The Concept of the Trinity (Jesus Christ, Kingdom, doctrine, church)

[des]

Meister Eckhart (who was of course considered by some to be a heretic) said that the Trinity could only be perceived by the intellect. Once a person gained union with God, God was perceived as one.

I've always liked Eckhart, but my own disclaimer is that I am not a Trinitarian, at least I don't think I am. Might change next week. :-)

--des

[*Paul*]

God is beyond any earthly comparison, to try to show who God is without using scripture is like trying to show a blind man the colour red or to describe it to him. I know it is well meaning but it is truly impossible to achieve.

Isa 40v18: To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by Darkness

I am unsure where you exactly stand on the Trinity.

In your idea of the Trinity, hypothetically, if you removed God the Father and the Holy Ghost, could Jesus fully function as God? Is Jesus Christ his own person?

What makes you think that either the Father or the HS can be taken out of the equation? Turning one's back on a thing does not render that thing unreal. We experience God as Trinity because we have experienced God as manifest in these three Persons. One does not need to stand "separately" from the other two in order to be valid.

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by may

many people dismiss the bible , but me as one of Jehovahs witnesses i faithfully stick to the bible and what the bible teaches .
For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. For God sent forth his Son into the world, not for him to judge the world, but for the world to be saved through him. John 3;16-17 yes Jehovah the one true God psalm 83;18 sent his son to the earth and we are to listen to his son
(Luke 9:35) And a voice came out of the cloud, saying: "This is my Son, the one that has been chosen. Listen to him."................... yes the true God Jehovah and his son Jesus christ are the ones we should take in knowledge about .
This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ. John 17;3 this is true bible teaching . the trinity is a manmade thing , which people make up many stories about. stick to the bible and you will not go wrong .

The Bible is also a manmade thing. Why is it a more valid expression of the Church than extra-Biblical documents?

[may]

Originally Posted by des

Meister Eckhart (who was of course considered by some to be a heretic) said that the Trinity could only be perceived by the intellect. Once a person gained union with God, God was perceived as one.

I've always liked Eckhart, but my own disclaimer is that I am not a Trinitarian, at least I don't think I am. Might change next week. :-)

--des

i am not a trinitarian ........... i stick to true bible teaching.

[may]

Originally Posted by sojourner

The Bible is also a manmade thing. Why is it a more valid expression of the Church than extra-Biblical documents?

All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work. 2 tim 3;16 i dont need to add any manmade doctrines on to the bible it is enough to stick to the bible .

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by may

All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work. 2 tim 3;16 i dont need to add any manmade doctrines on to the bible it is enough to stick to the bible .

All Biblical doctrine is "man-made," because the Bible is "man-made." In fact, the Bible is, itself, a doctrinal statement of the Church (which is made up of people).

[Hema]

I don't know if non-Christians are allowed to post here. If not, I'm very sorry, Mods please feel free to remove my post. I don't want to debate anything. I just wanted to say that Hindus believe in a Trinity also. We believe in ONE God but since God has different roles, we call him/her by different names...just like how one man can be called father, brother, friend etc. All these names are not mandatory to learn and the truest name is Om. Anyway, the Holy Trinity of Hinduism is Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. God is referred to as Brahma when he is creating, Vishnu when he is sustaining and Shiva when he is destroying (Destroying sounds scary but it is really "reabsorbing". God will reabsorb creation into himself/herself.) So, Brahma created the universe, Vishnu is sustaining it and Shiva will reabsorb it, but they are all one and the same. I used to attend a Catholic High school and once during Mass, the Preist talked about the Hindu Trinity. It's just a similarity that I wanted to point out.

[YmirGF]

Originally Posted by Hema

I don't know if non-Christians are allowed to post here. If not, I'm very sorry, Mods please feel free to remove my post. I don't want to debate anything. I just wanted to say that Hindus believe in a Trinity also. We believe in ONE God but since God has different roles, we call him/her by different names...just like how one man can be called father, brother, friend etc. All these names are not mandatory to learn and the truest name is Om. Anyway, the Holy Trinity of Hinduism is Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. God is referred to as Brahma when he is creating, Vishnu when he is sustaining and Shiva when he is destroying (Destroying sounds scary but it is really "reabsorbing". God will reabsorb creation into himself/herself.) So, Brahma created the universe, Vishnu is sustaining it and Shiva will reabsorb it, but they are all one and the same. I used to attend a Catholic High school and once during Mass, the Preist talked about the Hindu Trinity. It's just a similarity that I wanted to point out.

That is largely why I have no difficulty with the western/Christian concept of Trinity. It balances well with the Hindu concept. Ok.. I am a bit biased, lol.

[may]