"I would respectfully disagree about "begotten" because I see it as referring to the "man" Jesus, who was obviously "begotten". I would say that "The Son" was in full existence well before He was "begotten"."
But FK, the Creed says "...begotten of the Father before all ages...."
I have always assumed that Baptists, indeed all Christians, accept the Nicene Creed (either with or without the filioque). Was I wrong about the Baptists?
The usual English translation says it a bit less forcefully, "eternally begotten of the Father", but of course, the meaning is the same.
I have always assumed that Baptists, indeed all Christians, accept the Nicene Creed (either with or without the filioque). Was I wrong about the Baptists?
Well, to be honest, I'm not sure. While most of it seems to be OK, I know we wouldn't agree with the baptism part. :) But on the word "begotten", I'm just not sure what it means. In different translations, John 3:16 has "only begotten son" and "one and only son". So, I have always thought of it referring to the human side of Jesus, using a dictionary sense of "beget". I could be wrong. Here's what I don't get in the Creed:
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; ...
I don't know how to reconcile "begotten" with "not made", while still keeping the idea that Christ and the Father are both without beginning and neither existed before the other.