You say you have trouble understanding the Trinity -- "I cannot seem to wrap my mind around the idea that three are not three, but one."
From this I take it you also must not understand the meaning of Christ's words -- "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30).
Yet you say you believe in the Bible.
Christians understand that the doctrine of the Trinity is a revealed truth. If you cannot understand that God the Father is separate but the same as God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, then it hasn't been given to you to know this distinction, and thus you follow some faith other than Christianity.
what does it mean by "dividing the substance"?
What does it mean, "incomprehensible"?
What does it (begotten) mean here?
What does "proceeding" mean?
LOL. Perhaps a dictionary would help.
My impression from speaking to Christians is that the majority imagine God the Father to be a man with long flowing beard and a halo, usually wearing a robe. Jesus they imagine much the way he is depicted in religious art. The Holy Spirit is a spirit, perhaps in the form of a dove.
I don't know any Christians like that. Not to say there aren't some like that, but I haven't met them. If those are the Christians you know, perhaps you might try meeting more people.
Do you believe that some men will rule their own planets when they die? (I can't find the answer to that question in a dictionary, so I thought I'd ask.)
Do you believe there are three levels of heaven (three "degrees of glory")? --
•Telestial - where unbelievers go•Terrestrial - for religious people who aren't Mormons and for Mormons who have not met the requirements of the
•Celestial - for Mormons who have kept ALL of the laws and ordinances of their church.
What will the celestial heaven (kingdom) be like for a good Mormon? Will he be a god; will he rule over a planet with his wives and spirit children?
Do you believe God was once a man?
If you can manage to believe in the above, but have trouble grasping the Trinity, then I guess it just goes to show the world is filled with all kinds of knowledge. Some Scriptural and some not so much.
Thanks. I already followed the first link, and was not disappointed. The beginning paragraph is very interesting:
The term "Trinity" is not a Biblical term, and we are not using Biblical language when we define what is expressed by it as the doctrine that there is one only and true God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three coeternal and coequal Persons, the same in substance but distinct in subsistence. A doctrine so defined can be spoken of as a Biblical doctrine only on the principle that the sense of Scripture is Scripture. And the definition of a Biblical doctrine in such unbiblical language can be justified only on the principle that it is better to preserve the truth of Scripture than the words of Scripture. The doctrine of the Trinity lies in Scripture in solution; when it is crystallized from its solvent it does not cease to be Scriptural, but only comes into clearer view. Or, to speak without figure, the doctrine of the Trinity is given to us in Scripture, not in formulated definition, but in fragmentary allusions; when we assembled the disjecta membra into their organic unity, we are not passing from Scripture, but entering more thoroughly into the meaning of Scripture. We may state the doctrine in technical terms, supplied by philosophical reflection; but the doctrine stated is a genuinely Scriptural doctrine.
This confirms what I have suspected: the doctrine of the Trinity is not Biblical, but philosophy mixed with Scripture. Forgive me if I prefer scripture without the philosophy.
From this I take it you also must not understand the meaning of Christ's words -- "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). Yet you say you believe in the Bible.
Indeed I do believe the Bible. And I know that Jesus also prayed to the Father that the disciples "may be one, even as we are one" (John 17:22; see also 17:20-23). I do not see how our Savior's prayer can be reconciled with the doctrine of the Trinity expressed in the Athanasian Creed.
Christians understand that the doctrine of the Trinity is a revealed truth. If you cannot understand that God the Father is separate but the same as God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, then it hasn't been given to you to know this distinction, and thus you follow some faith other than Christianity.
Perhaps Christians understand that the doctrine is revealed (although not in the Bible). However, I doubt that many of them actually understand the doctrine itself. Whenever I have asked for a simple explanation, most Christians either evade the question or offer up some form of Modalism.
LOL. Perhaps a dictionary would help.
You are being evasive.
For something that is held to be so essential, it is surprising that the doctrine of the Trinity is present in the Bible only as "fragmentary allusions" that must be assembled from "the disjecta membra" of scripture. It is hard to see how such a doctrine can be held as essential to defining who is and who is not a Christian.
Well, I have to get the children to bed. The answers to your questions about my beliefs will have to wait until a later post.
I hope to live forever with God. Beyond that, I cannot imagine exactly what I will be doing in the eternities.
Do you believe there are three levels of heaven (three "degrees of glory")? --
Yes.
The Apostle Paul wrote about being "caught up to the third heaven" (2 Cor. 12:2), which would imply that there are at least three heavens.
Latter-day revelation (particularly D&C 76) provides much more detail. For those in a hurry, the web site www.mormon.org provides the following brief summary:
• Celestial kingdom—Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ reside in the celestial kingdom. If you live according to the gospel of Jesus Christ and are cleansed from sin by the Atonement, you will receive a place in this, the highest kingdom, where you will live in God’s presence and know complete joy.• Terrestrial kingdom—People who refuse to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ but who live honorable lives will receive a place in the terrestrial kingdom.
• Telestial kingdom—Those who continue in their sins and do not repent until after they have died, will eventually receive a place in the telestial kingdom.
Note that entrance into the Celestial Kingdom does not depend on one's being a "good Mormon" but on living according to the gospel of Jesus Christ and being cleansed from sin by the Atonement.
What will the celestial heaven (kingdom) be like for a good Mormon? Will he be a god; will he rule over a planet with his wives and spirit children?
What the scriptures say is that those who overcome the world through faith in Jesus Christ receive all things from the Father and become "gods, even the sons of God" (D&C 76:56). I see nothing in the scriptures about ruling planets or spirit children. That is speculation. Unfortunately, a lot of folklore has been built on speculation.
Do you believe God was once a man?
Yes; don't you? Jesus Christ is God and he once lived as a mortal man.
But you undoubtedly refer to God the Father. The answer is again yes. I believe that the Father passed through mortal life in the same way that the Son did.