Don Cupitt: “and the Word was the Father’s own Word” / «και ο Λόγος ήταν ο Λόγος του Πατέρα»

 

“To avoid this difficulty [the two-fold meaning of the term "God/god"] the line ought to be retranslated: “The Word was with God the Father and the Word was the Father’s own Word,” to stress that the Word is not an independent divine being but is the only God’s own self-expression. If all this is correct, then even John’s language about Jesus still falls within the scope of the King-ambassador model.”

«Για να αποφευχθεί αυτή η δυσκολία [η διττή σημασία του όρου "Θεός/θεός"] ο στίχος θα πρέπει να αναμεταφραστεί ως εξής: «Ο Λόγος ήταν με τον Θεό Πατέρα και ο Λόγος ήταν ο Λόγος του Πατέρα», ώστε να τονιστεί ότι ο Λόγος δεν είναι ένα ανεξάρτητο θεϊκό ον αλλά ότι είναι η μοναδική έκφραση του εαυτού του Θεού. Αν ισχύουν τα παραπάνω, τότε ακόμη και η γλώσσα που χρησιμοποιεί ο Ιωάννης σχετικά με τον Ιησού εξακολουθεί να εμπίπτει στα πλαίσια του μοντέλου Βασιλιά-πρεσβευτή».

* Don Cupitt,

The debate about Christ
[Η διένεξη σχετικά με τον Χριστό],
SCM-Canterbury Press, 1979,
p. 92.

Isaac Newton's theological theses / Οι θεολογικές θέσεις του Ισαάκ Νεύτωνα

Isaac Newton's personal name anagram
resulting in "Ieova sanctus unus"

1. The {word} God is no where in the scriptures used to signify more then one of the thre persons at once.

2. The word God put absolutly without particular restriction to the Son or Holy ghost doth always signify the Father from one end of the scriptures to the other.

3. When ever it is said in the scriptures that there is but one God, it is meant of the Father

4. When, after some heretiques had taken Christ for a meare man & others for the Supreme God, Saint Iohn in his Gospel indeavoured to state his nature so that men might have from thence a right apprehension of him & avoyd those hæresies & to that end call him the word or λογος: we must suppose that {he inten}ded that {ter}me in the same sence that it was taken in the world before he used it when in like manner applied to an intelligent being. For if the Apostles had not used words as they found them how could they expect to have been rightly understood. Now the term λογος befor Saint Iohn wrote, was {generally} used in the sense of the Platonists, when applied to an intelligent being, & the Arrians understand it in the same sence, & therefore theirs is the true sense of Saint Iohn.

5. The son in several places confesseth his dependance on the will of the father.

6. The son confesseth the father greather then him calls him his God, &c

7 The Son acknowl{ed}g{e}th the original præscience of all future things to be in the father onely.

8 There is no where made mention of a humane soul in our saviour besides the word, by the mediation of which the word should be incarnate. But the word it self was made flesh & took upon him the {form} of a servant.

9. It was the son of God which he sent into the {world} & not a humane soul that suffered for us. If {there} had been such a human soul in our Savour it would havebee{n} a thing of too great consequence to have been wholly omitted by the Apostles.

10. It is a proper epithete of the father to be called almighty. For by God almighty we always understand the Father. yet this is not to limit the power of the Son, For he doth whatsoever he seeth the Father {do}, but to acknowledg that all power is originally in the Father & & that the son hath no power in him but what he derives from the father for he professes that of himself he can do nothing.

11 The son in all things submits his will to the will of the father. which would be unreasonable if he were equall to the father.

12 The union between him & the father he interprets to be like that of the saints one with another. That is in agreement of will & counsil.

13

--Yahuda Ms. 14, f. 25r.

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Artic. 1. There is one God the Father everliving, omnipresent, omniscient, almighty, the maker of heaven & earth, & one Mediator between God & Man the Man Christ Iesus.

Artic 2. The father is the invisible God whom no eye hath seen or can see, all other beings are sometimes visible.

Artic. 3. The Father hath life in himself & hath given the son to have life in himself.

Artic 4 The father is omniscient & hath all knowledge originally in his own breast, & communicates knowledge of future things to Iesus Christ & none in heaven or earth or under the earth is worthy to receive knowledge of future things immediately from the father except the Lamb. And therefore the testimony of Iesus is the Spirit of Prophesy & Iesus is the Word or Prophet of God.

Artic 5. The father is immoveable no place being capable of becoming emptier or fuller of him then it is by the eternal necessity of nature: all other beings are moveable from place to place.

Artic 6. All the worship (whether of prayer praise or thanks giving which was due to the father before the coming of Christ is still due to him. Christ came not to diminish the worship of his father.

Artic. 7. Prayers are most prevalent when directed to the father in the name of the son

Artic. 8. We are to return thanks to the father alone for creating us & giving us food & raiment & other blessings of this life & whatsover we are to thank him for or desire that he would do for us we ask of him immediately in the name of Christ

Artic. 9. We need not pray to Christ to intercede for us. If we pray the father aright he will intercede.

Artic. 10. It is not necessary to salvation to direct our prayers to any other then the father in the name of the son.

Artic. 11. To give the name of God to Angels or Kings is not against the first commandment. To give the worship of the God of the Iews to Angels or Kings is against it. The meaning of the commandment is Thou shalt worship no other Gods but me.

Artic 12. To us there is but one God the father of whom are all things & we of him, & one Lord Iesus Christ by whom are all things & we by him. that is, we are to worship the father alone as God Almighty & Iesus alone as the Lord the Messiah the great King the Lamb of God who was slain & hath redeemed us with his blood & made us kings & Priests.

--Keynes Ms. 8, f. 1r.

*

Bible canons /Κανόνες της Βίβλου

Christendom: Where do they live? /Χριστιανικός κόσμος: Που ζει;

* Source:
Douglas Jacobsen,
The World's Christians: Who they are, Where they are, and How they got there, 
John Wiley & Sons, 2011.