Keep sharing good news without ads.
No description available
Comments are turned off for this media
Well welcome along to another edition of Unbelievable here on Premier Christian Radio. I hope your Saturday afternoon is treating you well and whether you're listening live or via the internet you're welcome along to this and we're really pleased to have back with us in the studio James White.
He was with us last week. I'll introduce him in a moment's time. If you want to get in touch with the programme though I'm going to be giving you details of how to do that. Plenty of people get in touch every week by email and phone and I'm sure you're going to be interested in the topic we're bringing you today and the guest who's going to be speaking by phone from America.
Let me introduce you to them here on Unbelievable. Today we're looking at the Trinity. We're asking can we trust the Trinity and the guest from America in a sort of strange twisted way is actually English and my guest in the studio is American.
Sir Anthony Buzzard joins us on the line from the US of the Restoration Fellowship. He's going to be telling us why he came to doubt the doctrine of the Trinity and why he's written several books against it and we're going to be hearing a response from Christian James White who's going to be explaining why he believes we can trust wholeheartedly in the doctrine of the Trinity as revealed in scripture and well we'll just see where the discussion goes as we usually do here on the programme.
So do hope you can stay with me right through till four o 'clock this afternoon. Well James White joins us again. He's on a little sojourn over here in the UK taking in some of the sites and doing some debates and he's very kindly agreed to come back and do this debate with us after his encounter last week with Adnan Rashid.
But let me first of all I think introduce Anthony who's new to this programme. Sir Anthony Buzzard I should say. Anthony tell us how did you how did you acquire your title? I'd love to know that.
That's easy. That's an inherited title. It's the lowest form of inherited title one stage above the title knight. The knighthood you know which dies with you. My grandfather was physician and then my father was director of naval intelligence.
Didn't get the title for that but inherited it from his father and then I got it as the eldest son so it's an interesting conversation.
Point in America. I'm sure it is. Tell me though how do you end up in the States? Well maybe start from the beginning. Have you always held the view that you have that you don't believe in the trinity or were you at one time you know a believer in a trinitarian view of scripture and came to.
Change that view? Jason that's very easy. I'm a CV boy and you will relate to this that in the CV we didn't do the sang hymns and listen to that. That was me until I was taken to the University of Oxford and up there on a language scholarship and so I was given a bible and I was then invited to quote get saved and I thought that's interesting.
And I went and got saved and I went back to my room then and thought what have I done. And that then launched I suppose a 50-year career studying the bible very badly initially I think made horrible mistakes but through some promptings from two areas I may just be brief here the scholarly world in the 1980s when I began to look at this whole issue.
Actually earlier than that 1970 J .T. Robinson and all those guys at Cambridge were talking about the very subject we're debating today we're discussing today. At the same time the crystal dolphins were at my door saying that I should not believe that I thought was ludicrous.
I mean I was up in arms I had all my proof texts ready. However after some discussion with them and looking at what Jeffrey Lamp was doing at Cambridge and many others and trying to read the history of this it seemed to me that the Unitarians, may I call them the Unitary Monotheists.
Had a good case. Right. And you now represent something called the Restoration Fellowship in Georgia. Tell us a little bit about that particular community. Yes thank you for that.
The Church of God Abrahamic Faith from the 1850s. These were people who picked up their bibles in 1850s and were part of the Adventist revival not seventh day. And so my second and perhaps major greater interest is in eschatology and the second coming and all those things at Bethany Seminary which is the Church of the Brethren not not linked to the Church of God Abrahamic Faith.
So this as you know has a long tradition not only since 1850. But it's a great mistake to imagine that that anti-non-Unitarians pop out up out of the blue you know and sort of suddenly get a new idea.
This is a huge subject but much of the literature has been buried obviously.
Well we'll get into the literature in the course of the program today and thank you for joining us by phone at an early hour of the morning there in the States. And well we'll hear more and James White returns.
James thank you for coming back and speaking into this issue. This is something that you've done a lot of debates. In fact the last time we had you in the studio in 08 we were talking about the Trinity.
But with a Muslim where do you come from on this. Because very often when this subject comes up you know that people are saying well the Trinity. Well the word doesn't even appear. First of all in scripture and and secondly it's one of those if you like add-ons.
It was something that was formulated later. It was it arrived late on the scene. It was something that kind of the church invented more or less and you won't find it directly there in scripture. What how do you.
What's your general approach to responding to those kinds of.
Criticisms? Well I believe in the Trinity because I believe in all of what scripture says. And if I apply the same kind of hermeneutics and exegesis that I do to for example the crucifixion the resurrection the nature of the church creation whatever it might be I am forced to recognize that the scriptures teach there is only one true and eternal God creator of all things.
But then I'm introduced to three distinct persons. The father is not the son. The son is not the spirit. The spirit is not the father. They use personal pronouns of one another. When Jesus prays in John 17 5 he's praying to the father saying glorify me father together with you with the glory which I had with you before the world began.
You don't use those types of words if we're not talking about persons. And then finally we have the the texts that present the equality these persons not in the sense of doing the same things clear the spirit does not do the same thing the son does.
The son does not do the same things the spirit does that the father does. And yet the one name Yahweh is used of the father. Jesus is identified as Yahweh a number of times in New Testament especially in Hebrews chapter 1 verses 10 to 12.
And so you you are forced by the weight of consistent exegesis to deal with all of these things. And any group uh you know I started off dealing with Mormonism primarily as a young man that was the first group that I dealt with.
And so my focus there was upon the monotheism passages because Mormonism is probably the most polytheistic religion I've ever encountered many Mormons defying the concept of an unlimited infinite number of gods.
