And yet, Christ said, one only needs to know Him, to know His Father. That no one has seen the Father except the Son... and who the Son CHOOSES to REVEAL Him to. That no one has seen the Father except the Son... and who the Son CHOOSES to REVEAL Him to.
The Son reveals the Father through the Spirit.
Not a lot of vigorous study involved in that.
So you don't vigorously study? The books of Luke and Acts where addressed to a man named Theophilus . Why would Luke compile such a complex document for this man? The beginning of Luke gives the answer:
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
In order for Theophilus to be certain of what had taken place he needed the tireless efforts of Luke and his sources. He also would need to carefully study what Luke had compiled. This would require an education. In Acts 17 the Jews in Thessalonica were considered noble because they were "examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so."
Now, I understand the trinity doctrine... I just don't have any reason to accept it.
From what I've seen you do not have a grasp on the subject.
I understand that it is man's attempt to define God... but really, why should we not just look at Christ for that, as He said to do?
Studying the written word IS looking at the Word.
The stars were not created until later though. Same with the sky. Heaven, itself, is not physical but spiritual. The heavens - spiritual realm; the earth - physical realm.
Genesis 1 is describing this:
One could argue, latinthunder... that they (the RCC, or any other group who has commited acts that are against the Truth and His teachings) were not following CHRIST. They didn't even know Him, though they did have the sciptures all along.
There have been many faithful catholics over the ages that have stayed true to their original values. One's that strongly opposed the evil that that was being done in the name of the church. Those people serve as a testament to the authenticity of catholic scripture and are largely lost in time. The evil doers turned against what the Word gave them and to their own undoing. The lesson learned is that we write things down and have educators for a reason.
There is one law: that law is love.
Suppose you're a judge for a county court and you are faced with choosing which parent will recieve total custody of their children after a divorce. Both parents are equally abusive in different ways. How do you determine what is the most loving thing to do with the kids? Now lets say the foster care system available is totally corrupt. Do you give the kids to abusive parent #1, abusive parent #2, or the corrupt foster care system? What is the loving thing to do? How does the "law of love" apply in situations such as this?
Latinthunder, the Jews ALWAYS had the scriptures. If the 'sword' was the bible, then how was Christ bringing it; when it (or at least scripture) was already present? The sword is the truth that comes from His mouth. The truth divides... light from dark; truth from lie. The truth pierces. The truth reveals the hearts of men.
The same exact thing happened to the Jews as did the catholics. They were not adhering to their law, they were deviating and engaging in man worship. They wanted to kill Christ because he was eating grains on the sabbath. They had no compassion, no forgiveness and no mercy which is all throughout their scripture. If they would have followed their law and acted as their faithful ancestors did they would have no need for a messiah in the first place. But the seed of the serpent would make sure that things corrupted into oblivion. Ancient Judaism was infiltrated.
The sword comes out of the mouth of the Word of God (Christ) in Revelation, correct? Do you think that Christ comes to strike down the nations with the bible? Or simply with truth? Truth that He speaks?
Yes, but not just the RCC 66 cannon, but ALL scripture which includes the sciences, art, music and philosophy. He comes with a pen, which acts as the ultimate sword. A pen can draft a constution and a bill of rights. A sword brings nothing but destruction and enslavement.
Many people have gotten the wrong idea or image of God by looking at the bible (various parts in it)... when it is actually CHRIST who shows us God.
That's not the fault of scripture, nor that of it's writers. People get the wrong idea because a false interpretation is being forced upon them.
