What is the Trinity and could you be a Christian and not believe in the Trinity?

Answer 1

Opinions

• The Trinity, a.k.a The Holy Trinity, refers to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (sometimes called the Holy Ghost).
• Christians believe that, although they are 3 persons, they are all the same entity.
• The Father, is God the Creator.
• The Son, is referred to as existing at the beginning as the Word "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1), and lived as Jesus Christ (i.e. God incarnate.)
• The Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as the Great Comforter, and less scripture is devoted to this aspect of God.
• The Holy Trinity is not specifically mentioned as an entity in Scripture, except where Jesus tells His disciples to"...baptise in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19) and Jesus uses the term "name of" not "names of" indicating unity.
• However, Jesus refers frequently to the Father and to the Holy Spiritl; yet, as a Jew, Jesus would certainly not have been promoting the idea of there being more than one God. Christians see these references of Jesus as being a revelation of the Trinity.

In summary, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all aspects of the one entity called God. It is like the voice, the body, and the mind all being aspects of a person, separate from one another, with specific purposes, but all part of one being.

Answer

• All who believe in Jesus Christ are all Christians period; regardless of what doctrine they adhere to, whether Trinitarianism or Tritheism.
  

Answer

• 1) The word for Holy Spirit (Spiritus) in the New Testament (pneumatos) is actually a female noun as it is in the Old Testamet (ruac'h); so the idea of an all male God is incorrect. Christians do not regard God as being either male or female, but a spirit. The use of the male gender serve the purpose of making God "imaginable" to the human mind.
  2) Jesus does not represent all three entities. The three are separate and yet one: Athanasius worked out the idea of a Trinitarian God (see Athanasian Creed) by studying Scripture and much prayer. Jesus is Jesus - as God incarnate. He does not 'represent' God the Father nor the Holy Spirit.
  3) Jesus was to take the sins of the world on his shoulders for all for all time. At his death, the close tie that he had with God the Father (like our Mind and Body) had to be broken. His cry of 'My God,why have you left me' is the crying anguish of a dying man - Jesus showing his true humanity as well as his divinity. The quote actually comes from the psalms and was very apt for Christ at that moment of His perceived separation from his Father.
• 4) As for the origins of the Trinity being Egyptian, there is no proof. The origins date from well before the Egyptian empire to the first words of Creation itself, that took place and was even written about before Egypt. Genesis states that God (the Father) created the heaven and earth by his Word (the Son - called 'the Word' again at the start of John's Gospel) by commanding his Spirit to flow over the waters (the Holy Spirit)

Answer:

• The doctrine of the Trinity is taught in the New Testament. "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Spirit, water and blood and these three coincide" (I John 5: 7). Apart from Matthew 28:19, this is the only passage in the New Testament which clearly teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, and this passage is considered by some Christian scholars to be an interpolation.

• John 1:1 is not the only reference, by far. Many others occur in the New Testament, and implications are also in the Old. As one example, the great commission by Jesus himself occurs at the end of Matthew's Gospel 28:19: "Go then, and make disciples of all the nations, giving them baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: "
  

Answer

• Inevitably it seems, every single person, religion, or cult which denies the Trinity also denies Jesus' deity and some vital aspect of His work e.g. being the Saviour of humanity. This is true of Mormons and Jehovah's Witness without exception. This is because the Trinity reflects the divine reality as taught in Scripture.
• The reason some Christians consider the above mentioned verse (1 John 5:7) to be an interpolation is because anti-trinitarians began their work early on, in trying to alter the sacred text. This is not the only verse which speaks of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is spoken of as a personal expression of God on a number of occasions, including being present at Jesus' Baptism, where the Father also spoke. Jesus Himself is of course the ego eimi,the I am, of Exodus 3:14, totally equal with the Father. 'The Father and I are one.'
• Regarding the often repeated claim that the Christian Trinity is either discriminatory against women or is actually idolatrous - neither of these claims has any basis in fact. God is actually neither male nor female, even though Jesus was indeed a man, He certainly valued and respected women, no less than men, yet corrected both when necessary.

