Catching an Apologist Twisting the Truth

[Jagella]

For those of you who aren't familiar with the late Walter Martin, he was a prominent Christian apologist, evangelist, and self-described anti-cult expert. I was just listening to his video WHO IS JESUS? - Walter Martin on YouTube. About twenty three minutes into this video, Martin is describing an encounter with a Jehovah's Witness in which Martin claims to be setting that Jehovah's Witness straight on the deity of Christ. Martin's theology is that Jesus was and is God while Jehovah's Witnesses say that Jesus was not Jehovah. To demonstrate his belief that Jesus is God, Martin quotes Thomas's encounter with the risen Christ in John 20:28 (NRSV):

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!�

According to Walter Martin, Thomas is here calling Jesus God, which Martin thinks clinches the case for the gospel portraying Jesus as God and falsifying the Watchtower's theology that Jesus is not Jehovah God.

Is Martin correct that he has clinched the case for the divinity of Christ by citing this passage? Did Thomas say that Jesus is Lord and that Jesus is God? To find out, let's take a look at the Greek translated "my Lord and my God" which is

Ὁ Κ��ιός μου καὶ � Θεός μου

In Greek, if you address somebody by name face-to-face, then you use what is known as the vocative case. So if Thomas was addressing Jesus as Lord and God, then Lord and God in Greek would be in the vocative case. When I checked the Greek for John 20:28, I found that Lord and God (Κ��ιός καὶ Θεός)are not in the vocative case but are in the nominative case!

So I'm afraid Walter Martin is wrong about Thomas calling Jesus God. If Martin is making an honest mistake, then he made a very elementary error in his Greek, but Martin claims to be an expert in Greek.

Question for Debate: Is Walter Martin deliberately twisting the truth here to advance his brand of Christianity?

I think he obviously is deliberately twisting the truth. My advice to everybody is fact-check what apologists say. What you find may have you exclaiming: "My Lord and my God!"

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[tigger2]

[Replying to post 19 by tigger2]

So what are you concluding? Is Thomas addressing Jesus as Lord? If so, then can we conclude that Thomas was addressing Jesus as God too?

It is not an address to anyone. It is a statement, probably a common one since it is so abbreviated. Common statements are often so abbreviated. It may be a common oath emphasizing that he does believe now: "As my lord and my God is witness (I believe)" or a praise to God: "Praise my Lord and my God." See the link to my study in my previous post.

[Jagella]

[Replying to post 19 by tigger2]

So what are you concluding? Is Thomas addressing Jesus as Lord? If so, then can we conclude that Thomas was addressing Jesus as God too?

It is not an address to anyone. It is a statement, probably a common one since it is so abbreviated. Common statements are often so abbreviated. It may be a common oath emphasizing that he does believe now: "As my lord and my God is witness (I believe)" or a praise to God: "Praise my Lord and my God." See the link to my study in my previous post.

Thomas's words upon seeing the risen Christ appear to me to an exclamation or even swearing or cursing. Walter Martin dismisses this possibility because he cannot entertain the idea of a blasphemous Thomas. However, we are told in Matthew 26:74 that Peter was not above cursing. So why is it so far-fetched that Thomas might swear too?