Jump to content
The World News Media

Greek grammar rules out ‘a god’.


Jesus.defender

Recommended Posts

  • Member

Greek grammar rules out ‘a god’.

JWs say that for Jesus to be Jehovah God here, there should be the definite article ‘the’
(Greek ‘ό’) before God (θεος). Because ‘θεος’ does not have the definite article ‘ό’ before it,
JWs conclude that ‘the word’ was indefinite, and means ‘a god’.

Answer: A.T. Robertson Greek authority says (A Grammar of Greek NT, p.767):

‘Nouns in the Predicate: The article is not essential to speech....The word with the article
(“ό”) is then the subject of the sentence, whatever the word order may be. So in John 1:1, “
ό λογος” , the subject is perfectly clear (“the word” = “ό λογος”, and it can only be “the word
was God”.’

Key: Hence the article ‘the’ (ό) points out the subject (ό λογος) of the clause, and points out
the predicate (θεος ) without the article.
If John had written ‘ό θεος ην ό λογος’ as the JWs would want, then John would be teaching
false doctrine of Sabellianism (that Christ is all of God, that God and Christ are
interchangeable, that the Father was the one who became incarnate, suffered and died).
Note: If the article is used with both the subject (ie. λογος ) and the predicate (ie. θεος), they
would then be interchangeable as the subject nouns are in I John 3:4 (η αμαρτια εστιν η
ανομια) then both ‘sin is transgression’ and ‘transgression is sin’ are true’.
But in I John 4:16, ‘ ’ can only be ‘God is Love’, not ‘Love is God’ (because the article
points out the subject). If the Greek language allowed us to say ‘Love is God’ just as readily
as ‘God is Love’ in this verse, then God would not be a person, but just an abstract quality.
(see Was Christ God?, Spiros Zodhiates, p.98).

Conclusion: Hence, the absence of the definite artice ‘􀂆’ in John 1:1 is deliberate in order to
identify ‘the Word’ as the subject of the sentence and to make it only to read as ‘the Word
was God’. It has nothing to do with Christ being a lesser god as the JWs claim. Hence,
contrary to the NWT and The Emphatic Diaglott, the Greek grammatical construction leaves
no doubt whatsoever that ‘the Word was God’ is the only possible rendering of the text.
Colwell’s Rule of Greek grammar clearly states that a predicate nominative (􀂉􀁌􀂆􀀽=God)
NEVER takes a definite article (‘􀂆’) when it precedes the verb ‘was’, as in John 1:1.
Translations which render the Greek in this verse as ‘a god’ or ‘divine’ are
motivated by theological, not grammatical considerations. The phrase ‘a god’ is particularly
objectionable because it makes Christ a lesser god, which is polytheism and contrary to
Deuteronomy 32:39. If Christ is ‘a god’, then He must be either a ‘true God’ or a ‘false god’.
If a ‘true God’, then we have polytheism. If a ‘false god’, then He is unworthy of our belief.
Of course, the correct translation found in the KJV and most other translations (‘the word
was God’), presents Christ as the one and only true God, Jehovah. Therefore, He is
monotheistic and worthy of our belief. John’s high view of Christ as God begins with John
1:1 and ends his gospel with Thomas addressing Christ as ‘my Lord and my God’ in John
20:28. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Views 184
  • Replies 0
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

Greek grammar rules out ‘a god’. JWs say that for Jesus to be Jehovah God here, there should be the definite article ‘the’ (Greek ‘ό’) before God (θεος). Because ‘θεος’ does not have the defini





