[First posted in 2012; we hope to pick up this series and continue it even if we have enough posts in this website that explain our position on the claims of the best and most famous apologists for the religion we once were part of, whose apologetics we never questioned before. Our DISCOURSE category is a good resource if you have checked it out, because the Christian colleagues who debate with Sianites quote from the books of Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, Bill Bright, and others, famous published defenders of the faith whose books we have studied when we were die-hard Christians. If we never get around to continuing this, check out DISCOURSE, the debates there worth the read!—Admin1]
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The table featured hereunder is on page 362 of Josh McDowell’s “Historical Evidence for Christianity.”
Chapter 8: “If Jesus wasn’t God, He deserves an oscar.”
This is provided under subtitle: “His Indirect Claims to Deity.”
Author’s note: “Jesus, in many cases, made known His deity indirectly by both His words and his actions. Listed below are a number of these references.”
Sinaite Commentary:
Having read through the table featuring NT and OT “references”, this is what baffles us: hard as we try to make the connection, we still cannot see how TNK/OT verses relate to the NT verses. What are we missing?
Is it enough to cite verses with the presumption that —
- one refers to the other,
- is a prophetic utterance fulfilled in the other,
- is a prooftext used to confirm of the doctrinal statements of the latter?
Dear visitor/reader, please read through the verses in the table below, perhaps you can do a better job! If you see a connection, kindly enlighten us about what we are missing in the logical thinking and intellectual grasp of “evidence” according to this bestselling author-lawyer-christian apologist.
Write your comment in ‘Leave a Reply’ box below.
Remember this as you read through: anyone living later can make the same claim to be God Himself using earlier scripture, quoting it verbatim, applying it to the claimant of the Divine title—but it is no proof, simply a claim. It’s worse when the later verse hardly connects with the original earlier verse.
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In the original table in the book, only the references from OT and NT were provided, i.e. title of book, chapter and verse, leaving it up to the reader to look them up. We did look them up and we have typed out the verses for your convenience.
The “OT” references are from The Jewish Publication Society TNK or JPS which uses LORD in place of the Tetragrammaton Name which we have inserted in [brackets].
The New Testament verses are from the New American Standard Bible.
As a visual aid, we color code our texts:
- red for NT verses (to signify caution)
- and Israel blue for TNK verses to signify the original text.
JESUS IS JEHOVAH (YAHWEH) | ||
Of Jehovah | Mutual Title or Act | Of Jesus |
Isaiah 40:28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD [YHWH] is God from of old, Creator of the earth from end to end, He never grows faint or weary, His wisdom cannot be fathomed. | CREATOR | John 1:3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. |
Isaiah 45:22 Turn to Me and gain success, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 43:11 None but me, the LORD [YHWH]; Beside Me, none can grant triumph. | SAVIOR | John 4:42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” |
1 Samuel 2:6 The LORD [YHWH] deals death and gives life, casts down into Sheol and raises up. | RAISE THE DEAD | John 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. |
Joel 3:12 Let the nations rouse themselves and march up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit in judgment over all the nations roundabout. | Judge | John 5:27And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. cf. Matthew 25:31-46 31“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” |
Isaiah 60:19,2019 No longer shall you need the sun for light by day, nor the shining of the moon for radiance [by night]; For the LORD [YHWH] shall be your light everlasting, your God shall be your glory. Your sun shall set no more, your moon no more withdraw; for the LORD [YHWH] shall be a light to you forever, and your days of mourning shall be ended. | LIGHT | John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” |
Exodus 3:14 And God said to Moses, “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh.” He continued, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ‘Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh sent me to you.” | IAM | John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly,truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” John 18:5, 6 5They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” AndJudas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. 6 So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drewback and fell to the ground. |
Psalm 23:1 The LORD [YHWH} is my shepherd; I lack nothing. | Shepherd | John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. |
Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD [YHWH], that is My name; I will not yield My glory to another, nor My renown to idols. Isaiah 48:11 For My sake, My own sake, do I act— lest (My name) be dishonored! I will not give My glory to another. | Glory of God | John 17:1,5 1Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 5“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. |
Isaiah 41:4 Who has wrought and achieved this? He who announced the generations from the start—I, the LORD [YHWH], who was first and will be with the last as well. Isaiah 44:6 Thus said the LORD [YHWH], the King of Israel, their Redeemer, the LORD of Hosts: I am the first and I am the last, and there is no god but Me. | First and Last | Revelation 1:17 When Isaw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, Revelation 2:8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write :The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: |
Hosea 13:14 From Sheol itself I will save them, redeem them from very Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Your pestilence, where, O Sheol? Revenge shall be far from My thoughts. | Redeemer | Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. |
Isaiah 62:5 As a youth espouses a maiden, your sons shall espouse you; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. Hosea 2:18 And in that day–declares the LORD [YHWH]–You will call [Me] Ishi, and no more will you call me Baali. | Bridegroom | Revelation 21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. cf. Matthew 25:1 ff. “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. |
Psalm 18:3 O LORD [YHWH] my crag, my fortress, my rescuer, my God, my rock in whom I seek refuge, my shield, my mighty champion, my haven. | Rock | 1 Corinthians 10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. |
Jeremiah 31:33 But such is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel after these days —declares the LORD [YHWH]: I will put My Teaching into their inmost being and inscribe it upon their hearts. Then will I be their God, and they shall be My people. | Forgiver of Sins | Mark 2:7, 10 7“Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?” 10 “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins “- He said to the paralytic, |
Psalm 148:2 Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him, all His hosts. | Worshiped by Angels | Hebrew 1:6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OFGOD WORSHIP. |
Throughout O.T. | Addressed in Prayer | Acts 7:59 They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” |
Psalm 148:5 Let them praise the name of the LORD [YHWH], for it was He who commanded that they be created. | Creator of Angels | Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him. |
Isaiah 45:23 By Myself have I sworn, from My mouth has issued truth, a word that shall not turn back: To Me every knee shall bend, every tongue swear loyalty. | Confessed as Lord | Philippians 2:11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. |
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