Proclaiming a Man To Be God Makes Him God?

[Wrangler]

Many trinitarians invoke Doubting Thomas with the logic that he said Jesus was God so that makes Jesus God. In today's devotional reading, I came across in Acts 28:6 islanders upon seeing Paul survive a venomous snake bite, "this man is a god." So, using trinitarian logic, Paul also is a god.

From https://christianity.stackexchange....e-humans-worshipped-as-gods-in-biblical-times
Were humans worshipped as gods in Biblical times?

Word "god" in Bible is not always interpreted as idols but sometimes they are depicted as humans like in these following verses.

Ex. 12:12 I will pass through the land of Egypt in the same night, and I will attack all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the LORD

Num. 33:4 Now the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had killed among them; the LORD also executed judgments on their gods.
Who are these humans gods that people were worshipping. Anywhere any names of these gods are mentioned in the Bible?

And other men were God (deliberate use or abuse of capitalization), just as Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3. Therefore, the pantheon of god exceed the trinities devotion to 3. The only way around this is to invoke double standards. One for Thomas and another standard for the Islanders and Nebuchadnezzar and the Egyptians.

 

[Wrangler]

No explanation for the double standards? Typical.

 

[O'Darby III]

I always thought John 10:33-34 was a bit curious:

“We are not stoning You for any good work,” said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because You, who are a man, declare Yourself to be God.”​

​

Jesus replied, “Is it not written in your Law: ‘I have said you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken - then what about the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? How then can you accuse Me of blasphemy for stating that I am the Son of God?​

That seems a bit odd and evasive to me, particularly in light of the high Christology of John. Why didn't Jesus say something a bit more Trinitarian when given this perfect opportunity?

That being said, I've never heard Doubting Thomas used as anything more than one piece of evidence for the Trinity. The doctrine does have a profound philosophical/theological basis.

 

[Mr E]

I always thought John 10:33-34 was a bit curious:

“We are not stoning You for any good work,” said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because You, who are a man, declare Yourself to be God.”​

​

Jesus replied, “Is it not written in your Law: ‘I have said you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken - then what about the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? How then can you accuse Me of blasphemy for stating that I am the Son of God?​

That seems a bit odd and evasive to me, particularly in light of the high Christology of John. Why didn't Jesus say something a bit more Trinitarian when given this perfect opportunity?

That being said, I've never heard Doubting Thomas used as anything more than one piece of evidence for the Trinity. The doctrine does have a profound philosophical/theological basis.

They clearly knew what he was claiming-- they just didn't understand what he was claiming. How could this be? I believe that he was drawing attention to his (and our) divine nature-- that spirit within us all, and they, like many would still today-- have difficulty recognizing the idea.

Secondly-- is it written in the Law? As a retired attorney-- when someone cites case law-- wouldn't you want to look it up?

You'll find the concept comes from the Psalms, not from the Law-- in a direct sense, so was Jesus mistaken? --Or was it those first chapters of Genesis that Jesus was pointing to? Like the opening to the gospel of John, I think it was.

 

[Wrangler]

That being said, I've never heard Doubting Thomas used as anything more than one piece of evidence for the Trinity. The doctrine does have a profound philosophical/theological basis.

Well, obviously I reject there is any rational basis for an inherrently contradictory idea such as 1 = 3.

One tact trinitarians use is to claim there is this mountain of evidence. But like this thread shows with "claiming one is a god makes them a god," no individual piece of evidence can survive scrutiny. It's just a house of cards kept up by emotion and IDOLATRY.

 

[Wrangler]

Why didn't Jesus say something a bit more Trinitarian when given this perfect opportunity?

And the NT is filled with such "squandered" opportunities.

Trinitarians have no rejection criteria for their IDOL. The fact that the trinity is missing from Scripture means nothing to them. They suppose God is only capable of communicating in these vague ways that must be read into by the gnostics. At the same time, the ignore explicit scripture the annhiliates the IDOL. Take 1 COR 8:6. Notice it does not say, "For us, there is one God whose nature is a trinity - consisting of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit who are co-equal, co-substantial and co-eternal - and if you do not believe this, you cannot be saved but are damned to hell forever.

What is actually says is proof text of a unitarian God. "For us, there is one God, the Father."

That's what Scripture says. If it said what is in red it would be heralded as "clear" but since it doesn't support the trinity, they ignore it. The beautify is, you can take it out of context for it's crystal clear, straight forward and direct expression of reality. They attempt to build a mountain of evidence of false cards, supposing context will save them. It doesn't. Context is the friend of those who reject the trinity.

A friend in his 80's was shocked when I pointed out in Revelation 1:1 the resurrected Jesus, in heaven, sitting on the throne of God is STILL not God! It says God gave Jesus the revelation. Such juxtaposition is one of the strongest proofs against the inherently contradictory doctrin that 1 = 3.

 

[Waiting on Him]

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
— Luke 24:39

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
— John 4:24