The idea of the Trinity is contradictory and can't be explained and pastors cannot explain it. They just tell their followers to 'just believe it and have faith' or 'there's just some things we won't understand til we get to heaven'. Using this base they get people to completely let go of their logic and reason and do not do critical thinking when they read the Bible. Whenever they come across a verse that contradicts their church teaching the pastor's just give some casual remark and blow it off. The word Trinity is not in the Bible and its time for people to start using reason and logic when reading the Scriptures because the Scriptures are not supposed to contradict themselves.
2007-07-13 16:00:03 · 37 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
No i don't but Neo seemed too.
2007-07-13 16:03:09 · answer #1 · answered by MJR 5 · 3⤊ 6⤋
If you were going to answer your own question, why did you ask it in the first place...?
What's the point in telling you why we believe what we believe, when your mind is already made up and you basically call anyone who thinks differently from you "illogical" and "unable to reason critically"...
The word Trinity is not in the Bible because it did not arise until several centuries later, during the Nicene council. If you want to know and understand the basis of it... try researching there. You may actually find that you agree. The concept of the Trinity is not in any way contradictory to the Bible. The best source is the reasoning that the church used in defining and adopting this doctrinal belief in the first place, which defines not only what the Trinity is, but also why it must be true, Scripturally. If you really want to know, the answer is there. If you are only interested in "blindly following" your own doctrine, then do as you will.
To answer your question, then, the answer is Yes. I am a Christian, and I believe in the Trinity of God.
2007-07-13 16:56:41 · answer #2 · answered by David T 4 · 2⤊ 3⤋
No, I don't believe in the trinity anymore. But it took me a while to figure it out:
- - - - -
The bible in its current form(s) isn't flawless. For example due to bad translations.
John 1:1 nowadays reads: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." which would prove the doctrine of the trinity.
Unless you translate it with: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god."
That would mean something different, because "a god" could then be a term to express a person who is God's special instrument. Just like when God spoke to Moses:
"And he (Aaron) shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and he shall be thy mouth, and thou shalt be his 'god'." (Exodus 4:16)
There is only one verse that explicitly states the doctrine of the trinity, but it's still being debated. (The "Comma Johanneum" from 1 John 5:7.)
There are too many verses that describe how Jesus refers to God as another personality.
He says he has nothing from himself, only from his Father. He prays to God (which is only possible when God is another 'person'). He never claims to be God, only the -son- of God.
There are verses that speak of Jesus being one with God, but you can interpret that in several ways (like John 1:1 as I explained above). Not to mention that the "Holy Spirit" is absent in those verses.
And as far as I know, the Holy Spirit doesn't make his first appearance until the New Testament.
Moreover, "Father and Son" implies a relationship between to seperate personalities.
- - - - -
So as a christian, the doctrine of the trinity has confused for many years, but I don't believe it anymore after reading an eye-opening book (listed as source). And above I gave a summary of how I came to that conclusion.
The dogma is indeed a contradictory and I don't take "Just believe it and have faith" as an answer anymore. ^^
P.S. I also don't think that calling oneself a christian requires one to believe in these kind of doctrines.
2007-07-13 22:56:27 · answer #3 · answered by The Orange Whisperer 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I am a Christian and I do not believe in the false trinity doctrine. The only reason people believe in it at all, is because it was put to a vote and more voted for it than against it. If the vote had gone the other way, then the trinity would not exist and then everyone would believe in one true God, one Son whom God created, and the power of God's holy spirit. There would be no confusion about who God is.
How people can worship a God who makes himself a "mystery" is truly a mystery in itself.
LOBT
2007-07-16 05:58:06 · answer #4 · answered by Micah 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In my religion (Catholicism), this cannot be explained either. The Trinity is officially a mystery of the church. With God anything is possible, so why shouldn't we believe it?
It's kind of like this:
Billy Smith has a kid named John Smith. Granny Smith, I'm sorry to say, has passed away long ago, making her a spirit. Billy, John, and Granny are all related.
Like the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of the Trinity, the three Smiths are all related.
Billy is the father,
John is the son, and
Granny is the spirit.
2007-07-14 16:12:51 · answer #5 · answered by tillbaka i tiden 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Yes. Just because you don't see the word Trinity in the Bible, does not mean the truth of the Trinity isn't taught. There are plenty of Scriptures to back up this teaching, but my reason and logic tell me that even if I take the time to type all of them out to you, you wouldn't believe them anyway. So I will save us both some time, and allow you to think what you already think.
2007-07-13 19:51:41 · answer #6 · answered by . 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Sorry Mr. Sandstorm... I like alot of your relationship questions, but now you're getting into some people's religious beliefs.
