transmorphing 'God'.....
transmorphing 'God'.....
No it is not. It 'seems' contradictory but it isn't at all. Dolly the Sheep is two sheep from one body. She exists as two sheep. <--That 'appears' or 'seems' contradictory, but it isn't at all. Not even a little bit. Anybody familiar with what they did with that sheep has no problem with the seeming contradiction.
Hi Lon
I was just sharing a more 'Unitarian' perspective on the matter. A Trinitarian would be more likely to identify the 'logos' as being God, from a prefigured concept of Jesus being in an eternal 'Godhead'. On a relational level, I think a Unitarian view is well enough, with the logos being that rational principle God uses in bringing forth creation, whether you choose to personalize the 'logos' or not.
No, that is just like somebody trying to 'correct' John and God.
There are some translations that say "the word was '
divine', and some that say the word was "
a" god...but we wont go there just yet. We could open a thread just on John 1:1, but more on that later perhaps.
I believe John is making it clear that Jesus is God. If you follow from the beginning to the end, we use almost the whole book to support Jesus as God starting in chapter 1 to the end of the book.
There is more emphasis on Jesus being the '
Son' of God IMO,...any sharing of divinity with Jesus is more 'relational'
because of that Sonship, but the greater Infinite Spirit-presence or Deity is always the Father. You'll note that eternal life in the gospel of John comes from believing 'God'
sent His Son, and believing his word that you may have eternal life. See John 20:31 - eternal life is in the 'testimony' that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. There is no passage that says one has to believe Jesus is 'God' (per ones theology) in order to be saved.
Its natural to assume the Son takes on the divine nature of the Father, so in that sense....
Jesus represents God. A Unitarian
or Trinitarian view on this relationship could be had, but thats a matter of 'interpretation, point of view'.
1) How do you know what Jesus needs to be?
2) It is my view that you are robbing Him of His rightful worship.
I do not rob the Lord Jesus or any other
avatar of their glory, only to say that glory belongs to All-Mighty 'God' Alone, the ineffable, omnipresent, indivisible, eternal, infinite, incorporeal, transcendent God-Presence, which alone is the source and support of all that exists in name and form. Remember John 4:24 (in context).
God is Spirit and worship is ALWAYS directed towards the pure essence of Deity Alone (no matter what form or personality 'God' is expressing in....it is still 'God' alone that is venerated).
That's a human conception of the God of the universe. You usually aren't this closed off in your thinking and I find it discouraging:
I think its a fundamental concept, that
only God is God....and a more
liberal one that He/She can manifest in/as any number of forms or personalities. This would certainly include Jesus as an 'avatar' of God.
Remember as a meta-theist and mystic, I include the religious traditions and metaphysics of both east and west,...
being a student of universal spirituality, with more of an understudy in Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism)...holding a place of unique and synthesized understanding on the board here.
Being very eclectic and liberal minded, I can share one point of view or many, but that does not mean it is my personally perferred view, or the only acceptable one. Anyone familiar with my theology knows this
- I just happen to tend towards a more Unitarian preference at times (especially among die-hard more dogmatic Trinitarians who tend to be 'rigid' in their belief-system).
As a more pure spiritualist or mystic....
I see God in all, and all in God (monist/pan-en-theist), - differences are just the mind making distinctions, seperating 'this' from 'that', the assumption of duality.
All comes from God and returns to God...because the Substance of all substances, Mind of all minds, Soul of all souls, is 'God'. 'God' is the root of all existence and its potentials, the Being of beings...or the Self(atman) abiding in all sentient beings.
"Only Dolly the sheep is Dolly the Sheep..." but there are two of them but only one. Sounds contradictory, but it isn't.
As far as the analogy of good ole
Dolly,...not sure this can be applied here as a
perfect correlation to the relationship between Jesus and God (much more complex granted added theological definitions). Dolly the sheep is that one individual animal-form,..
there are NOT two Dollies. Its one sheep (not siamese twins). Saying there are two makes no sense unless you 'qualify'
how she is two.
Dolly was born on 5 July 1996 to three mothers (one provided the egg, another the DNA and a third carried the cloned embryo to term). - wiki
Still not getting the Dolly analogy, for we see her biological origin had 3 contributors. Still Dolly is not "2" or "3" but one entity in the form of her species....just like you alone have your own unique 'form' and 'personality' as an 'individual'.
pj