Trinity Doctrine Error: A Jewish Analysis

163 Pages·2006·5.64 MB·English

by  Gerald Sigal

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TRINITY
DOCTRINE ERROR

TRINITY
DOCTRINE ERROR
A jewish Analysis
Gerald Sigal
Copyright © 2006 by Gerald Sigal.
Library of Congress Number: 2005910707
ISBN : Hardcover 1-4257-0611-8
Softcover 1-4257-0610-X
All rights reserved. No pan of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright
owner.
This book was printed in the United States ofA merica.
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1-888-795-4274
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30157
CONTENTS
1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................. 7
2. PREFACE ........................................................................................... 9
3. INTRODUCTION TO THE TRINITY DOCTRINE ................ 13
4. EARLY CHRISTIAN USAGE OF ~ AND
KYRIOS AS FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF
TRINITARIAN CHRISTIANITY .................................................. 22
5. NEW TESTAMENT REFUTATIONS OF
THE TRINITY DOCTRINE ......................................................... 2 9
6. THE ONENESS OF GOD ............................................................ 79
APPENDIX 1: SAMARITAN INFLUENCE
ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
INCARNATION DOCTRINE ................................................... 131
APPENDIX 2: THE ZOHAR AND
THE TRINITY DOCTRINE .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. . 13 3
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................ 145
SCRIPTURAL INDEX ....................................................................... 14 7
SUBJECT INDEX .............................................................................. 159

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to acknowledge with deep appreciation Bernard Yadlovker of
Gybec Systems for his many hours of tireless work in producing the cover
design art and preparing the manuscript for publication. His invaluable
comments have gone far to improve the stylistic and grammatical form of
this work. I also wish to acknowledge the assistance provided by Mark
Powers in making this book possible, least of which was his careful reading
and commenting on the manuscript. Another acknowledgement goes to
M.S. who diligently read and commented on the grammar and content of
the manuscript. Most of all I wish to thank my wife Frances who has
selflessly sacrificed and put up with my endless hours at the computer.
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PREFACE
For the Jews "son of God" referred to one who obeys God, for the
Greeks "son of God" meant from the same substance. The two meanings
suggest a possibility for misinterpretation when the Jewish phrase was used
among Greek hearers.
In the hands of Christianity, the biblical expression "son of God" was
influenced by ontological speculations of Hellenistic and Egyptian origins.
In the first century of the Common Era, the imperial cult of Caesar was the
fastest-growing religion in a Mediterranean world where apotheosis and
worship of rulers was standard and emperors adopted the title "Son of
God." Egyptian pharaohs were always regarded as divine offspring of gods.
In Egyptian mythology, the god Horus is called the son of Ra, the sun
god. In almost every royal inscription from ancient Egypt, the pharaoh is
also called "the son of Ra." Divine sonship was given to the pharaoh at his
coronation. The dead pharaoh's heir was believed to become the incarnation
of Horus, the son of Ra, upon the death of his father.
The idea of the divine sonship of pharaoh did undergo change with
time. The epithets "Son of Ra'' and "Living Horus" continued to be used
throughout the pharaonic period. These epithets were even applied to
foreign rulers, such as Alexander the Great and his successors and to the
Roman Caesars. Divine pharaonic titles continued to be used well into the
Christian Era in Egypt. Did this affect Christian understanding of the title
"son of God" as applied to Jesus in the New Testament? Did it contribute
to the development of the incarnate "God the Son" of trinitarianism?
Christianity came to Egypt shortly after the death of Jesus. By the
second and third centuries, it had spread throughout the country. It was
because the Egyptians from pharaonic times through the Roman period
believed their king was the "son of god" (that is, the incarnation of Horus,
the son of Ra) that the concept of Jesus as the incarnate "son of God" found
widespread support in Egypt. Under the further influence of Greek
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