And then I moved on to Jehovah's Witnesses from along with that and so there you're dealing with the deity of Christ things like that. And then since then you know Islam so on so forth. So I've I've encountered a wide variety of arguments and interestingly enough heard first of Sir Anthony in a debate that he did with Shabir Ali.
I found it to be just a a fascinating thing to listen to because there really wasn't a whole lot to debate because there was so much agreement as far as well Jesus is a man and we agree that he's not God.
And so it's interesting to listen to that encounter a number of years ago. I don't know when it was recorded but that was my first exposure to Anthony Buzzer's position. And since then of course knowing that I was coming over here and when you raised the opportunity I've been listening to everything I can get my hands on and the books and so on and so forth so that we can have a.
Meaningful discussion. Now you have produced a number of books Anthony and one of them has an interesting subtitle the Doctrine of the Trinity Christianity's Self-Inflicted Wound you see this.
As something that has really damaged Christianity. The Doctrine of the Trinity? Good phrase. It's a grand muddle. It's called a mystery. I would call it a muddle. I don't think we need it. I think we can explain the New Testament happily with a Unitarian Unitary I should say monotheistic point of view.
Jesus was a Jew recited the Shema agreed with the Jew. I don't see any need for Trinity. But of course there's a huge overlap with what James White has just said. I also believe that in looking at Jesus you're seeing God.
If you've seen me you've heard me and so on. You've seen heard God. But may I coin I mean I use this word it actually is an American and a British word. And when that's confused with an ontological relationship then all the trouble begins.
James Dunn is doing this material when he says that if we just stuck with the incarnation of God rather than the incarnation of the Son of God then all would be clearer. And so the identification of Jesus as Yahweh I think needs to be modified in the sense that he isn't Yahweh as one-to-one that makes two Yahweh's but he is Yahweh as agent as reflecting Yahweh in a unique.
So you would you would say that we we need to be careful that the Bible is talking about Jesus as the reflection of God rather than the the same person as God. Absolutely to James's good.
Point about the personal pronouns if you look at the history of this Unitarian view and it's nothing to do by the way with Unitarian Universalism we need to make that quite clear nothing at all to with that.
But if you look at this view you will see that they they found the singular personal pronouns most convincing. And I love the way James White argued in his book which I have in front of me here against the modalists and he said clearly the son is not the same person as the father.
I totally agree with that but having said that I do think that God the father speaks of himself as an eye in the Boston street man's sense of personal pronoun one singular person just thousands and thousands of times that convinced is convinces Judaism that God is a single person.
So I'm rather agreeing with James White on the importance of the singular pronouns. There James. Um what do you.
Make of Anthony's suggestion here that um that that Jesus shouldn't be seen as the incarnation of the son of God but rather the incarnation of God meaning in some sense Jesus reflects in a unique way the attributes of Yahweh um this would though place Jesus in purely human terms and upon whom but who had a particular special relationship spiritual nature compared to to.
Other human beings. Well and that's why it's just not enough it just doesn't go far enough. Anyone can say that Jesus as a man greatly reflects the very glory of God and so on so forth. But but the new testament goes far beyond that.
And that's what caused so much of the conflict with the Jews um there you wouldn't have the conflict that you have in the gospel of John with the Jews. Uh if this was all that Jesus was claiming for himself.
But when he says the Jews unless you believe that ego I me you will die in your sins. And then says before Abraham was I am and then when he says I am to the soldiers they fall back upon the ground in the garden.
And he quotes from Isaiah 43 10 and John 13 19 I am that goes far beyond merely representing agentively uh God that's not just simply a perfect man. Uh that's not the description that is given of Jesus in so many texts key texts the carmen christian Philippians 2 5 through 11.
Or Paul's argument against the proto-gnostics and Colossians. They go far beyond that. And so socinianism gives us a rationalistic Jesus a Jesus who's a perfect man. But it's not a new testament Jesus it the the key texts identify him as God.
Titus 2 13 2 Peter 1 1 are left out um or are redefined in a way that really I I feel give us a tremendous amount. And we'll have Anthony respond to. Well well Titus 2 13 uh where where the there Paul is talking about Jesus and he's talking about the coming uh of Christ and he's only talking about one individual in this context.
And it's interesting to me he uses in verses 13 and 14 language specifically that Jehovah is described as the Redeemer of his people in the Old Testament and it says we are looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus.
This is a this is what's called a granville sharp construction the original language. Um and I I tried to look and Jesus was not a trinitarian the book for explanation and all I got was well maybe the King James version was right here the Granville Sharp construction was formulated after the King James was translated between 1604 and 1611.
Granville Sharp did not live until the end of the um 17th century so um uh there's a 18th century. So the the point is that both God and Savior are referring to one person and there's only one person mentioned in this text who gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless.
So that's just one of many texts where Jesus is described in a way that um I don't think a shema quoting Jew. And I agree Jesus quoted the shema. I believe in the shema. I just recognize that since the New Testament applies that one name of Yahweh to the father and the son the spirit is the spirit of Yahweh that there's more to the divine revelation than that kind of.
Monotheism. Um you might want to pick up on that issue of of the verse from Titus that uh James quoted there Anthony. But ultimately James is saying you're not going far enough. Um and the New Testament went far because they were reacting against something those people who rejected Jesus.
That's exactly right. And the unitary monotheist says you're going too far. You've gone beyond the limits. You've broken the unitary monotheistic shema and the John 17 3 where the father is said to be our monast elite in ourselves.
By the way I'm using modern Greek pronunciation just for our listeners. That's the way we've chosen to teach it at Atlanta Bible College. So I'm not mispronouncing the Greek word. But when you say you are the only one who is truly God you're making a typically Jewish unitary monotheistic statement.
