thanks for the answer. this has turned into an interesting thread and i applaude your willingness to communicate. one of the problem i'm having is i don't trust any of the translations and don't think any of them would stand up to the questions we often apply to the nwt.
Well think about it though...do we have the same problems with the writings of Josephus, Plato, or any of the old philosophers? 2000 years seems like a long time but it really isn't. We have I believe the LXX (Septuigint), there were 70 translators who had to agree on it. It is the oldest Greek Translation of the OT. We will see the quotations from the OT in the NT from this text. I use so many translations, and keep learning as much as there is to learn about them. The Cannon of Scripture had to undergo strict scrutiny for validity before being allowed to be part of the Bible. As far as the NWT, after all the errors I found in it, I don't consider it valid. The mystery men who made the changes to the NWT were dishonest and admitted they made changes because it "made sense to do so"~NWT
We have the KJ from 1611. We found the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947-1961 those are dated 250 BC to 70 AD. These are our oldest texts found. These fragments confirmed the KJV. There are about 40,000 fragments. Most are close to the Masoretic text but some follow the Septuigint. These are testaments to the validity of what we have today.
As far as the Trinity here are some more things to consider.
Is Jesus the creator of all things?
Gen 1:26-27-Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness..." And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him.
Is 44:24-Thus says the Lord [Jehovah], your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, "I, the Lord [Jehovah], am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself, and spreading out the earth all alone..."
John 1:3-All things came into being by Him [the Word], and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. [If Jesus was created, then he created himself]
Rom 11:36-God...For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
John 1:10-He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
Eph 3:9-...God, who created all things...
Col 1:15-16-And He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the first-born [cp. Ps 89:27, Gen 41:51-52, Jer 31:9] of all creation. For [Gr. because] 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 by Him and for Him.
Heb 1:8,10-But of the Son...He also says, "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."
Heb 3:3-4-For He [Jesus] has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of a house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.
So even though the word Trinity does not exist in Scripture, it is used to simplify the fact that Jesus was equel in nature to God, subordinant in function. Which means for us that we can have a personal relationship with Jesus and need to according to the Bible. This runs throughout the entire Bible.
