I'll be honest, I don't know how I can even reason with you. You argue against some of the most clear statements in the scriptures. For instance when Peter taught to repent and be baptized in the name for the remission of sins. Acts 2:38 And then where Paul was told to arise and be baptized and wash away your sins. Acts 22:16 Yet you still will argue against baptism in the name being for the forgiveness of sins.
For someone who opened up his argument with “I’ll be honest”, you are NOT really being honest, are you?? Christians believe Jesus died for their sin and baptism today means you accept and believe Jesus died for your sin – that’s NOT the baptism preached by Jesus and John the Baptist. Jesus and John preach baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins – can you tell the difference ?? One is baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin and the other, is baptism of a belief in Jesus’ blood/death for the forgiveness of sin. One preached by Jesus and the other preached by who I termed as ‘other people’. So, be honest – is your faith based on the preaching of Jesus or is your faith based on the preaching of ‘other people’ ??
And it seems you are unable to even understand what I have been saying if you think I believe in the Trinity.
All your earlier comments prior to your own admission that you are not a Trinitarian, points to a Trinitarian’s view. Your writings or comments are reflections of who you are, so, when someone thinks you are a Trinitarian, it’s not he/she was not able to understand what you have been saying, it’s your writings that are giving that understanding.
So, what are you exactly – a cross between a Trinitarian and a Unitarian???
Your belief that God and Jesus are one and the same being is even more ridiculous than the Trinitarian’s!! Let me ask you – if God and Jesus are one and the same being and you believe Jesus, who is also God the Father, died, then, who’s in charge during the period when Jesus/God the Father died? In other words, during that period, it’s open season for sinners since God had died !! What nonsense is that ???
And that is ridiculous to think it was just an expression of shock when Thomas called him his God
First of all, Thomas NEVER called Jesus his God. In fact, NONE of the disciples believed Jesus was God or called Jesus their God. When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and Mary realized the man standing in front of her was Jesus, what did Mary cry out ? She cried out “Rabboni!” meaning ‘Teacher’ NOT God (John 20:16). When Jesus appeared to his other disciples (John 20:19-23), did any of the disciple act or say anything that could have implied they believed Jesus was their God??
None, zilch, nada, keiner. Common sense will tell you if none of the disciples took Jesus as their God, then Thomas too could not be taking Jesus as his God which means Thomas’ “My Lord and my God!” was Thomas reacting in shock and disbelief to see Jesus alive and unharmed.
The exclamation mark(!) tells us it’s a reaction of shock and disbelief. In writings, you don’t address or acknowledge God with an exclamation mark!! You are not going to find the phrase ‘my God!’ (with an exclamation mark) anywhere in the whole Bible EXCEPT in John 20:28. Why? Because John 20:28 is a reaction of shock and disbelief, it’s
NOT an acknowledgment of Jesus as God.
The Greek would have been translated "God of me" and then the wording rearranged somewhat for an English sentence. Show me some proof that the expression Lord of me, and God of me is a Greek (or Hebrew or Aramaic) idiom expressing shock.
What’s the difference between ‘God of me!’ and ‘My God!’ ?? In the context of John 20:28, both are expressions of shock and disbelief. So, even if you replaced “My Lord and my God!” with “Lord of me and God of me!”. It’s still an expression of shock and disbelief because of the exclamation mark!
And you even argue about the Messiah's blood being shed for our sins. If you are unable to see even basic things in the scriptures that are so clear, what need is there to discuss other things?
Are you responding to my earlier comment ‘
Thomas, on the other hand, was shocked because he could not believe Jesus was alive and NOT showing any sign of a man who was crucified – no matter how much you want to deny this, that’s what John 20:26-28 logically is saying’??
OK, let’s see whether it’s me or you ‘
who is unable to see even basic things in the scriptures that are so clear’.
Where, in the whole Gospel of John, does it say Jesus
was showing the wound marks of his crucifixion to his disciples ??? Christians
assume, as always, Jesus was showing his crucifixion wound marks to prove he was crucified, died, and resurrected when, in reality, the Bible NEVER said so. What the Bible did say was Jesus showed his hands, feet, and side to his disciples.