But back to the Titus passage I would agree with Bultman and many others there are only two passages two applications of of chaos God to Jesus in the New Testament which are certain. I had the chance of discussing the Titus 2 13 at length with Nigel Turner when he was alive.
And if you look in the molten milligan grammar you'll see that there's absolutely no certainty that you had to repeat the article in order to separate the two. It's ambiguous even Henry Alford who was in very detail.
So I'm I'm simply not convinced that Jesus is called the great God and Savior there. But of course I agree with James. He makes a very good point when he points out that the Yahweh text are applied to Jesus in the New Testament.
Of course there because he's representing Yahweh. What Yahweh does Jesus does. Yahweh's feet stand on the Mount of Olives. Yahweh is pierced in Zechariah. And rabbis said in the Talmud for example that that's the Messiah being pierced.
They didn't think that Yahweh himself could be pierced but they recognized that what Messiah did was being done in the name of Yahweh and as Yahweh. So we're back to that agentival representation sense.
And I want to go as far as I possibly can with that and not say that Jesus is just a man or a mere man. He's a sinless virginally begotten man reflecting God in a way that no prophet ever did. And yet he is still the prophet in whose word in his mouth God has placed his words.
So it's a balance. I mean the key thing here. Surely.
Then is that you you ascribe a lot to Jesus and enough that you think would have made him as it were rejected in the eyes of of those early of those Jews and Pharisees. But but you don't ascribe to him.
Pre-existence. You don't put it on that level that that he was pre-existent with God. Because obviously there there are passages which I'm sure James and others would would know that Philippians. One is perhaps a classic.
You know that Jesus being in very nature God did not consider equality with God. Something to be grasped. I mean those kinds of passages had what what do you say of those. How in what sense are they agentival.
This a completely new term to me. But the other day.
Thank you for for using agentival. I suppose it it's a good word in a way I think we need to get.
It on on the table. But is it my turn again. Yeah just just to clarify what we do with those passages.
Well first of all let me tell you that Luther for example does not find pre-existence in Philippians 2. Secondly a reading of the NIV there is pushing the language it doesn't say about being in very nature God being in the form of God.
There's a vast literature contradicting the idea that any pre-existence is there including of course James Dunn Colin Brown. And a huge literature as I discovered doesn't make it right by the way and it's a minority literature.
But I simply don't think that Paul is talking about a pre-existing sumner. He's looking he's saying look at the man Messiah Jesus and copy him. And it's a bit vague to say well imagine being you know billions of years old or from eternity and now decide to become a man.
Now you do that much better say look at the historical Messiah and copy his lifestyle. Two things I would direct.
Folks to more modern work on the Granville Sharp construction specifically the work of Dr. Daniel Wallace. His doctoral dissertation on all possible Granville Sharp constructions in the New Testament was published just recently.
I think Brill did it so it means it's outrageously expensive ridiculously expensive in fact. But it's it may be out there it was an academic publisher but I would refer folks that it is not ambiguous.
In Bible college I studied every possible Granville Sharp construction in both Peter and Paul and getting Granville Sharp's original work. And so I would very much strongly challenge that on a grammatical basis.
But as to Philippians 2 Luther didn't see this and Lutherans to this day apply this to the ministry of Jesus. But exegetically it's interesting. I've heard Sir Anthony give the argument he just gave as to what this whole text is talking about and I would like to point out that what Paul is doing here is he's saying to the Christians after verses one through four saying that they have to view one another with humility of mind tapanas of frune is what he uses humility of mind.
What does that mean. Having certain rights laying them aside in service to others. Don't always be looking to your own things. Look to the service of other people. That's the key to peace in the local church.
Then he says have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus. And so that becomes the key contextual way of interpreting the Carmine Christi. Well what would it be. What would illustrate humility to be a creature who does not try to grasp at equality with God.
Is that humility. No actually I think we might know something about a creature who tried to grasp at equality with God in the Old Testament called Satan. That's not. That's not humility. That's just not doing blasphemy.
But what if you are as I believe the verse is correctly translated eternally existing in the very morphe to the you the form of God he's going to be made. He later is going to talk about having the form of a bond servant.
That's his true nature. And that's why the NIV renders it in that way. If you exist eternally in the very form of God but did not consider that position that that that equality you had with God something to be held on to at all costs but voluntarily for the service of others laid that aside.
Is that not the greatest example of humility that Christians could ever be called to emulate having equality with the Father laying that equality aside and as a result of that you have the the flip side of this.
And that isn't it Paul. The exaltation is always a result of going through suffering. So Jesus lays aside the equality has with the Father. He becomes humble to the point of death even the death of the cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him given the name which is above every name the name of Jesus. Every knee should bow once again applying Yahweh language.
From the Old Testament and this was an issue that came up with Balkan when when I had him on the program he very much sees that idea of giving him the name that is above every name as being a direct reference to well what is the name above every name.
Yahweh. It is essentially in the very earliest Christology passages of you know of what the early church was proclaiming they were proclaiming Jesus.
As Yahweh. So if this I'd like to get to Balcom's take on first Corinthians 8 4 through 6 a little bit later on. But but if this is in fact an early fragment of a hymn from the most ancient church which many people believe that it is then it seems that this is not some lengthy development all the way down.
You have not only a pre-existent one and that pre-existence has shown the fact that he did not give consideration he was doing something as a person prior to the incarnation. But you also have very strong language emphasizing the deity of Christ in in this text and so I think that is a much greater contextual way of seeing the humility being given to us as an example.
