How would I juxtapose between the unity of God (Shema) in Deuteronomy 6.4 and the concept of Trinity in the Old Testament
Upvote:3
Assuming Unitarianism
Only when assuming Unitarianism, the Shema and the Trinity would be in conflict. The LORD is one, one what? one person? one being? You can indeed see fuzzy pictures of the Trinity in the Old Testament throughout various passages, but of course, the triune nature of God is revealed to us in the New Testament, let's let how Paul explained the Shema for us.
Paul's explanation of the Shema
1 Corinthians 8:6 (NASB95)
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
- One God (1 Corinthians 8:6) = our God (Deuteronomy 6:4)
- One Lord (1 Corinthians 8:6) = The LORD (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Paul explained the Shema for us, he used the same keywords, One, God, Lord, but he actually expanded it for us so we can understand what and who God is.
Why should we compare Deuteronomy 6:4 with 1 Corinthians 8:6 when the first one was written in Hebrew and the other was written in Greek? and how do we deal with the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) being translated into Greek?
When the apostles quoted from the Old Testament in their gospels and epistles, they quoted from the Greek Septuagint also known as the LXX (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), because the people they were talking to (such as the Corinthians in this case) didn't speak Hebrew and used the Greek Septuagint as their Old Testament bible, that's how you can use Deuteronomy 6:4 in the LXX as a reference to 1 Corinthians 8:6. In regard to the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), in the LXX, it's simply rendered as Κύριος (Kyrios), simply as "Lord" in English, which is the same title that is used for our Lord Jesus Christ throughout the whole New Testament and in 1 Corinthians 8:6.
Upvote:4
The Jews of Old Testament times, and even to this day, had no concept of a Trinity--as the Shema indicates. It is well established that Jews have always been monotheists, including during the time of Christ.
Jesus, in addressing the woman at the well, who was a Samaritan, spoke, as a Jew, of this Jewish belief in God.
John 4:21-24
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Jesus' message is clear; he taught worship of "the Father," not of a Trinity.
More post
- 📝 LDS perspective on the New King James Version?
- 📝 Looking for source for quote from Christian author
- 📝 Is there any evidence that in the middle ages (France and maybe Spain), there was a wafer/bread given to the priests as a gift for the priest?
- 📝 Liturgical prayer in Aramaic?
- 📝 Jesus' Resurrection occurred before angel rolled back the tombstone?
- 📝 Was the first Christian community a model for Religious Orders?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the belief that Christians cannot be possessed by demons?
- 📝 Did Judas Iscariot participate in the First Holy Eucharist?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the priesthood of all believers?
- 📝 Can a Catholic be denied communion for the way they want to receive Communion?
- 📝 Did the Lord God agree with "an eye for an eye"?
- 📝 Canticle of Zachariah daily? Why?
- 📝 How do Christians reconcile Deuteronomy 13:1-4 with their belief in the abrogation of the Mosaic law?
- 📝 How does one discern between thoughts inspired by the Holy Spirit and those produced from themselves
- 📝 How does scholars' denial of the possibility of NT autographs affect the Christian doctrines of biblical inerrancy and infallibility?
- 📝 What is the basis for ascribing any fiscal policy to Jesus?
- 📝 How do Protestants harmonize the creeds and confessions on anthropomorphism?
- 📝 When and where does the statement, "Christ paid the penalty for our sins" first appear?
- 📝 What does "Catechetical Formula" mean?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for "hate the sin, love the sinner"?
- 📝 Is it orthodox to abandon the concept that God of the Bible is person, but say that He is spirit?
- 📝 How do non-Reformed Theologians interpret Romans 9:11-23?
- 📝 The order of Communion in Luke 22:17-20 versus Mark 14:22-25 and Matthew 26:26-29
- 📝 Is virginity more meritorious than marriage, according to St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 7?
- 📝 What is a priest of Rome?
- 📝 Are there other explanations of ”right hand” than masturbation (Matthew 5:30)?
- 📝 Is every Roman Catholic Church saint also an Eastern Catholic Church saint (and viceversa)?
- 📝 Was Jesus in unity with the Holy Spirit?
- 📝 In what sense do Mormons believe salvation is only through Christ?
- 📝 What precisely is the sacramental "economy"? In which sense it is an economy?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How would I juxtapose between the unity of God (Shema) in Deuteronomy 6.4 and the concept of Trinity in the Old Testament
- 📝 How do creationists address the similarity between Irreducible Complexity and God Of The Gaps?
- 📝 How do Trinitarians respond to passages in the Bible that seem to clearly distinguish between God and Jesus after his ascension?
- 📝 How does the Catholic church deal with the differences between the God described in the old and new Testaments?
- 📝 How would believers in Jesus' deity paraphrase 1 Clement 59:4, "Let all the Gentiles know that Thou art the God alone, and Jesus Christ is Thy Son"?
- 📝 If God is omniscient , He would have forseen how He would send the flood and kill everyone
- 📝 How can I tell the difference between the Moral law and other laws in the old testament?
- 📝 According to Protestant trinitarians, what is the significance of the father-son relationship between God and Christ?
- 📝 If the Holy Spirit is God, and God can not be in the presence of sin, then how can the Holy Spirit dwell in me a sinner?
- 📝 What's the difference between judging God and questioning God?
- 📝 How is the Shema of Deuteronomy reconciled with the doctrine of the Trinity?
- 📝 What is the basis for the idea that the Song of Solomon is about the relationship between God and the church?
- 📝 How is the belief that Christians are both adopted and begotten sons of God reconciled?
- 📝 Relationships between God the Father, Mary and the two natures of Jesus Christ
- 📝 How does one discern between thoughts inspired by the Holy Spirit and those produced from themselves
- 📝 How does the Bible differentiate between sickness and sin?
- 📝 What is the difference between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven?
- 📝 What traditions believe that a woman's relationship with God must go through some man and how do they support it from the Bible?
- 📝 Does God want things? What are some of the things He wants, and how did we find out?
- 📝 What are the differences between Mormonism and Islam, and how do Mormons react to comparisons with it?
- 📝 The difference between how the Holy Spirit and Son "proceed" from the Father
- 📝 The Mormon Church teaches that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son. How do you reconcile this when the Bible says the Father cannot be seen?
- 📝 What are the differences between the spirit of God and spirit of Man?
- 📝 How do Catholics explain the apparent inconsistency between Mary's not experiencing labor pain and Rev 12:1-6?
- 📝 What was the Law of God Before Moses and How was It Disseminated?
- 📝 Would the bible draw parallels between the spies returning from Canaan and modern biblical criticism?
- 📝 How many New Testament Manuscripts do we have from the period between the first century and the fourth century?
- 📝 How it is possible to be one God in three persons (Jesus, Holy Ghost, and God the Father)?
- 📝 How do Biblical Unitarians understand the connection between Mark 1:1-4 and Malachi 3:1-5?
- 📝 How does the loss of Wesleyan perfectionism differ from Catholic distinctions between mortal and venial sins?