Trinity Question

I proposed this question once earlier yet not in a tactful manner. But, something that has always confused me is the trinity. I have had people explain it before but I dont understand it. If these three beings are able to be worshipped and they are all different and serving different purposes then wouldn't that count as polytheism. I dont ask to be rude at all. I know that polytheism has some bad connotations but I dont mean it that way.

 

From what I understand and I could be wrong, but all 3 are one and the same. Sorta like 3 forms of the same God. The same but different.

 

I'll be quite honest. I don't understand the Trinity. I don't think you will get a satisfactory answer from this board. Honestly, I don't think you would get a satisfactory answer from an experienced theologian because I have never read a completely satisfactory explanation for it.

One must start with the basis that there is One God. Being a Muslim that shouldn't be a foreign concept to you. One God made the covenant with Abraham which is why monotheism is important to Christians.

The scriptures reinforce that there is One God over and Over:

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!" (Deut. 6:4)

"I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God." (Isa. 45:5)

There is no God but one. (1Cor. 8:4)


Then, in the NT you have references to the Holy Spirit and Jesus being One with God:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19)

Jesus said: "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30)

"He who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)

"He who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me." (John 12:45)

If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (Rom. 8:9)

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 1:20)

And the angel answered and said to her [Mary], "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)

[Jesus speaking to His disciples] "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you." ... "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." (John 14:16-17, 23)

I really like that last passage. I think of the Holy Spirit as pieces of God who dwell on earth and indwell in humans that accept Him. So while they are not God in totality, they still contain the essence of God. I view Jesus in the same way. The embodiment of the Holy Spirit on earth. A piece of God, whole yet not singular.

I found a good analogy while researching the trinity. Water can exist as ice and steam. Both are still water but both contain different characteristics.

God the Son (Jesus) is fully, completely God. God the Father is fully, completely God. And God the Holy Spirit is fully, completely God. Yet they exist with different characteristics.

The word "Trinity" is not mentioned in the Bible.

 

This is my interpretation of the Trinity

The Father - God the Creator of all things

The Son - Jesus Christ - Which was God in Human form born of the Virgin Mary, the Promised Savior who died for our sins and arose to acend to heaven to live with God till he returns at the end of time.

The Holy Spirit - The spirit of God that exists in everything created by him, or God in Spirit form

They are al one and the same. Although Jesus was mortal during his 33 years on Earth, after his human death on the Cross he became as God. No doubt, my faith tells me that this is true!

 

I agree with Sly, that the Trinity is a difficult concept, and you'll probably get a different answer from everyday Christians to seasoned theologians. I think it's just one of those God things that don't fit in our ability to define things, if that makes any sense.

Personally, I've thought of the Trinity as three parts of the same body. Each has a different function, but they're all connected as one whole. That probably isn't truly accurate, but I think it's close. If someone else can define it better, I'm definitely open to suggestions. :huh:

 

well I am a father, and I am a son, as well as an uncle, yet I am one person

 

you are not your son though

 

ditto

 

Then that would make me...
but on the other hand, I'm in him and he's in me :imagestor
I'm just trying to show how 1 person can be 3 different personas

 

A devout Judeo-Christian friend of mine said to me in a recent exchange of discussion e-mails that there is really no such thing as true monotheism in modern religious practice. From a certain point of view, I think he's partially right, although it will vary from person to person.

Curly brings up a good point, though. The titles "Father," "Son," et cetera can refer to different dignities of the same entity.

The One-God, the god of Abraham, is not the only diety with multiple names for his different facets. The Teutonic-Germanic god Odin had various names for his different roles.

He was Vegtam the Wanderer in his roaming quest for ultimate Wisdom. He was known as Grim (Helm-Bearer) or Ygg (Terrible One)in his role as the god of warfare and death. Historians say Odin alone may have been known by over 160 different names over time.

From Sunnyway.com: "Odin, Vili, Ve - The three-fold form of Odin as warrior, shaman and wanderer. Sometimes Vili and Ve are referred to as Odin's "brothers". "

So while modern monotheism does display traits of polytheism in its various cosmologies, it's not unheard-of for an entity to be known by more than one face and more than one name.