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| While William Branham initally accepted and taught the doctrine of the Trinity, in the latter stages of his ministry (1958-1965) he 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.
| | The Trinity is an explanation of the [[The Godhead]] that has historically been accepted by the vast majority of the world's Christian churches. The word "Trinity" was first used circa. A.D. 200 by Tertullian, a Latin theologian from Carthage. It is acknowledged that the word "Trinity" does not appear in the Bible, but then neither does the word "rapture" which is used regularly by message followers. |
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| :''Now we find in the Scripture that many people teaches that, "three personalities in the Godhead." So, you cannot have a personality without being a person. It takes a person to make a personality.
| | The doctrine of the Trinity is shown in John 14:23, when Jesus says: |
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| :''...You cannot be a person without being a personality. And if you're a personality, you are one personality to yourself. You're a separate, individual being." <ref>WHO.IS.THIS.MELCHISEDEC_ JEFF.IN V-5 N-10 SUNDAY_ 65-0221E</ref> | | :''If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and '''we''' will come unto him, and make '''our''' abode with him.<ref>The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Jn 14:23.</ref> |
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| William Branham's rejection of the Trinity is not based on scripture, it is not based on sound reasoning and it is not based on what the church has historically taught. He simply rejected it out of hand because '''he did not take the time to understand the concepts'''.
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| A doctrine about the Godhead cannot be refuted simply because it "doesn't make sense". The doctrine of the Trinity was not adopted by the church because it "makes sense". It is considered orthodox because that is what comes our of considering the totality of scripture:
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| :A. There is one God
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| :B. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God
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| :C. The three are distinct. | |
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| All heresies relating to the Godhead are the result of attempting a "simpler" explanation by removing either A, B, or C above - the result being polytheism, Arianism, or Modalism - all of which must necessarily ignore something in scripture. Much like the concept of eternity, the Trinity is difficult to wrap our heads around, but even harder to debunk with honest, responsible review of scripture.
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| =What does "person" mean= | | =What does "person" mean= |