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The Son of the Holy Trinity

syo

Well-Known Member
How do you understand the role of the Son of the Holy Trinity? What is its purpose?
 

Dawnofhope

Non-Proselytizing Baha'i
Staff member
Premium Member
How do you understand the role of the Son of the Holy Trinity? What is its purpose?

Jesus is the 'Son of God' an exalted desgnation that assists us understand His unique and special relationship to His Father God.

https://www.religiousforums.com/threads/a-bahai-perspective-on-jesus-as-the-son-of-god.195386/

The Holy Spirit animated the lives of the apostles as with the true believers. The term has several meanings in the NT and OT. In another sense it is closely aligned with the Spirit of Christ and His Return.

All three entities enable us to understand a different aspect of the nature of Christ and the nature of God. The essential reality of all three are beyond human our capacity to full comprehend so just keep praying, meditating, and asking the right questions.
 
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syo

Well-Known Member
Jesus is the 'Son of God' an exalted desgnation that assists us understand His unique and special relationship to His Father God.

https://www.religiousforums.com/threads/a-bahai-perspective-on-jesus-as-the-son-of-god.195386/

The Holy Spirit animated the lives of the apostles as with the true believers. The term has several meanings in the NT and OT. In another sense it is closely aligned with the Spirit of Christ and His Return.

All three entities enable us to understand a different aspect of the nature of Christ and the nature of God. The essential reality of all three are beyond human our capacity to full comprehend so just keep praying, meditating, and asking the right questions.
Thank you for the link. I admit, I can't fully understand the role of the Son. I keep searching.
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
How do you understand the role of the Son of the Holy Trinity? What is its purpose?

The Father is the creator
The son is the savior
The holy spirit is spirit

The core of the trinity circles around the creator

To which, in christianity, christians look to him to be saved

However, they feel because they have sined they need a human sacrifice to take their sins and die to them so they can be saved by the creator

Once they believe they are saved through christ, they have, in his name, the relationship with the creator. They feel they cant talk to the creator unless its through the name of his son.

Once they are saved, the spirit (of god) talks to them so they can be closer to the creator through their savior

The trinity (three united) is the relationship between creator, savior, and spirit. Since they work as a unit, creator->savior->spirit, they are inseperable. Although they have different functions because they work as a unit they are perceived as the same.

Without the trinity, the creator, savior, and spirit have no relationship with each other. Without a relationship, the savior has no importance-anyone can be a savior. The spirit only comes in christians as a result of their salvation.

The son is the key to this. He is a medium between the creator and the spirit (of god) of their salvation. Through the spirit (love and all of that), they are closer to christ thereby, closer to his father.
 
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pearl

Well-Known Member
The trinity (three united) is the relationship

This is key to understanding the Trinity which is the central doctrine. I simplify the 'relationship', Lover, Beloved and the Love between them. The Spirit is the same Spirit of God present as creation.
 

Jim

Nets of Wonder
How do you understand the role of the Son of the Holy Trinity? What is its purpose?

To show us how to be children of God, brothers and sisters to each other?

God promised to someone, King David I think, that there would be someone that He, God, would call His Son. David thought that promise was fulfilled in Solomon, which might have been part of the truth, but Peter applied it to Jesus, and Jesus endorsed that. Jesus called Himself the Son of Man. God also called Ezekiel “Son of Man.” God used Ezekiel to provide a visual illustration of what He was planning to do. In a similar way, Jesus was a living illustration of the parable of the vineyard. Some people are still waiting for the Father Himself to come ...
 
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metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
How do you understand the role of the Son of the Holy Trinity? What is its purpose?
My opinion is likely to be very different than most here, but I think it has to do with Jesus' message of reform that's based on love ("agape"), justice (fairness), and compassion towards all.
 

Earthling

David Henson
How do you understand the role of the Son of the Holy Trinity? What is its purpose?

The trinity is pagan nonsense. Ancient Babylonian teachings introduced to Christianity through Greek philosophers like Plato. They don't call it Platonic for nothing.
 
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Tumah

Veteran Member
The Father is the creator
The son is the savior
The holy spirit is spirit

The core of the trinity circles around the creator

To which, in christianity, christians look to him to be saved

However, they feel because they have sined they need a human sacrifice to take their sins and die to them so they can be saved by the creator

Once they believe they are saved through christ, they have, in his name, the relationship with the creator. They feel they cant talk to the creator unless its through the name of his son.

Once they are saved, the spirit (of god) talks to them so they can be closer to the creator through their savior

The trinity (three united) is the relationship between creator, savior, and spirit. Since they work as a unit, creator->savior->spirit, they are inseperable. Although they have different functions because they work as a unit they are perceived as the same.

Without the trinity, the creator, savior, and spirit have no relationship with each other. Without a relationship, the savior has no importance-anyone can be a savior. The spirit only comes in christians as a result of their salvation.

The son is the key to this. He is a medium between the creator and the spirit (of god) of their salvation. Through the spirit (love and all of that), they are closer to christ thereby, closer to his father.
Is this regular Christians belief? I never really understood it, but this really brings home the polytheistic nature of the religion (as well as raises the question whether the existence of a savior as an integral element of the trinity requires that there inevitably be someone who needs saving and then a bunch of questions into culpability).
 

Jim

Nets of Wonder
Is this regular Christians belief?

