Post by Kevin on Mar 23, 2020 8:48:41 GMT -7
As the attacks on the Trinity continue, I want to continue to provide my defense based on my studies. I've already given a general defense that the Oneness folks never attempted to refute, but further study is always helpful. This time, I will work in the Old Testament.
If the authors of the Bible believed that God was multi-personal, then we would expect to find that they would write about God in such a way as to indicate this idea to their readers. Thus, we must ask, “What would we expect to find in the Bible if its authors believed that God was multi-personal?”
On the other hand, if the authors of the Bible believed that God was only one person, i.e. they were classic Unitarians, then they would write about God in such a way as to indicate that idea. Thus, we are also warranted to ask, “What would we expect to find in the Bible, if Unitarians wrote it?
I use the term “Unitarian” in its generic sense fo anyone who denies the Trinity because he believes that God is only one person. This would include Jews, Muslims, Arians, and Modalists.
Diving into the Old Testament (OT), I’d like to examine the Hebrew text keeping in mind the basic question, “What must be in order for what is to be what it is?”
The first question is how did the biblical authors, under the inspiration of God, conceive of the oneness of God? There are nine different Hebrew words which at times are translated as the word “one.”
Two of those words, which are sometimes translated “one” are also “man” and “woman” and are never applied to God. Since God is not a man or woman, this is what we would expect to find. The same applies to the word “soul” which is translated “one” on occasion but is never used to speak of the oneness of God.
The question I ask myself if Unitarians wrote the Bible, which of these 9 words would they use to apply to God? Out of the 9 Hebrew words, there is only one word that would indicate that God is one solitary person. If this word were applied to God in the Bible, it would be very damaging to the Trinitarian position. This word is יָחִיד (yä·khēd') and means a solitary oneness. This is the general meaning of this word throughout Scripture.
Unitarians would expect to find yä·khēd' applied to God in the Bible; Trinitarians would not.
What do we find when we open the Bible? The authors of Scripture never apply yä·khēd' to God. They never describe God as a solitary person. This alone is extremely damaging to the Unitarian position.
In the list of Hebrew word that speak of oneness, the word אֶחָד (ekh·äd') refers to a compound oneness in which a number of things together are described as “one.” So which position would use the word ekh·äd' the Unitarian or Trinitarian position? A Unitarian would never apply ekh·äd' to God because it means a compound oneness. If the authors of the Scriptures believed that God was multi-personal, then we would expect to find that they would apply ekh·äd' to God because this would mean that God is “one” in a composite or compound sense. In fact, ekh·äd' is the only Hebrew word available that can be used to express this.
When we open the Bible, we find ekh·äd' applied to God. This is so central to the Old Testament concept of God that it is found in Israel’s Great Confession:
שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל: יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ, יְהוָה אֶחָד.
“Hear, O Israel, [Yahweh] our God, Yahweh is one!” Deuteronomy 6:4.
The use of ekh·äd' in Deut. 6:4 is exactly what Trinitarians expect to find in the Bible because it is the only way in the Hebrew language to indicate to the reader that God is a composite unity of several persons and not just a solitary person.
The next logical question that follows is, how can this be the true understanding of ekh·äd' when the Jews today reject the doctrine of the Trinity? For this, I’ll turn to the Hebrew scholar David Cooper.
“Prior to the days of Moses Maimonides, the unity of God was expressed by ekh·äd' which as has been proved beyond a doubt, has as its primary meaning that of a compound unity. Maimonides, who drafted the thirteen articles of faith, in the second one, sets forth the unity of God, using the word yä·khēd' which in the Tenach is never used to express God’s unity. From these facts, it is evident that a new idea was injected into this confession by substituting yä·khēd' which in every passage carries the primary idea of oneness in the absolute sense for ekh·äd' which primarily means a compound unity. Hence from the days of Maimonides on, an interpretation different from the ancient one was placed upon this most important passage” David L. Cooper, The Eternal God Revealing Himself(Harrisburg: Evangelical press, 1928), pp 59-60.
