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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Does anyone have a good way to explain t | Bible general Archive 1 | pokkets | 87508 | ||
I am having difficulty explaining the trinity...can anyone help? Thanks | ||||||
2 | Does anyone have a good way to explain t | Bible general Archive 1 | Truthfinder | 87509 | ||
The Encyclopedia Americana notes that the doctrine of the Trinity is considered to be “beyond the grasp of human reason.” Many who accept the Trinity view it that same way. Monsignor Eugene Clark says: “God is one, and God is three. Since there is nothing like this in creation, we cannot understand it, but only accept it.” Cardinal John O’Connor states: “We know that it is a very profound mystery, which we don’t begin to understand.” And Pope John Paul II speaks of “the inscrutable mystery of God the Trinity.” Thus, A Dictionary of Religious Knowledge says: “Precisely what that doctrine is, or rather precisely how it is to be explained, Trinitarians are not agreed among themselves.” We can understand, then, why the New Catholic Encyclopedia observes: “There are few teachers of Trinitarian theology in Roman Catholic seminaries who have not been badgered at one time or another by the question, ‘But how does one preach the Trinity?’ And if the question is symptomatic of confusion on the part of the students, perhaps it is no less symptomatic of similar confusion on the part of their professors.” The truth of that observation can be verified by going to a library and examining books that support the Trinity. Countless pages have been written attempting to explain it. Yet, after struggling through the labyrinth of confusing theological terms and explanations, investigators still come away unsatisfied. In this regard, Jesuit Joseph Bracken observes in his book What Are They Saying About the Trinity?: “Priests who with considerable effort learned . . . the Trinity during their seminary years naturally hesitated to present it to their people from the pulpit, even on Trinity Sunday. . . . Why should one bore people with something that in the end they wouldn’t properly understand anyway?” He also says: “The Trinity is a matter of formal belief, but it has little or no [effect] in day-to-day Christian life and worship.” Yet, it is “the central doctrine” of the churches! Catholic theologian Hans Küng observes in his book Christianity and the World Religions that the Trinity is one reason why the churches have been unable to make any significant headway with non-Christian peoples. He states: “Even well-informed Muslims simply cannot follow, as the Jews thus far have likewise failed to grasp, the idea of the Trinity. . . . The distinctions made by the doctrine of the Trinity between one God and three hypostases do not satisfy Muslims, who are confused, rather than enlightened, by theological terms derived from Syriac, Greek, and Latin. Muslims find it all a word game. . . . Why should anyone want to add anything to the notion of God’s oneness and uniqueness that can only dilute or nullify that oneness and uniqueness?” How could such a confusing doctrine originate? The Catholic Encyclopedia claims: “A dogma so mysterious presupposes a Divine revelation.” Catholic scholars Karl Rahner and Herbert Vorgrimler state in their Theological Dictionary: “The Trinity is a mystery . . . in the strict sense . . . , which could not be known without revelation, and even after revelation cannot become wholly intelligible.” However, contending that since the Trinity is such a confusing mystery, it must have come from divine revelation creates another major problem. Why? Because divine revelation itself does not allow for such a view of God: “God is not a God of confusion.”—1 Corinthians 14:33, Revised Standard Version (RS). In view of that statement, would God be responsible for a doctrine about himself that is so confusing that even Hebrew, Greek, and Latin scholars cannot really explain it? Furthermore, do people have to be theologians ‘to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent’? (John 17:3, JB) If that were the case, why did so few of the educated Jewish religious leaders recognize Jesus as the Messiah? His faithful disciples were, instead, humble farmers, fishermen, tax collectors, housewives. Those common people were so certain of what Jesus taught about God that they could teach it to others and were even willing to die for their belief.—Matthew 15:1-9; 21:23-32, 43; 23:13-36; John 7:45-49; Acts 4:13. Needless to say, the trinity doctrine is not a Bible teaching. Truthfinder |
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3 | Does anyone have a good way to explain t | Bible general Archive 1 | Morant61 | 87521 | ||