In theory yes, in practice no. All the mainstream churches have that in their creed, including the Holy Spirit as a person, but from what I’ve seen, most Christians either don’t think of the Holy Spirit that way, or don’t think of the Holy Spirit at all.
 

Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
Is this regular Christians belief? I never really understood it, but this really brings home the polytheistic nature of the religion (as well as raises the question whether the existence of a savior as an integral element of the trinity requires that there inevitably be someone who needs saving and then a bunch of questions into culpability).
I don't think it is the "regular Christian belief". I'm not really sure anyone can adequately explain it since we are talking about YHWH... and who can really explain G-d?
 

Tumah

Veteran Member
I don't think it is the "regular Christian belief". I'm not really sure anyone can adequately explain it since we are talking about YHWH... and who can really explain G-d?
I'm pretty sure I can explain my G-d without getting into any sort of polytheistic conundrums.
 

Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
How do you understand the role of the Son of the Holy Trinity? What is its purpose?
I think you are going to have a wide and varied explanation of this one. Much like explaining the look of a diamond at different angles. Ultimately, to fully explain it, an impossibility IMO.

I have heard it this way, although limited as it may be, the Father is the visionary, the Son is The Word that speaks forth the vision, and the Holy Spirit is the power that creates what was spoken.

Ultimately The Word became the scapegoat that took away the sins of the world. (In Christian understanding)

In trying to make some sense in my puny mind (as compared to His or to many others :) ), I liken it to man (spirit, soul and body). Each has a specific part for life and living but each part is necessary to make up the whole.
 
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Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
I'm pretty sure I can explain my G-d without getting into any sort of polytheistic conundrums.
I tip my hat off to you in your capacity. Although I'm not into polytheism myself.
 
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Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
Logicaly, its easy to understand. Spiritualy, depends on the person. I dont see supernatural as complex or great or anything like that. When you experience something, it becomes the cornerstone of your expression. If you cant express yourself in your belief, what exactly are you believing in to which we understand beyond the words you say (and words written).
 
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metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
The "Mystery of the Trinity" is in no way "pagan" as it still posits only one God. Some like to use "pagan" as a slam, but it really is nonsensical in this contest because Jesus and the HS simply are not looked at as being separate deities.

The early church had no consistency of thought about Jesus and the HS vis-a-vis God as there were numerous theories, some of which got blended in on the compromise that was forged in the Nicene Creed, and we know this from records that were being kept.
 
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Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
Is this regular Christians belief? I never really understood it, but this really brings home the polytheistic nature of the religion (as well as raises the question whether the existence of a savior as an integral element of the trinity requires that there inevitably be someone who needs saving and then a bunch of questions into culpability).

Some christians make it more complex than what their bible teaches. Its not polytheism. Scripture doesnt say jesus is god. The holy spirit is just the creator among the people. The holy (adjec) spirit of god. Which is redundent since god is spirit.

Its breaking up one god into three parts. Human. Spirit. Deity. All are holy but the first two isnt god, the last one is.

But many trinitarians have their views. I think its their expression. Since jesus is gods medium, like a miror to an image, they cant tell the difference between source adn reflection. Its not christian teaching to see them literaly the same. Many christians, not all, believe it nonetheless.

As for the saving part, who knows. If I believed in the abrahamic god, Id probably be Jewish or Muslim. But then Im not familar with how Jews see Moses and Muslims see Muhammad. But theres no intermediary, so thats cool.
 

syo

Well-Known Member
In the Nicene Creed it says about the Son:
''by whom all things were made''.
Son is also the Word.
John says: ''In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ''
The Word is the Son, right?

Maybe the Son is the executive part of God?
 
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Earthling

David Henson
I read somewhere that paganism helped a lot the christian formation.

Generally speaking that isn't true. What actually happened was the Bible had it's teachings and then later pagan teachings began infiltrate those teachings. For example, the immortal soul, hell, the cross, the trinity, Easter and Christmas.

All of those pagan teachings come from Babylon, but they were introduced into Jewish or Christian teachings much later, primarily through Greek philosophy. So, for example, the immortal soul. When Moses or Ezekiel or any of the Bible writers wrote about the soul they wrote that it was mortal. It died, could be destroyed. At that same time in Babylon it was taught that the soul was immortal. Those pagan beliefs lived on through different cultures, eventually dominating Greek philosophy, like that of Socrates and Plato. From there they were introduced into Jewish thinking when Alexander the Great's conquest of 332 B.C.E. surrounded and infiltrated Jewish culture. That's a pretty good example of how it happens.

Constantine was a sun worshiper, the cross was a pagan phallic symbol, the early Christians had nothing to do with it, Jesus died on a Hebrew torture stake, but then Constantine, for political reasons, adopted Christianity as the state religion and the Cross began to appear in Christian culture.

Hell was an old pagan teaching contrary to the Bible's teaching and then Milton and Dante popularized it. The early church, by then extremely corrupt, had adopted the teachings of hell for the sake of winning over the pagan. The same with Christmas, which were pagan celebrations of the winter solstice long before Christ, and Easter which were spring celebrations of the plantings season, with Astarte the goddess of heaven and consort of Baal celebrated. Her symbols of fertility being the egg and the rabbit. Of course, all of these teachings had infiltrated other cultures and were changed to a greater or lesser extent at the same time. So you get all of these variations of the same teachings popping up here and there. Most of them older than Christianity, so people incorrectly assume they influenced Christianity from the start, when in fact they were later anomalies.
 
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