A Short Dialog With a Oneness Pentecostal
Wow. I never knew that customer reviews on Amazon.com became threads of dialog. Never thought to look. Maybe I am getting old. Anyway, I was going to edit my comment on Victor Alexander's Aramaic New Testament: from the Ancient Church of the East Scriptures (http://www.amazon.com/Aramaic-New-Testament-Ancient-Scriptures/dp/1456475789/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452063781&sr=8-1&keywords=alexander+aramaic+new+testament) and noticed that Dylan Downs had commented on my review. I recognized the name from elsewhere and have seen his web site before. Here is what Mr. Downs said to me (I am not sure why, but he did):
Dylan Downs says:
The Scriptures declare the Almighty YHWH to be one God (Deuteronomy 6:4) all throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. "Qnumeh" does not fit the grammar of the verse in the Peshitta, so "qnomah" should be used. I am a Oneness Pentecostal, believing in one Almighty God who is the Holy Spirit, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:18, 20; Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ is that Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things (John 1:1-4, 14; Colossians 1:15-18, 2:9; Hebrews 1:2), that He is the Miltha (Word, Manifestation, Substance) of YHWH and He became flesh as a genuine and sinless man (II Corinthians 5:28; Philippians 2:5-8; I Peter 1:22) in order to save us from our sins. The Messiah had to be a true human being that was perfect, and He also had to be the perfect, eternal, and Almighty God. Through the incarnation and Jesus's death on the cross, He was able to pay a debt that nobody else could pay. Victor Alexander and the other Assyrian Christians have a very different view of the Trinity doctrine from Western Christians, they do not describe God as three Persons, but three Qnomeh (which is also the term used to describe the dual nature of Jesus Christ). The concept of Qnomeh/Qnomah does not exist in English (or even Hebrew), only in Aramaic. It is a distinction, but not enough of a distinction that the Father, Son, and Spirit can be said to be different Persons. These are three of many manifestations of the one true God: YHWH/MarYa. Abba, Rukha d'Qudsha, Brah d'Alaha: Yeshua Meshikha (Father, Holy Spirit, Son of God: Jesus the Messiah). Based on Scripture, it can be concluded that the distinction between the Father and the Son is not between different Persons, but between two ways in which God has revealed Himself to man in relation to each other. The Father is deity alone and the infinite Holy Spirit beyond the incarnation, while the Son is deity and humanity, the infinite Holy Spirit within the incarnation. God humbled Himself and became a genuine man: the Son of God, who relied on the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the Father's guidance in order to operate in His ministry. The term "Messiah" (Mashiyach, Meshikha, Christos) refers to Jesus as the Anointed One (the meaning of "Messiah"). Jesus's anointing by the Spirit is unlimited (John 3:34). Jesus is the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
Dylan Downs says:
The Scriptures declare the Almighty YHWH to be one God (Deuteronomy 6:4) all throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. "Qnumeh" does not fit the grammar of the verse in the Peshitta, so "qnomah" should be used. I am a Oneness Pentecostal, believing in one Almighty God who is the Holy Spirit, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:18, 20; Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ is that Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things (John 1:1-4, 14; Colossians 1:15-18, 2:9; Hebrews 1:2), that He is the Miltha (Word, Manifestation, Substance) of YHWH and He became flesh as a genuine and sinless man (II Corinthians 5:28; Philippians 2:5-8; I Peter 1:22) in order to save us from our sins. The Messiah had to be a true human being that was perfect, and He also had to be the perfect, eternal, and Almighty God. Through the incarnation and Jesus's death on the cross, He was able to pay a debt that nobody else could pay. Victor Alexander and the other Assyrian Christians have a very different view of the Trinity doctrine from Western Christians, they do not describe God as three Persons, but three Qnomeh (which is also the term used to describe the dual nature of Jesus Christ). The concept of Qnomeh/Qnomah does not exist in English (or even Hebrew), only in Aramaic. It is a distinction, but not enough of a distinction that the Father, Son, and Spirit can be said to be different Persons. These are three of many manifestations of the one true God: YHWH/MarYa. Abba, Rukha d'Qudsha, Brah d'Alaha: Yeshua Meshikha (Father, Holy Spirit, Son of God: Jesus the Messiah). Based on Scripture, it can be concluded that the distinction between the Father and the Son is not between different Persons, but between two ways in which God has revealed Himself to man in relation to each other. The Father is deity alone and the infinite Holy Spirit beyond the incarnation, while the Son is deity and humanity, the infinite Holy Spirit within the incarnation. God humbled Himself and became a genuine man: the Son of God, who relied on the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the Father's guidance in order to operate in His ministry. The term "Messiah" (Mashiyach, Meshikha, Christos) refers to Jesus as the Anointed One (the meaning of "Messiah"). Jesus's anointing by the Spirit is unlimited (John 3:34). Jesus is the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
My response to Mr. Downs:
I am sorry, Dylan, that I did not know that customer reviews branched off into threads of dialog. Oneness is "a hard row to hoe," as they say. "Not one, but not two." You can see yourself spinning around it in all your verbiage. You seem to agree with Alexander that Jesus is the manifestation of God. It is hard not to broach the idea of two here. I differ with you in the matter of time, as I grasp the concepts espoused by Neville Goddard that the crucifixion of Christ was when God's consciousness (the spirit which became us) "died" (forgot) of its awareness of its nature as God and became conscious of being us -- a real dumbing-down! Christ became man -- ALL OF US!! So it is moot that he ever became a unique individual son. THE WHOLE THING IS ONE (ITALICIZE, UNDERLINE, BOLD) and accomplished in all. Oneness Pentecostals classically believe that Jesus Christ is the only God we will ever see. I believe that we will only see him in ourselves as we become aware of being him.
Keep
reeling-in the concept of oneness. Fight for it! Wrestle to attain to
it: "He . . . is . . . 'I.'" We -- he and us -- are all one body: the whole thing is just one thing. The concept of oneness -- real oneness -- is a hard row to hoe.
Thanks for writing.
Thanks for writing.
posted by Daniel C. Branham-Steele at
4:24 PM
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