About Michael O`Flaherty (Expert=8663) Expertise Did you know that the Bible does talk about the concept of the trinity? Did you know that Jesus did claim to be God, and that unless He washes you, you will not get into heaven? If you want a spirited debate about your beliefs in relation to the Bible, please ask. I will warn you; you might be challenged. Friendly debate only!
Expert: Michael O`Flaherty (Expert=8663) - 8/7/2006
Question I totally believe in the trinity, and it would be
impossible for any JW to convince me otherwise by quoting from a NWT, since it is completely based on the Wescott and Hort Greek Text. But Allow me for a moment to be a devil's advocate.
Why do recocognized bible scholars, theologians, and christians believe that 1 John 5:7, which clearly proves the trinity, is a spurious verse as found in the King James Bible? Aren't they hanging themselves by agreeing with the JW's who also believe this verse in the King James to be spurous?
Answer Hi George!
No, I don’t believe so. They are just being honest to the scriptures. You can make the same argument for Mark 16:9-20. Though it is possible that these verses are in the original text, they are missing from many older manuscripts. As far as I John 5, the same situation exists – the Vulgate and other newer Greek translations are not in unison with older manuscripts.
However, taking the entire NT as a whole, it is clear that the Trinity is taught, so I totally agree with you. For example, you can ask a simple question – who raised Jesus from the dead? If you say that God did, you would be right (Acts 2:32 for example.) If you say that the Spirit did, you would be right (Romans 8:11 for example.) If you say that Jesus raised his own body from the dead, you would be right (John 2:18-22 for example.)
My point is that we do not need to sugarcoat a simple historic discrepancy in scripture. Truth does not get truer, and it is better to state the truth and try not to use a verse like this to build our case. There are plenty verses that make our case better without being shrouded in a controversy. (I know you are playing devil's advocate, so I am providing you my answer if you did believe this.)