Imagine your friends came to you and insisted that they saw you being mugged and both your arms were slashed repeatedly with a machete 3 days ago. To prove to them that the man they saw was not you, what would you do? Obviously and logically, you show them your unharmed arms and that’s exactly what Jesus was doing when he showed his hands, feet, and side to his disciples - ‘
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet’ – Luke 24:37-40.
So,
according to your own Bible, why did Jesus show his hands, feet, and side to his disciples? Answer - he showed them to prove to his disciples he is not a ghost. By saying he’s not a ghost to his disciples, Jesus is saying he did not die as to be a ghost, you need to die first.
If Jesus is saying/implying he did not die, it means he was not crucified, and if he was not crucified and died, how can he be resurrected from the dead ??
What about the things the Messiah said, such as
Before Abraham was I am.
John 8:56-59 How could that be unless he was God because that body wasn't even born yet during Abraham's time?
The only reason Christians quoted John 8:58 as ‘proof’ that Jesus is God is because they believe God, in Exodus 3:14, said “I Am What I Am”, therefore, Jesus must be God because he too said “I am” as in John 8:58. However, “I Am What I Am” in Exodus 3:14 is a mistranslation of the Hebrew text and the correct translation is “I will be what I will be” and thus, Jesus saying “I am” as in “Before Abraham was, I am” has nothing to do with him being divine as it’s has nothing to do with God saying “I Am what I Am/I will Be what I will Be” in Exodus 3:14.
Furthermore, God’s name is NOT “
I Am What I Am”. In context, Moses was asking God what name should he tell his people if they ask him about God and God told him to just say He will be what He will be/I Am what I Am. In other words, God told Moses to tell his people that He will be what He will be, that is, He’s beyond the human’s mental capacity to understand who He is, but they should just know Him as “the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” – (Exodus 3:15).
Also, in Exodus 34:14, we are told God’s name is Jealous. Does that mean anyone who say “I am jealous” is God too ? Gimme a break !
The Messiah said - Destroy this temple and in three days
I will raise it up.
John 2:19 How could that be unless he was God? Because we know from other scriptures that the Spirit of God raised up that body.
“…
Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” is a hyperbole statement, meaning it’s an exaggerated statement to stress a point, like someone saying “I am so hungry I can eat a horse” which does not mean he can and want to eat the whole horse, but it’s an exaggeration to stress the point that he’s very, very hungry.
In John 2:19, in context, Jesus was clearing the Jews out of the temple because they are misusing the temple courtyard and this upset the Jews who asked Jesus, under whose authority was he doing this and Jesus responded with a hyperbole statement, that is, an exaggerated response
to stress the point that his authority came from God as only with God’s authority, can he raise a destroyed temple in three days.
.....AND Jesus was NOT referring to his body either. In context, John 2:21-22 are so out of place, that one can only conclude that those views are the author’s own personal understanding. Clearly, Mark, Matthew and Luke do not share that same understanding.
The Messiah said - You are from beneath; I am from above: you are of this world, I am not of this world...
Firstly, you need to remove your pre-conceived mindset that Jesus and God are one and the same person – they are not as Jesus had repeated said he was sent by God, which common sense should tell you God and Jesus are 2 separate beings – one a Supreme Being while the other, a human being/son of man.
Secondly, you need to stop taking Jesus’ words literally as you should know better that Jesus spoke figuratively and in parables most of the time.
In saying “You are from beneath;
I am from above: you are from this world, I am not of this world”, Jesus was saying the Jews’ consciousness are focused only for the desires of the physical world (that is, for personal power and authority, wealth, and other trappings of this world) while Jesus’ consciousness is focused to the desires from above, that is, as of what God, who is in heaven above, desired of him.
for if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins. How could that be if he is not God?
When God said “I am He”, He’s saying He
IS THE ONE and ONLY God – “
See now that I, I am HE, And there is no god with me…..” – Deuteronomy 32:39
When Jesus said “I am he”, he’s acknowledging that he’s the prophet/Messiah promised to come –
“The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” – John 4:25-26
As I said you need to remove your preconceived mindset to see the truth or you shall die in your sins.