can someone explain the Trinity?

Question

i asked this question to my youth pastor when i was 13ish...i nevverr quite understood....does anyone have any extra insight? its a really complicated question.

Answer 1

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Genesis 1 explains God said let US create man in OUR image.

Genesis 2 shows how man is created from the dust (flesh)
God breathed life into him (spirit)
and man became a living soul (soul)

God created man above the animals more than flesh which returns to dust but with an eternal spirit.

I can tell you the truth but revelation comes from God.

Answer 2

Tri +Unity = Trinity. That is to say, The Father, The Son, The Holy Ghost. This makes three but all are one: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. There will be alot of "human" explanations like using water for an example and using an egg for an example. These are not the same as the true meaning of the Trinity. Maybe these verses will help you: Matthew 28:19, 2Corinthians 13:14, John 14:26 and 15:26, Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20, and Colossians 2:9.

Answer 3

Although the human mind can not comprehend the mystery of the trinity, Christians say we will burn in hell for not believing it.

Christians say they understand it and explain it like a "egg". I'll bet God likes being compared to a cracked "egg" with the insides separated into different bowls.

The Bible says Jesus sits at the right hand of God in Heaven. It also calls Jesus the "slain lamb" in heaven. He is separate and distinct from God in the Bible.

God split into thirds and sent 1/3 to earth as his Son, then let his son be killed, but it was really 1/3 of himself. Then that 1/3 of himself rose to heaven to sit at the right hand of the other 2/3rds. Or 1/3, not counting the Holy Ghost, who's only contribution was impregnating a child virgin.

Hmmm. How does that make sense to anybody?

Actually, the trinity idea came about because the Christian religion is a mixture of other religious dogma and some ideas from other religions just got mixed in.

Then when everyone said that was polytheistic, the Christian leaders had to try and come up with some explanation. Which doesn't really make sense to most people.

Answer 4

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity states there is one true God who is made up of three separate but equal persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Bible does not contain the word Trinity. However, the Holy Trinity is hinted at repeatedly in both the Old and New Testaments. For many biblical references, see: http://www.cwo.com/~pentrack/catholic/Trinity.txt

Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the early Christians prayed and struggled over these hints for a couple of centuries. The concept of the Holy Trinity (three equal persons in one God) was mainstream Christianity in 325 C.E. at the Council of Nicaea and our belief is expressed in the Nicene Creed.

How this works is not fully known and is one the Christian mysteries.

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is shared by most Christian denominations including Roman and Orthodox Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Episcopalians, and the Salvation Army.

There is a story told about St Augustine:

Augustine was walking along the seashore trying to figure out the mystery of the Holy Trinity and came up to a little boy. The boy was trying to pour the ocean into a hole in the sand with a seashell. Augustine told the boy what he was doing was impossible. Then the little boy told Augustine that it is also impossible for the mind of man to try to understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity. The little boy turned into an angel and disappeared.

For more information, see Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 232 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt1art1p2.htm#232

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

All nontrinitarians take the position that the doctrine of the earliest form of Christianity was not Trinitarian. Typically, nontrinitarians explain that Christianity was altered as a direct and indirect consequence of the edicts of Constantine the Great, which resulted in the eventual adoption of Trinitarian Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Because it was at this time of a dramatic shift in Christianity's status that the doctrine of the Trinity attained its definitive development, nontrinitarians typically find the doctrine questionable. It is in this light that the Nicene Creed is seen by nontrinitarians as an essentially political document, resulting from the subordination of true doctrine to State interests by the leaders of Catholic Church, so that the church became, in their view, an extension of the Roman Empire.

Although Nontrinitarian beliefs continued to multiply, and among some people (such as the Lombards in the West) it was dominant for hundreds of years afterward, the Trinitarians gained the immense power of the Roman Empire. Nontrinitarians typically argue that the primitive beliefs of the Christianity were systematically suppressed (often to the point of death), and that the historical record, perhaps also including the Scriptures of the New Testament, was altered as a consequence.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontrinitarianism


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Answer 6

This is not a complicated answer at all. It is straight forward:

The trinity is exactly what it is: Three!

Three what? Three parts of God:

1) The Father

2) The Son (obviously Jesus)

3) The Holy Spirit (your conscience, a gift given to you by Jesus. Even Atheists have a conscience, further proof of God).

I can't believe a youth pastor didn't explain this to you.

Oh, well....

Answer 7

Regardless of what pastors, preachers, and some seminary graduates tell you, there is really nothing in the Bible to justify the Trinity. Basically the concept was developed during the 3-4th century and was not a part of Christian thinking prior to then.

