Many of the world's major religions do not believe in the Trinity: the concept that God is composed of three beings (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) acting as one. Islam, Judaism, and even some forms of Christianity hold that God is one and only one. God is singular - never plural. I find it especially interesting that Jews hold this belief, considering something I recently discovered about the Old Testament's grammatical treatment of God. The Hebrew word for God is "Elohim." The ending "-im" always denotes a plural. If the writers of the OT had wanted to portray God as singular, they would have used the noun "Eloh" instead. However, they chose specifically to implement the use of the grammatical plural ending. Interestingly enough, although the noun "Elohim" is uniformly used to refer to God, the verbs which accompany His actions are almost always in singular! I do not think the Hebrew writers were linguistically incompetent. They knew what they meant when they used a plural noun with singular verbs: a morphological equation for the Trinity.I suppose it's incorrect to say that the Hebrew writers concocted the theme. The Orchestrator of the scriptures chose the description Himself. For illustration, let's simply read verse 3:15 from the book of Exodus: "And God (plural) said (singular) moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God (plural) of your fathers, the God (plural) of Abraham, the God (plural) of Isaac, and the God (plural) of Jacob, hath sent (singular) me unto you: this is my (singular) name for ever, and this is my (singular) memorial unto all generations."
13 comments:
That is such a sad thought in some ways. People are more comfortable limiting God I think. And since it takes imagination to think of God as being three in one, that is a challenge for most people as well. I don't understand exactly how it works either, but I believe that there are 3 entities that make up God and yet they are the same. I can see how that would be confusing for the world.
Hey Cheris! Thanks for leaving a comment! Sadly, I somehow posted this before I finished writing it... I hope you read the new completed version too.
I'm glad you're keeping these straight, particularly considering your current academic setting...
I love being married to a Hebrew Scholar.
It's all wonderful stuff
If you ever do a major study on the Trinity, let me know. It would help stimulate some more original thought on community-driven individuality
I am no Hebrew scholar but how is this? "Let us (plural)make man in our(plural) own image(singular).
You're right, much better to read it again, to the end.:) I am no scholar when it comes to Biblical matters, but still a good reminder and something to ponder. Thanks! While I teach (English) you can study (Hebrew and the Bible)!
Petra,
The more I learn about the true, complete Hebrew meanings of the Bible, I think that we all miss out on not having a working knowledge of Hebrew! What a beautiful thought that God is 3-in--1.
Lisa
That's really cool Petra. Thanks for posting that. Please keep us updated on all these interesting matters you study!
Cool! I believe that as God reveals His character and being to us throughout eternity, we will be increasingly amazed and confounded.
He is exceedingly beyond us, yet He is by our side and has already given Himself to us.
Encore!
Hey petra!
I spent about 2 hours discussing this with an elderly jewish man at the nursing home this past sabbath. He pointed out that "Elohim" as used in Genesis 1:26 is only one of many names used by the hebrew authors in the old testament! Singular denotations such as Adonai and Yahweh are also used extensively. He also mentioned that the plurality of "elohim" indicates solely "the royal presence". For instance, "we the king make such and such a proclamation".
Your thoughts are excellent, and the depth of my hebraic knowledge is minute, but I thought I might submit his take on the issue!
Ah, Thank you John for that bit of insight. Needless to say, my Hebrew knowledge is considerably limited at present also. I appreciate your input from your Jewish friend!
Also, this was a comment that Farf (my grandfather)wanted to post, but couldn't due to computer trouble. He e-mailed it to me, and I'm posting it for him:
Maybe you can answer a question that has puzzled me for quite some time:
Is the Holy Spirit eternal like the Father and the Son? Or is His existence limited to the history of our planet?
When Jesus went home to His Father He told His disciples, I cannot be with you any longer, but I will send you a substitute (i.e. the Holy Spirit).
When in Heaven, our direct contact with Jesus (and His Father) will be re-established and, hence, a substitute seems superfluous.
If that is not the case what then is the role of the Holy Spirit?
Hm, that's a very interesting question your grandpa raises. That needs some thought.
Hi all, I'm finding this very interesting. Because I'm a "questioner" and God says in His word to "test everything" I questioned myself on the belief of the Trinity and wondered if I just believed in it because it was what I had been taught. So I decided to put it to the "test" and do a Bible study on it. WOW it's amazing what is revealed to us in God's word when we are searching for truth and trust Him to show us. When you do this you will see that All 3 persons in the Trinity are present from the beginning of God's word to the very end. Each being attributed to the same things, such as creation, and each to different things, such as to the different unique works of each. All being attributed to things that can only apply to GOD. Once you do this it will amaze and surprise you how clear it really is.
Per said "I believe that as God reveals His character and being to us throughout eternity, we will be increasingly amazed and confounded.
He is exceedingly beyond us, yet He is by our side and has already given Himself to us."
How true that is. His Spirit is in us and guides and teaches us. What an amazing promise that is! What a great God we have!
By the way I have a cousin who is a Messianic Jewish Rabbi. Very interesting to talk to.
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