Is the Trinity that damn important? (page 2)

integ

Bradley,

But, in the end, it's all bullshit.

Very well put.

Integ.

integ

Blueblades,

That's very interesting, I hope I can find that brochure. My Mom will freak out on that.

Integ.

RubaDub

you will see at least three executions on the Cross

Great point. The cross thing is something I NEVER have been able to understand in all my years in the trooft.

I mean, if Jesus died on a straight tree, a cross, a few 2 by 4's or nailed to Caesar's garage, what difference does it make.

The value is Christ's sacrifice, his giving up his life, pouring out his bloood ...etc.

And yet we can spend hours arguing with people about details which NOONE knows as fact.

Sorry, just venting on this one.

***** Rub a Dub

bebu

If one has abandoned Christianity , or religion, then of course it is not important at all .

Yep. So the question really faslls to one who has not abandoned Christianity, I guess, and I think this is a very interesting question... so I'll try to answer.

I have 2 thoughts about the "is it important?" question. One is, that it is important in a certain way. That Jesus is the expression of God in human skin, gives a deeper connection to God than if Jesus was just an exalted angel. If the latter, God is still remote from us.

Railing at God, that "He doesn't understand", is no longer a luxury afforded to humans IF (IF IF IF) He was in Christ from conception, considered by some a bastard, working thru the poor/blue collar years, the never-ending work (in ministry), reversals, political enemies, temptations, treachery, a JC, abandonment by close friends, mocking, beating, whipping, public humiliation, and crucifixion with all the extras. If God put on humanity like a cloak of sorts, then He will not take it off, for Jesus (not Michael) always lives to intercede for us. It is added somehow into His nature... When it finally dawned on me that God truly COULD relate to my woes, well, I could open up easier about struggles, and I do not feel Alone. In a nutshell, God can empathize, not just sympathize. It can make a difference on an individual level.

However, the other thought I have is this: No, it doesn't matter, because God doesn't care about everyone becoming a theologian! God has worked all these things for us out of love. It is love, our personal response, to choose to love God back (even weakly) that He is looking for. Just to love God, even without understanding exact details (including believing/disbelieving the trinity), is enough. Perhaps this is the reason why God let believers debate these issues for awhile before the councils: because response to God is more important than technically being "right".

Someone wrote once that it helped him to pray, "not as I think You to be, God, but as You know Yourself to be, I pray..." If one is sincere about that, it's acceptable, I'm sure.

So it matters greatly; but it is not what matters most. Jesus said the greatest command was to love God.

bebu

with $.02 again

Sara Annie

No, it isn't. It's yet another ridiculous argument among fundamentalists on either end of the spectrum used to determine which side gets to set the limits for the nature of God.

And on an unrelated note:

Thank you Makeveli. I will certainly try to "raise it to the next level." Thank you, again.
Signed,
Man

I haven't stopped laughing since reading the above.

LittleToe

IMHO, although I love to debate it, I don't see it as a salvation issue.

If you are taking the Christian tack, then you need simply accept Christ and believe he is who he said he was, and bend the knee.
(JW's DON'T truly do this, as a general rule)
Personally, I was a zealot JW Elder when I "converted". It was a brush with the divine that made the difference to me.
My doctrines were still fully JW, including Unitarianism. So from an experiential perspective, I believe it makes no difference because it's a personal relationship thing, not a knowledge thing.

frankiespeakin

The way I see it, the Watchtower tries to make it look like salvation depends on getting the 95% right on some type of Bible quiz.

That's how their form of exclusivity works. They give everyone who studies the Bible with them the impression that if you don't have the right answers to Bible questions then you're going to be destroyed everlastingly, but if you stick with then you'll have the right answers to the Bible and that God will spare your life. The God they worship is very petty and will be destroyed if you don't get a good score on a Bible quiz.

Of course the Bible literally teaches that if we have faith in Jesus Christ we will get salvation. A person can have faith in Jesus Christ and beleive he is God's son and not necessarily believe that he's God, or you can have faith that he is God's son and God at the same time. I really don't think it matters all that much to have the exact correct understanding in this matter, for who can clearly understand God since he is so different from anything that we have ever encountered in the physical universe.

The Watchtower makes it look like this is a life or death matter because it suits their purposes and it makes their claims seem justifiable that they are the "only true religion" because they have all the "right doctrines" as if God has made haveing all the right doctrines necessary, and of primary importants for salvation, and faith in Jesus merely secondary.

bebu

Ya done sayed that good.

bebu

Flowerpetal

This is what I think is the most important thing:

Luke 18:8b "Nevertheless, when the Son of man arrives, will he really find the faith on the earth?" NWT

OR from the KJV: "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"

Is the Trinity that damn important?

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