I’m fairly certain I was in my late teens before someone pointed out to me that as God was creating man (Genesis 1, Day 6) He referred to Himself in the plural. Our English texts get the gist of the passage when they translate the phrase, “Let us make man in our image (Gen. 1:26).” It did not sink in until much later that, earlier in the chapter, Genesis 1:1 (“In the beginning, God created ... “) actually uses a plural form of the generic Canaanite word for deity. In other words, the first phrase in scripture – the one that introduces us to God – refers to Him as a multiple.

Segue with me to t...