Hot answers tagged trinity
33
The phrase "pray to" confuses most people as it gives the impression that anyone who asks a saint to "pray for" them is actually praying to the saint as if he/she was God. This isn't true and is probably an artifact of language.
The word "pray" also has the meaning to "make an earnest petition" so Catholics, and, I think, other Christians, call upon any ...
21
First off, it's useful to understand that Catholics (and that's Roman or Eastern Catholic, and, for that matter Eastern Orthodox) do not pray to the saints, so much as ask the faithful departed to pray for them to God.
The idea has it's roots in the "communion of saints", along the lines of Hebrew's 12:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great ...
21
While the word Trinity does not occur in scripture, the concept and idea of the Trinity does, if you have eyes to see and ears to hear. An detailed treatment of the Trinity with linked references can be found on GodAndScience.org.
In the following scriptural quotes, all bold text is my emphasis (in fact, there is no use of italics or bold in scripture), ...
19
Ok, I will try my best to answer this.
Jesus was prophesied to be God.
Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Matthew 1:23 (NIV)
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth ...
19
I believe one reason is because of the Great Commission, in which it is written (Matt. 28:19), "Therefore, go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
Ontologically, the Son is begotten by the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, but the Father is neither begotten nor proceeding. Thus, ...
15
It's three Persons in one Divine Nature, all separate in their personhood, all equal in their divinity. An image pulled from an old catechism diagrams the relationship like this:
The legendary analogy that Saint Patrick used when educating the Irish was the shamrock: three distinct leaves in one plant. Obviously, any image we make is going to be an ...
14
According to Jesus,
This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father...
Jesus is clear that we pray to the father.
That said, I am personally convinced that if we get God's name wrong he still hears us. If my son occasionally calls me "mum" when he asks for my help I still help him (and it makes me smile, to be honest). I don't think a heavenly father ...
14
The Apostles Creed dating from 390 A.D. quite clearly articulates an understanding of our faith revolving around the three persons we identify as the members of the Trinity as core to the faith. It makes up almost half of the total text.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus ...
12
Our biggest clue is from this scripture:
Matthew 28:19 (NIV)
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Beyond that, I know of no other verses that limit the Godhead to three persons.
12
There is a significant distinction between calling God "mother" and the Bible identifying aspects of motherhood (and fatherhood) as reflecting the glory and character of God.
Both men and women reflect the glory and character of God in different ways, as men and women, fathers and mothers, teachers, judges, etc.
However, God is spirit (John 4:23) and not ...
12
The problem that you run into is John 1 - in which it says of Jesus, that by him all things were made, and there is nothing that was made that He didn't make. This is why the Nicene Creed is so careful to say he was begotten not made. If God the Father made Jesus, then John made a boo-boo.
The incarnation, on the other hand, is merely putting flesh to that ...
11
LDS understanding of the nature of the Father and the Son is drawn from the First Vision, Joseph Smith's first-hand account of an encounter with them as an answer to his prayer to learn the truth about God and religion:
I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. ... When ...
11
The Holy Spirit is not the Father of Jesus, God the Father is. What you are asking about is the nature of the Trinity.
Trinity
Christians have always believed the Son of God was preexisting before the creation of the world and is God who created the world. The Father spoke through the Son and the Spirit performed the actual creative events.
John 1:1-3
...
11
A famous quote from Christian history is:
"In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity"
In Essentials Unity
The Apostle Paul talks about "another gospel" that was being preached to the Galatians, and he uses very strong words regarding those who bring such a gospel:
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who ...
10
While I'm not 100% certain I understand your question. If you're asking what I think; Jesus implied that the will of the Father, Son, and Spirit are separate, as He spoke a lot about the Father's will.
John 6:40, NIV
For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the ...
10
The idea that God cannot be in the presence of sin may come from the prayer in Habakkuk 1:13. In the NIV it says, "Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil."
