Christy
Member
I teach a Bible-study class to 6th-8th graders in preparation for their affirmation of their baptism in a ceremony we call Confirmation. I have done this for many years.
I have absolutely NOTHING against the Trinity doctrine because my Lord Jesus is the one who talked about baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But here is the problem: I believe that because of our teachings many new Christians incorrectly see three thrones in Heaven - the big throne on which sits the Father, the medium size throne on which sits Jesus, and the smallest throne on which sits the Holy Spirit. And yet, we tell them that we worship ONE GOD, which we do.
The Trinity has been a confusing concept for all of Christendom. I believe that Jesus used this imagery to help us begin to understand how God could be in many different places and in many different times - all at the same time. God is not bound by specific place and time as we are. Until recently, we had no concept of the possibility of other dimensions outside of our familiar three dimensional world. This is beginning to change as our cutting edge scientists theorize "string theory" and "quantum mechanics."
But back to our Christian faith. We teach that God sent His Son Jesus into the world to redeem the world through His innocent death on the cross. But we also teach that Jesus IS God and we profess this truth in our creeds. However, we rarely put these two concepts together to get the full and beautiful picture of what God did for us. It was GOD HIMSELF who was born in that manger to live among men. It was GOD HIMSELF who died on that cross. (And Yes - you people of Islam who laugh at this truth - God CAN be in Heaven ruling AND be on that cross DYING at the same time. God can die and live at the same time. Why? Because He is God.)
God did not send another being to die on the cross for us. He came Himself and died for us. That is the powerful and wonderful truth. Why do our teachings not adequately reflect this??????
I have absolutely NOTHING against the Trinity doctrine because my Lord Jesus is the one who talked about baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But here is the problem: I believe that because of our teachings many new Christians incorrectly see three thrones in Heaven - the big throne on which sits the Father, the medium size throne on which sits Jesus, and the smallest throne on which sits the Holy Spirit. And yet, we tell them that we worship ONE GOD, which we do.
The Trinity has been a confusing concept for all of Christendom. I believe that Jesus used this imagery to help us begin to understand how God could be in many different places and in many different times - all at the same time. God is not bound by specific place and time as we are. Until recently, we had no concept of the possibility of other dimensions outside of our familiar three dimensional world. This is beginning to change as our cutting edge scientists theorize "string theory" and "quantum mechanics."
But back to our Christian faith. We teach that God sent His Son Jesus into the world to redeem the world through His innocent death on the cross. But we also teach that Jesus IS God and we profess this truth in our creeds. However, we rarely put these two concepts together to get the full and beautiful picture of what God did for us. It was GOD HIMSELF who was born in that manger to live among men. It was GOD HIMSELF who died on that cross. (And Yes - you people of Islam who laugh at this truth - God CAN be in Heaven ruling AND be on that cross DYING at the same time. God can die and live at the same time. Why? Because He is God.)
God did not send another being to die on the cross for us. He came Himself and died for us. That is the powerful and wonderful truth. Why do our teachings not adequately reflect this??????