Subject: What is the Holy Ghost? |
Bible Note: Hi Tim, Well for starters, let's take John1:1. This is a Trinitarian's favorite place to run when trying to defend the Trinity. First of all, when one reads the entire chapter where a Trinitarian directs you, you may get a completely different picture. Read John 1:18 which says "No man has seen God at any time". Next, if you look at John 1:14, it says "So the Word became flesh and resided among us". Men had the chance to see the Word (Christ) in person. Yet the Bible states that "No man has seen God at any time". If Christ is God, then John chapter 1 is contradicting itself. John 1:1 is a classic case of the Bible translator allowing his/her doctrinal bias to dictate how they render certain words in English. The Greek word being used for God here is Theos. Yet the plural form of this word is translated "gods" by most Bible translators in John 10:35. Why do Bible translators render Theos as God in some places and "god" in other places? Please bear in mind that in Greek (or more specifically Koine Greek), there is no indefinite article. By indefinite article, I mean the word "a" or "an" in English. The indefinite article is understood based on context. In John 1:1 where we read "and the Word was with God", the Greek words ho Theos are used to represent God. The next set of words read "and the Word God". Here the Greek word Theos stands by itself without the definite article ho. Think of it another way. If someone were to say to you that "The Man" wants to see you. You would think to yourself that someone really important needs to speak to you. However, if they stated that "a man" wants to see you. You wouldn't automatically assume that it was someone important. Likewise, when the words ho Theos are used in the NT, we are speaking of Almighty God. When Theos appears by itself, it more than likely is referring to simply any deity. Many Bible translators have chosen to render John 1:1 according to their religious beliefs rather than translating what they see in the ancient manuscripts. A number of other Bible translators have chosen to render these words more accurately. Some translations for example, render the latter part of John 1:1 as "and the Word was Divine". So to say that Jesus is Divine is to put him on a level that is higher than the angels. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that he is God. |