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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).
Appearing to have been coeval in its origin with the Trinity, the doctrine of the divine creative word/Logos is the second member of the Trinity in most ancient religions. Consequently angels and gods are the personification of ideas, thoughts and words in heathen mythology. Assuming all the aspects and characteristics of the Father God as it left his mouth, the "Word made flesh" took the second position in the Christian Trinity, an oriental idea that appears to have been John’s. His belief was that the Word was made flesh (John 1:14) upon emerging from the mouth of the Father, giving no role for a human mother. He seems to make such an implication in John 1:13. John’s description of the Word as the Creator: All things were made by him (John 1:3) shows he believed in Christ's existence as the creator before his human birth. Peter declares (2 Peter 3:5): “By the word of God the heavens were of old”. The Chinese bible, much older than the Christian's New Testament, likewise declares:
God pronounced the primeval Word, and his own eternal and glorious abode sprang into existence. It was by the Word (more ancient than the world) that Ormuzd created the universe, according to the Zend-Avesta, the Persian bible.
In postulating the belief that a second god emanated from the mouth of God to perform the act of creation, much of John’s language is very similar to that used by some of the disciples of those older oriental religions. Religions that also believed this creative “Word” became afterward a subject of human birth as an Avatar. This seems to be the idea that John postulates, that the second god of the Trinity was reborn in human form after having sprung into existence as the Word. Probably a condescension to the popular belief that the Word has a human mother.
“The Word which produced the world” is what the Tibetan sacred writings have to say on the subject. Speaking of the God Mercury, the Greek writer Amelius said “He was the Logos (the Word), by whom all things were made, he being himself eternal. He was assumed to be with God and to be God and in him everything that was made has its life and being, who, descending into body, and putting on flesh, took the appearance of a man, though still retaining the majesty of his nature.” The “Word made flesh” was set forth much clearer than in the New Testament, however Psalms 33:6 says, “By the Word of God were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the Breath of his mouth.” Here, traceable to ancient oriental religions is the concept of the Word as the Creator and the concept of the Word and Breath as synonymous terms.
It was anciently believed that the Word and Breath of God were the same, and possessed a vitalizing power, which, as they issued from his mouth, might be transformed into another being known as a secondary God. Both the Jews and the Christians seem to have inherited this belief, as evinced by the foregoing quotations from their bible. The ancient Brahmins, in the most ancient tradition of the Word, taught that the Word emanated from the mouth of the principal God and became flesh/took form for the special purpose of serving as the agent of creation or put another way, became the creator of the external universe. This is precisely the idea John used. The teaching of the Hindus was that the Word had existed from all eternity with God and became, when spoken, a glorious form; an aggregate embodiment of all divine ideas and performed the work of creation. It is affirmed of the Hindu Savior-God, Krishna, that “while upon the earth, he existed also in heaven”. This idea was echoed in the ancient Egyptian religion, while the Chinese bible states, “though the Holy Word (Chang-si) will be born upon the earth, yet he existed before anything was made”. Even Pythagoras followers believed that he existed in heaven before he was born upon the earth. All the old religions believed the world was created by the Word, and that this Word existed before creation.
The question of why the Word had to be the creator and not the principal God is answered in this manner: God the Father, like the kings of Earth is too aristocratic to perform manual labor, therefore it lies to a lesser God, an emanation of the Father, to perform the work of creation. This equal but lesser God is the Word/Logos and is the second member of the Trinity in most religions. Another way to look at it is that creation became impossible to a being already infinite and was a derogation to a being already perfect. It was necessary for some lower God, the Word, to be interposed as an emanation from the mouth of the Father to perform the manual labor of creation. Hence, originated and came forth the Word as Creator.
The living Divine Word was usually known by different names and titles, before and after its human incarnation.. Among the ancient Persians, the name for the divine spiritual Word was Hanover. After its human birth it was called Mithras the Mediator. The Hindu name for the primeval Word was Om or Aum. After its human birth it was called Krishna. The Chinese Holy Word was Omi-to, and its incarnation was Chang-ti or Ti-enti. The Japanese Divine Word was Amina. They taught, like John, that it came forth from the mouth of the Supreme God (Brahm) to perform the work of creation, after which, it was known as Sakya. The Jewish founders of Christianity believed in an original Divine Word, which they call Memra. When it descended to the earth, and became flesh and dwelt amongst us (John 1:14.), it was known as Jesus Christ. The title of the Word is found in the Indian, Persian, the Platonic, and the Alexandrian systems.
There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and the Son is identified with the Word. The Word is the second person in the Trinity and this was its position in the Brahman, Persian and other Eatern religions. All religions which taught the existence of the Word as a great primeval spirit represent him as secondary to the supreme. The Hindus reverenced it next to Brahman. The Word, the Holy Word and the Divine Word are used of the Christian bible, without any suspicion of their heathen origin. The Zend-Avesta, the Persian bible was The Living Word of God, for that is what Zend-Avesta means. The oldest bible in the world is the Vedas and it means both Word and Wisdom. When the incarnate Word returned to heaven, he left a part of his living spirit in the divine writings which contained his doctrines and which he himself had prompted his disciples to write as his Last Revelation to Man. The practice of calling bibles The Word of God came from this belief, The divine writings literally contained some of the Word, hence, both spirit and book were called The Holy Word. Once again we see that the early Christians, in a fevered attempt to gain respectability for their cult, borrowed another older concept to add to their dogma. This was possibly a ploy to make the cult more acceptable with the better educated and afluent. - CD
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