Responses from you. Answer. Thank you. Thank you so much. First of all ipachon in greek does not mean existing in eternity. Adam was also ipachon. Man is is also ipachon. That's pushing the language. And being in the nature of god in the form of god is obviously difficult for all of us.
But it's compared with being in the form of a slave something like the status of god. And he he has. That i would argue there with modern exegetes who take this view of philippians too that jesus was equal with god.
He was equal with god but he didn't use that equality. Comfortable. He says if you've seen me you've seen god. I am as god. I like uh marie harris's title jesus is as god but he has that equality with god.
He doesn't use it for his own exploitation. He washes the dishes. That's a exercise in humility. But the subject of discourse there is the man messiah jesus. That's what paul called christ. Jesus after all 550 times in new testament he's the messiah.
It's an awful stretch for me to imagine that the messiah the lord's anointed is actually the lord granted. Of course that the name the authority of yahweh is placed on him. But in philippians 2 this is all done to the glory of god.
And that wonderful word of theos 1300 times in the new testament is clearly the father of jesus. So it all winds up to the glory of god. But yes jesus has been given absolute.
Authority under that one god yahweh. Well just very briefly uh i think that who park on here is being used in eternity because notice the contrast in context saying that he existed and that's the term we're translating as existed uh in the very form of god and then he has equality with god.
And then verse seven gives the contrast but he emptied himself he made himself of no reputation. And so the contrast there is where you get that. But i think the most important thing to see here is that while the term theos is the normative term for the father in the new testament the normative term for jesus is the lord.
And of course that's the very term used in the greek septuagint of yahweh. And i think it's important that we get into i think some of sir anthony's primary arguments here specifically in psalm 1101 i'd like to uh have him present that because we end up with a situation in sir anthony's position of having two lords we have the lord yahweh who is the father and then we have the lord messiah who is jesus we end up with two lords even though paul said we have one lord.
And i think that uh the weight of that identification of jesus as kurios as lord needs to be recognized uh in so many texts saying no one can say jesus lord except by the holy spirit uh and then jesus being identified as not simply the one carrying the authority of yahweh but in psalm 110 he is identified as carrying the nature of yahweh immutability unchangeability is ascribed to the son specifically as the son.
In hebrews 110 through.
12 and i think that's important to say just um we're gonna go take a quick break before we go there just uh so people can be mulling it over during the break. What is psalm 110 verse 1. Just for those who don't have a dictionary for a brain like me like you.
If i may just give a brief answer uh the quoted more often than any other verse in the old testament it's an umbrella text very very important. The lord said this is yahweh says to adoni my lord messiah sit at my right hand till i make your enemies your footstool.
It doesn't.
Actually say messiah uh we'll we'll need to look at that we'll look at that anyway but that's the.
We're going to be looking at in the next section of the program. Do stay with me here on a very specifically scholarly biblical look at a particular aspect of christian doctrine the trinity. And we've got with us in the studio james white director of alpha and omega ministries.
You can visit them at aomin .org. And also on the line from the states sir anthony buzzard who's written a number of books in which he believes the trinity has. Well it's a bad doctrine for christianity.
It's been misunderstood it doesn't actually exist as far as he's concerned. And we'll be posting up the links for sir anthony buzzard's website as well. And how you can find out more with the podcast.
As usual you can find that at premiere .org .uk. Forward slash. Unbelievable. Join us again. In a time you're listening to unbelievable on premiere christian radio. You certainly are. It's the weekly saturday show that brings you up to speed with the very latest areas of christian apologetics in the form of debates between christians and non-christians.
Sometimes we feature inter-christian debates. I'm not quite sure where this one falls. I suppose. Certainly. Um sir anthony buzzard doesn't fall in line with what is perceived as historic christian orthodoxy as far as the trinity is concerned.
Um and you were saying that this was kind of the area that first got you into apologetics. James. Um because you were coming into contact with mormons with jehovah's witnesses. Um i think the trinity is probably one of the major sticking points very often for those who do diverge from orthodox christian practice and faith.
Um why why does it come up again and again. Why why do people find it so hard to or some people at least to to see the trinity in the way that that you see it.
Well i think the vast majority of instances it's because of the acceptance of an external source of authority. I mean with the mormons you have prophets and apostles and books of scripture. With jehovah's witnesses you have the governing body of jehovah's witnesses.
And it allows those groups to distinguish themselves from orthodox christianity. They have to have some type of a selling point some way of getting the foot in the door. So with those particular groups i think that's the case.
But historically i think it all does come back to the fact that there is a there is a scandal uh in not only a crucified messiah but remember it's the lord of glory that they crucified. And paul's terminology and uh this is the highest element of god's revelation.
This i believe the revelation of the trinity takes place between the old and new testaments. It is in the the incarnation of christ his crucifixion and resurrection and the outpouring of the holy spirit.
I believe the original apostles were experiential trinitarians. Think of peter. He stood on the mount of transfiguration. He heard the father speak he walked with jesus. He was now indwelt by the holy spirit.
He's an experiential trinitarian. And that's why the language it just uh the new testament is soaked in this language. I highly recommend to folks since uh people's names keep mentioning. I'm not big on mentioning names.
But since lots of names keep getting mentioned uh i there is a a if there's a mountain of of unitarian writings then there's a mountain range of trinitarian writings. And uh bb warfield uh the the great princeton uh theologian his material on the trinity is is just so rich and challenging and yet devotional.
Uh i really tried to model some of my writing after after his and trying to communicate to folks this is not a doctrine. I heard sir anthony in a debate with a biola professor i'm not sure when the debate took place it was very odd.
