Malachi,

The NWT version of John 1:1 is fascinating because it aligns perfectly with Philo of Alexandria's writing on the Logos. I can't find Philo's quote now, but he is very clearly quoted as stating the Logos is a creation that is subordinate to God and therefore definitely not God, ergo, "a god".

Looks likely that the early christians just hijacked Philo's hellenist viewpoint. Hellenists like the Platonists and Pythagoreans believed in one true God who created the logos (as the 1st creation) in order so that God (who is infinite spirit without matter) could better "mix", co-exist, relate, communicate, etc.. with creation; as though God requires something intermediary between Him and the known universe in order to make His will known. The Logos in hellenist thinking is the way in which an infinite and timeless spirit can manipulate or mingle with organic or inorganic matter.

And then of course, when this notion was shot down and repudiated sometime between Jesus' time and Nicea, it was replaced with the teaching that the Logos was actually God in essence and purpose; and not a creation or "a" god.

My bet is that nothing in the ante-nicene writings by the earliest church fathers disagrees with this notion of Philo's created Logos. Therefore, we have just as much evidence (and probably more) for a created logos as any christian believes they have of a Trinity in the earliest church writings. This would explain some verses like Acts 7:55 which shows Jesus actually sitting in clear view next to "the Father" as an independant being, or as another "god".

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"He who saves one life... it is as if he saves an entire universe. He who destroys a life... it is as if he destroys an entire universe"

TALMUD - Sanhedrin 4:5

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