Christians rejecting the Trinity in Yahoo answers
This is the question
Catholic's and Jehovahs Witnesses What About Trinity “Proof Texts”?
THE New Catholic Encyclopedia offers three such “proof texts” but also admits: “The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught in the O[ld] T[estament]. In the N[ew] T[estament] the oldest evidence is in the Pauline epistles, especially 2 Cor 13.13 [verse 14 in some Bibles], and 1 Cor 12.4-6. In the Gospels evidence of the Trinity is found explicitly only in the baptismal formula of Mt 28.19.”
In those verses the three “persons” are listed as follows in The New Jerusalem Bible. Second Corinthians 13:13 (14) puts the three together in this way: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” First Corinthians 12:4-6 says: “There are many different gifts, but it is always the same Spirit; there are many different ways of serving, but it is always the same Lord. There are many different forms of activity, but in everybody it is the same God who is at work in them all.” And Matthew 28:19 reads: “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Do those verses say that God, Christ, and the holy spirit constitute a Trinitarian Godhead, that the three are equal in substance, power, and eternity?
Best answer according to asker
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
No, they do not, no more than listing three people, such as Tom, Dick, and Harry, means that they are three in one.
This type of reference, admits McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, “proves only that there are the three subjects named, . . . but it does not prove, by itself, that all the three belong necessarily to the divine nature, and possess equal divine honor.”
Although a supporter of the Trinity, that source says of 2 Corinthians 13:13 (14): “We could not justly infer that they possessed equal authority, or the same nature.” And of Matthew 28:18-20 it says: “This text, however, taken by itself, would not prove decisively either the personality of the three subjects mentioned, or their equality or divinity.”
When Jesus was baptized, God, Jesus, and the holy spirit were also mentioned in the same context. Jesus “saw descending like a dove God’s spirit coming upon him.” (Matthew 3:16) This, however, does not say that the three are one. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are mentioned together numerous times, but that does not make them one. Peter, James, and John are named together, but that does not make them one either. Furthermore, God’s spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism, showing that Jesus was not anointed by spirit until that time. This being so, how could he be part of a Trinity where he had always been one with the holy spirit?
Another reference that speaks of the three together is found in some older Bible translations at 1 John 5:7. Scholars acknowledge, however, that these words were not originally in the Bible but were added much later. Most modern translations rightly omit this spurious verse.
Source(s):
Research and Bible study
Trinitarian admitting that trinity is a theory
Well, I think that the issue is much more complex than you have shown here.
In fact, there is no short list of Scriptural passages that causes the reader to irresistibly conclude that the doctrine of trinity is being described.
I think it much more likely that the doctrine of trinity is a sort of religious *theory* which is alone in being in complete agreement with all Scriptures regarding the nature of the relationship between Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Now, let me backtrack a little and explain. We can show from Scripture - despite what anyone says - that the Father and Jesus are both God (John 20:28; Heb 1:8)
We also know from Scripture that Jesus prayed to the Father, and that (while on earth, at least) he was subject to the will of the Father.
Finally, both Jesus himself and the Father in the Old Testament clearly indicate that there is only one God.
These Scriptures clearly indicate the *beginnings* of trinitarian doctrine. There is only one God; the Father and Jesus are both God; yet clearly the Father and Jesus are not the same person.
However, progressing from that point, *logically*, requires more knowledge than I possess. We know that the Holy Spirit is treated as a person in some passages in the New Testament - but does that make it a "person" of the Godhead? I can't say, but I think you will admit that mentioning the Holy Spirit in concert with the Father and Jesus is telling - especially when the phrase used is "in the name of...the Holy Spirit", indicating that the Holy Spirit is not only a person, but a person of authority at least *similar* to the Father and Jesus. This could be considered supporting evidence (not proof!) for the idea that the Holy Spirit is
a) also an integral part of the Godhead
b) is of similar *or* equal authority with the other persons mentioned
Conclusions
a) Even someone without collegiate religious education can use logic to determine that something very like the trinity is described by Scripture
b) It is difficult for that same someone to *prove* using Scripture and logic the precise details of the doctrine of trinity - that is, that all 3 persons are members of the trinity, that all 3 are "co-equal" and "co-eternal". However, such details clearly do not *contradict* Scripture, and there is evidence *supporting* (but not proving) such claims.
SO, remembering my admittedly lacking education in this area, I conclude that the doctrine of trinity is the most rational explanation of the pertinent Scriptures that is widely supported. The details may or may not be accurate or verified - *I* am not able to prove them. However, the primary premises of the doctrine can clearly be deduced from Scripture, and the more precise details are at least partially supported and never contradicted by Scripture.
Only one answer fully supporting the Trinity
The doctrine of the Holy Trinity states there is one true God who is made up of three separate but equal persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Bible does not contain the word Trinity. However, the Holy Trinity is hinted at repeatedly in both the Old and New Testaments. , …
Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the early Christians prayed and struggled over these hints for a couple of centuries. The concept of the Holy Trinity (three equal persons in one God) was mainstream Christianity in 325 C.E. at the Council of Nicaea and our belief is expressed in the Nicene Creed.
How this works is not fully known and is one the Christian mysteries.
The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is shared by most Christian denominations including Roman and Orthodox Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Episcopalians, and the Salvation Army.
The major non-Trinitarian churches are Christadelphianism, Christian Science, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Arian Catholicism, Unitarianism, Nontrinitarianism, and Oneness Pentecostals
N.B
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With love in Christ.
