Suggesting Alternative Viewpoints

The purpose of this article is to isolate certain concepts normally accepted as litmus tests for being a Christian and suggesting an alternative viewpoint.

Isaiah 7:14 states in the King James Version of the Bible, “A young virgin will conceive.” A belief in the “virgin birth” of Jesus has long been accepted as a fundamental Christian belief. Even in the light that most Roman Emperors believed they were born of a virgin. The same goes for Mithra and Attus.

The word for virgin in the Hebrew language is Bethulah. Deuteronomy 22:13-15, 17, 19-20; Leviticus 21:13, 14 and Exodus 22:16.

But in Isaiah 7:14, the word ALMAH is used and it means, “young woman.” Therefore, the KJV is incorrect in its translation of Isaiah 7:14.

While the word “trinity” does not appear in the Bible, its description does –TWICE- in I John 5:7 and Matthew 28:19. However, in the baptism of Jesus, reference is made of the Spirit, of Jesus and the voice of God. They are one.

It seems reasonable that Jesus’ promise to return-the Second Coming-has already occurred at Pentecost. If the three are one, then the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is the same as Jesus.

The best known Bible verse in the New Testament is John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall never perish but have everlasting life.” I contend that the antecedent of the verse is GOD. Therefore, it is belief in God that brings everlasting life.

There are many synonyms for the three letter word: Jehovah, Yahweh, Elohim, Father, Abba, Allah, Creator, the Ground of Our Being, the Essence of life, the Origin of Life, etc.

This opens the door to anyone who believes in a Super-natural Power. And to Universalism. The bestselling book by Carlton Pearson, “The Gospel of Inclusion” documents several interesting insights. The basic one, in my mind, is the quotations by many of the Patristic Fathers, William Barclay, Leslie Weatherhead-all Biblical scholars- in the belief of Universalism. That everyone will inherit eternal life (heaven).

In regard to the Patristic Fathers, almost without exception they believed in Universalism. The Bible continuously speaks of God’s love for the world. It’s only been the last 2-300 years that preachers like Jonathan Edwards preached sermons like, “Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God.”

Perhaps the most controversial Christian belief is identified as “Original Sin.” Basically it offers that mankind is born evil. A basic Scripture is found in Psalm 51:5 and Psalm 58:3. “In sin my mother conceived me” and “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.”

I have a book in my library by Dr. Samuel S. Cohan of the Hebrew Union College. The title is simply “Original Sin.” He presents the Hebrew view in the first paragraph. “The Bible exalts man as the child of God, stamped with His image and likeness.”

He credits the Apostle Paul and Augustine as the instigators of the concept. He contends Judaism, including Jesus, as the opposite of these two.

One of the most provocative verses in the Bible is Galatians 4:24. The Apostle Paul, is discussing the role of Abraham, refers with the words, “Which things were an ALLEGORY.” Webster defines it as symbols that carry moral or spiritual meanings. A good example would be the Greek myths of Oedipus and Narcissus.

The ancient civilizations of Sumerian, Egyptian, Babylonia, Assyrians all had stories similar to the Bible. For example the Garden of Eden. It was not told to reveal the Fall of Mankind, but rather that mankind has the power of choice, as Adam and Eve did.

My last confrontation with Biblical ambiguity is based on an event in my graduate days. A professor indicated that the love chapter in I Corinthians 13 was plagiarized by Paul. For years I tried to get the answer to, “From Whom?”

One day I asked Dr. Doug Eadie, a friend and former professor at Redlands University if he knew the answer. He didn’t, but he told me that a colleague of his wrote his doctoral dissertation on that subject. I traced his dissertation down and made a copy of it. This dissertation was by J. Gordon Hynes, submitted to New York University in 1936 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The title is “Idealistic and Stoic Backgrounds of the Philosophies of the Apostle Paul.”

In it he identifies over 200 identical or paraphrases in Paul’s writing that are parallel to the words of one of the Greek, philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, Philo or Seneca. The love chapter is identical to what Plato said. Obviously it was plagiarized by Paul.

Amen. Selah. So be it.