English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

my dad is a j.w and i am christian,i belive that they are one my dad belives that they are 3, what is the answer

2007-01-22 13:09:12 · 18 answers · asked by ? 1 in Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality

18 answers

God is one God in three persons. These persons are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This doctrine is known as the Trinity. Tertullian, one of the early church fathers, coined the term "Trinity." The word actually means "three-ness." Tertullian was an ardent supporter of orthodoxy in the church, and was one of the greatest defenders of the historic Christian faith.

A man named Arius was considered an arch-heretic of the church by denying that Jesus was God. This is one of the reasons the Council of Nicea was formed, to hash out what Christians believed about the nature of God. (Funny story: Nicolas, the bishop of Myra, Turkey, who is now known as St Nicholas/Santa Claus, slapped Arius across the face for denying that Christ was God. Nicolas was relieved of his position as bishop because of his rude behavior. He was later restored when he repented.)

The term "Trinity" is not found in the Scriptures, but the doctrine is clearly displayed. There are many times where Jesus said of Himself that He was God. He applied the name of God, "I AM," to Himself in several passages. Here's a few examples: Matthew 14:27, Mark 6:50, Mark 13:6, Luke 21:8, John 4:26, John 6:20, John 8:24, 28, 58, and John 13:19. There are several others I have not listed. Besides this, Jesus said that He & the Father were one (John 10:30). This describes a unity, even though there are two. (Note, the I AM passages I referred to are from the Greek, as the English translations often mistranslate I AM for "It is I" or "I am He," to allow for readability.)

The Trinity has an underlying appearance in the Old Testament as well. In Genesis, we see during creation that God said, "Let us make man in our image." and also when man sinned, God said, "...man has become as one of us, to know good and evil..." Who was He speaking to? The other persons of the Trinity. We also see that the Spirit of God hovered over the waters in the beginning, and in John 1:1-3, it clearly states that Jesus (the Word) made everything.

Another angle to pursue is the various Scriptures that demonstrate that God's attributes are present in Jesus as well as the Holy Spirit. For example, the Father is eternal (Psalm 90:2), and so is the Son (John 1:2), and so is the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 9:14). Another shared attribute is their holiness. Only God is truly holy. The Father is holy (Revelation 15:4), so is the Son (Acts 3:14), and so is the Spirit (Acts 1:8).

An ancient diagram of the Trinity can be helpful in getting your hands around the doctrine, and can be found at the link in the SOURCE list.

The Trinitarian doctrine requires much more depth of discussion than can occur here. It is important to know that we only have to believe, not necessarily understand, the Trinitarian nature of God. It is a bedrock doctrine of the Christian church.

2007-01-22 13:15:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

The holy ghost or spirit as it is now known does not exist and before the discovery of IVF treatment it was not possible for a female to conceive without the help of a male. If Mary Magdalen actually existed she was impregnated by a male of the species.

2016-05-23 23:23:11 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

The King James Holy Bible says` they are ONE ....1 John 5 : 7 .....For there are three that bear record in heaven , the Father , the Word , and the Holy Ghost : and these three are one ..***** Matthew 28 : 19 ..... Go ye therefore , and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost ....

2007-01-22 14:42:58 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God. The same as you are body and Spirit and the two are one soul and you are one person, God Bless You. Jesus is the perfect son of God who laid down his flesh to pay the penalty of death for all who accept his atonement. He is the perfect son of God and is not an angel.

2007-01-22 13:15:59 · answer #4 · answered by djmantx 7 · 1 0

Wait a minute, I'm pretty sure Jehovah Witnesses(if thats who you're speaking of) believe the Holy Ghost is a "active force" not a person just a energy source. So how can he believe they're three?

2007-01-22 13:13:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit - three distinct individuals making up one God.

2007-01-22 13:14:01 · answer #6 · answered by padwinlearner 5 · 1 0

How Is the Trinity Explained?

THE Roman Catholic Church states: “The Trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion . . . Thus, in the words of the Athanasian Creed: ‘the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God.’ In this Trinity . . . the Persons are co-eternal and co-equal: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent.”—The Catholic Encyclopedia.

Nearly all other churches in Christendom agree. For example, the Greek Orthodox Church also calls the Trinity “the fundamental doctrine of Christianity,” even saying: “Christians are those who accept Christ as God.” In the book Our Orthodox Christian Faith, the same church declares: “God is triune. . . . The Father is totally God. The Son is totally God. The Holy Spirit is totally God.”

Thus, the Trinity is considered to be “one God in three Persons.” Each is said to be without beginning, having existed for eternity. Each is said to be almighty, with each neither greater nor lesser than the others.

Is such reasoning hard to follow? Many sincere believers have found it to be confusing, contrary to normal reason, unlike anything in their experience. How, they ask, could the Father be God, Jesus be God, and the holy spirit be God, yet there be not three Gods but only one God?

“Beyond the Grasp of Human Reason”

THIS confusion is widespread. 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?”

“Not a God of Confusion”

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.

2007-01-22 13:19:26 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 2

It's an interesting question, but that's all it is. It tickles me when people think religion is a great big contest of who can be the most clever, or win the most debates, or get the most recognition.

It's about spiritual principles. God, whatever he does happen to be like, can take care of himself.

2007-01-22 13:14:43 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

One Godhead,three forms.

2007-01-22 13:45:52 · answer #9 · answered by jasmin2236 7 · 0 0

This is something that the christian and catholic church have taught that is clearly questionable. Im a JW and i am convinced that god is 1 person and jesus is 1 too. Ok why dont you talk to your dad and ask him. He will be able to give you the answeR!!!
YOUR DAD CAN TELL YOU THE TRUTH!!

2007-01-22 13:19:14 · answer #10 · answered by lilgman424 2 · 0 3

fedest.com, questions and answers