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William Branham and the Trinity Doctrine: Difference between revisions
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{{Template:Trinity}} | {{Template:Trinity}} | ||
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. | |||
The doctrine of the Trinity is shown in John 14:23, when Jesus says: | |||
:''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> | |||
<br> | |||
=The historical context of the doctrine of the Trinity= | |||
The problem that non-Trinitiarians must address from a historical context is that '''no significant leader in the Christian church in the last 1700 years has been non-Trinitarian.''' They all believed and stood for the doctrine of the Trinity. | |||
=William Branham's Critique of the Trinity= | =William Branham's Critique of the Trinity= | ||
William Branham's arguments against the doctrine of the Trinity | William Branham's arguments against the doctrine of the Trinity can be referred to as '''"straw man"''' arguments: | ||
:''They also state, "God, according to the Bible, is not just one person, but He is three persons in one God. That is the great mystery of the Trinity". It sure is. How can three persons be in one God? Not only is there no Bible for it, but it shows even a lack of intelligent reasoning. Three distinct persons, though identical substance, make three gods, or language has lost its meaning entirely.<ref>THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST - CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.1</ref> | :''They also state, "God, according to the Bible, is not just one person, but He is three persons in one God. That is the great mystery of the Trinity". It sure is. How can three persons be in one God? Not only is there no Bible for it, but it shows even a lack of intelligent reasoning. Three distinct persons, though identical substance, make three gods, or language has lost its meaning entirely.<ref>THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST - CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.1</ref> | ||
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:''Therefore, if any Trinitarian here would just let yourself loose a minute, you can see that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is not three Gods. It's three attributes of the same God. See, it's expression. Father, He was, wanted to be a Father. He was a Father, He was a Son, and He is the Holy Ghost. And the Father and the Holy Ghost is the same Spirit. Don't you see? You get it? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Not three gods. The devil has told you them things, to make an idolater out of you. See? <ref>CHRIST.IS.THE.MYSTERY.OF.GOD.REVEALED_ JEFF.IN V-3 N-7 SUNDAY_ 63-0728</ref> | :''Therefore, if any Trinitarian here would just let yourself loose a minute, you can see that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is not three Gods. It's three attributes of the same God. See, it's expression. Father, He was, wanted to be a Father. He was a Father, He was a Son, and He is the Holy Ghost. And the Father and the Holy Ghost is the same Spirit. Don't you see? You get it? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Not three gods. The devil has told you them things, to make an idolater out of you. See? <ref>CHRIST.IS.THE.MYSTERY.OF.GOD.REVEALED_ JEFF.IN V-3 N-7 SUNDAY_ 63-0728</ref> | ||
A straw man is a | A straw man argument is when someone establishes a position, claims it is the opponent’s position, and then attacks it, when it is not, in fact, the opponent’s position at all.<ref>Norman L. Geisler and Ronald M. Brooks, Come, Let Us Reason: An Introduction to Logical Thinking (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1990), 194.</ref> | ||
The | The straw man fallacy was so named because of the ease with which a straw image can be knocked down as opposed to a real man made of bone and muscle. A straw man may be an extreme or exaggerated version of another’s position or an oversimplification of it. It is always easier to dispose of an exaggerated or simplistic argument than a well-balanced and substantive argument. | ||
William Branham alleged that the doctrine of the Trinity was unbiblical because it teaches three Gods. However, this objection is a straw man because, in fact, the doctrine of the Trinity affirms the existence of only one God.<ref>Kenneth Richard Samples, A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth-Claims to the Worldview Test (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2007), 66–67.</ref> | |||
It is important to notice that William Branham's critique of the doctrine of the Trinity is not backed up by a lot of scripture. So first, he misrepresented the doctrine of the Trinity (no Trinitarian believes in three Gods), and then critiqued his own misrepresentation of the Trinity. | William Branham also criticized Oneness theology by saying "''you get off the wrong track when you try to think that God is one like your finger is one. He can't be His Own Father''."<ref>59-0823, Palmerworm, Locust, Cankerworm, Caterpillar</ref> '''If Jesus could not be his own father, then it is difficult to see how William Branham could reject the doctrine of the Trinity.''' | ||
It is important to notice that William Branham's critique of the doctrine of the Trinity is not backed up by a lot of scripture. So first, he misrepresented the doctrine of the Trinity through a straw man argument (no Trinitarian believes in three Gods), and then critiqued his own misrepresentation of the Trinity. | |||
=The Historic Doctrine of the Trinity= | =The Historic Doctrine of the Trinity= | ||
