Susanna Krizo

Hi Mark, I think Dave already answered your arguments, (I never thought of the trinity argument that way, that no one ever argues there are four Gods. Thanks Dave!)

I do want to comment on free will, for I understand where the confusion came from. When there is not an explicit reference we must make inferences, this is true. But when it comes to inferences, we must ask the dreaded question why? I.e. God commands the man not to eat of the tree. Why does he do so? Because the human had free will to choose to eat of it or not to eat of it. If he did not have free will, it would be nonsensical for God to command the man. Because the Bible does not mention free will specifically we have now such doctrines as original sin and predestination which are based on the belief that the human will is in bondage due to sin wherefore we cannot choose good. Erasmus and Luther contended on the subject, both threw Bible verses at each other which were more or less clear, yet they did not agree with each other and neither convinced the other. In the case of the man’s rule, for centuries it was based on Gen 3.16 and specifically the Vulgate’s false rendering of it (under the man’s authority will you be..) Everything else in the Bible was re-interpreted according to the belief that God punished women with subjection due to Eve’s sin. But today, such belief has been abolished which has left the comps without a foundation. The man’s prior creation does not work, neither does the “naming concept” for the man does not name the woman, he recognizes who she is (i.e. if I would see you and say, “Hey there’s Mark,” it would not give me authority over you). You have to have a “why,” but that is the one thing you do not have.
I find it interesting that you used JW as an example for they exactly what you do: they take John 1.1 and change God into god and say Jesus is a god, not God Almighty. You take Eph 5.21 and say that it does not say what it means, instead you re-interpret it to mean the man submits to his wife differently, although the text does not say so.