Posted on 05/24/2016 6:49:46 AM PDT by Salvation
Many of you know that I write the Question and Answer column for Our Sunday Visitor. Given the celebration of Trinity Sunday this past Sunday, I thought I might reproduce here on the blog a question/answer regarding the Trinity. It is a fairly common question; perhaps you have it, too. Remember that my answers in the column are required to be brief.
We read in a recent Sunday Gospel (May 1, 2016) that Jesus says that the Father is greater than He (Jn 14:28). Since we are all taught that each Divine Person of the Blessed Trinity fully possesses the nature of God, equally to be adored and glorified, what did Jesus mean by such a statement?” – Dick Smith, Carrolton, TX.
Theologically, Jesus means that the Father is the eternal source in the Trinity. All three persons of the Trinity are co-eternal, co-equal, and equally divine. But the Father is the Principium Deitatis (the Source in the Deity).
Hence, Jesus proceeds from the Father from all eternity. He is eternally begotten of the Father. In effect, Jesus is saying, “I delight that the Father is the eternal principle or source of my being, even though I have no origin in time.”
Devotionally, Jesus is saying that He always does what pleases His Father. Jesus loves His Father; He’s crazy about Him. He is always talking about Him and pointing to Him. By calling the Father greater, He says (in effect), “I look to my Father for everything. I do what I see Him doing (Jn 5:19) and what I know pleases Him (Jn 5:30). His will and mine are one. What I will to do proceeds from Him. I do what I know accords with His will.”
So although the members of the Trinity are all equal in dignity, there are processions in the Trinity, such that the Father is the source, the Son eternally proceeds from Him (Jn 8:42), and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son as from one principal (Jn 15:26).
St Thomas speaks poetically of the Trinity as follows:
Genitori, Genitoque … Procedenti ab utroque … compar sit laudautio
(To the One Who Begets, and to the Begotton One, and to the One who proceeds from them both, be equal praise.)
The Athanasian Creed says the following regarding these processions:
The Father is made by none, neither created nor begotten.
The Son is of the Father alone, neither made nor created, but begotten.
The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, not made, nor created, nor begotten, but he proceeds from them.
So although equal, processions do have an order. The Father is “greater” (as source), but is equal in dignity to Son and Holy Spirit.
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Nope. Weasel words and you know that.
The Catholic church has always, from the time of Christ, taught the truth of the Gospel....because you couldn't comprehend their teaching, do not blame them...look inside yourself and admit that you discarded the truth because some man made "Denomination" drew you away from the truth.
Why would I admit something completely untrue? It wasn't a "denomination" that led me away from the accursed gospel of Catholicism, it was the Holy Spirit as I read the following words of Jesus Christ:
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. (John 10:27-30)
***No where does this describe how you can have two (or three) non generated eternal infinite beings.
There are a lot of things that the bible does not describe***
Really? Do tell.
***. This is FR after all and not some liberal site where free speech is shuttered.***
You wanna repeat that.
It isn't the believer who chooses to become Christian, rather God the Father who creates a new human spirit, which the Holy Spirit places in the body of the believer forming a temple for His indwelling us. It is upon this rock which Christ has formed His Church.
Well, since it looks like you're in the business of making assumptions about motivations for behavior, then I'll notice that your posts sound like projection.
There's no other explanation as to why you would assume you know what is motivating someone. Not everyone thinks like you, you know.
Perhaps you ought to take note of the RM’s admonition to another FReeper who tried that.
Right here.......
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3433430/posts?page=709#709
“Again, everyone stick with the issues pertaining to religion and stop complaining about other posters, calling for their banning, etc.”
Possibly because I'm SO good looking!
And cuddly...
And cute...
And don't have REALLY bad breath...
and I donate $23,639 dollars a year to keep FR going...
And I never exaggerate about anything...
And I've learned to absorb the slings and arrows of this site without whining.
Suggest you review post 160. That’s what got a lot of discussion started. I’m still waiting on any Catholic to disavow that post as Catholic doctrine. So far none have.
What is pathetic is your blanket accusation without citing ANY proof. The additions made to The Christian Gospel, made by the catholic church over the past 1700 years are verifiable. Do you deny these additions to the Gospel, made by a man-made organization called ‘catholiciism’?
Excellent exegesis.
And you act like a “ good looking” petulant child, which seems to be appreciated around here.
So you’ve bought your way into treating other Christians with disdain. How proud you must be.
I have always question what this “trinity’ thing is all about.
There is God, his son, who are clearly NOT the same... and if they are not the same then I would go with God as being the superior being.
Then there is the “holy ghost”... um, what is that?
My proof SIR is that I go to Mass every Sunday and most every Wednesday and it is NOT a “pagan magic act.” And I don’t worship saints and I don’t worship statues and I don’t worship Mary and I get really tired of people who don’t know what their talking about our people who don’t know me
TELLING ME WHAT I DO AND BELIEVE.
YOU ARE IGNORANT.
You still haven’t answered my question about the “lots” of things that the Bible does not describe. Name them.
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