Greetings Truthfinder! The problem is not explaining the Trinity, the problem is understanding the Trinity. There is a difference. The doctrine of the Trinity is quite simple to explain. There is only One God, expressed in three distinct Persons. Now, understanding it is a different story. :-) But, there are many things about God that I as a finite human being cannot really understand. How can God be everywhere at once? How can God have no beginning or end? How can God know everything? But, simply because these 'facts' are beyond my experience and understanding does not make them untrue. In the same way, the doctrine of the Trinity is based on what Scripture says about God. Though it is beyond my experience, the Scriptures themselves are quite clear. There is only one God. The Father is God. The Son is God. The Holy Spirit is God. This is definitely more Biblical than the stance you take my friend when you say that Jesus is a god, when Scripture says that there is only one God. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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4 | Does anyone have a good way to explain t | Bible general Archive 1 | Truthfinder | 87522 | ||
Well, hi Tim, Since elohim/theos means a mighty one, anything that is venerated, anything that is honored, how can you say Jesus is not "a god" (an honored one, a venerated one). Certainly he is. Also, truth dictates that the true God is not omnipresent, for he is spoken of as having a location. (1Ki 8:49; Joh 16:28; Heb 9:24) His throne is in heaven. (Isa 66:1) He is all-powerful, being the Almighty God. (Ge 17:1; Re 16:14) “All things are naked and openly exposed to the eyes of him,” and he is “the One telling from the beginning the finale.” (Heb 4:13; Isa 46:10, 11; 1Sa 2:3) His power and knowledge extend everywhere, reaching every part of the universe.—2Ch 16:9; Ps 139:7-12; Am 9:2-4 You wrote: "the Scriptures themselves are quite clear" then why the controversy? IF THE Trinity were true, it should be clearly and consistently presented in the Bible. Why? Because, as the apostles affirmed, the Bible is God’s revelation of himself to mankind. And since we need to know God to worship him acceptably, the Bible should be clear in telling us just who he is. First-century believers accepted the Scriptures as the authentic revelation of God. It was the basis for their beliefs, the final authority. For example, when the apostle Paul preached to people in the city of Beroea, “they received the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily as to whether these things were so.”—Acts 17:10, 11. What did prominent men of God at that time use as their authority? Acts 17:2, 3 tells us: “According to Paul’s custom . . . he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving by references [from the Scriptures].” Jesus himself set the example in using the Scriptures as the basis for his teaching, repeatedly saying: “It is written.” “He interpreted to them things pertaining to himself in all the Scriptures.”—Matthew 4:4, 7; Luke 24:27. Thus Jesus, Paul, and first-century believers used the Scriptures as the foundation for their teaching. They knew that “all Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.”—2 Timothy 3:16, 17; see also 1 Corinthians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:20, 21. Since the Bible can ‘set things straight,’ it should clearly reveal information about a matter as fundamental as the Trinity is claimed to be. But do theologians and historians themselves say that it is clearly a Bible teaching? To me they are indeed clear and logical and the Son of God is not the Almighty Jehovah but his son. Truthfinder |
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5 | Does anyone have a good way to explain t | Bible general Archive 1 | Morant61 | 87524 | ||
Greetings Truthfinder! You struggle with the Trinity my friend, but you struggle even more with the simplest affirmations of Scripture. Compare Is. 43:10 with John 1:1! Scripture is quite clear that there are NO OTHER GODS. So, you can say that Jesus is another god all you want, but you are making an affirmation that Scripture denies! But, we have been down this path before....! :-( I'm in the process of moving, so I have to run. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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6 | Does anyone have a good way to explain t | Bible general Archive 1 | Ray | 87543 | ||
Hi Morant61, It is true that many have gone down this path with them before. Your comparison Scriptures tell us that Jesus was not a strange god who came down from heaven and dwelt among us. I believe that Isaiah 43:11,12 tells us that there is also no Savior [sic] besides the Lord God. Since they don't know Him as Lord and Savior there is cause for the "frown face". Isaiah 44:8, "Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.'" 9 Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame." Tim, do you see Isaiah 44:18 and John 9:41 as good comparison verses in regard to the Jehovah's Witnesses as well? Isaiah 44:18, "They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend." John 9:41, "Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have not sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains." P.S. I wish you a successful move; it doesn't sound like fun to me. From the heart, Ray |
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