Aineo,

I'm new to this forum. But from what I've read there are a lot of people here who like to take a scripture and use it to support a position, without considering its context of the whole of scripture.

For example, in Luke 14: 26, when Jesus told his followers that they cannot be his disciples unless they hate their parents, a literal interpretation would conflict with other Bible teachings such as those exhorting us to honor our parents, love others as we love ourselves, love our enemies, etc. He was most likely indulging in hyperbole, to emphasize that our first love must be to him and above all others, including our parents.) It's the same for any other doctrine one would like to debate or deny, including Christ's divinity.

The whole of the New Testament, and the teachings and prophecies of the Old Testament, point to the divinity of Christ as both the Son of God and Very God. Yes, Christ often spoke as if He and the Father in Heaven were two entities, and in a sense they were. The doctrine of the Trinity gets a bad wrap from those who would like to deny the Divinity of Christ, and to be fair it is a doctrine that not even Christians can fully grasp, but by faith. We live in a rather one-dimensional world when it comes to personalities – one person, one personality is all that we, in or natural state, have experienced and therefore can imagine. But God is outside of any human dimension, and His true nature is a mystery to us in this life. When Christ says 'I and the Father are one' and 'he who has seen me have seen the Father', I'll just trust that He knows what He's talking about. It's enough for me to get my mind around His wonderful grace made free to me a sinner.

There are many scriptures that affirm the Divinity of Christ, and these would have to be denied or cleverly explained away to successfully argue that the Bible does not affirm His Divinity – as some have tried to do in this forum and others.

As I've noted elsewhere in this forum, I'll stick with the witness of Scripture, the witness of the Holy Spirit, and the witness of my own conscience and life experience in this matter. I have heard His voice and recognize Him as my Good Shepherd. Let's see where that leads me in this life, and the next.

God bless,

jimmy