It hurts my brain to think hard about the trinity.
If it was false, for instance, then what would that mean for Jesus, who is the Son? Would he no longer be God? Would the Son, Father, and Holy Spirit be different entities?
Not true
What time are we talking about?
The usual rejection is twofold.
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Jesus was human and not God
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the Holy Spirit is not separate but the manifestation of the power of God
The reason for the Holy Trinity is the apparent enigma of God being in 2 places at once, while Jesus was on the earth, and the apparent separation of them which included talking to each other
Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is personified (the comforter) in the New Testament and seen to have a manifestation just as Christ did.
Perhaps it is best not to dwell on it as it does not affect our direct relationship with God.
Richard
On a lighter note, for fans of T.S Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats”, here’s my rewrite of “Macavity the Mystery Cat” to illustrate (or not) the Trinity:
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Can I have permission to use this please
Richard
Sure. Freely available, with attribution, for non-commercial use (sermons; local church magazines; etc.).
Hmmm, Persons. And one being, entity in the philosophical sense; a substance, not a psychological gestalt.
Jesus was and is not coterminous with God the Son.
I always thought he was, or so I was taught.
I may be wrong. How do you understand the origin and purpose of the term ‘trinity’?
By whom? Whoever it was, they hadn’t thought about it either.
Agreed about Persons. Phone typing to blame there. Essence and substance are interchangeable in Trinitarian discussion… though admittedly they are overlapping rather than synonyms.
Hmmm. How frightfully Aristotelian. Chair has essence, wood has substance…
The purpose of the word “Trinity” is to show that God is triune–one God in three persons.
One WIll. That ends all my concerns and questions as to why Jesus has all authority. As in who is speaking, who’s will is being done.
The rest seems commentary and perspective. Or sometimes provide a terrible distraction as any discord between doctrines is not of our Father’s spirit.
I always was taught he was the Son of God. So i just thought that was the same as God the Son because, well… the Son.
I can accept that. However, …
Are you familiar with Mormon doctrine regarding the Trinity of Beings [i.e. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost]? They teach–or, at least, once did–that each member of the Trinity was a wholly separate being but what unites them is “One Will” and–as two Mormons explained to me–that’s why they continue to insist that the Latter-Day-Saints are monotheists. ]Sidebar trivia: it’s my understanding, that, until recently, they disdained the label “Christian”.
And THAT is a version of the doctrine I do NOT believe in!
We know these three persons and these three persons are God.
We do not know, and there is nothing in the Bible to say, that God is three – of anything. For all we know, God could be known elsewhere in the universe as other persons which are not one of these three. I don’t like this pretension that we know everything there is to know about God.
I believe in a God who is infinite, not in a God who is three!
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I wasn’t. Thanks Terry.
My source was the scriptures “these are not my words”, and “I only do what the Father shows me”.
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I’m not surprised. But the Trinity is part of orthodox Christianity.
Believing in the Trinity is not saying that we know everything there is to know about God.
God can be infinite as well as triune.
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