Well, again, if you go to non-Christian Jews with your above-listed criteria, they will tell you that, though you think you are worshiping YHVH, or Jehovah, you are not, at least not properly, because you are idolizing Jesus Christ as part of a Trinity (if you are an "orthodox" Christian, that is). The Jehovah's Witnesses, even if they are false witnesses, will tell you the same. Therefore, I conclude either that Jehovah is not the same god, or God, as Jehovah, or that his followers and worshipers are somewhat given to spiritual schizophrenia, at worst, and perpetual argumentation at best. Still, they do some impressive charity work by establishing hospitals, missions, and such, so I am acknowledging some of their many and fine traits as well.
To your above statement, and leaving aside the "same entity" argument for a moment, as it relates to etymology, or the word, "Allah," how do you account for the fact that when Jesus was on the cross, quoting the Psalmist (David), the translators of the KJV, in the gospel of Mark, left his words in Aramaic in tact:
"And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
I am no linguist, but ^ that Aramaic "Eloi," is first, let it be noticed, apparently not the plural Hebrew "Elohim," or "gods," but rather is singular, "God," and, what is more, looks very much like the Arabic, also singular, "Allah." This, then, is my question: should native speakers of Aramaic, even if there aren't many these days, say "God," or "Jehovah," instead of "Eloi?"
I don't really care what non Christian Jews think. I follow what the Bible says and I know I am not idolising Jesus as part of the trinity. What nonsense. The Bible is clear Jesus is God too but a separate individual from God the Father (Jehovah). The Jews rejected Christ as Messiah and God and the consequences of that is they stopped being chosen people according to the Bible. Jesus Himself told them that and their hatred towards Him grew until they had Him crucified.
The oneness doctrine overlooks the fact that the Son came to earth to reveal the true character of God the Father to a world groping in spiritual blindness. Jesus prayed to His Father in Gethsemane,
"And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world" (
John 17:5,
6). Jesus is the only one who could reveal the Father, because He is the express image of the Father (
Luke 10:22;
Hebrews 1:3).
When the disciples asked Christ what the Father was like, He said,
"He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (
John 14:9). Jesus so mirrored the character of the Father that He perfectly reflected Him, hence the title
"The everlasting Father." Another reason Jesus is called the Everlasting Father is because this world and everything in it was created through Christ. So in a very real sense, Jesus is our father (
Hebrews 1:2;
John 1:3).
Isaiah 9:6 is the only place in the Bible where Jesus is called the Father. Keep in mind that Jesus also calls Himself the Son of man, our brother, our shepherd, our friend, and our priest. To build a doctrine on one Scripture is as foolish as building a house on top of a single fence post. The Bible physically separates the Father and the Son repeatedly. While Christ was on earth, He referred to His Father in heaven.
"My Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32). He always directed His prayers heavenward to the Father and stated that the Father had His own individual will;
"Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (
Luke 22:42).
"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (
Luke 23:46). Then after He died and rose again, He ascended to
"the right hand of God" (
Romans 8:34). This indicates the Father has a separate presence.
In fact, Jesus said that He wasn't the Father more than 80 times. While always remaining one in purpose and origin, Jesus and the Father are clearly separate and distinct persons. And on more than one occasion, the Father spoke to Jesus from heaven.
“And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (
Matthew 3:17). Either Jesus and the Father are two separate individual persons, or Jesus was an expert ventriloquist.
Most of the confusion regarding the number of beings composing the Godhead springs from a simple misunderstanding of the word
“one.” Simply put,
“one” in the Bible does not always mean numerical quantity. Depending on the Scripture,
“one” can often mean unity.
We see this principle established very early in Scripture.
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (
Genesis 2:24).
“One flesh” here does not mean that a married couple melt into one human after their wedding, but rather they are to be united into one family. Jesus prayed that the apostles would be one, saying,
"And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one” (
John 17:22-23).
Jehovah witnesses wrote their own Bible because they couldn't prove from the word of God that Jesus wasn't God. so they chose to write a man made doctrine to fall in line with their beliefs. Your conclusions are wrong and not biblical. The Bible never lies.
Jesus was talking to God the Father in Mark 15:34. Why would He use a plural word when He was talking to God the Father?
Aramaic speakers can call God any of the names which all stand for God. The subject of God’s name remains one of the most confusing and disputed issues in Christianity. This is partly because God has many names in Scripture. But each name that God reveals serves as an important key in disclosing His power, holiness, and desired relationship with His people. His names provide a composite picture revealing different facets of His awesome character. Here a few examples of names for God the Father in the Bible.
- El-Shaddai (Genesis 17:1, 2), which means “the Almighty God”
- Jehovah-jireh (Genesis 22:14), which means “Jehovah will provide”
- Jehovah-Tsidkenu (Jeremiah 23:6), which means “the Lord Our Righteousness”
- Jehovah-Shalom (Judges 6:24), which means “the Lord our peace”
- Jehovah-Roi (Genesis 16:13), which means “the God who sees”
- El-Elyon (Numbers 24:16), which means “the Most High God” or “the Exalted One”
- El-Olam (Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 40:28), which means “God of eternity” or “God, the Everlasting One”
- El-Berith (2 Chronicles 34:32), which means “God of the covenant”
- El-Roi (Genesis 16:13), which means “God who sees me” or “God of vision”
- Elohim, a plural form for deity, is used in Genesis 1:26, where the Bible says, “God said, Let us make man in our image.” This name is frequently used to support the truth of the trinity.
Its important they (and all of us) have His name in their hearts, that means,
to have His law—not just the written words of the Ten Commandments, but its spirit—written in our hearts. Paul explains in Hebrews 10:16, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them” They shouldn't take His name in vain and should recognise the true value of His name. Jesus told us that
“whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (
John 14:13,
14). The promises of God can be trusted. His name comes with a good reputation. Our heavenly Father is primarily concerned with whether or not we know Him and have a strong relationship with Him.