I'd like to find out from him. Did it take place outside. Because unfortunately it did. It was a terrible venue. Oh was it i i because i kept hearing crickets. And i there are crickets going during the entire debate.
I'm wondering how on earth this took place. Um was that a commentary on the presentations or just what was going on. But but i listened uh and in his opening statement he says something i could agree with on many grounds.
And he said that for most christians the trinity is just simply a a doctrine that they are taught. It's not something that they actually experience. And in fact he said this is reflected in their prayers that most prayers are simply monotheistic prayers they're not trinitarian prayers.
And i i would have to agree with him in in in a majority of instances there. That's one of the reasons i wrote the book that i did i call it the forgotten trinity. That's not the case in my church uh we have trinitarian worship and trinitarian prayers.
But it is to me uh the very central defining aspect of the christian faith. Um let's go to this issue.
Of the psalm 110 verse 1. Um and i may not be quoting it to the to your either your satisfaction but but i think it's along the lines of um the lord my lord said to my lord uh sit at my said to my lord said to my lord sit at my right hand right hand until i make your your enemies a footstool.
Um i always go. I get shown up when i've got bible scholars in the studio it's terrible. Um. But anyway sir antony what what was would be your particular view then on this. Because as you say it is actually funnily enough.
The most quoted old testament verse in the new testament. Um so it was obviously very relevant to those who were writing the new testament. What's your view on it.
Well it's including jesus who with this psalm silenced everybody remember how do you explain that jesus. That david i'm sorry that david could have a lord and a son. And the text says simply says yahweh seven thousand times the one he shrieks to adonai who is my lord.
That adonai 195 times in the old testament always refers to a non-deity superior in the greek septuagint. And that kiriosmo is quite distinct. We have four or five of the major lexicons that the yahweh one god term is carefully distinguished by jews who don't model god with man.
My lord. In the new testament my lord is the messiah. My to say how great it is that the mother of my lord has come to see me messiah in 211 and 226 he's the lord. And then you get they've taken away my lord in john.
And where have they taken him to. So my lord does not refer to god. The father. In the new testament i think you'll find it's a messianic title. It's the messianic title. And my major point would be this mine.
It's not mine. But this particular branch of thinking insists that the church is founded on the crowning decision that jesus is the messiah. Who do you say that i'm not. Well i am yahweh second member of the trinity.
I am the messiah the son of god. And honestly i find that historically very odd to imagine anybody thinking of that statement about.
I am yahweh literally. James your response. Well it's been fascinating uh over the years that i've heard sir anthony making this uh particular argument uh that he emphasizes very strongly the hebrew vowel pointing here now even if we take adani as the proper reading and that is what you find in the masoretic text uh the fact that jesus is uh the king of the of the kingdom of of heaven that would fit.
But i think we need to recognize is of course that in the days of the writing of the new testament there was no vowel pointing uh if we look at the isaiah scroll if we look at the dead sea scrolls there the vowel pointing is a masoretic invention that comes long afterwards.
It is in essence a jewish interpretation of the old testament text. And without the vowel pointing adani and adonai are the exact same forms in the hebrew language. And so the question we have to ask is were the masoretic uh scribes who of course rejected the deity of christ which is why they're jewish um is their commentary reflected in new testament usage or is this a later development that the that finds itself in the hebrew text.
And clearly the greek septuagint's use of kurios. Yes kurios can be used of a mere human individual but it's also thousands of times the greek septuagint's translation of the name yahweh. And so when jesus is called hakurios and when we are told that the very name that we suffer is is the name of jesus who is kurios uh and that the bible of the new testament church is the greek septuagint then we ask the question is psalm 110 1 as it is used in the new testament reflecting this distinction that sir anthony bases so much upon between adonai and adonai and the fact matter is is not.
And in fact its interpretation of the text uh demonstrates the highest view of who jesus is. But i want to make sure that everyone sees uh to to judge between two sides you have to look for consistency.
And in this case sir anthony focuses upon the hebrew masoretic text and insists upon adonai. I hope that we'll have time to look at hebrews chapter 1 verses 10 through 12 where at that point he will abandon the masoretic text and opt for the greek septuagint for his explanation of why a yahweh passage which cannot be applied to a creature because it is about yahweh's unchanging nature the fact that he's the creator of all things and yet he himself never changes that couldn't be applied to any creature no matter how exalted that creature is at that point the hebrew text will be abandoned and the greek septuagint will be opted for at that point.
And that to me as i have listened tried to listen very carefully to sir anthony's presentations from his mp3s on his website and things like that is i think one of the major things that that uh he needs to address is the inconsistency in the exegesis that i detected at that point.
Well let's have a response. Anthony.
Both to this issue of the the vowel pointing and and whether there is actually any difference between adonai and adonai and and secondly then we can move on perhaps to the hebrews issue.
Yeah absolutely. Uh. First of all there's no evidence at all of any corruption there. I'm more than willing when commentaries and other explorers you know find evidence of diff fiddling of the text there's nothing here at all suggesting that anybody's played with the vowel points and not only that.
The kirios mu in greek you see reflects the adonai. So we have confirmation to the septuagint we have in scripturated lxx version in the new testament showing that adonai and kirios move fit perfectly.
Well i've detailed this in my second book. One can take on the whole of scholarship and say all these dictionaries are wrong to make that distinction. It's not my distinction. Secondly. Sir anthony. Sir anthony may i may i.
Please just a word of clarification because that's not what i said. I did not indicate there's text. My assertion was and this is the assertion of all scholarship that i know of. If you know of anything other than this please let me know.
But the the hebrew text the days of jesus had no vowel pointing and so the consonantal text uh of adonai and adonai are identical to one another. You're absolutely right. So i wasn't saying there was a textual variant.