  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Popular Contributors

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • It appears to me that this is a key aspect of the 2030 initiative ideology. While the Rothschilds were indeed influential individuals who were able to sway governments, much like present-day billionaires, the true impetus for change stems from the omnipotent forces (Satan) shaping our world. In this case, there is a false God of this world. However, what drives action within a political framework? Power! What is unfolding before our eyes in today's world? The relentless struggle for power. The overwhelming tide of people rising. We cannot underestimate the direct and sinister influence of Satan in all of this. However, it is up to individuals to decide how they choose to worship God. Satanism, as a form of religion, cannot be regarded as a true religion. Consequently, just as ancient practices of child sacrifice had a place in God's world, such sacrifices would never be accepted by the True God of our universe. Despite the promising 2030 initiative for those involved, it is unfortunately disintegrating due to the actions of certain individuals in positions of authority. A recent incident serves as a glaring example, involving a conflict between peaceful Muslims and a Jewish representative that unfolded just this week. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/11/us-delegation-saudi-arabia-kippah?ref=upstract.com Saudi Arabia was among the countries that agreed to the initiative signed by approximately 179 nations in or around 1994. However, this initiative is now being undermined by the devil himself, who is sowing discord among the delegates due to the ongoing Jewish-Hamas (Palestine) conflict. Fostering antisemitism. What kind of sacrifice does Satan accept with the death of babies and children in places like Gaza, Ukraine, and other conflicts around the world, whether in the past or present, that God wouldn't? Whatever personal experiences we may have had with well-known individuals, true Christians understand that current events were foretold long ago, and nothing can prevent them from unfolding. What we are witnessing is the result of Satan's wrath upon humanity, as was predicted. A true religion will not involve itself in the politics of this world, as it is aware of the many detrimental factors associated with such engagement. It understands the true intentions of Satan for this world and wisely chooses to stay unaffected by them.
    • This idea that Satan can put Jews in power implies that God doesn't want Jews in power. But that would also imply that God only wants "Christians" including Hitler, Biden, Pol Pot, Chiang Kai-Shek, etc. 
    • @Mic Drop, I don't buy it. I watched the movie. It has all the hallmarks of the anti-semitic tropes that began to rise precipitously on social media during the last few years - pre-current-Gaza-war. And it has similarities to the same anti-semitic tropes that began to rise in Europe in the 900's to 1100's. It was back in the 500s AD/CE that many Khazars failed to take or keep land they fought for around what's now Ukraine and southern Russia. Khazars with a view to regaining power were still being driven out into the 900's. And therefore they migrated to what's now called Eastern Europe. It's also true that many of their groups converted to Judaism after settling in Eastern Europe. It's possibly also true that they could be hired as mercenaries even after their own designs on empire had dwindled.  But I think the film takes advantage of the fact that so few historical records have ever been considered reliable by the West when it comes to these regions. So it's easy to fill the vacuum with some very old antisemitic claims, fables, rumors, etc..  The mention of Eisenhower in the movie was kind of a giveaway, too. It's like, Oh NO! The United States had a Jew in power once. How on earth could THAT have happened? Could it be . . . SATAN??" Trying to tie a connection back to Babylonian Child Sacrifice Black Magick, Secret Satanism, and Baal worship has long been a trope for those who need to think that no Jews like the Rothschilds and Eisenhowers (????) etc would not have been able to get into power in otherwise "Christian" nations without help from Satan.    Does child sacrifice actually work to gain power?? Does drinking blood? Does pedophilia??? (also mentioned in the movie) Yes, it's an evil world and many people have evil ideologies based on greed and lust and ego. But how exactly does child sacrifice or pedophilia or drinking blood produce a more powerful nation or cabal of some kind? To me that's a giveaway that the authors know that the appeal will be to people who don't really care about actual historical evidence. Also, the author(s) of the video proved that they have not done much homework, but are just trying to fill that supposed knowledge gap by grasping at old paranoid and prejudicial premises. (BTW, my mother and grandmother, in 1941 and 1942, sat next to Dwight Eisenhower's mother at an assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Eisenhower family had been involved in a couple of "Christian" religions and a couple of them associated with IBSA and JWs for many years.)
  • Members

    • K625XM

      K625XM 0

      Member
      Joined:
      Last active:
    • T.J

      T.J 0

      Member
      Joined:
      Last active:
  • Recent Status Updates

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      65.4k
    • Total Posts
      158.9k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      17,669
    • Most Online
      1,592

    Newest Member
    Miracle Pete
    Joined
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Service Confirmation Terms of Use Privacy Policy Guidelines We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.