RE: An Early Trinity

ArvesonPT@nswccd.navy.mil
Tue, 14 Sep 1999 11:14:39 -0400

I know the Jews would vehemently dispute this; but I only meant
to say that it is suggestive, just as are many other passages
in the OT. I recall that even Moses Maimonides noted the triple
repetition of the Name in the Shema, which is sung every week
in every synagogue:
"Shema Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu, Adonai Echud."
(Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one; Deut. 6:4)

Also, it has been pointed out that Echud (One) is a 'unified one'
as opposed to Yachid, 'a single isolated one'.

I just think that these, like many other OT passages, are blossoms
that bloomed in the NT.

Paul Arveson

> -----Original Message-----
> From: George Murphy [SMTP:gmurphy@raex.com]
> Sent: Monday, September 13, 1999 12:26 PM
> To: ArvesonPT@nswccd.navy.mil
> Cc: asa@calvin.edu
> Subject: Re: An Early Trinity
>
> ArvesonPT@nswccd.navy.mil wrote:
> >
> > George Murphy said:
> >
> > >In fact, excessive emphasis on the plural "let us make..." here might
> lead
> > one
> > >to the mistaken idea that _only_ the creation of humanity is a work of
> the
> > Trinity and
> > >that in all the other creative work only one person of the Trinity is
> > acting.
> >
> > This conclusion may be discouraged by Genesis 1:1, where the word used
> > for God is Elohim, not El.
>
> Yes if the grammatically plural form of elohim is understood in a
> trinitarian
> sense, but I think that's even more debatable than understanding "let us
> make" in such
> a way.
>
> George L. Murphy
> gmurphy@raex.com
> http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/