The question, then, is, "Is this teaching the God is unable to look at evil?" If it is teaching that, then this would need to fit with the whole of Scripture.
Psalm 139 expressly states that God ...
10
In Acts 5:1-4 it says Ananias has lied to the Holy Spirit and has therefore lied to God:
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a
piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part
of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the
apostles’ feet.
Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it ...
9
As has been pointed out, you can pray to the Father as Jesus did and taught.
However, there is a Biblical precedent for praying to Jesus:
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Acts 7:59-60
...
9
Catholics pray for the entire communion of saints to intercede on their behalf.
It's more than just the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church (what most people refer to as Roman Catholic) it's the entire Church in communion with the pope, as well as the Eastern Orthodox Church who prays fervently to the saint.
According to Catholic doctrine Angels are also ...
9
The filioque is meant as a theological explanation of the relationship between the Spirit and the Son. The Bible tells us that the Son is begotten from the Father, and that the Spirit proceeds from the Father, but any curious Trinitarian is going to wonder what the Spirit-Son relationship is. And the West, as a rule, is much more interested in nailing down ...
8
To answer your second question, there is Acts 7:55-56 in which Stephen, being full of the Holy Ghost, looks up and sees God the Father and Christ on His right hand. This passage shows all three personages together, although perhaps not in the way you are looking for (since it seems to suggest that they are three personages are distinct beings).
Obviously ...
8
There are two theories in regards to this:
Jesus is not part of God.
See also:
Is there Biblical basis for unitarianism?
Jesus and God are joined in the Trinity, but separate in thought and will.
See also:
Biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity
Would it have been possible for Jesus to sin?
Take your pick.
8
It's a role-delineation, not a "hierarchy" (at least, not in the way it is used in common English).
God has distinct persons making up His one self - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
They have distinct roles, as revealed in the Bible (more I'm sure can be added):
Father
Creator (Genesis 1:1, Romans 1:25, etc)
Judge (Genesis 15:14, Genesis 18:25, 1 Samuel ...
8
The classic definition of "Person" is that given by Boethius in De persona et duabus naturis: an individual substance of a rational nature).
That St. Thomas Aquinas explained the preceding definition it in terms that practically constitute a new definition: a substance, complete, subsisting per se, existing apart from others (Summa Theologica, III, Q. xvi, ...
8
Biblically the biggest problem with modalism is that you end up having God talking to himself several times in the NT.
The idea of modalism is simple enough - God has different "modes" of being, kind of like an actor who simply appears with different masks in different situations [1]. If the same person is merely appearing in multiple forms simultaneously, ...
8
Firstly, the Trinity is not Tritheism. This is the classic argument of the Muslim against Christianity, but it is not valid. It is not valid, because the formulation of the Trinity specifically states that God is one being who exists in three persons.
The problem is not in the formulation, but rather in attempts to make an analogy to explain it. No analogy ...
8
As you already understand, the doctrine of the Trinity states that there is one God, who exists in three persons. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
From http://carm.org/trinity
The Father is not the same person as the Son; the Son is not the same
person as the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit is not the same person
as Father. They are not ...
7
I think the Bible can answer this for us. I'm racking my brain for a verse, but here is John 14:6 to start:
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Why pray to someone who is not empowered to save you? God is the one who created you, and
His Son Jesus is the one who died on the cross to ...
7
Personalities, possibly, but roles no. To say that God merely exists as one person filling three jobs (roles) or having three "faces" is a heresy known as modalism. The exact formulations are always contentious, and the truth is there is no satisfactory analogy, because there is no terrestrial equivalent.
The tricky balance of the Trinity is to maintain ...
7
The Bible specifically reveals God as spirit, that is, not physical (John 4:23). So, Jesus took on flesh (the physical dimension), but this was something new. God--the Father, Son, and Spirit0--exist outside of the physical universe. God created the physical universe, so He cannot be inside the physical universe.
So, no, Jesus took on flesh, but ...
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