Posted on 07/11/2024 2:20:36 PM PDT by CharlesOConnell
Astana, Kazakhstan, where Athanasias Schneider is a Bishop, seems a remote backwater. Except that various rising, non-aligned nations are making it a center of geo-strategic planning. The Mackinder Thesis, The Geographical Pivot of History, is that whoever controls the heartland of Eurasia controls the world. Astana is not a strategic backwater.
From this location at the center of the world, where key events are unfolding, Bishop Schneider offers astonishing insights in his catechism that are not original in any sense of the word, but are in the true tradition of the Catholic faith. One of them is that, far from being limited to the seemingly accidental, plural form of the word Elohim referring to God in His creation of everything in Genesis 1:1, the Old Testament contains explicitly Trinitarian scriptural verses.
209. Is it true to say that Muslims hold the faith of Abraham? No. Abraham saw three and adored one (see Gensis 18:2–3) and rejoiced in the vision of the future Redeemer (see Jn 8:56 - "Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it, and was glad."), excluding neither Christ nor the Trinity in his faith. Conversely, the Muslim explicitly excludes faith in Christ and the Holy Trinity. — Schneider, Bishop Athanasius. Credo: Compendium of the Catholic Faith. Sophia Institute Press. Kindle Edition.
If you will read the first half of Genesis chapter 18 with fresh eyes of faith rather than letting your understanding being filtered by "scriptural interpreters" with an agenda to push, or getting stuck in nitpicking to advance your own agenda, you may discover every other verse, in the first half of Genesis 18, confirming that the Trinitarian Adonai visited Abraham and Sarah and God Himself in Three Persons announced to them the miracle of the birth of Isaac in their advanced old age.
(Remember, your primary goal is to get to heaven, not to justify your own point of view, which is one of the major causes of failure to get there as portrayed in C.S. Lewis' story of day trippers from hell going to the lower reaches of heaven, The Great Divorce.)
The Holy Ikon of The Three Visitors is taken by the Eastern Christian Churches take as an image of the Holy Trinity.
In Verse 1 of Genesis 18, "The Lord" is referred to.
1 And the Lord appeared to him [Abraham] in the vale of Mambre as he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day.
In verse 2 of Genesis 18, [Abraham] "adored down to the ground."
When someone to whom an angel appears in scripture falls down on the ground, the angel is at pains immediately to stop it.
Revelation 19:10 And I fell down before his feet, to adore him. And he saith to me: See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren, who have the testimony of Jesus. Adore God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
(There are three forms of reverence: doulia, veneration of the saints; hyperdoulia, veneration of the Holy Theotokos; latria, worship due to God alone.)
But the Three Visitors do not prohibit Abraham from falling down to the ground in adoration. In Genesis 18:5, after some development of events, the Three Visitors indicate their approval of Abraham's regard for them.
"And they said: Do as thou hast spoken."
In verse 3 of Genesis 18, Abraham addresses the Three Visitors with "Lord".
3 And he said: Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant…
God hears our every thought, which even the devils can't do; we are invited to commune with God in the Mental Prayer form.
But scripture is God's communication with us. What is God telling us in these details of Genesis chapter 18?
I personally am starting to believe it is the Holy Quadrinity - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and The Word of God.
Hebrews 4:12:
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Many other references support this as well. All of Ps 119, Matt 4:1-11, etc.
“...I personally am starting to believe it is the Holy Quadrinity...”
LOL...
I’m just the opposite. I’m starting to believe there’s only One.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” Deuteronomy 6:4
“For in him dwelleth ALL the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Col. 2:9
But, hey, only read the Bible once in awhile.....LOL
The Son IS the Word. So there are exactly three persons in the Holy Trinity, not four. To think there is one, two, or four is heresy.
Jesus is the Word.
Gospel of John verse 1.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the very beginning.
3 Through him all things came into existence,
and without him there was nothing.
That which came to be
4 found life in him,
and the life was the light of the human race.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has been unable to overcome it.
Astana, Kazakhstan is the architectural center of the world.
So please show me where the word “Trinity” appears in the Bible.
John 1:1
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.”
####################
That just proves my point. The Word was God.
Did the Word go away somewhere?
Also, Gen 1, the Creation. Did God “build” the universe?
No, He SPOKE it into existence.
Poppycock.
Show me where the word Bible appears in the Bible.
Not the word "Trinity" per se, but:
Matthew 28:19 -- Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The icon above is from Andrei Rublev. If you want to learn what the symbolism means (it’s very rich!) try this:
https://sacredheartpullman.org/documents/2017/8/Trinityicon.pdf
https://catholic-link.org/andrei-rublevs-icon-of-the-holy-trinity-explained/
Any reader who is good at understanding notices this from the first moment.
Behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. 17 And there was a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
A voice from above, the symbol of the holy spirit and Jesus Christ in the water..
Any reader who is good at understanding notices this from the first moment.
Behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. 17 And there was a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
A voice from above, the symbol of the holy spirit and Jesus Christ in the water..
The words Trinity and Bible and other Catholic made up words will not be found in the bible because when Catholics (orginal Christians) wrote or orally continued the books of the bible, they were very careful, like the Jews before them, and divinely inspired, to make up nothing, add or take away nothing, by total faith as received.
So Catholics made up words like Teansubstabtiation and Trinity to EXPLAIN extra-biblically what is exampled exactly as given to them in various details in the recorded books, accepted by Councils for their consistent authenticity.
It says holy folks prayed to the dead for intercession, for their prayers to God as well, like you ask your mother to pray for you here, so....we do it likewise.
The hail mary, the mass....nothing added, only excerpts of scripture. Who were “we” to add a single word? But make up a word to more fully understand....kind of....trinity!! Lol
“..To think there is one, two, or four is heresy...”
Nope, I’ll politely agree to disagree.
Each of us is free to read and believe The Word, and I fully adhere and respect that for all our Christian brethren, especially in this day and age.
FWIW, the “three thingy” didn’t show up in the early church until about the 3rd century at the 325 AD Council of Nicaea ruled over by the pagan Roman Emperor, Constantine I, to ensure the existing church at that time embraced it which it did.
Personally, I just continue to stick with the Word of God.
And how do you know it’s the word of God?
“..Any reader who is good at understanding notices this from the first moment.
Behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. 17 And there was a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
A voice from above, the symbol of the holy spirit and Jesus Christ in the water..”
The Spirit of God manifested in the flesh as the perfect sacrifice for the redemption of mankind. All human, and yet, all God. Thank-you, Lord, for the shedding of your precious blood for our redemption.
“I and the Father are One”. “IF you have seen Me, you have seen the Father”.
In the beginning was The Word, The Word was with God, The Word was God”...
Regardless of one’s doctrine, there is no other name under heaven that one may be saved. And for that alone, I will continue to give Him praise, honor and glory as long as I breathe His air. Amen.
“..And how do you know it’s the word of God?..”
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God....” 2 Timothy 3:16.
I personally take it by faith...the same faith that I have in the finished work of Christ.
There was a time that I, too, questioned it, and the various translations of it, for years. I got to the point where I decided to study Koine Greek for four years in order to study the NT in its original language.
When I finally came to the point of accepting Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit revealed Scripture for what it is. Some spiritual things are sometimes difficult to explain with everyday words.
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