I was asking you if you are is it not the case that you are basing your entire argument on the adonai which is a later interpretation by.
Jewish scribes is it not. No. Because the septuagint and new testament scripture are rendering adonai when they say kirios. Mu so i'm pleading now for new testament scripture as representing what is clearly adonai not adonai because adonai would not be represented by kirios.
Mu why would. What would be represented as adonai is the lord kirios and so is yahweh. And by the way you cannot have my yahweh reflecting yahweh. Of course but you don't talk about my yahweh anyway. So as you know in the new testament kirios without the article just alone is normally yahweh.
Not absolutely invariably. And certainly jesus is called the lord messiah 67 times. So i'm not impressed with the idea that when he's called the lord he it means anything other than messiah. Because he's called the lord jesus christ yahweh over and over again.
That seems to fit the whole of the new testament. Well.
James you're shaking your head. You don't seem to know. I don't know. I'm not following. Because because clearly in the days of jesus there was no distinction between adonai and adonai in this text. And given that this is a the the the speech is being addressed to him the hebrew would be identical either direction.
And so to the whole point he's making. Is this proves that jesus is merely a human. Well it doesn't prove that at all. Especially given the use of kurios in the new testament. Uh and and the fact that i'm not even trying to say i'm not even making the point that that psalm 110 is talking about jesus as yahweh.
I'm not saying that. This is yahweh speaking to someone else. There's no question about that. There are places in isaiah 53 where yahweh speaks to the messiah. No question about that. Because as a trinitarian i believe the name yahweh is used with father and son and spirit.
That's why when we demonstrate that jesus is identified as yahweh not merely agentively but personally and and in his actions. And that cannot be done by a creature. This is what illustrates to us the doctrine of of the trinity.
So but i i think we've we've we've at least expressed ourselves on that. But the point is the hebrew text is being taken as the final authority here if we look at at hebrews chapter 1 verses 10 through 12 if sir anthony uses the same explanation that i've heard in his recorded materials uh he's going to abandon the hebrew.
Text and go to the greek septuagint. This isn't quite right can i just put it in. It's exactly the greek text that i'm pleading for in the adonis thing adonis is given us as kirios mu which is not my yahweh.
So i'm i'm appealing to the new testament which is in greek and i'm appealing in hebrews to the writer's use of the septuagint not mine. It's the writer of hebrews who abandons the masoetic text and uses the greek text.
I didn't invent this. This is what the hebrews writer has done.
Let let's bring up this issue of hebrews. I mean can you just give us the context the verses that you are particularly at stake here. Uh when it comes to this issue of 110 is the is the and i.
Would certainly admit the hardest text if you like for this position. Not i think in superbowl because.
Ff bruce helps us a lot. Can you. Can you actually um read the verses out for us if you will. Absolutely.
Katina is a scholar. Say a chain of proof texts in hebrews one to angels. This is an extraordinary notion in itself. If one thinks that jesus is flat out yahweh the author there labors to showing that jesus is super got any.
And we perhaps can get to that later. But at the end of this sequence to angels he uses the text in psalm is complicated because the septuagint and not the text he has every right to do that. He's writing scripture.
And in the masoetic text we find whom god calls lord and it's very easy to imagine then that right is saying well this must be the messiah because psalm 102 is all about the messianic kingdom and is written for the age to come and so on.
So it's a very normal thing to happen. It's complicated because your bible which i think.
Text just just just so that i can literally have the the verse in my head as well. Could.
Could you read out the actual verses that are sure uh this is this is the the text uh of old you founded the earth as i'm reading from psalm 102 here not hebrews one of old you found the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands even they will perish but you endure.
All of them will wear out like a garment like clothing you will change them and they will be changed but you are the same and your years will not come to an end. Psalm 102 25 through 27 which is then quoted from the greek septuagint in hebrews chapter one i i didn't really hear sir anthony's explanation here.
Basically what he's saying is is that if as ff bruce points out in his commentary on hebrews there is a variation between the greek and the hebrew and in the greek uh there is this is god speaking whereas in the hebrew it is not.
And so my understanding of sir anthony's argument is this is god speaking to a lord who's the lord messiah. And he limits this creative activity of his based on moving ahead in the text of hebrews chapter two uh to a new creation he is lord of this new creation.
And that that's how uh hebrews chapter 1 verses 10 through 12 was to be understood. That's right. But uh so i'm glad i i i summarized that uh that correctly. Uh but the problem is that's not even what ff bruce says.
Uh ff bruce after uh making that observation about who is speaking here uh says uh if in the preceding quotation the son is addressed by god as god in this one he is addressed by god as lord. And we need not doubt that to our author the title lord conveys the highest sense of all the name which is above every name.
No wonder that the son has ascribed to him a dignity which surpasses all the names angels bear. Nor is our author the only new testament writer to ascribe to christ the highest divine names or to apply to him old testament scriptures which in their primary context refer to yahweh.
But i think the thing that needs to be emphasized is that in the hebrew masoretic text this is about yahweh. And interestingly enough in the in the uh septuagint the word lord couldy in the vocative has been inserted in here but you oh lord at the beginning of course.
And so i would ask sir anthony every use of kudios in all of psalm 102 who is it.
About the use of kirios. Kiria evoked by the new testament. Scripture is a reference to someone who isn't yahweh. God is now speaking to a kiria who is obviously the lord messiah. Again jesus is the lord messiah not the lord god.
That distinction i think runs through the entire new testament. In fact the whole old testament anticipation. Nobody imagined that the lord's anointed would be the lord granted. As we said earlier that agent.
