A little while back, I blogged about a discussion with a friend about the word amen. During that same discussion, while we were defining terms, begotten or begot was mentioned. My friend was of the opinion that begot essentially meant to create. To be honest, I wasn’t sure but I thought the two must be different because of the phrase used in church, “begotten, not made.”
Well, of course this called for some extensive research on my part. Turns out that “begotten” and “created” do not mean the same thing at all. Create means to make something out of nothing. Begot, on the other hand, comes out of another thing that already exists. Any begotten thing has to have a source from which it stems. That source cannot be nothing, as in creation.
One explanation that I found, that I thought was pretty good, is that to beget is to become the father of; to create is to make. When you beget, you beget something of the same kind as yourself. A man begets human babies, a beaver begets little beavers and a bird begets eggs that turn into little birds. When you make something, you make something of a different kind from yourself. A bird makes a nest, a beaver builds a dam, a man makes a table. The explanation goes on to point out that what God begets is God; what man begets is man. What God creates is not God, just as what man creates is not man.
There’s no point here, I just found this interesting while keeping up my extensive research skills. So until next time, I’m done with this blog — made, not begotten…..
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