Today, it is more complex because now there is a tendency to say that Christ was, in fact, God which could be used to say that even if you accept the concept of the "holy ghost," you would only have a two part Godhead - Christ and God being the same person. This all was fought out in the era before the formation Catholic church and a lot of the concepts were not accepted by all but were pushed on the church by Emporers (Theodosius, for example) in order to stop infighting amongst the Bishops.

Answer 8

No human can fully describe it, because the human mind and our language both are insufficient. The simplest way to think of it:
God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
or:
God is one, in three persons.
or:
God is three-in-one (The word Trinity is a contraction of tri-unity)

People have tried to give broader statements to clarify the Trinity. The Athanasian Creed for instance says in part:
(Note that "catholic" here means "universal", not "Roman Catholic.")

"(1) Whoever desires to be saved must above all things hold to the catholic faith. (2) Unless a man keeps it in its entirety inviolate, he will assuredly perish eternally.

(3) Now this is the catholic faith, that we worship one God in trinity and trinity in unity, (4) without either confusing the persons, or dividing the substance. (5) For the Father's person is one, the Son's another, the Holy Spirit's another; (6) but the Godhead of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is one, their glory is equal, their majesty is co-eternal.

(7) Such as the Father is, such is the Son, such is also the Holy Spirit. (8) The Father is uncreate, the Son uncreate, the Holy Spirit uncreate. (9) The Father is infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite. (10) The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal. (11) Yet there are not three eternals, but one eternal; (12) just as there are not three uncreates or three infinites, but one uncreate and one infinite. (13) In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, the Holy Spirit almighty; (14) yet there are not three almighties, but one almighty.

(15) Thus the Father is God, the Son God, the Holy Spirit God; (16) and yet there are not three Gods, but there is one God. (17) Thus the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, the Holy Spirit Lord; (18) and yet there are not three Lords, but there is one Lord. (19) Because just as we are compelled by Christian truth to acknowledge each person separately to be both God and Lord, (20) so we are forbidden by the catholic religion to speak of three Gods or Lords.

(21) The Father is from none, not made nor created nor begotten. (22) The Son is from the Father alone, not made nor created but begotten. (23) The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son, not made nor created nor begotten but proceeding. (24) So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. (25) And in this trinity there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less, (26) but all three persons are co-eternal with each other and co-equal. (27) Thus in all things, as has been stated above, both trinity and unity and unity in trinity must be worshipped. (28) So he who desires to be saved should think thus of the Trinity."

This is less than half of the Athanasian creed. The full text is in the source below. I hope this helps.

Answer 9

Yes.

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) evangelized a popular form of Christianity in the first century, in which he elevated Jesus to the status of deity - a god. Paul's Christianity became very influential. there were other versions of Christianity that claimed that Jesus was just a wise teacher, a man and a prophet, but these version lost the theological battle on this point. Paul's Jesus had no life story (read the Pauline epistles)
The author later called "Mark" wrote a life story for Jesus late in the first century. This was the first life story for Jesus, and was later adopted by other authors and became the standard.
Mark's Jesus was a Nazarene who was baptized and taught people to pray to Yahweh, the Jewish god. Judaism is strongly monotheistic.
Both doctrines became integral to church doctrine.
In the fourth century, it became a problem. A single authorized Christianity had been established by committee, and had two contradictory theological principles.
The concept of the trinity was evoked in an attempt to resolve the conflict.

Answer 10

The best way I've heard it explained is like this. You yourself are a student, a son or daughter, a friend, and possibly a brother or sister, all at the same time. Your father is also someone's son, has an occupation, and is also a husband. Your Father in Heaven is a father, a son, and also part of who we are by His Holy Spirit. What may be confusing is that He is His own son. He is three, but also one. Just like you fill several places in the people in your life. The bible says that the person who knows Christ also knows the Father. I know it's confusing, but I hope this helps.

Answer 11

The "trinity" didn't come about until the council of Nicea in 325 a.D. Constatine got all of the bishops together to come to an agreement about the godhead to keep peace in his kingdom. These "learned"men set about to explain the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. They came to some agreement about the Father and the Son, but never got around to the Holy Ghost. The Nicean Creed is never recited in it's entirity because it is confusing at best. You will notice that the council met after the Apostles and their disciples had died out and gnosis (man's knowledge) infiltrated the church. The Bible is not for private interpretation and is to be read by those with the Holy Ghost to get everything out of it that we need. The "trinity" is contrary to what the Apostled believed and to what they wrote about. It is a man made concept of the Creator and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Our Savior and Redeemer. Ask any Jewish person how many Gods there are. They never believed in the "trinity" and a believer in Christ doesn't either.