Social Media Trinitarianism

This post by someone defending their Trinitarian theology resembles more of a frantic drive-by shooting. Examining the scriptures used to support their premise, that Jesus was crucified because he claimed to be God, will demonstrate that.

Three scriptures were presented, all from John:

John 8:58-59, John 10:33, John 19:7

Notice that no translation was cited, so it should not matter which Bible is used.

But there is a glaring problem with this claim, even before looking up the scriptures. If Jesus claimed to be God, and he was killed, then God is dead—never resurrected—and atheism is true. But Trinitarians are not atheists. This highlights that Trinitarians do not say what they mean. When they say that Jesus is God, what they really mean is that he is the second person of the impersonal Godhead. God is not a single person to them, but is a group of three distinct and not separate persons. So what Trinitarians should really say is that “Jesus claimed to be God in the sense of being a person within the triune Godhead.” Settling on the simple slogan “Jesus is God” thus reflects a very careless attitude towards their own theology. If they are not really that interested in being accurate with their own theology, then why insist that others accept it? Why should we accept something they are not really interested in expressing accurately?

Moving on to those three scriptures, they read:

John 8:58-59
Jesus told them, “I tell you for a positive fact, I existed before Abraham was born.” Then they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself, and left the Temple. (The Original New Testament by Hugh J. Schonfield)

True, most other translations present, as the NET Bible does: “before Abraham came into existence, I am!” The usual claim is that “I am” is a name instigating the attempted stoning in the next verse. However, the NLT Study Bible is a bit more cautious. While it presents “before Abraham was even born, I AM!” in the main text, it presents the following footnote: “(Or before Abraham was even born, I have always been alive; Greek reads before Abraham was, I am.) Jesus’ life spans the past from before creation (1:1-2) and sweeps beyond the present into eternity.” It adds regarding “I AM”: “This title is reminiscent of God’s name given on Mount Sinai (Exod 3:14; cp. John 4:26; Isa 43:11-13; 12).” Thus, here it is presented as only “reminiscent” and not “explicit,” and may not even be translated as “I AM” but as “I have always been alive.” Additionally, previous printings of the NASB offered the alternative translation of “I have been” in the margin.^[1]

Thus, John 8:58-59 does not prove that Jesus claimed to be God.

John 10:33
“We aren’t stoning you for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because you—being a man—make yourself God.” (CSB)

Yet, notice two things: (1) this charge was made by Jesus’ enemies and (2) Jesus clarified in verse 36: “Why do you call it blasphemy when I say ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world.” (NLT) The NLT Study Bible explains in a footnote: “If the word god could be applied to people other than the Lord, then Jesus was not breaking the law by referring to himself in this way.” So the charge of blasphemy and claiming to be God was actually disputed by Jesus but upheld by his enemies. Christians should not side with Jesus’ enemies.

Thus, John 10:33 does not prove that Jesus claimed to be God.

John 19:7
“We have a law,” the Jews replied to him, “and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” (CSB)

This is not a claim to be God. The NLT Study Bible explains in a footnote: “Claiming to be God’s son was not illegal, because Israel’s kings did this (Ps 2:7; 89:22-27). Jesus claimed to have the divine authority of God himself (see 5:18 [“calling God his Father”]), which they saw as blasphemy.” Again, these are Jesus’ enemies making this charge. Christians should not side with Jesus’ enemies.

Thus, not one of these three Johannine scriptures supported the premise that Jesus was crucified because he claimed to be God.

Trinitarians, please be more thoughtful when expressing your theology, refraining from such reckless drive-by shooting apologetics and slinging shallow slogans. It is narrowminded and does not encourage sincere theology.

Footnotes:
^[1] See: Identifying Jesus jimspace3000.blogspot.com/2016/08/identifying-jesus.html

Related blog entries:

• (Y!A) Trinitarians, do you see the flawed reasoning of “I AM” in John 8:58?
  jimspace3000-ya.blogspot.com/2015/02/trinitarians-do-you-see-flawed.html
• “The Authentic New Testament”
  jimspace3000.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-authentic-new-testament.html