I don't deny the virgin birth, but I want to see you debate this. I see you have tucked tail and turned away on this point. Checkmate. Do you really know what you believe if you can't even explain away all of the arguments against your protestantism?
Exactly. God is equal to the Father because the Father is God. So God is a person.. Where the Bible speaks of Jesus' God, or our God, it's referring to the Father.
You're right my friend.
Most of your arguments are about the humanity of Christ. That issue is never in dispute. I do not see in your posts anything sufficient to deny the passages that show the deity of Christ in the Godhead. You get the privilege of explaining the basis for your heresy. Also, you said Jesus was born of Joseph and that it was necessary for his lineage of David. I do not know how you explain that as anything but a denial of the virgin birth. Your denial or confusion on that matter is quite disturbing.
Phil 2:
Straw man argument! Nobody denies the Father is the default image in our minds, for he is the first among equals. The Son and Sprit precede from the Father.
Hi TibiasDad
There is the issue of being and then the issue of position. The attributes of being “God”, at a minimum, are being eternally existent and being omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. This does not preclude a hierarchy of authority among those who are otherwise equal in their nature of being/existence. (ie, being eternal/uncreated).
I think the Trinity gets even harder to justify when basic English grammar rules are taken into consideration. I have seen all too often that when Trinitarianism is confronted with difficult Scripture that rather than adapt beliefs to new Biblical truths, they start redefining words and creating new branches of reason and logic that are actually fringe ideas.
How is Jesus God if what constitutes him being God is the same exact thing(s) the Philippians were told to have in Phil. 2:5?
you missed this too? The instruction is to have humility and service to one another. These are presented in Phil 2:1-4. It certainly is not as extensive of humility as Christ did in humbling himself with respect to his divinity. However, people can humble themselves by seeking other people's benefit. I think you need to get away from the teachers you have had and seek out ones who share true insight into scripture.
Nothing about humbling himself with respect to divinity, which he did not do anyway. Jesus was outspoken regarding his status with God and the power and authority he was given. It has nothing to do with what you're proposing.
It will take quite an argument by you to overcome the blatant point of Jesus being in the form of God. I doubt you have anything convincing on that issue.
The will require low energy from me since the verse itself makes my argument for me. The word "form" means the form, shape, outward appearance. It's used in such ways in Greek to describe what people can visually see with their eyeballs. It's in the LXX too.
If you have no argument, just say so. If you have an argument that you think will be honest to the passage, share it. Actually, I'm sort of tired of your half-thought-out responses. So probably you should not even try.
Humility is the point of reference, not being eternal/uncreated. Jesus was humble, although he was/is God, he did not think himself too good to become human. He put our needs above his own rights and status.
I have no argument because Philippians 2:6 is super clear about Jesus not himself being God. Why else would only the Father be the one receiving the glory?
Then why did Jesus need to be a human?
Notice that Paul has to narrow this from the general Godhead to God the Father. It has been normal that all that Jesus does is to glorify the Father. And the Father acts to glorify the Son. There is a coequal relationship in this sense. I'm wondering if you have some argument you want to make beyond the verification of Christ in the Godhead?
