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[ouvrir]

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

Comments

[immerrichtig]

Fascinating.

Honestly, I thought that the trinity was one of those things that all denominations were in agreement on, and while I've had to work it out and question it in my own mind, the option of reaching any other conclusions never really crossed my mind.

Dude, you should never apologize for questioning anything...things that we don't think to question are the assumptions that really need to be questioned. So if most of us never thought to question it, we should thank you for bringing another point of view to the table.

And now I'll give you my thoughts on the subject, because it sounds like you're asking for it. Maybe not my thoughts specifically, but the thoughts of your readership. I have no idea what your other discussions have entailed, so I run the very strong risk of merely saying things you've heard before. If so, I'm sorry...

In my understanding, the doctrine of the trinity is absolutely not supposed to invalidate the unity or oneness of God. It's this mystery that we can't really understand. With this in mind, your explanation doesn't sound all that different. You talked about the Holy Spirit being a messenger between the two, which fits with John 16. Are you suggesting that the Holy Spirit is not one of the manifestations of God? (I can't think of any scripture to refute that off-hand, if you are.)

I also think that the distinction between the Son and the Father is important. Jesus spoke of his Father as a separate entity, and yet, "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) To me, that is the expression of this mystery of God being three in one.

It's been a while since I opened myself up to any debate, and I'm feeling nervous about it; also tired, because it's late...so I'll stop there.

But hello, ouvrir! It's always good to hear from you!!

[ouvrir]

i like you :)
i think youre right about most denominations being in agreement about this one. but you forget that the only denominational church i ever went to, my family was kicked out of ;) besides that, its been non/inter-denominational the whole way! in fact, i was talking with Julie about how her parents were a little weirded out about when she was going to Impact and that it wasnt part of any denomination, and my parents would be concerned if it was the opposite :P.
also, Alexis wanted me to clarify that i probably should have said "i dont understand the trinity" so that people wont be as defensive (im referring to those alluded to in the original post, not you. youre fine. like i said, i like you. even if you were defensive, id still like you. and like i said, most people just wonder why i dont believe, and dont help me to understand it better. so youve said a hell of a lot more than they did). but that implies that i believe in it, and just dont understand completely what im believing, and just going on blind faith. but thats not the case. i actually dont believe in it, for the pure reason that i dont see why i have to. i am open to changing.
(that paragraph had little to do with what you put forth, but i felt it had to be said anyways).
addressing your question, again with talking with Julie, i believe in all the attributes of the persons within the trinity. so yes, i view the Holy Spirit as being a messenger. however, i dont see the need to distinguish between the son and the father.