Answer:

The Trinity is a central tenet of the Christian faith. Whilst the word 'trinity' does not occur in the Bible, the concept of a Trinitarian God pervades the whole of Scripture, both Old and New Testaments. Those groups which deny the Trinity must ipso facto deny the divinity of Christ. Jehovah's Witnesses claim Jesus as subservient to God, as do Mormons. Muslims believe in Jesus as a prophet but nothing else.

However, Christ made it perfectly clear - he claimed on many occasions to be God. Not equal with God but God himself. He forgave sins - only God could do that. He performed miracles - only God had the power over nature to do that. He taught with authority (you have heard it said.... but now I tell you...) - he claimed that he would return as Judge of the world - only God is Judge. He claimed that He would send His Holy Spirit.... something only God could do. The list goes on. If he had died and that was that, the Nietzche-like statement 'God is dead' would have some meaning. But his claims were true, as he was raised again after death - testified by the many hundreds to whom he appeared.

Therefore to deny the Trinity is to deny the divinity of Jesus and the Incarnation. To deny the Incarnation is to deny that Christ saved us from sin (for only God can save from sin). To deny the divinity of Jesus is to deny him and all that he taught. You cannot call Jesus 'Lord' if you do not believe in him as Lord.

Whatever Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses are is irrelevant; but one thing is certain: sincere they may be, nice people they may be, good door-to-door evangelists they certainly are - BUT they cannot call themselves Christian as they deny the divinity of Christ. The divinity of Christ as the third member of a Triune God (three persons yet one God) is central to the Christian Faith. To deny this is to deny the Faith. So in answer to the second part of the question: 'Could you be a Christian and not believe in the Trinity?' The answer must be a resounding: No.

Answer

• You cannot be a Christian and don't have the Father, the Son , and the Holy Ghost. If you have the Father, but don't have the Son, then you have no life-1 John 5:1-12

Answer

A lot of people seem to be saying that Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses aren't Christians because they don't believe in the Trinity. But what about Unitarians? As far as I know, they don't believe in the Trinity, but they're still regarded as Christians, aren't they? So I think the answer is yes.

ANSWER:

Trinity: Is a concept NOT directly taught in the Bible. The fundamental tenet of Judaism is Hear O Israel the Lord Our God the Lord is One (Deut 6:4). Judaism is without controversy MONOTHEISTIC. The Trinity doctrine states that God is 3 Coequal Coexistent persons. This IS VERY close to POLYTHEISM. ( I have personally not found a majority (not even 3 or more) of any 10 persons surveyed agreeing as to the definition of the Godhead") Trinity Doctrine doesn't receive mainstream recognition until the council of Nicea (circa 325AD) I will not go into slams and degradation of any other belief system but would like to say that STRICT Monotheism and Trinitarian Christianity are not hand in hand. I also reject the notion that to deny the Trinity is to deny Christ's deity. The "Great Commission" recorded by Matthew 28:19 says :Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name (singular)of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: but Luke records the very same commission to say: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. These two accounts appear to be different in content and instructional direction. But Peter brings the matter to an exact point in the book of Acts when he told the Jews, Proselytes and other devout men present in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38) Then Peter said unto them, Repent,(from Luke) and be baptized(from Matthew) every one of you in the name(from Matthew) of Jesus Christ(Matthew and Luke) for the remission of sins(From Luke), and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. JESUS is the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. This is why Jesus forgave sins, healed the infirmed and told His disciples that: If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. There is but one person of the Godhead and He went to the Cross for us. How much more can a father love His children?

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himselfa lamb....BEHOLD the Lamb that taken away the sin of the World

Conclusion

Is the Trinity talked about in the Bible? Yes!

Do Christians believe the WHOLE word of God? Yes!

Thus in order to be a TRUE Christian you must believe in the Trinity.