the plurality of God found in the Old Testament, but the members of the triunity are also defined. Several Old Testament verses tell us that God is our Father: "Do you thus repay the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is not He your Father who has bought you? He has made you and established you. (Deuteronomy 32:6) "He will cry to Me, 'Thou art my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.' (Psalms 89:26) "For Thou art our Father, though Abraham does not know us, And Israel does not recognize us. Thou, O LORD, art our Father, Our Redeemer from of old is Thy name." (Isaiah 63:16) The Son is also found in the Old Testament: "I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, 'Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee." (Psalms 2:7) "Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!" (Psalms 2:12) "Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His Son's name? Surely you know!" (Proverbs 30:4) "I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14) The Holy Spirit is also found in the old testament. And the Lord said," My Spirit shall not stive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years" Gen 6:3 "And He has filled him with the Spirit of GOD, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship" Exo 35:31 Finally, there are a number of verses in the Old Testament in which the triunity of God is directly expressed: "Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His Son's name? Surely you know!" (Proverbs 30:4) the Old Testament does reveal the Christian concept of the Godhead, with God being one God, consisting of three persons. How can God simultaneously exist as both singular and plural? It is a logical impossibility if God were restricted to the three dimensions of space and one dimension of time of our physical universe. However, the attributes of God, given by the Bible, provide a reasonable explanation of how this paradox can be resolved. You said Jesus never called himselft God. Actually he did. "I and the Father are one." The Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?" The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God." (John 10:30-33) Now why did the Jews tried to kill Jesus for making that statement? Simple, as experts in the Torah they knew what Jesus meant by that statement. They knew when Jesus said him and the Father are one that he made himself equal in essence with God. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him." Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, 'Show us the Father'?" (John 14:6-9) "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (Luke 10:22) Now as you read these passages you have to remember that the Father and the Son are from the same essence therefore equal. Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". << Previous Comment Next Comment >> Reader comments (527) on this item
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