Yes, I believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
However, I prefer to call myself a "Jesus Follower." I feel so disappointed and let down by mainstream Christianity these days. Some of these so-called "Christian" pastors, ministers, and political figures certainly don't speak for me, or for the love and devotion I feel for Jesus.
Jesus rocks! His message was love, peace, and tolerance.
2007-07-13 17:42:22 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
genuine Christians don't think in the trinity because of the fact Christianity's founder, Jesus Chrisrt, never taught it. in accordance to the trinity, God exists as 3 co-equivalent, co-everlasting persons. this variety of theory at as quickly as contradicts Jesus' words that his Father is the only genuine God. (John 17:3)
2016-10-01 13:53:50 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have posted this answer a dozen times in here. I hope it soon catches on. The trinity, although not spoken of anywhere in the Word, is simply three aspects of the same God, each performing different functions. For example, I am a man, a father, and a son,yet I am one person. I operate/function in direct relation to each of these aspects of my total being. It is that simple. God: Father= God as Originator/Creator, Son= God as Manifestation to fallen humanity, Holy Spirit= God as Mind of God and seat of ALL Authority in Heaven above, and on the earth beneath. It is really this simple. There are no contradictions either in the Word, or by any words out of the mouth of Christ when He said "My Father....", "I go to the Father...." As Son of man, He merely said these things because He was emphasizing the ultimate need of man and did so by example. As Son of God, He didn't say these things; it was rather obvious.
2007-07-13 16:23:29 · answer #9 · answered by RIFF 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋
The doctrine of the Trinity -- that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are each equally and eternally the one true God -- is admittedly difficult to comprehend, and yet is the very foundation of Christian truth. Although skeptics may ridicule it as a mathematical impossibility, it is nevertheless a basic doctrine of Scripture as well as profoundly realistic in both universal experience and in the scientific understanding of the cosmos.
Both Old and New Testaments teach the Unity and the Trinity of the Godhead. The idea that there is only one God, who created all things, is repeatedly emphasized in such Scriptures as Isaiah 45:18:
"For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; …I am the Lord; and there is none else."
A New Testament example is James 2:19:
"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well; the devils also believe, and tremble."
The three persons of the Godhead are, at the same time, noted in such Scriptures as Isaiah 48:16:
"I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, there am I; and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me."
The speaker in this verse is obviously God, and yet He says He has been sent both by The Lord God (that is, the Father) and by His Spirit (that is, the Holy Spirit).
The New Testament doctrine of the Trinity is evident in such a verse as John 15:26, where the Lord Jesus said:
"But when the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father, He shall testify of me."
Then there is the baptismal formula:
"baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19).
One name (God) -- yet three names!
JESUS -- That Jesus, as the only-begotten Son of God, actually claimed to be God, equal with the Father, is clear from numerous Scriptures. For example, He said:
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8).
HOLY SPIRIT -- Some cults falsely teach that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal divine influence of some kind, but the Bible teaches that He is a real person, just as are the Father and the Son. Jesus said:
"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come" (John 16:13).
TRI-UNITY -- The teaching of the Bible concerning the Trinity might be summarized thus. God is a Tri-unity, with each Person of the Godhead equally and fully and eternally God. Each is necessary, and each is distinct, and yet all are one. The three Persons appear in a logical, causal order. The Father is the unseen, omnipresent Source of all being, revealed in and by the Son, experienced in and by the Holy Spirit. The Son proceeds from the Father, and the Spirit from the Son. With reference to God's creation, the Father is the Thought behind it, the Son is the Word calling it forth, and the Spirit is the Deed making it a reality.
We "see" God and His great salvation in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, then "experience" their reality by faith, through the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit.
Though these relationships seem paradoxical, and to some completely impossible, they are profoundly realistic, and their truth is ingrained deep in man's nature. Thus, men have always sensed first the truth that God must be "out there," everywhere present and the First Cause of all things, but they have corrupted this intuitive knowledge of the Father into pantheism and ultimately into naturalism.
Similarly, men have always felt the need to "see" God in terms of their own experience and understanding, but this knowledge that God must reveal Himself has been distorted into polytheism and idolatry. Men have thus continually erected "models" of God, sometimes in the form of graven images, sometimes even in the form of philosophical systems purporting to represent ultimate reality.
Finally, men have always known that they should be able to have communion with their Creator and to experience His presence "within." But this deep intuition of the Holy Spirit has been corrupted into various forms of false mysticism and fanaticism, and even into spiritism and demonism. Thus, the truth of God's tri-unity is ingrained in man's very nature, but he has often distorted it and substituted a false god in its place.
2007-07-13 16:10:39 · answer #10 · answered by notthemamas1 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Yes, I believe in the Holy Trinity. The Bible makes it very clear that Christians are supposed to take some things by faith.
2007-07-13 16:07:12 · answer #11 · answered by luv2rite 2 · 5⤊ 3⤋