me, have mercy on me, and guide me,’ such a request would be patently irrational. For that reason no adherent of any revealed religion has ever deemed it permissible to address the Torah, the Gospel, or any other speech of God with the words, ‘Forgive me and have mercy on me.’ Those words are spoken only to the God who uttered that speech: ‘Forgive me and have mercy on me.’

As for the Messiah—peace be upon him—according to you he is the Creator-God to whom people say, ‘Forgive us and have mercy on us.’ Had he truly been the very knowledge and speech of God, it would be impossible for him to be a deity worthy of worship—so how much more impossible when he is not identical with God’s knowledge and speech at all, but is rather a creature produced by His command when He said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was.

From this it is clear that the words of God are countless beyond measure. The divine scriptures, such as the Torah, state that He created things by means of His speech; at the very beginning of the Torah it says, ‘Let there be…,’ ‘Let there be….’ Plainly, the Messiah is not a multitude of words; at most he is a single word, for he was created by one of the words of God, Mighty and Exalted.

Seventh reply: The creed your forebears composed in Constantine’s presence—the statement of faith you have made the foundation of your religion—contradicts your claim that the Godhead is one. It makes plain that you say to those who debate you something other than what you actually believe. These two matters are well known within your religion: your self-contradiction and the way you present yourselves in debate.