(no subject)
i dont believe in the trinity.
now, this does not mean that i think its wrong. let me make that very clear. i have never been taught the doctrine of the trinity growing up, and didnt even realize it was a big deal until i came to mcgill and every christian i met here thought it was. in second year i figured i should finally get educated about this, so i approached a theology student in my church and asked him if we could go out for coffee sometime and he could explain it all to me. he said sure, but never really got back to me... a month later he was the guest speaker at church and preached on the trinity. his opening statement was that it is the fundamental doctrine of christianity that differentiates it from all other religions, and not believing in it is to not be a christian. needless to say, i was rather insulted. however, i paid attention, and took notes, and wasnt really convinced (i only just recently threw out the notes... dumb of me, but they were cluttering my bible). what was abundantly clear was that i shouldnt tell anyone about my lack of belief and just never talk about the subject ever again.
a few months ago, the topic came up with another friend. i was proud of myself, and did not shy away. however, my friend was more interested in picking my brain as to why i dont believe and in letting me know that the early church was split over this issue, and insinuating that people who dont believe in it arent really christian (at least, thats the impression i got).
the topic came up again this week in my last post, so i might as well come clean with all of my thoughts on this subject.
like i said, its not that i think its wrong. i just dont know anything about it, so i dont know why i have to believe in it. my father outright does not believe in the trinity, but believes in oneness. this is the idea that God is outside of space and time, therefore he is only one God and can appear in many forms at once, thus giving the impression of being multiple. my mother taught me that it doesnt matter what name (among the many hundreds that are given to God in the bible. i do not believe that different religions refer to different facets of the same God) you use when praying as "Jesus" and "God" were the different names for the same thing. so growing up, i came to my own conclusion that Jesus and God were the same thing and that the Holy Spirit is the messenger between them and me. the Holy Spirit lives inside of me and tells me what God wants me to know.
the nature of the various components of God never came up in highschool, and i never heard a sermon on it. as afore stated, it was not until i came to mcgill that i realized what a big deal it is. as controversial as this statement is, i maintain that it is not a key part to christianity. i base this statement entirely on myself and my own walk with God. i do not in any way feel like my walk with God has been hampered by not knowing if hes triune, one, or two. therefore, i do not see the need to believe in the trinity.
that said, i would love to know more about it. as ive narrated, ive had a really hard time trying to ask about it. i feel like people view it like the resurrection. we know it happened, therefore why need to discuss its merits. it is an accepted fact on which we base other arguments. i know im being a pain in the butt for questioning "a basic tenet of christianity" but i hardly think its my fault if its one i was never taught.
now, this does not mean that i think its wrong. let me make that very clear. i have never been taught the doctrine of the trinity growing up, and didnt even realize it was a big deal until i came to mcgill and every christian i met here thought it was. in second year i figured i should finally get educated about this, so i approached a theology student in my church and asked him if we could go out for coffee sometime and he could explain it all to me. he said sure, but never really got back to me... a month later he was the guest speaker at church and preached on the trinity. his opening statement was that it is the fundamental doctrine of christianity that differentiates it from all other religions, and not believing in it is to not be a christian. needless to say, i was rather insulted. however, i paid attention, and took notes, and wasnt really convinced (i only just recently threw out the notes... dumb of me, but they were cluttering my bible). what was abundantly clear was that i shouldnt tell anyone about my lack of belief and just never talk about the subject ever again.
a few months ago, the topic came up with another friend. i was proud of myself, and did not shy away. however, my friend was more interested in picking my brain as to why i dont believe and in letting me know that the early church was split over this issue, and insinuating that people who dont believe in it arent really christian (at least, thats the impression i got).
the topic came up again this week in my last post, so i might as well come clean with all of my thoughts on this subject.
like i said, its not that i think its wrong. i just dont know anything about it, so i dont know why i have to believe in it. my father outright does not believe in the trinity, but believes in oneness. this is the idea that God is outside of space and time, therefore he is only one God and can appear in many forms at once, thus giving the impression of being multiple. my mother taught me that it doesnt matter what name (among the many hundreds that are given to God in the bible. i do not believe that different religions refer to different facets of the same God) you use when praying as "Jesus" and "God" were the different names for the same thing. so growing up, i came to my own conclusion that Jesus and God were the same thing and that the Holy Spirit is the messenger between them and me. the Holy Spirit lives inside of me and tells me what God wants me to know.
the nature of the various components of God never came up in highschool, and i never heard a sermon on it. as afore stated, it was not until i came to mcgill that i realized what a big deal it is. as controversial as this statement is, i maintain that it is not a key part to christianity. i base this statement entirely on myself and my own walk with God. i do not in any way feel like my walk with God has been hampered by not knowing if hes triune, one, or two. therefore, i do not see the need to believe in the trinity.
that said, i would love to know more about it. as ive narrated, ive had a really hard time trying to ask about it. i feel like people view it like the resurrection. we know it happened, therefore why need to discuss its merits. it is an accepted fact on which we base other arguments. i know im being a pain in the butt for questioning "a basic tenet of christianity" but i hardly think its my fault if its one i was never taught.