God Talks to Himself in the Trinity Bible

by BoogerMan 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Phizzy

  I do think some here are still looking on the Bible as J.W's and fundies/Evangelicals do, as a unified whole, like a single Book. Now, now children, you KNOW it is not !

  We see theology evolve through the O.T, and again theology and christology evolve as the N.T jogs along time wise, the Apostle Paul would not recognise the Christology in the Gospel of John as being exactly the same as his.

  In the time between the completion of the N.T and the formulation of the trinity doctrine ideas had "progressed" some more.

  To use the very anthropomorphic idea of god from early O.T writings, or even early N.T ideas about the risen Christ to "disprove" the Trinity makes no sense.

  Unless you believe in Sola Scriptura in a very literal way, but one who does that is again ignoring the evolution of ideas we see in Scripture.
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  peacefulpete

  Ps 110:1-4.

  Many years ago, a thread I started.
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  Black Sheep

  My parents used to bash the Trinity without ever knowing what the doctrine actually taught. They even convinced a few, (emphasis on 'few'), Catholics to join their church using the Watchtowers explanation of how the Trinity didn't make sense. If their converts had understood the definition in the Catholic Encyclopedia, they would have seen through the WT subterfuge that my parents had fallen for. If my parents had been properly taught what the doctrine was and how it was arrived at by their parents and grandparents and Sunday School teachers, they wouldn't have fallen for the WT scam either.

  I'm not saying that the Catholic doctrine is correct, (I'm an atheist), but I do know how to debate their official doctrine with a JW.
  
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  BoogerMan

  In the "Chosen" TV series, the trinity God (Jesus) refers to God (himself??) in the third person, and prays to himself often.

  The episodes repeatedly push the idea that he is actually God incarnate, while depicting him as a vulnerable human who had to ask for suggestions and rehearse the topics for the sermon on the mount.
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  peacefulpete

  Religions need some counterintuitive elements to elevate the system to a spiritual religion. If it completely made sense it becomes mundane. That is one reason the JW church fails to invoke strong feelings of the numinous. Its power to influence is centered only in repetition and group dynamics. That works ok but rarely does it evoke a sense of the 'divine' or deep inspiration.

  The Trinity doctrine certainly appears to be an overlay upon the Bible, but at the same time it better explains a great number of passages than Arianism. It is for a reason it is regarded as the Mystery of the Trinity. It isn't supposed to be obvious nor easily grasped. In the world of religion that doesn't mean it isn't 'true'. The earliest Christians believed it was their place to decode the sayings they inherited, to be inspired by them, not to literalize them, to neuter them to becoming merely texts. This why Christianity bloomed into a rich diverse cultural movement. It took centuries for this to become muted through hierchal authoritarian leadership which sought conformity and dogma.

  Yes, the doctrine of the Trinity in its final polished form was voted into canon many years after the writings that inspired it, but it is at the same time a product of the writings. Groups like the WT were born in a modern Western context and fail to understand the more ancient mysterious nature of early Christianity.