Integrity Syndicate | How do Unitarians understand John 1? - 7 Minute Narration @IntegritySyndicate | Uploaded December 2021 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
Narration of the Article from WayOfChrist.faith on How do Unitarians understand John 1?
https://wayofchrist.faith/how-do-unitarians-understand-john-1/
There are actually several Unitarian interpretations of the prologue of John. These differences have to do with explaining various abstractions in the prologue, and don’t have a bearing on core Unitarian Theology and Christology. John 1 cannot be used as a proof text for Trinitarian dogma, since it can be interpreted in several ways that does not require a belief in a literal pre-existence of Christ. The prologue is not explicit and there are a number of ways to read John 1 that doesn’t presuppose incarnation. This demonstrates that John 1 should not serve as the basis for Christian doctrine, but rather we should focus on the explicit statements of who Christ is – in harmony with the other Gospels and the rest of the New Testament.
Near the end of John’s Gospel in Chapter 20:31, the author wrote, “These things are written so that you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” This provides an explicit declaration of who Jesus is. The Gospel of John is actually one of the most explicitly Unitarian books in the New Testament, as evidenced by the many quotations of Jesus within it. Whatever someone might take the more ambiguous prologue to be saying, what is clear is that the correct interpretation is not Trinitarian.
Unitarians all understand the Father to be the only true God, as Jesus declared in John 17:3, and we all affirm Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of God, as supported throughout the gospel. Where Unitarians differ is how the “Word”, which is “logos” in the Greek, is to be understood in the context of the prologue, and also with respect to what beginning is being spoken about in verse 1.
All these interpretations of John 1:1 have some rational basis and is a sounder alternative to the Trinitarian dogma of incarnation. Personally, I believe it is best to understand the Word (Logos) as a concept that pertains to the mind and thoughts of God, including His intentions, reasoning, wisdom, plan and purpose. This explanation also fits well with the Greek meaning of the word logos that typically refers to something said, but can also include the thoughts or reason. It is not a significant issue if another Unitarian has a different view than mine, since again, these differences have no bearing on our core understanding of God (Theology), and of Christ (Christology). John was clearly a Unitarian, and the several Unitarian interpretations are much better supported than the single speculative Trinitarian one, which had been dogmatically imposed on Christians for centuries.
Again, in John 20:31, John said that he “wrote these things so that we may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God – not that we would presume the Jesus, the Son of God, is God in a literal ontological sense. Rather, as Jesus said in John 17:3, when he prayed to the Father, “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
More detailed discussion on the Unitarian Interpretations of John 1
Part 1 youtube.com/watch?v=p4h2dgnhseg
Part 2 youtube.com/watch?v=9oDBAwwpgRk
Part 3 youtube.com/watch?v=v22zlSQVdBk
Discussion with Dale Tuggy on what John 1 Meant
youtube.com/watch?v=gw66ima1CsY
Aaron's Interviews
Andrew Perry: youtube.com/watch?v=rwJN1kSgLNk
Chuck LaMattina: youtube.com/watch?v=_CvuPuV9pJ8
Integrity Syndicate - For the restoration of 1st century Apostolic Christianity integritysyndicate.com
Integrity Syndicate Discord Server: discord.gg/znw8vKp7yk
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
#IntegritySyndicate #BiblicalUnitarian #BrothersofJesus
Narration of the Article from WayOfChrist.faith on How do Unitarians understand John 1?
https://wayofchrist.faith/how-do-unitarians-understand-john-1/
There are actually several Unitarian interpretations of the prologue of John. These differences have to do with explaining various abstractions in the prologue, and don’t have a bearing on core Unitarian Theology and Christology. John 1 cannot be used as a proof text for Trinitarian dogma, since it can be interpreted in several ways that does not require a belief in a literal pre-existence of Christ. The prologue is not explicit and there are a number of ways to read John 1 that doesn’t presuppose incarnation. This demonstrates that John 1 should not serve as the basis for Christian doctrine, but rather we should focus on the explicit statements of who Christ is – in harmony with the other Gospels and the rest of the New Testament.
Near the end of John’s Gospel in Chapter 20:31, the author wrote, “These things are written so that you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” This provides an explicit declaration of who Jesus is. The Gospel of John is actually one of the most explicitly Unitarian books in the New Testament, as evidenced by the many quotations of Jesus within it. Whatever someone might take the more ambiguous prologue to be saying, what is clear is that the correct interpretation is not Trinitarian.
Unitarians all understand the Father to be the only true God, as Jesus declared in John 17:3, and we all affirm Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of God, as supported throughout the gospel. Where Unitarians differ is how the “Word”, which is “logos” in the Greek, is to be understood in the context of the prologue, and also with respect to what beginning is being spoken about in verse 1.
All these interpretations of John 1:1 have some rational basis and is a sounder alternative to the Trinitarian dogma of incarnation. Personally, I believe it is best to understand the Word (Logos) as a concept that pertains to the mind and thoughts of God, including His intentions, reasoning, wisdom, plan and purpose. This explanation also fits well with the Greek meaning of the word logos that typically refers to something said, but can also include the thoughts or reason. It is not a significant issue if another Unitarian has a different view than mine, since again, these differences have no bearing on our core understanding of God (Theology), and of Christ (Christology). John was clearly a Unitarian, and the several Unitarian interpretations are much better supported than the single speculative Trinitarian one, which had been dogmatically imposed on Christians for centuries.
Again, in John 20:31, John said that he “wrote these things so that we may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God – not that we would presume the Jesus, the Son of God, is God in a literal ontological sense. Rather, as Jesus said in John 17:3, when he prayed to the Father, “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
More detailed discussion on the Unitarian Interpretations of John 1
Part 1 youtube.com/watch?v=p4h2dgnhseg
Part 2 youtube.com/watch?v=9oDBAwwpgRk
Part 3 youtube.com/watch?v=v22zlSQVdBk
Discussion with Dale Tuggy on what John 1 Meant
youtube.com/watch?v=gw66ima1CsY
Aaron's Interviews
Andrew Perry: youtube.com/watch?v=rwJN1kSgLNk
Chuck LaMattina: youtube.com/watch?v=_CvuPuV9pJ8
Integrity Syndicate - For the restoration of 1st century Apostolic Christianity integritysyndicate.com
Integrity Syndicate Discord Server: discord.gg/znw8vKp7yk
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
#IntegritySyndicate #BiblicalUnitarian #BrothersofJesus
