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The Historic Doctrine of the Trinity: Difference between revisions
The Historic Doctrine of the Trinity (view source)
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William Branham in the latter stages of his ministry (1958-1965) could not accept the concept of three persons in the Godhead. This appears to have been the result of both his [[Lazy Theology|lazy theology]] and his desire to be seen as a prophet that was restoring long forgotten truths to the church. '''His argument against the Trinity is referred to as a "straw man" argument''', in that he constructs what he thinks Trinitarians believe (but which in fact they deny vehemently) and then attacks that incorrect view of their beliefs. | William Branham in the latter stages of his ministry (1958-1965) could not accept the concept of three persons in the Godhead. This appears to have been the result of both his [[Lazy Theology|lazy theology]] and his desire to be seen as a prophet that was restoring long forgotten truths to the church. '''His argument against the Trinity is referred to as a "straw man" argument''', in that he constructs what he thinks Trinitarians believe (but which in fact they deny vehemently) and then attacks that incorrect view of their beliefs. | ||
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:''In God’s dimension, so to speak, you find a being who is three Persons while remaining one Being, just as a cube is six squares while remaining one cube. Of course we cannot fully conceive a Being like that: just as, if we were so made that we perceived only two dimensions in space we could never properly imagine a cube. But we can get a sort of faint notion of it. And when we do, we are then, for the first time in our lives, getting some positive idea, however faint, of something super-personal – something more than a person. It is something we could never have guessed, and yet, once we have been told, one almost feels one ought to have been able to guess it because it fits in so well with all the things we know already.<ref>C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 161-162</ref> | :''In God’s dimension, so to speak, you find a being who is three Persons while remaining one Being, just as a cube is six squares while remaining one cube. Of course we cannot fully conceive a Being like that: just as, if we were so made that we perceived only two dimensions in space we could never properly imagine a cube. But we can get a sort of faint notion of it. And when we do, we are then, for the first time in our lives, getting some positive idea, however faint, of something super-personal – something more than a person. It is something we could never have guessed, and yet, once we have been told, one almost feels one ought to have been able to guess it because it fits in so well with all the things we know already.<ref>C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 161-162</ref> | ||
=Isn't it important just to believe in Jesus?= | |||
The more important question is - who is the Jesus they are believing in? | |||
There are two main heresies on the Trinity: | |||
Oneness or Modalism (sometimes called Sabellianism, named after the 3rd century heretic Sabellius) teaches that God is one person (a Unitarian view of God) who manifests as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and/or one God who has 3 roles or “workings” as Father, Son, and Holy SpiritArianism (named after the 3rd/4th-century heretic Arius) teaches that Jesus is a created being and is lesser than God. | |||
The modalist view includes: | |||
Jesus is God the FatherJesus is the “flesh” of GodThe Holy Spirit is part of God/JesusThe Father is the “divine nature,” and Jesus is “the human nature” of God | |||
In contrast, the Bible unequivocally gives this information: | |||
Jesus is the Son of God, distinct from the Father; Jesus cannot be the Son of God if he is also God the FatherJesus spoke of his Father in many passagesJesus prayed to the FatherThroughout the Gospel of John, Jesus talks about how God sent him (Jesus) to earthThe Holy Spirit is given the same attributes of deity as God[2] | |||
Illustration of The Trinity | |||
The Holy Spirit is given personal traits and spoken of as a Person, not as a mere force, power, or energy.[3] | |||
Some Oneness followers will say that when Jesus prayed to God in heaven, it was the human nature praying to the divine nature. But natures don’t pray, individuals pray. Also, it would be deceptive on God’s part to make it appear as though Jesus is praying to someone else when, in fact, he is not. | |||
The Arian Jesus of the non-Trinity, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Christadelphians, the Way, and other cults, is a created being. He has a beginning and is not equal to the Father. This is clearly a false Jesus and is easier to refute than the modalist/Oneness Jesus, which is arguably more deceptive and more difficult to refute. | |||