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=The Limitations of the Doctrine= | =The Limitations of the Doctrine= | ||
The doctrine of the Trinity is the | The doctrine of the Trinity is the summary expression of what Christians have to say in answer to the question who God is and what God is in the divine life and in relation to what is not God.<ref>Colin E. Gunton, The Doctrine of Creation : Essays in Dogmatics, History and Philosophy (London; New York: T&T Clark, 2004), 155.</ref>However, William Branham felt that he could reject almost 2000 years of thought and study out of hand: | ||
:''So they say... He said, "Well, Mr. Branham, you know, even the--the theologians can't explain it." | :''So they say... He said, "Well, Mr. Branham, you know, even the--the theologians can't explain it." | ||
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:''Perhaps the very best one is that of St. Patrick, who, when preaching to the Irish, and wishing to explain this matter, plucked a shamrock and showed them its three leaves all in one—three, yet one. Yet there are flaws and faults even in that illustration. It does not meet the case. It is a doctrine to be emphatically asserted as it is expounded in that Athanasian Creed; the soundness of whose teaching I do not question, for I believe it all, though I shrink with horror from the abominable anathema which assert that a man who hesitates to endorse it will “without doubt perish everlastingly.” It is a matter to be reverently accepted as it stands in the Word of God, and to be faithfully studied as it has been understood by the most scrupulous and intelligent Christians of succeeding generations. | :''Perhaps the very best one is that of St. Patrick, who, when preaching to the Irish, and wishing to explain this matter, plucked a shamrock and showed them its three leaves all in one—three, yet one. Yet there are flaws and faults even in that illustration. It does not meet the case. It is a doctrine to be emphatically asserted as it is expounded in that Athanasian Creed; the soundness of whose teaching I do not question, for I believe it all, though I shrink with horror from the abominable anathema which assert that a man who hesitates to endorse it will “without doubt perish everlastingly.” It is a matter to be reverently accepted as it stands in the Word of God, and to be faithfully studied as it has been understood by the most scrupulous and intelligent Christians of succeeding generations. | ||
:''We are not to think of the Father as though anything could detract from the homage due to him as originally and essentially divine, nor of the only begotten Son of the Father as though he were not “God over all, blessed for ever,” nor of the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son, as though he had not all the attributes of Deity. We must abide by this, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one Jehovah”; but we must still hold to it that in three Persons he is to be worshipped, though he be but one in his essence.<ref>C. H. Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, Vol. LXII, 315-16 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1916).</ref> | :''We are not to think of the Father as though anything could detract from the homage due to him as originally and essentially divine, nor of the only begotten Son of the Father as though he were not “God over all, blessed for ever,” nor of the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son, as though he had not all the attributes of Deity. We must abide by this, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one Jehovah”; but we must still hold to it that in three Persons he is to be worshipped, though he be but one in his essence.<ref>C. H. Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, Vol. LXII, 315-16 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1916).</ref> | ||
=Must one believe the Trinity in order to be a Christian?= | |||
Roger Olson, a well known Christian theologian and author (Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology of Ethics at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University) stated the following: | |||
:''...the doctrine of the Trinity is not part of the gospel; it is not revealed truth. It is constructed out of revealed truth and constitutes necessary reflection on revealed truth in the light of heresies (subordinationism, adoptionism, modalism, tritheism, etc.). Once the doctrine of the Trinity was constructed and embraced by the church ecumenical (Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant) it could not and should not be set aside, ignored or rejected. '''But neither should it be confused with revelation itself or the gospel of Jesus Christ.''' | |||
:''...If the doctrine of the Trinity is not part of the gospel, what doctrine is? '''Central to the gospel are the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ (incarnation) and the atonement (the cross as saving sacrifice for sins). Also included are salvation by grace through faith and Jesus’ and our resurrections by the power of God. These are necessary beliefs, insofar as they are known and understood (however dimly), for being “Christian.” Part and parcel of the gospel is that God has come to us and for us as the Father of Jesus Christ and that Jesus Christ is God and savior and that the Holy Spirit is the personal power and presence of God in resurrection l'''ife. | |||
