Saturday, December 6, 2008

What shall we make of God's oneness?

Todd,

Whenever I read John 17, I always wonder what a Bible-loving pastor like you thinks about verses 20-22:

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
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.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
In the never-ending debates over the nature of God, arguments about what is meant by the "oneness" of God abound. The LDS theology is often criticized by trinitarians for not taking the oneness of God seriously enough (or perhaps not literally enough). In one sense, this is a fair characterization since traditional formulations of the doctrine of the trinity make some claims about the oneness of God which are rejected by traditional mormon theology.

However, when I read John 17 and consider the doctrine of deification, I find a sense in which mormon theology takes the oneness of God more seriously than traditional christian theology. In the intercessory prayer quoted above, we find the most important statements about the oneness of God in the scriptures. But, the emphasis in these verses is on a doctrine rejected by traditional Christians--the doctrine that we can eventually be at one with God in the very same way that Jesus is one with God.

This idea (that we can be one with God in the exact same way that Jesus is one with God) has far reaching implications. Firstly, it tells us that if we are not capable of being one with God in some sense, then this is not a sense in which Jesus is one with God. Secondly, it tells us that the doctrine of God's oneness is meant to be shared, indeed, that sharing this oneness is at the heart of Jesus' plan for us. These ideas fit nicely in a mormon theology, but seems to have very little to do with the concept of oneness insisted upon by the trinitarians.

One of the main reasons mormons are not considered "Christians" by evangelicals is that we do not accept a traditional formulation of the trinity. This idea of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost being one is obviously very important to them. But what are we to make of John 17? Do you agree that this is the primary text from which we should interpret the meaning of God's oneness? What do you make of its emphasis on our potential to be brought into the very same oneness currently shared by the Father and the Son?