Jesus, Prophet of Islam - The Islamic Bulletin

Laier Unitarians in Christianity 207

God, according to Emlyn, ,sometirnes signifies the most High,

Perfect, and Infinite Being, Who is of Hirnself None, and owes

neither His Being nor His Authority, nor anything else to another;

and this is what is most commonly intended when we speak of

God in ordinary Discourse, and Prayer, and Praise; we mean it of

God in the most eminent sense.'

Emlyn then goes on to demonstrate that in the Bible, although

the word 'God' is often employed, it is sometimes used to signify

persons who are invested with subordinate authority and power

in comparison with the Supreme Being:

Angels are styled as God ... Thou hast made him a lit­

tle lower than the Cods.' (Psalm 8: 5); Magistrates are

Gods. (Exodus 22: 28, Psalm 82: 1, John 10: 34-35); sorne­

limes a person is styled as God, as Moses is twice called

a God to Aaron, and afterwards a God to Pharaoh; and

the Devil is also called the God of this World, Le. the

Prince and mighty ruler of it, who by unjust usurpation

and God's permission occupies this position. Now as

He Who alone is God in the former sense is infinitely

above all these, 50 we find Him distinguished from all

others who are called Gods.

Tofurther clarify thisdistinction, Emlyn quoted Philo who describes
the Supreme Being as 'not only God of men, but God of Gods.'
This is the highest and most glorious epithet given to God in the
DldTestament, when it is designed to make a most magnificent men­
tion of His Greatness and Glory.
Having established that the Bible usestheterm'God' todescribe
God and to describe beings inferior to God, Emlyn then proceeded
to try and resolve the question: 'In which of the two senses is Christ
said to be 'God' in the Holy Scriptures?'
Emlyn concluded that Christ was an inferior being compared
to the God of Gods, (see l Corinthians 8: 5). He reached this conclu­
sion by asking himself this crucial question: 'Has Jesus Christ any
God over him, who has greater Authority, and greater ability than
himself, or not?' The reply to this question would decide the status
of Jesus one way or the other, IfGod was above him, then clearly
he couid not also be the Absolutely Supreme God. Emlyn's reply
to the question he had posed was 'Yes', and he provided three ar­
guments to support his answer: