Trinity

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The doctrine of the Trinity

In the modern Trinitarian doctrine, God exists as three persons but it is said in that doctrine that they are one being, having a single divine nature.

The members of the Trinity within that basic doctrine are said to be co-equal and co-eternal, one in essence, nature, power, action, and will.

The rhetoric of this often dogmatic definition is in essence saying that each of the members of that divine triad are separate personalities that are distinct, yet are in a perfect unified alliance, agreement, and accord.

The idea of this monotheistic union is not as mysterious as it is unfathomable and even inscrutable. The would be true if for no other reason but because of the incomprehensible nature of an infinite Creator God by a finite mind. It would be reasonable to assume because of the limited capacity of the mind of the created person of man.

God is Spirit and man had the spirit of God breathed into him to give him life. And the God gave man a tree of knowledge that was not to be a source of understanding and also the tree of life so the he might receive the revelations of His Holy Spirit.

To know and comprehend God the Father, who is also identified as God the Creator, and know Jesus who is called the Son of God and who is the Christ i.e. the King of the Kingdom of God according to the order of Melchisedec, and the Holy Spirit who is receivable as the Comforter for all believers.

To say you "believe" in the "Trinity" almost does the idea of this concept a disservice. To say it while doing contrary to the directives of God and Christ is alive and betrayal.

To then require other to repeat the words of that proclamation of belief in Trinity without understanding the basic doctrine of Jesus nor true repentance required by Christ, and manifesting the evidence of seeking His kingdom and righteousness is a denial of the purpose, precepts, and practices of Christ.

Not Explicit

The New Testament contains no explicit "trinitarian doctrine" nor did Jesus expound upon a subject under the heading of ""Trinity"".

There is definitely "God the Father", the Son of God, and of course the Holy Spirit. They are certainly described in ways that would suggest they are different persons but there are little reasons to think they are in conflict as to their individual will which would be the ine existing "Will of God".

But inferred

However, many modern Christian theologians, apologists, and philosophers hold that the doctrine of the trinity can be inferred from what the New Testament is said to teach about God.

This of course would take people into the area of private interpretation rather than direct teachings of Christ, which is the Doctrine of Jesus.

For this reason and others those who emphasize the doctrine of the Trinity are often following the error of Balaam which has been a part of the apostasy of Constantine from the of his church.

Controversy

While discussion of any doctrine may have a place among Christians who are faithful to the Christ there should be no private interpretation that should be allowed to distract the individual from, nor displace, nor undermine the essential Doctrine of Jesus.

There is a pathway of thinking that may seem to be benign, but it may cause the mind to accept conflict as a natural state. The seemingly benign conflict may cover other more injurious, detrimental, even degenerative conflicts that take up residence deeper in the mind.

It has been said that "He who denies the Trinity loses his soul; he who tries to explain the Trinity loses his mind."

The idea that three persons are one individual or one is divided into three parts but remains one is by its nature a conflicting idea. Is there conflict in the nature or ideas of God?

Should the idea of God present or bring conflict?

Should it bring confusion, or peace? Or was confusion brought in to cover a real conflict with Christ?

Was there something creeping in with the formation of the trinity doctrines?

The term

The word 'trinity' appears nowhere in the Bible; the Trinity as a doctrine was instituted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE after years of debate. It was an attempt to articulate Christianity's belief in the oneness of God with their claims about Jesus and their experiences of the spirit.

The term trinity is from the Latin trinus, meaning "threefold"and may profess that there is one God, but three eternal and consubstantial persons (aspects of character and personality) identified as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

While, the first of the early Church Fathers to be recorded using the word "Trinity" was Theophilus of Antioch writing in the late 2nd century.Theophilus

In his writing about Genesis chapters 1–3, Theophilus expresses the Trinity as follows:

"In like manner also the three days which were before the luminaries, are types of the Trinity, of God, and His Word, and His wisdom."

But this statement of Theophilus was not what became a "doctrine of the Trinity" until the church writer Tertullian (AD 160–225) began the first application of the term Trinity to explain something about the Nature of God or is not.

Tertullian a proponent of the Nicene doctrine originated new theological concepts and the term "Trinity" advanced the development of this new doctrine. He is the first writer in Latin known to use the term trinity (Latin: trinitas).

"The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost [are] three … not in condition, but in degree; not in substance, but in form; not in power, but in aspect; yet of one substance, and of one condition, and of one power, inasmuch as He is oneheresies6" God, from whom these degrees and forms and aspects are reckoned, under the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Tertullian

In the "Against Heresy" there is expressing 6 heresies that were creating conflict.

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The ‘Johannine comma’ seen in verse 7 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” is not found in the earliest Greek manuscripts. There are a few references before the Nicene Council mentioning three being one and in the Old Latin we can see a similar text:

• "Quoniam tres sunt, gui testimonium dant in coelo: Pater, Verbum, et Spiritus sanctus: et hi tres unum sunt. Et tres sunt, qui testimonium dant in terra: Spiritus, et aqua, et sanguis: et hi tres unum sunt" (verses 7-8).
• In 200 AD Tertullian wrote "which three are one" based on the verse in his Against Praxeas, chapter 25.
• 250 AD Cyprian of Carthage, wrote, "And again, of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost it is written: "Dicit Dominus: 'Ego et Pater unum sumus,' et iterum de Patre et Filio et Spiritu sancto scriptum est: 'Et tres unim sunt.' and we see "And the three are One" in his On The Lapsed, On the Novatians.
• These well-known interpolation first appeared in Latin translation in the fifth century, after the Trinity doctrine had been pushed as an essential doctrine by the influx of Constantinian Bishop who were seen persecuting those do not fully embrace their strict "three are One" doctrines.

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We must reference the term "trinity" in relation to Tertullian because Jesus never mentioned the term "trinity" itself.

Tertullian is not insisting people must "believe in" any of the the different doctrines concerning the Trinity but he is saying we need to not "deny" God the Father, His obedient Son, nor the Holy Spirit which is consistently the same where ever it listeth.

Tertullian is simply saying you cannot deny one without denying them all because he sees them as all in agreement.

Whatever Tertullian means by the the term is a matter of speculation or conjecture.

What does it mean to deny the "trinity"?

Does it mean to deny a doctrinal ideology?

Tertullian is simply saying you cannot deny one without denying them all because he sees them as all in agreement.

Which brings me to ask why do you think people can be "united" by believing in something Jesus never mentioned, the "trinity" deny the very things he directed and even commanded.

Certainly there is someone we identify as God who has a personality that includes that of a Father, Creator, law maker, and "ruling judge" which is the definition of the Hebrew and Greek terms we translated into the word "God" or "gods".

Jesus had the personality of an obedient son, loving brother, and a sacrificing husband.

The Holy Spirit would include the spirit or life of the Father and Son for the purpose of comforting us. It is like the tree of life in the garden when man walked with God.

We can all be fathers, sons, and comforters (or mothers, daughters etc.).

We can all be givers of life, self sacrificing, if we let the Holy Spirit dwell within us. If anyone deny or reject any aspect of the personality and character of the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit in our life and soul, though we say we believe in the "Trinity" he "loses his soul" as Tertullian professed.

It is a strong delusion to think "religion" is what you "think" about "God" or the "Trinity".

For centuries the word "religion" was the "performance of a duty". If you refuse or deny the "performance of that duty to God" imposed by the righteousness of the Spirit of the Father and Son you deny all.

Three in the Bible

Matthew 28:19 "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:"

This one of the verses that have propagated the doctrines of the "Trinity" that seems to have divided rather than united people who say they want to "follow" Christ.

If we just read the rest of the sentence, Jesus explains his doctrines on these three personalities of "the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost".

Matthew 28:20 "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

Jesus is not talking about water "Baptism". Jesus never did water baptizing and Matthew explained His form of baptism by reporting what "John the Baptist" explained about it in Matthew 3:11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:"

Again his explanation is continued in the rest of the sentence, 12 "Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

This is a metaphor speaking of the separation of the wheat from the chaff on the threshing floor. The wind of His fan or spirit of His way comes with the "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you".

The chaff is burned because it contains the weed seeds that grow up amongst the wheat, which represents the true followers of Christ.

It seems counterproductive to require everyone to state they believe in something that they do not understand and according to what Tertullian says, "he who tries to explain the Trinity loses his mind."

It also seems a bit hypocritical to press the issue of requiring people to say they believe in "the Trinity" when Jesus never even mentioned the term and those often do have clearly neglected in the actual instructions, if not failed the people all together by not "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever" he has commanded us.

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Elements of conflict

"He who denies the Trinity loses his soul; he who tries to explain the Trinity loses his mind."

The idea that three persons are one individual or one is divided into three parts but remains one is by its nature a conflicting idea.

Is there conflict in the nature or ideas of God?

Does He bring confusion or peace?

Was there something creeping in with the formation of the trinity doctrines?

Cognitive dissonance is a psychological term describing the uncomfortable tension that may result from having two conflicting thoughts at the same time.

Requiring an individual to accept conflicting ideas as the truth opens the doorway of the mind to other conflicting ideas without mental reservation.

Three elements

Leon Festinger’s theory identified three primary triggers, or causes, of cognitive dissonance which have been listed as forced compliance, decision-making, and effort.:

Induced acceptance or coerced verbal compliance sets in motion an internal motivation to mentally justify the acceptance of an idea. That mental rational will override any right reason or fact that conflicts with the original acceptance, which feeds a cycle of conflict, guilt, and additional justification.

Choice justification must be counted as a positive and therefore good. This will mean that any rejection of the choice that is labeled good or true must be counted as negative or evil. Individuals evaluate the chosen alternative more positively and must as a consequence reject alternative more negatively. This effect is referred to as spreading of alternatives because is spreads apart the conflict of ideas.

Rationalizing is an attempt at dissonance or pain reduction. Any questioning or questioner of the accepted idea is seen as a threat and no further decision-making may even be considered, for it is seen as doubt or a lack of faith. This is when a conflicting idea becomes an idol.

Applied effort consummates our relationship with the idea. There will need to be regular expenditure and performed rituals to reconfirm the faithful acceptance of the cognitive belief. We see that with the annual burning of incense at the temples of Rome where the faithful confirmed their allegiance to and acceptance of Caesar as the Son of God.