Acts 17:11
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
So searching the scriptures to see if what we believe or hear is encouraged in scripture and as Christians we should also be ready to provide a reason for the things that we believe.
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
The reality is that many Christians who accept the doctrine of the Trinity, also remain confused and even those who have a deeper understanding of it, will admit that they do not understand it completely when challenged. An answer you often hear is that the Trinity is hard to understand because God is beyond our thinking and understanding.
(in other words they are saying Jesus failed at the work given him.)
The Trinity doctrine basically says that there is one God.
The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
Hence God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Three, but they make up one God. Each is co-equal and co-eternal.
God is described as a class or family made up of these three personalities.
(three individual but equal Gods that make up one almighty)
If we consider all the scriptures that we have read then we must conclude that the Trinity is not only an inadequate way to describe God, but is actually a false teaching designed to take our eyes off the scriptures and place our trust in man-made creeds.
Similar to the Theory of Evolution, the doctrine of the Trinity is based mainly on imagination and they desperately cling to any scripture that could even have the slightest possibility of backing up their thoughts. But in doing so they have gone off track with the meanings of the scriptures that they quote and change the truth of God into a lie.
Trinitarians argue that the Trinity has always been taught by the Church and there was never a time that it was not. Of course they would say this, otherwise they would have to admit that it was an addition and therefore not a biblical doctrine nor a foundational one. But if the Trinity doctrine is not taught in scripture, then it is an addition. Now according to history, the original Nicene Creed included only the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit was added in decades later. So it seems clear that the theology was never always taught as they say, rather it developed over time and changed over time.
If we claim to believe in something, as Acts 17:11 says devote enough time to find out if it is true.
Let's look in the book of Revelation, where both God the Father and Jesus the Son are described as "the Alpha and Omega" we know that "alpha" is used here to refer to the "first/beginning" and "Omega" refers to "last/end" which simply means the one and only of a kind. If God is the only one of his kind, and Jesus is the only one of his kind (which they are) that pretty much eliminates the theory of "three of a kind" now doesn't it?
6 comments:
Laymond,
Thanks for coming by Fumbling! I appreciate the tone of this post very much, as well as your concern for my soul. I know I don't always communicate with you respectfully, and I do apologize for that.
Here are some ideas that this post sparked for me:
1) You must wrestle with what it would mean for a Jew like Peter, raised on the Hebrew Scriptures where YHWH alone is LORD and there is no other (as you so often remind me), to say, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as LORD." If they would die rather than call Caesar LORD, why would they give that name to a prophet?
2) I do not believe that the work of Jesus was to make the ways and/or nature of the One True God completely comprehensible to humanity. So even if Jesus was finished with the work God had given him ("It is finished!" can hardly speak of the WHOLE mission of Jesus -- otherwise what are his post-resurrection appearances for?), I would not say that Jesus had failed because you and I have unanswered questions. You do have unanswered questions about God, right? Do those questions mean that Jesus failed?
3) I would not affirm the last two sentences of your description of the Godhead. I would affirm 1-4, but not 5 and 6. Further, I would affirm that just as a wife's submission to her husband does not remove the natural co-equality between them ("we are all one in Christ Jesus"), so I do not believe that the Son's loving submission to the Father places him in a subordinate position.
4) I do not argue that the Trinity has always been taught by the church, any more than I would argue that the wrongness of slavery, the wrongness of polygamy, the equality of women, and the importance of preaching the gospel to everyone has always been taught by the church. As Jesus is still working, and the mission of God has not yet been completed, it doesn't faze me in the slightest that the church in the earliest days did not understand the whole counsel of God yet. I don't believe that, 2000 years later, the church understands the whole counsel of God.
5) Your way of interpreting the Alpha and Omega is off, I believe, because they are not merely descriptions - they are self-appellations. Both God the Father and Jesus the Son call themselves the "Alpha and Omega" - not as a description but as a title.
Hi Laymond;
Great Post, good stuff!
You are doing a great job to expose that devilish doctrine "the Trinity" for what it is.
As you know that I hate that evil doctrine with a passion and I am very bold to say so.
Concerning the 'Alpha and Omega' of Revelation;
If Jesus would have another person or identity to be His Father then it would be impossible for Jesus to call Himself the "Alpha and Omega", since a Father is ALWAYS before a Son or the first person is ALWAYS before the second or the last person.
But the Scripture cannot be broken and it stands to be true that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. (Revelation 22: 12-16)
Kind regards
Paul
Paul, you just may have missed my point.
They both have the right to be called Alpha and Omega, because they are. There is only one God, and there is only one "begotten son of God"
1Ti 2:5 For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Thanks for your comment Paul, always glad to have you drop by.
No Laymond; I did not miss your point.
It is impossible to have two Alphas, or two Omegas!
I think you have to make up your mind whether it is Jesus or your other god.
Perhaps the best way is to believe Jesus since He claims to be the Alpha (Rev. 22:13 etc.)
Paul
Paul said "It is impossible to have two Alphas, or two Omegas!"
Paul, that would be true if you were talking about two, of the same, There can not be two alphas, if we are talking about bears, but there can be two alphas if we are talking about bears, and lions.
Laymond
Nick, 1Cr 8:6 But to us [there is but] one God, the Father, of whom [are] all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom [are] all things, and we by him.
sounds like one of each.
laymond
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