In a way , it's like a hypothetical "How many angels dance on a pin" kind of question , as I don't believe the bible is inspired , or "God's Word." But I can't help thinking that the overall flavour of the scriptures seems to strongly suggest a Trinity , or at least something in that ballpark.
Do You Think The Bible Teaches A Trinity As Religions Teach?
by minimus 35 Replies latest jw friends
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Tobyjones262
Nothing absolute, its convoluted BS IMO. The bible has nothing of use to offer.
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johnamos
Rather someone believes the Bible is God’s word or not...fiction or nonfiction, it still tells a story. In this case, what is being questioned is if it tells the story of the trinity or not.
Are Jesus and Jehovah the same person or are they two separate beings, it is either one or the other.
The following answers that question without a doubt as to what one of the two is correct.
[1 Corinthians 15: 24 Next, the end, when he (Jesus) hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has brought to nothing all government and all authority and power. 25 For he must rule as king until God has put all enemies under his feet. 26 As the last enemy, death is to be brought to nothing. 27 For God “subjected all things under his feet.” But when he says that ‘all things have been subjected,’ it is evident that it is with the exception of the one who subjected all things to him. 28 But when all things will have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him, that God may be all things to everyone.]
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minimus
Yeah, I don’t see how the Holy Trinity could be Bible based.
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Phizzy
The Bible teaches nothing at all. It is a collection of books by some forty or so writers over a huge period of time.
If you read/study it as it should be, which means taking in to account the writers own knowledge, his agenda, and his Theology, you see quite clearly a gradual evolution of the writers' Theology. Hints of the original Pantheism are there, definite expressions of Henotheism, and eventually, a gradual ( almost) monotheism.
By the time of the latest Gospel, John, and the other late N.T writers the influence of the thinking of related Theologies, such as Gnosticism are evident.
I can certainly detect an incipient leaning toward the concept of the Father and the Son being one and the same in a spiritual sense, maybe the inclusion of the holy spirit in the group was a later idea that was done to appeal to new Christians ??
The Trinity Doctrine was without doubt developed from the, at the earliest , late first Century, and probably well in to the second Century onward, of course disputes about it abounded, and continue down to our day.
But to dismiss it out of hand, without an understanding of what it is, is maybe to dismiss what Christianity stands for now. Why believe that all knowledge was sealed at some early date ? and how and when would you set that date ? The Bible Canon we have now was only settled partially at a very late date, and again there are many views on what is canonical and what is not.
It is a subject for study. But then are so many late concepts, like the concept of the Resurrection of the dead, ( not to be found in the O.T/Hebrew Scriptures) and other concepts.
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Ding
In reply to Johnamos' post, the Trinity doctrine does not state that the Father and the Son are the same person.
Likewise, it does not deny the positional subordination of the Son, given that he is also a man. That's a part of the Trinity teaching.
You don't have to believe the Trinity doctrine, of course, but please understand what it really says before you reject it.
The WT attacks a straw man version of the Trinity doctrine.
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btlc
Once upon on a time when I still was uber JW, I had a discussion with one Catholic priest, and i still remember his comment about the Trinity: "it was so obvious to the apostles and to the 1st century Church, so they didn't even bother to put it on paper or to make formal definition - that need became later, with spreading Christianity worldwide. And you can't lock Christ's Church to 27 NT books or to the 1st century, it is a live organism..."
Ofcourse, I rejected such apologetic blabber in that time. But later reading of the Cathecism gave me better insight to Catholic reasoning - it has far more inner sense than any WT teaching, despite both are completly b...s... -
minimus
Btic, that’s still Mumbo jumbo to me. I hope he’s not on the debate team!
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DisArmed
Never think about it anymore and couldn’t care less.
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Doctor Who
If God is a trinity, and God created man in his image, then man has a multiple personality disorder (Dissociative identity disorder).