:''...'''How one can grasp the gospel and not believe in the doctrine of the Trinity is difficult to understand, but it happens.''' Many Christians simply cannot “wrap their minds around” the doctrine of the Trinity and so put it on a shelf, so to speak, and leave it there — neither believing it nor denying it. A few deny it simply because they misunderstand it and it’s difficult to blame them. According to a famous statement often attributed to St. Augustine “If you deny the Trinity you lose your salvation but if you try to understand it you lose your mind.” That’s the difficulty many Christians find themselves in and they feel caught between having to believe a doctrinal formulation they can make no sense of and being threatened with losing their status as Christian (if not their salvation). | |||
:''...'''Please don’t get me wrong; I think belief in the Trinity, that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit and yet one God, is essential to authentic Christianity.''' But someone who demurs from confessing the “one substance, three persons” for reasons other than denial of the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit, are probably just confused, mystified, perplexed. I would not join a church that did not confess the doctrine of the Trinity in some form (at least implicitly if not explicitly), but I cannot deny the Christian status of someone who is genuinely confused and uncertain about it. | |||
:''A few years ago I visited a church that claims not to believe in the doctrine of the Trinity. A soloist sang a song titled “O Lamb of God” the first line of which says “From your side you sent your Son.” I tried to ask my friend who is an elder of the church how they can sing that song and mean it and at the same time deny the doctrine of the Trinity. He looked at me bemused and said “We believe whatever the Bible says.” Then I was bemused. My life experiences and reading of Brunner have led me to think that the doctrine of the Trinity, although extremely important as a landmark, if not a pillar, of Christian doctrine, is not essential to being Christian. But I suspect that if I could get any real Christian who claims not to believe in the Trinity alone in a room, one-on-one, for an hour long conversation about the matter I could convert them to belief in it. | |||
:''In sum, then, I am suggesting that the doctrine of the Trinity lies in a liminal position between or overlapping the borders of dogma and doctrine as I described these as two of three categories (the third being opinion) of Christian beliefs. '''“Dogma”''' is the category of essentials of the Christian faith, what is required to believe in order to be considered Christian. There I would place the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ (incarnation). '''“Doctrine”''' (in the sense of this taxonomy) is the category of important but not essential beliefs. There I would place, for example, universal atonement. '''“Opinion”''' is the third category in which I would place premillennialism.<ref>Must You Believe in the Doctrine of the Trinity to Be a Christian?, Roger E. Olson, published on www.patheos.com, February 5, 2015</ref> | |||
=Quotes of William Branham= | =Quotes of William Branham= | ||
''And you Oneness brethren, many of '''you get off the wrong track when you try to think that God is one like your finger is one. He can't be His Own Father.''' He can't be.<ref>59-0823, Palmerworm, Locust, Cankerworm, Caterpillar</ref> | |||
''But here, remember, there was a Gethsemane conference come one time, '''when God and His Son had to get together'''. After all, there was no one else could die for the sins of the world. There was nobody worthy to die, no man.<ref>William Marrion Branham, 63-0608, Sermon: Conferences</ref> | ''But here, remember, there was a Gethsemane conference come one time, '''when God and His Son had to get together'''. After all, there was no one else could die for the sins of the world. There was nobody worthy to die, no man.<ref>William Marrion Branham, 63-0608, Sermon: Conferences</ref> | ||
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''God does everything in threes. He wrote three Bibles. He had three comings of Christ. There is three dispensations of grace. '''There's three persons in the Godhead''', three manifestations of the one Person in the Godhead, rather. And all those things. See?<ref>54-1006, Law Or Grace</ref> | ''God does everything in threes. He wrote three Bibles. He had three comings of Christ. There is three dispensations of grace. '''There's three persons in the Godhead''', three manifestations of the one Person in the Godhead, rather. And all those things. See?<ref>54-1006, Law Or Grace</ref> | ||
''The same God the Father was made manifest in flesh, and now in the Holy Spirit. That's the reason the baptism is in the Name of Father, Son, Holy Ghost (See?) the trinity—the trinity, not three gods, but three persons in one God, one… three gods… One person in three dispensations. See?<ref>53-0829, The Testimony Of Jesus Christ</ref> | |||
''Anyone that knows God, and knows His Bible, know that those three are One. Not three gods, one God, manifested in three persons.<ref>56-1207, Gifts</ref> | |||
''Jesus said, "Except you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." He is the revelation of God, the Spirit of God revealed in human form. If you can't believe that, you're lost. '''You put Him a third person, second person, or any other person besides God, you're lost.''' "Except you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." A revelation!<ref>65-0725M, The Anointed Ones At The End Time</ref> | |||
''That's God. God in a trinity is One, and '''without a trinity He's not God'''. He can't be manifested any other way.<ref>65-0815, And Knoweth It Not</ref> | |||
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[[Category: Doctrines]] | |||
[[Category: Godhead]] | |||