Is Jesus God?

John 10:33 says 'you make yourself god' ok, however, the same word used in vs 33 is also used in vs 35 where Jesus said"if those ones he called gods..."Thats the same word being used and Jesus applied it to the Jews. So why should the use of the same word be read as 'God Almighty' in vs 33, but simply as Gods in vs 35?its not like the theo in vs 33 used the definite article so it shouldnt be read as a title...its merely a word. And seeing the word God or god is commonly used to denote something superhuman or something venerated in the minds of many it could mean either the Supreme Being, the Almighty, or it could mean a false god, such as an idol.Jesus response really shows that the jews were not saying they thought he was the almighty God for he reminds them that they too are called Gods. Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said: You are gods’?

well i could be wrong, but i believe its the definite article which decides that, not plurality.If jesus was speaking to just one person, he would not have said 'Gods' he would have simply said 'God' or 'theos'. this is just a side point, but i though you said there were no other gods...that the idea that there are other gods is not in the bible and that it is polytheism to believe in such?Are you now acknowledging that the bible does speak of other god like individuals? So why would he not simply say "It is hypocritical for you to condemn Me because I said I am God"afterall, he did just remind them that they were also called Gods. yes i completely agree with that, they had no concept of a triune God. To them their Almighty God was a single entity...certainly not 3 in 1. this goes exactly the same way for christians too, being a 'son' of God does not make one God. Christians were told that they too can become children of God if they live as God wants them to live John 1:12-13 "However, as many as did receive him, to them he gave authority to become God’s children, because they were exercising faith in his name; 13and they were born, not from blood or from a fleshly will or from man’s will, but from God"Then there is also the fact that God called Isreal (Jacob) his firstborn son. Was Jacob God?
Exodus 4:22-23 "And you must say to Phar′aoh, ‘This is what Jehovah has said: Israel is my son, my firstborn. 23And I say to you: Send my son away that he may serve me"

but jaywill, dont you see that by making Jesus God, you infact contradict Jehovahs monotheism?

No, i dont think so... jesus himself stated in verse 36 he states exactly what he means when he says"do YOU say to me whom the Father sanctified and dispatched into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, I am God’s Son?"This is why i asked jaywill why jesus did not say " because I said i am God?"You cant get around the semantics of Jesus words where he directly calls himself the Son.

If this were true and God was actually living in Jesus body hence this makes Jesus God, then the apostles and diciples were also God for they too are called a living temple where God dwells inside. 1Corinth 6:19What! Do YOU not know that the body of YOU people is [the] temple of the holy spirit within YOU, which YOU have from God?Jesus was a temple of God in the same way that the christians were....they had recieved Gods holy spirit and they were living in accord with that spirit. It didnt mean that they were literally God-Men.

so you dont see the anomoly here?You say that because the scriptures say that God dwells in Jesus, it makes him God, then the same scritpures say that God dwells in the christians, but that doesnt make them God.If God is also said to dwell in the Christians, not as some incarnate, but simply that he does so by their obeying his word, you dont think that perhaps the interpretation that God dwells in Jesus as some sort incarnation is just plain wrong? This is a good scripture for understanding exactly what Jesus is talking about.
Look at verse 23. "that they may be perfected into one..." You seem to think this 'perfected into one' somehow proves the trinity.Here is how other versions render this verse to give the idea of Jesus meaning about becoming one. They show that the trinity is certianly not what he had in mind:
NIV - "may they be brought to complete unity..."
NASB - "that they may be perfected in unity"
NLT - "May they experience such perfect unity..."
NIV UK - "May they be brought to complete unity..."
TNIV - "so that they may be brought to complete unity..."God and Christ were in complete unity...this didnt make Jesus God, it simply meant that he had a oneness of mind with his father...the same way Jesus wanted ALL of his followers to have a oneness. Thats a oneness of purpose, of will of worship. If Jesus is saying that all the millions of christians can be perfected into one, it certainly doesnt make sense to say that the same 'oneness' somehow proves the trinity of God and Christ.Christ is not God, just as the christians are not Christ.they are one in unity.

im sorry jaywill.I am obviously far too simple minded to comprehend your theology because i just do not get it.

Ah see that, everyone sees a little common ground somewhere along the way

and as has been discussed, the rendering of the verse 'the word was God' is not in line with the greek'the word was with THE God and the word was god'If one is called THE GOD and the other simply God, then the word is not THE GOD.Besides, your trinity involves 3 beings...father, son, holy spirit. Yet your verse reads 'The Word was with The GOD'Add them up: The Word = 1 and The GOD = 3
Total = 4 The Word & The GOD (father, son and holy spirit)not making much sense is it.

why do they need to? And what has scholarship got to do with spirituality? Was jesus or the apostles scholars? No they were not. They did not attend the rabbinic schools and yet they were blessed with Gods spirit and could teach the word of God without needing to go to worldly schools. So its Gods spirit that qualified them to teach just as it is Gods spirit which qualifies the jw writing committee to produce the publications they produce.And think about this, even some of the books of the bible do not contain the authors name, so why should the writing committee put their names to the works they produce? If they wanted accolades, they might put their names to them, but thats not their motive.What would you rather, learn about God from someone who paid for their degree, or from someone who God gave his spirit to?

