Yes Man said:
Hey guys. I've changed the wording in my post to better declare my thoughts. I'm not sure if I believe in the Trinity or not. I have been searching for answers about many things of God. Some questions I have answered, many I have not. Being one not devoted to a particular sect of Christianity I find it difficult to converse with other people about spiritual matters. I suppose that's why I come to religious forums. Thanks everyone.
(Disclaimer: I'm not Christian, tho I've spent a lot of time thinking about these things.)
The word "trinity" never appears in scriptures. It is an interpretation. There are verses to support that interpretation. But there are also verses that suggest otherwise. The main argument about the trinity is whether "the Son" is equal to "the Father." I don't believe that Jesus himself ever said that he was equal to God.
John 14:28: "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for
the Father is greater than I."
He instructs us to pray "
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name." If Jesus is God, why does he need to pray to God? "Our father" suggests that Jesus viewed God as father of him and us.
Since his words are fresh in my mind from attending two Good Friday services (one Catholic and one Unitarian Universalist), let's go through them:
Mattthew 26:39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "
My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet
not as I will, but
as you will."
Mattthew 26:42 He went away a second time and prayed, "
My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may
your will be done."
Mattthew 27:46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
It seems to me that viewed himself as a faithful devotee of God, not God himself.
BUT... according to how I was taught by a Catholic professor, Jesus of Nazareth was a human being, wholely human, not God. He was crucified for his devotion to God. And God, being so pleased with Jesus and so displeased with the injustice of his crucifixion, ressurected him as Christ. According to this interpretation, Jesus was human up until his death. The resurrected Christ is divine. The resurrected Christ is the active force by which Christians experience God living in their hearts. That Christ is God. And that Christ is worshipped as God, because God the Father is too inaccessible to us humans. To reiterate, Jesus is not God but Christ is, and it is the ressurection that is key not the crucifixion. I like this interpretation a lot. But then again, I am not Christian. But then again, my professor is. Make of it what you will.