Tyverly. Lots of yahweh texts apply to jesus and some of the suffering servant texts for example apply to paul. He can use them to himself. So i fully grant that he is equal to yahweh in the sense that he's functioning as yahweh.
And that's what the jews didn't like uniquely as yahweh. I do however object to the notion that he is identified with. That's heresy now. That's a strong word. I don't like that word but james done. Many others find the idea of identifying jesus because now how many yahwehs are we talking.
About. Well unfortunately that that wasn't answered my question what i what i asked you was. In the greek septuagint of psalm 102 the term kudios or kuddi appears a number of times every other time.
That it's used who is it used of. At yammer. Quite clearly. Kirios is the standard as we agree is the standard term for the lord god. So however in this quirky verse at the end which is very strange quirky article by bacon in 1902 by the way on taxes.
Very nicely it's awfully complicated. The god here the yahweh of the main subject is addressing someone else who is yahweh. Jews do.
Not think that yahweh addresses yahweh but notice notice notice. Now the presuppositions are coming out. Uh if it if it's a verse that causes a problem it's it's quirky. It's not really quirky at all.
We it's very clear how the jews would have understood the words of psalm 102. This person being described is immutable. This is the creator this is the one who has created all things and does not change.
These are absolutely unique definitional aspects of yahweh's being being applied by the writer of the new testament to jesus. That cannot be agent. And you're worried about what it leaves us with.
As well. Which is this concept of two lords. Which for you. For you always i mean. But well on the one hand you you antony have a problem that you're you end up with two. Yahweh's james has a problem with the end up with two different lords when paul says there is one lord i don't know two.
Yahweh's i end up with a yahweh and the lord messiah who is unchanging as from his exaltation.
He's going to last forever. That's exactly hebrews point. But notice that's not the point of psalm 102. And that's not the point of hebrews one. Hebrews one is demonstrating his supremacy. And as ff bruce said uh if he has already been addressed as god now being addressed with yahweh language uh that can only be applied to yahweh this cannot be taken this cannot be demoted down to mere agentival.
That is why as you pointed out when you had richard balkan on the program he has looked at that classical almost creedal text in first corinthians 8 when you have there the shema brought into a christian expression uh there in describing for us over against all these pagan gods there is but one god the father and one kurios jesus christ.
And you look at the the prepositions that he uses there one god and then his role as as the one decreeing these things one jesus christ the one through whom these these things take place. That's why uh the broad band of new testament scholarship has recognized not only the pre-existence of christ very clearly in those ways um but but likewise sees the the use of kurios in a very.
Important way. It's fascinating stuff i'm afraid you know we've just haven't got time to unearth you know there's many more texts where we could go do back and forth on it. And and i do encourage people to to to pick up the books and and have a look for themselves.
And and i will as usual be posting up links to both of your gentlemen's sites. I mean let me let me give the context and and uh details. And then then i'd like to maybe move it on to a kind of pastoral issue surrounding this which i think is is something that that does come into this apart from just debating the doctrine of it.
If you want to um respond to anything you've heard on the program today and the usual way to do that unbelievable at premiere .org .uk you can also phone 08456 525252 and select option five to leave me a voicemail message.
Do hope you can get in touch that way. And don't forget to check out the podcast uh download the mp3 at the website premiere .org .uk forward slash unbelievable many other programs and particularly issues on the trinity that can be downloaded in the podcast archive.
Right there unbelievable with justin briley. Now leaving aside in one sense though we can never entirely leave it aside the the the biblical proof texts and all that sort of thing where where what would it leave us with.
I mean anthony when you have dispensed with the doctrine of the trinity um in what what what role does what difference does that make to you. And as to the role jesus plays in the salvation story. Is jesus still you know the um the one whose death atones for sin and and and everything else it's just that he never has this actual as as it were equality with god that the james ascribed to him.
Just i.
Say that the son of god did not preexist as god the son the word preexisted. What's so interesting is that even uh walter martin and others warfield i believe in the two hodges who are the stalwart pillars of trinitarianism were shaken by the notion of the eternal generation of the sun.
And i wanted to get to that too. And so this undermining of the eternal generation suggests that they believed in the word of god pre-existing. And dake's bible and so on barnes and so on. There've been many adam clark who have objected to the notion of the sun being prior to his.
So that's that's one point for me. The bible becomes very clear when you've got one god and one mediator between god and man the man messiah jesus. I think that should be the end of the argument first timothy.
But on the pastoral point what i'm finding is that folk have always been troubled by this. And when you put this to them right of course it simply clarifies a lot of things. And the greater point are no longer standing aghast at the notion that we can talk about more than one person being.
Yahweh james what does it do for you to the gospel if you take jesus down that peg but that all important peg in one sense. Well it's an elevated being a kind of you know this i forget on the.
Term already. But well it is the is it is the ontological divide it is between that which is created that which is not created. This was this was the issue in arianism. This was those who said there was a time when the sun was not the idea of the word pre-existing.
Uh even those people that were just mentioned would believe that the word was personal in his pre-existence. And that is the major. The major issue here is that uh in a sassanian christology you have a word that is nothing but a plan.
A plan becomes flesh. A plan is the one for whom and through whom and by whom all things are created. That that then becomes impersonal. And i think it greatly impacts the doctrine of the atonement. Certainly has in historical sassanianism.
I think i think sir anthony would have to admit that his view of the atonement is not the historical sassanian view of the atonement at all. Uh and in fact i i think sir anthony is the only person that i've encountered at least living and speaking.
Uh that combines those things together. And i think that that speaks to. But i do believe that this has tremendous pastoral impact because we're talking about the god that we worship. Who do we worship.
