<HTML><BODY STYLE="font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV>I think you'll find, Mr. Smith, that you are reading the first three gospels (as many Christians do) in light of the last, John. It is John that makes the direct claim that Jesus and God are one and the same. The others use the terms messiah, lord, and son of God, but the direct correspondence/equality between God and Jesus is asserted only in John. Throughout the first three gospels, what we find is Jesus praying to God for faith and aid; we don't find him praying to himself. Far from being fallacious, my claims are based on simple textual fact. The problem here is that you're reading backwards, beginning with John and interpreting the gospels that came before it in light of John's claims. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">All four gospels sing loudly and in unison the same tune: "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God."</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>Well, no. Let's not get confused here. "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God," is not the same as saying that "Jesus is God," as John does. There's plenty of textual scholarship to back this up, but I fear it would be a waste of time to attach an annotated bibliography to this message. If you believe as Dale believes, you wouldn't read it -- too many women scholars. Nonetheless, if you're interested, let me know.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <DIV><FONT color=#000080><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">You need to make up your mind. Do <EM>all four </EM>of the gospels all speak to the divinity of Jesus or just John?</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Again, this has been my point from the beginning of all this. I have sought to point out your inconsistencies with regard to statements you made about the New Testament. The fact that I deem these texts holy is irrelevant to this discussion. You have made false statements about these texts and all I have been doing is critisizing those false statements.</SPAN></FONT></DIV></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>I have made up my mind, and no, they don't all speak to the divinity of Jesus. Some speak to Jesus' status as teacher and prophet; some as messiah; some as Christ; and John makes the final leap and tells us that Jesus was God come to earth as man. When I say that the four canonical gospels have one purpose and one purpose only (which is why they were chosen for the canon while other gospels, like Thomas, were rejected), and that purpose is to spread faith in Jesus as messiah, as lord, and as Christ, these claims are not synonymous with the claim that Jesus is God. Only by reading backwards from John (see above) do you get that specific correlation.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">This is so laughable and bursting with contradiction. I say Christ is God. You say He is not. Christ being God is the cornerstone of my faith. By you saying He is not God, you are saying my faith is wrong. Don’t feel bad about it. We can’t all be right. <I>That</I> would be silly.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000080><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>The world is bursting with contradiction, Mr. Smith. Get used to it. You say that Jesus is God, and I say that I don't believe he is. I point out to you some contradictions in the texts on which you base your claims, but I fail to see how that takes a sledgehammer to the cornerstone of your faith. What do you care what I think? Dale Courtney says that I'm an atheist (which is where this argument started, if you'll remember), and I say that my God, the God of the Jews, is the foundation, history, and source of your own faith, so even you should understand that I am not an atheist. In response, you give me John 20:23, to wit, he who doesn't have the son, doesn't have the father. From my point of view as a practicing Jew, that's a load of hooey. It also fails to define the word atheist.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>Now, finally, you say that we can't all be right. How the devil would you know? Are you reading backward from the Gospel of John or the Gospel of Ron? I have to wonder because it seems to me that in your cosmos, God can be confined to four gospels, a few letters from Paul, and the five points of Calvin's Institutes. That doesn't work for me. In fact, it seems to me much more likely that God is so infinite that no single human system can contain or comprehend him/her. We might need many systems, and each and every one might have some small grasp on a corner of the truth. Though I am in my personal practice a Jew, philosophically, I'm a Unitarian-Universalist. So there you have it -- my deep dark secret. Enjoy.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>And that's it for me. Really and truly, this time. I wish you a happy New Year, Billy the Goat, and one filled with l'hakshot, fearless questioning. </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000></FONT></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>Goodnight, sweetheart, </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>And pleasant dreams to you.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>Here's a wish and a prayer</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>That every dream comes true.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>And now 'till we meet again,</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>Adios. Au revoir. Auf weidersehn. </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>Goodnight!</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT color=#000000>PS: For some reason, I woke up with the Lawrence Welk theme song playing in my head. My heavenly reward or a punishment for tormenting Ron? You be the judge. </FONT></SPAN><FONT color=#000080><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> </SPAN></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML><br clear=all><hr>Get more from the Web. 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