#Trinity #Oneness #Trinitarian #Unitatian
If the authors of the Bible believed that God was multi-personal, then we would expect to find that they would write about God in such a way as to indicate this idea to their readers. Thus, we must ask, “What would we expect to find in the Bible if its authors believed that God was multi-personal?”
On the other hand, if the authors of the Bible believed that God was only one person, i.e. they were classic Unitarians, then they would write about God in such a way as to indicate that idea. Thus, we are also warranted to ask, “What would we expect to find in the Bible, if Unitarians wrote it?
I use the term “Unitarian” in its generic sense fo anyone who denies the Trinity because he believes that God is only one person. This would include Jews, Muslims, Arians, and Modalists.
Diving into the Old Testament (OT), I’d like to examine the Hebrew text keeping in mind the basic question, “What must be in order for what is to be what it is?”
The first question is how did the biblical authors, under the inspiration of God, conceive of the oneness of God? There are nine different Hebrew words which at times are translated as the word “one.”
Two of those words, which are sometimes translated “one” are also “man” and “woman” and are never applied to God. Since God is not a man or woman, this is what we would expect to find. The same applies to the word “soul” which is translated “one” on occasion but is never used to speak of the oneness of God.
The question I ask myself if Unitarians wrote the Bible, which of these 9 words would they use to apply to God? Out of the 9 Hebrew words, there is only one word that would indicate that God is one solitary person. If this word were applied to God in the Bible, it would be very damaging to the Trinitarian position. This word is יָחִיד (yä·khēd') and means a solitary oneness. This is the general meaning of this word throughout Scripture.
Unitarians would expect to find yä·khēd' applied to God in the Bible; Trinitarians would not.
What do we find when we open the Bible? The authors of Scripture never apply yä·khēd' to God. They never describe God as a solitary person. This alone is extremely damaging to the Unitarian position.
In the list of Hebrew word that speak of oneness, the word אֶחָד (ekh·äd') refers to a compound oneness in which a number of things together are described as “one.” So which position would use the word ekh·äd' the Unitarian or Trinitarian position? A Unitarian would never apply ekh·äd' to God because it means a compound oneness. If the authors of the Scriptures believed that God was multi-personal, then we would expect to find that they would apply ekh·äd' to God because this would mean that God is “one” in a composite or compound sense. In fact, ekh·äd' is the only Hebrew word available that can be used to express this.
When we open the Bible, we find ekh·äd' applied to God. This is so central to the Old Testament concept of God that it is found in Israel’s Great Confession:
שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל: יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ, יְהוָה אֶחָד.
“Hear, O Israel, [Yahweh] our God, Yahweh is one!” Deuteronomy 6:4.
The use of ekh·äd' in Deut. 6:4 is exactly what Trinitarians expect to find in the Bible because it is the only way in the Hebrew language to indicate to the reader that God is a composite unity of several persons and not just a solitary person.
The next logical question that follows is, how can this be the true understanding of ekh·äd' when the Jews today reject the doctrine of the Trinity? For this, I’ll turn to the Hebrew scholar David Cooper.
“Prior to the days of Moses Maimonides, the unity of God was expressed by ekh·äd' which as has been proved beyond a doubt, has as its primary meaning that of a compound unity. Maimonides, who drafted the thirteen articles of faith, in the second one, sets forth the unity of God, using the word yä·khēd' which in the Tenach is never used to express God’s unity. From these facts, it is evident that a new idea was injected into this confession by substituting yä·khēd' which in every passage carries the primary idea of oneness in the absolute sense for ekh·äd' which primarily means a compound unity. Hence from the days of Maimonides on, an interpretation different from the ancient one was placed upon this most important passage” David L. Cooper, The Eternal God Revealing Himself(Harrisburg: Evangelical press, 1928), pp 59-60.
#Trinity #Oneness #Trinitarian #Unitatian