Thursday, June 3, 2010

"In the beginning was the Word..."

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"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1.

I don't want to start a Christian kerfuffle -- the lines just crossed my mind tonight and I wondered about them ... wondered whether they spread more light than darkness, more clarity than confusion, more lightness of being than befuddlement.

Without explaining those words, do they make much sense? I mean do they really make sense? I don't know and I do pray to God that no biblically-inclined text-ologist will explain it to me. Though I wouldn't mind hearing from someone with some experience.

I will say this for the words: If I were a writer in a Chinese fortune cookie factory and I came up with those words, I bet I'd get a raise. Either that, or fired. :)
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3 comments:

  1. One could pick lines from the heart or diamond sutras and make them sound equally....fortune cookiesque. I know, I know, those sutras are the truth. You've experienced them and can tell me, from experience, to experience them for myself. I bet we could explain the heart sutra to each other and back it up with experience and still be in the same place we started before the discussion. they're all words. Some words are gates for some people and some aren't. Who am I to judge?

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  2. Don't quote me on this one, but if I recall correctly, the whole point of the introductory chapter in the Gospel According to John - which, if I recall correctly is the last of the four "official" gospels to be written - is to reaffirm the whole concept of the Trinity. Thus "the Word was with God" and "the Word was God." Then if you read John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" you have the Trinity right there.

    At the time there were conflicting viewpoints as to whether Jesus was "God" of if being "Son of God" was something different. John seeks to put this issue to rest.

    Caveat: I'm neither agreeing with it or denying it. Just explaining it.

    Peace.

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  3. I am not sure. But assuming that Christianiy and Islam is closer to eachother that we think they are i quote this from the Quran:

    [85.20] And Allah encompasses them on every side.
    [85.21] Nay! it is a glorious Quran,

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