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To understand what these quotes are saying takes a LOT of theological background.
The beginning point is that both you and I agree that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is a different person that the Father, but they are both ONE God together. There's only ONE God. Likewise the Holy Spirit is a different person than the Father & Son, and is likewise God. But there's still only ONE God. They are ONE.
A difference comes in when we talk about the *how* these multiple persons are ONE God. I'm guessing that you are an adherent of the Athanasian Creed. This document was written by a council of men 500 AD and states the Father, Son, and Spirit are ONE God through a shared substance.
I (and other LDS) am not adherent of the Creeds, and believe that theological Truth should comes from God via His prophets & apostles. We believe that the Father, Son, and Spirit are ONE God through unity. One verse that particularly radiates with me is John 17:21 "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (Rest of the chapter rocks too).
Am I making sense thus far?
You are
I have heard the JWs use a similar argument, however I disagree. In John 17:21 Jesus is talking about Christian unity, a unity of purpose, which he obviously shares with the Father. But he's not saying we are God too, right? But he does make that claim for himself.
Jesus' claim to be God (not merely one in purpose with God) is clear from what the Jewish leaders understood him to be saying:
"We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” (John 10:33) He then proceeds to use a typical Rabbinical style of argument from the lesser to the greater, to drive home the point (vs 34-39).
John 10 Commentary - Jesus Claims to Be the Messiah and to Be One with God - BibleGateway.com
John even states that this is what they understood, in John 5:18 it says, "For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God." This is John telling us that Jesus made himself equal with God.
You say that you disagree with the Athanasian Creed, yet what you said above, at least on the surface, seems to be consistent with this:
...both you and I agree that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is a different person that the Father, but they are both ONE God together. There's only ONE God. Likewise the Holy Spirit is a different person than the Father & Son, and is likewise God. But there's still only ONE God. They are ONE.
So if you are not saying that you are a Trinitarian, could you clarify how you disagree with this?
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