The Trinity is Biblical

Con has flied in the face of Biblical monotheism with his claim that there is more than one God. As candidates, he offers Satan himself via 2 Corinthians 4:4, but I"m sure we all know Satan is a FALSE god, and hence, not TRULY a god at all. One thing Jehovah cannot do is lie. He said: "Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me." In contradiction to this, Con claims Satan is another god that was formed afterwards. Jehovah says: "I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." (Isa 44:6) Con claims the judges in Psalm 82 which Jesus refers to in John 10:34 were other gods beside Jehovah, and in this he contradicts the plain monotheistic statements God has made. Even a slight look at Psalm 82 shows these were false gods " according to verse 2 they were judging unjustly! Not only does this Psalm in irony call them "gods," but it also calls them "sons of the Most High," but we know this is irony because sons of God do not carry out unjust judgment. 1 John 3:10 says that sons of the Devil are those who don"t love their brother and act unrighteously, which is exactly what the wicked judges of Psalm 82 did. To show them they were not gods, Jehovah decreed that they would die like men. (Psalm 82:7) This is exactly what God said to others to prove that they were men, and not gods, for example Ezekiel 28:2, 9. I don"t see how Con aligns John 20:28 with Psalm 82 because no one in Israel went around calling any of the judges "my God." This is a term that is EXCLUSIVELY used for Jehovah all through the rest of the entire Bible, so the fact that Thomas applies it to Jesus proves his divinity beyond doubt. Further, Thomas doesn"t just call him God, but "my" God, showing that Jesus is HIS God. The Greek text say "kai ho theos mou," literally, "and THE God OF me." So Jesus is THE God, with the definite article, "of" Thomas. How much more clearly could Thomas have shown Jesus was God? John 17:3 doesn"t help you, because the Father being the ONLY true God, means all other gods are false. Jesus therefore cannot be ANOTHER god as you teach, or else he would be a false god. So Jesus has to be the same God as the Father. Not the same person, but included as part of the same being. Amazing you should bring up John 20:17. I have no problem with Jesus, as a man, calling the Father "my God," because as a human a setting the example for us, he gave up heaven to take on the role of a servant. But since "my God" proves the Father is God in John 20:17, then to be consistent "my God" must show Jesus is God in John 20:28! And if "my God" means the Father is the God of Jesus (in his humanity), then "my God" means Jesus is the God of Thomas when the term is applied to him. 1 Corinthians 8:4 says "there is none other God but one." That is very clear. We should interpret the obscure passages like Psalm 82 in light of the clearer ones like Isaiah 45:5: "There is no God beside me." Con wants us to reinterpret the many, many passages we have saying there is only one God to allow for other gods, on the basis of a handful of obscure passages. This is bad exegesis. Con admits Jehovah made all things himself, then adds that Jesus helped him, but Isaiah 44:24 is more forceful than that, using the words "ALONE" and "BY MYSELF" to show that Jehovah had no help. So either Jesus is Jehovah, or Jehovah had help which makes him a liar in this verse. Con simply doesn"t see that Jehovah doesn"t just claim to be the source of salvation, but actually claims to be the ONLY Savior there is. "I am the Lord; and beside me there is no Savior." Con believes Jesus is ANOTHER savior, hence he has two saviors, when Scripture teaches there is only one. With John 14:14 Con ignored completely my point that the Greek text actually says: "If ever anything you should ASK ME in the name of me this I will do." Jesus is saying that we should ask HIM, and this Greek is found even in the Kingdom Interlinear Greek text used by Jehovah"s Witnesses. Their NWT is based on this Greek text, but they leave out the "ASK ME" because they want to hide the fact that Jesus asked us to pray to him. Con actually says 1 John 5:12-15 doesn"t mention Jesus! I"ll give you the text from his own NWT: "He that has the Son (JESUS) has this life; he that does not have the Son of God (JESUS) does not have this life. I write you these things that you may know that you have life everlasting, you who put your faith in the name of the Son of God. (JESUS) And this is the confidence that we have toward him (JESUS), that, no matter what it is that we ask according to his will, he hears us." The Son of God is clearly the one mentioned in all the previous verses, leading up to the one "who hears us." Con claims the Holy Spirit is "God"s power in action," but the Bible explicitly shows the Holy Spirit is NOT power: "Not by might, NOR BY POWER, but by my Spirit." (Zech 4:6) I challenge Con to show me the verse that says the Holy Spirit is power; I"ve already shown him where the Spirit is contrasted to power. Con vainly cites Colossians 1:15 which calls Jesus "the image of the invisible God," so Jesus is the invisible, made visible. If God becomes visible, we would see Jesus; wow! The word firstborn in no way proves Jesus was the first to be created as Con thinks. King David was also called the "firstborn," even though he was the seventh son of Jesse. (Psalm 89:20, 27; 1 Ch 2:13-15) He was the firstborn in the sense of his preeminence, which is the same meaning in Colossians 1:15 as shown by the context which says: "For BY HIM were ALL THINGS created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the PREEMMINENCE." (Col 1:16-18, KVJ) Jesus is BEFORE all things, hence was not created. He created all things. John 1:3 says that without him already being there, God the Father did not created "even one thing." So the Son was always with the Father before creation even began. Revelation 1:8 calls God "the beginning," meaning that Jehovah is the source or origin, or Beginner of all creation. Since he that sees Jesus sees the Father (John 14:9), we should expect Jesus to be called "the beginning" too. (Rev 3:14) Since Con trusted Barnes Notes regarding Acts 7:59, let him see that this same trusted source and many others support what I said on Colossians 1:15 and Revelation 3:14 http://www.google.com... The eternal Father is so called because he is eternal. Con"s explanation may be an additional reason. Funny now Con should use Mark 13:32 to show Jesus doesn"t know something as proof he can"t be God, when Jehovah"s Witnesses themselves claim that Jehovah didn"t know Adam and Eve would eat the fruit (Reasoning from the Scriptures, Fate), or that Abraham would sacrifice his son, or what was happening in Sodom. "Selective foreknowledge means that God could choose not to foreknow indiscriminately all the future acts of his creatures." (Insight on the Scriptures, vol.1, Foreknowledge) They claim Jehovah can selectively use his foreknowledge, so what is the problem now with his Son doing the same at Mark 13:32? Jesus though, in his human knowledge didn"t know the hour, but in his divine self he knew ALL THING, as his disciples proclaimed he did. (John 16:30; 21:17) I"ll take their interpretation over Con"s. I will address Acts 7:59 in the next round, as well as Con's other arguments. I'm out of space for now, but clearly Con has not yet refuted my position.