Are we to be known as. The early christians were as those who called upon the name of jesus christ that that epicaleo means to pray to. Uh they can. Can we have uh real worship when we're not sure the object of our worship.
I think it's vitally important. We're going to um take a quick break and then we'll just have final thoughts from both our gentlemen uh both represented here in the studio in the form of james white director of alpha and omega ministries and of course sir anthony buzzard by phone from georgia in the states and he's part of the restoration fellowship so do join us again in a couple of moments time.
Welcome back to the program. This is unbelievable on premier christian radio saturday afternoon. Don't forget lots more to come this saturday afternoon if you're listening via our dav service or a medium wave on in london or indeed via the internet to our streaming service uh do check out hip rock uk coming up after this program.
Uh loretta phantom presents a little later on in the afternoon uh. But if you're listening at the same time next week you may want to know that what we'll be doing is looking back at the special expelled event that we put on a few weeks ago we're going to be hearing the audio of the debate that took place after the screening with special guests including steve fuller and susan blackmore and looking at the whole issue of intelligent design and the themes of the film.
So if you weren't able to get along you'll want to hear it. If you were there perhaps you'll hear yourself asking a question in the answer session that's at the same time next week here on the show you're listening to unbelievable on premier christian radio.
Welcome back for this the final part of the show today don't forget you can find us online at premier .org .uk forward slash unbelievable. We'll be hearing some of your feedback to previous programs including last week with uh adnan rashid when james white was in the studio debating uh the quran and the bible with him.
But um we've been looking at the trinity today uh asking can we trust the trinity. And um we've had some fascinating interactions uh finishing up there anthony um with james explaining why he believes as it were taking jesus's equality pre-existence out of the equation.
Well both makes difficulties for understanding various aspects of scripture but but ultimately um fundamentally changes the way we view salvation and the way we view god. I mean um ultimately it may sound like what you're presenting to people is well here's christianity.
But without the difficult bit of the trinity i mean aren't you actually presenting something that's actually quite radically different ultimately to christianity. It's radically.
Different thing that god has done i think is to present it present as his agent. And he can do that. He can choose whomever he will to be his agent. I i treat jesus no less seriously than james white.
He is the exalted which has been given to him. And james is right that we experience not distinguishing the fighting as one. That's trinity. What i object to though is the multiplication of yahweh. It's important to know that god is not a what.
In james's wonderful explanation in his book he talks about in one what. I simply don't see god ever being described as a what and none of the 11 000.
Means the triune god i would argue james. Well a couple things. Um the early church writer ignatius vantiach uh referred to jesus as god many many times in his letters. That was around 107. So it's very very early and very primitive to believe in these things.
There's even trinitarian illusions in that material. So i i don't think we can necessarily go there. But i think the best way to wrap up for me uh would be to go to one of the texts that sir anthony uh presents all the time that says jesus high priestly prayer in john 17.
And in john 17 3 jesus says this is eternal life. To have eternal life you have to take in knowledge of two persons he says you whom he's addressing. Who's he. He's identified as the father the only true god and jesus christ whom he was sent.
Now sir anthony focuses upon that and says see the father is the only true god. Jesus cannot truly be god. And yet any text is defined by its context and within just a matter of words. Jesus in this prayer says and now glorify me together with yourself father with the glory which i had at your side before the world came into existence now.
Those are not only personal pronouns indicating a a person but here is a person who recognizes his pre-existence and that it was glorious. It was a glorified pre-existence. Those are not the words of a plan.
Those are not the words of an angel. Those are not the words of anyone but the one who john himself had just identified a few chapters earlier. In john chapter 12 the end of jesus public ministry. John identifies jesus as yahweh by quoting from isaiah 6.
Remember isaiah's temple vision where he saw jehovah sitting upon the throne. When you ask isaiah who did you see. Sitting upon the throne he would say i saw yahweh. When you ask john who did jesus. Who did uh isaiah see.
Sitting upon the throne he would say i saw. He saw jesus. That's the message of the gospel text. And that's the jesus that is worthy of.
Worship and worthy of our service as disciples. We are out of time gentlemen. I'm sorry uh the the last word always has to kind of end with with someone saying something. And i appreciate there's so much more that could be said in response anthony.
But um we will of course um direct people to your website and some of the articles you've got there and um uh do i hope um we we might be able to link up again at some point in the future. That'd be fun.
Thank you for your gracious approach to the whole subject and thank you for joining us. That's uh anthony buzzard sir. Anthony buzzard an englishman not in new york but in georgia on this occasion. And uh it's it's been fun having a an englishman on the phone from america and an american in the studio for this today's program.
It's been an interesting one and thank you for spending a couple of programs with us. James it's.
Been really i always enjoy it. Justin you do a wonderful work. I am one of your podcast listeners. So uh very proud to do that. Uh and uh. So just think of me bicycling through the desert listening.
To justin briarley. Well it's who knows where i turn up on people as people are doing all sorts of things. But thank you james for coming in and um all the best. Uh take our best back with you to arizona and the ministry you've got there.
And um we look forward to perhaps seeing you on another occasion in the future. Well uh you've been listening to. Unbelievable. Looking today at the trinity. Um don't forget. You can find more online at premier .org .uk.
Forward slash. Unbelievable. Other episodes i'll post up there that james has contributed to on this very subject. And um other episodes that deal in general. We've or james referenced a few times there richard borkham's contribution on this subject.
I'll put a link in there as well because there's interesting stuff to be found in his interactions. So uh do keep listening though as we hear some of your feedback to the last couple of weeks of programming.
Unbelievable. With justin briarley.