JW's dont do that. There are no new truths outside the bible. The bible has been provided by God and it contains all the truth we need. All our teachings come from this source...we dont invent new ones. No one should do that.
Rom. 15:4 "For all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.The only sign a christian needs is that of faith, hope and love. Paul explained why this would be the case when he explained that the holy spirit would reveal understanding and no more signs would be needed. The signs of the past were to establish christianity, once it was establishded, no more signs would be needed: "1Cor13:8-13 "8Love never fails. But whether there are [gifts of] prophesying, they will be done away with; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will be done away with. 9For we have partial knowledge and we prophesy partially; 10but when that which is complete arrives, that which is partial will be done away with....12For at present we see in hazy outline...but then it will be face to face. At present I know partially, but then I shall know accurately.." No they are not infallible...no human is.
jw's have ammended their teachings when a clearer understanding became available on a particular subject. This is what relying on holy spirit is about...its allows our teachings to improve when something becomes clearer. Jw's used to celebrate christmas too you know. It was only due to a clearer understanding of where christmas originated from that they stopped celebrating it.The same with smoking cigarettes. It was a clearer undestanding of the mosaic laws about physical and spiritual cleaness that made them realise that smoking was not acceptable to God.Also the Name Jehovah showed them that there was a clear difference between Jehovah and Jesus, thus they knew the trinity doctrine was not true and this made a lot of other things clearer with regard to the kingdom of God.The study of the original hebrew words also revealed to them teachings such as the immortal soul, hellfire & pergatory were not correct....jw's thought they were all going to heaven too you know. But they were willing to change that view when their understanding increased. As i've already shown Pauls words about signs/gifts being done away with, we should look at what would would be required of christians in order for them to be blessed with knowledge. Christians really do have to put on the 'mind of Christ' if they want to recieve holy spirit. And with holy spirit, true understanding is possible because it comes from God. thats a fair enough question. They would certainly need to prove themselves before their word should be taken seriously, I agree.Would you agree that the Bible is the right standard against which to measure one’s religion?If you do then you would be able to make an informed decision yourself about jw's because you can clearly see how they base all of their beliefs, their standards for conduct, faith and organizational procedures on the Bible. I can't prove that to you over the internet but you could easily go and find out for yourself by attending a meeting and having a bible study which is free btw.Thats the only way i became convinced that they taught the truth. Edited by Peg, : No reason given.Edited by Peg, : No reason given.

thats great that we do have some common ground. You would have to expect that considering we are using the same text book. Its always a positive sign and shows that truth is not so complicated that no one gets it. Because we know the role of Jesus is to bring manking into union with Jehovah thru the kingdom of God. His role is not to take worship away from Jehovah... remember Jehovah is Jesus God too. If we dont understand that these two are separate individuals and we worship Jesus alone, this would be detrimental to becoming united with the Creator Jehovah.Jesus role is merely as a mediator between God and man. By understanding Jesus role, we can be united with God Jehovah. Its not Jesus we have to answer to, it is Jehovah. And the kingdoms purpose is to bring mankind back into a relationship with Jehovah as Paul shows: Just for a brief rundown, Brother russell (where jw's started from) was originally a presbyterian so his beliefs were based on everyone elses beliefs. He was also associated with the 'congregational church' and the teachings there were things such as hellfire. Now while he did grow up believing in it, it was a teaching that he found contradictory to a 'god of love'He simply could not accept that teaching so he studied the bible himself. This led him to make this comment: "Gradually I was led to see that though each of the creeds contained some elements of truth, they were, on the whole, misleading and contradictory of Gods Word."Understanding didnt all come a once, there were some aspects of the bible that he clearly had wrong, but there were some major teachings that he had absolutely right and from there his bible students continued on with his work. their teachings must be in harmony with scripture...however, the teachings do not have to be 100% accurate for the reason that God only reveals what we need to know at the time we need to know it.The most important thing is that our conduct and way of life is in imitation of Jesus. All christians have a responsibility to understand the basic requirements of christianity. If we dont take that responsilbity seriously, then God is not obligated to give us his spirit.For example, do you think Gods spirit will dwell with someone who participates in pagan practices? Or will Gods spirit dwell with someone who does not uphold his righteousness, his love, his justice, his mercy?We must live according to that spirit in order to be given that spirit. If we live according to his spirit, he gives us more spirit and from that understanding will come.Edited by Peg, : No reason given.

John 20:17 "...Go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "

what about when he was on the stake and cried out to God
"My God My God, why have you forsaken me?"Or when he taught his followers how to pray and he called God "OUR father who is in heavens"This was before his resurrection. It obviously wasnt only after his resurrection that he refered to God as his own.

Paul was never a diciple of christ, he was originally an opposer of christ.He was Saul of Tarsus. A Pharisee. It was Paul who began the persecution against the christian congregation. Paul was the one who oversaw the murder of Stephen. Paul explained himself why that was the case. Galatians 13:1 "YOU, of course, heard about my conduct formerly in Ju′da‧ism, that to the point of excess I kept on persecuting the congregation of God and devastating it, 14and I was making greater progress in Ju′da‧ism than many of my own age in my race, as I was far more zealous for the traditions of my fathers."He was zelous for the laws and traditions of judaism. He probably believed the christians were deviating from the law that he held so dear. You know, he wasnt the only jew who denied Jesus miracles...there were many who actually witnessed them and continued to deny them. If Paul did witness jesus miracles, he was likely blinded by his own loyalty to the mosaic law and traditions like many others were.