Why I Reject the Trinity Part: 9
I believe my doctrine shows the love and struggle of Jesus more clearly. When he is speaking with the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane the “express image” shows the depth of their conversation. Jesus understood what the Father was telling him to do and he asks in desperation and full of emotion if there was any other way. As he realized there was not, he submitted to the will of the Father. In harmonious Trinity this conversation becomes…awkward. How could Jesus have any desire other than that of the Father? I would imagine a Trinitarian has an answer for this, theorizing about Jesus’ flesh and humanity, but I believe the logical and more natural answer fits better; a non-Trinitarian Jesus.
The actions of the Trinitarian Jesus in his ministry at times seem like a formality. For example in his temptation Satan offers him things and “tempts” him to submit. Have you honestly not read that and found it odd? How is there truly a legitimate temptation within the Trinity?
It would seem that this is just a façade; that Jesus goes through the motions of being “tempted,” (wink, wink) then speaks the word, and all is well. After all, how can God be tempted to act or be non-God? In Jesus’ case it would require great incentive or great ignorance of the negative consequences.
It would seem that this is just a façade; that Jesus goes through the motions of being “tempted,” (wink, wink) then speaks the word, and all is well. After all, how can God be tempted to act or be non-God? In Jesus’ case it would require great incentive or great ignorance of the negative consequences.
How is God enticed with incentive against his nature or ignorant of the consequences, to even momentarily consider anything other than His own plan? There are only two Trinitarian explanations I know of. First, perhaps Jesus though fully God was somehow mysteriously not completely privy to or understood the entire mind of the Father. This would seem to be in conflict with his being fully God while fully man. He would have to be something other than God in order to lack any God qualities or at least not fully God. Or else he would have to be hindered by his flesh from fully understanding his own true divine will. If his divine knowledge is hindered by his flesh, then we have another problem. How is he able to perfectly “submit” to his divinity if he does not fully and clearly perceive it?
A second possibility is that the temptation was only Satan’s work of proving Jesus. That is to say, Jesus at no time considered any action contrary to his own God nature but only expressed his internal divine desire and was therefore proven or exposed by Satan as God. Some argue this basic position trying to show a difference between external temptation (the natural desire of the flesh) and an internal temptation from your own “evil” desires. That one can, being God, have only godly internal desires yet the flesh (somehow unrelated to the internal desire) can still desire something other than God. Really?
Matthew 4 (Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition)
ReplyDeleteMatt 46 And said to him: If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written: That he hath given his angels charge over thee, and in their hands :shall they bear thee up, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7Jesus said to him: It is written again: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Jesus is God.
ARTICLES OF FAITH
ReplyDeleteI. The Triune God*
1. We believe in one eternally existent, infinite God, Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the universe; that He only is God, [creative and administrative,] holy in nature, attributes, and purpose[;]. The God who is holy love and light [that He, as God,] is Triune in essential being, revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
(Genesis 1; Leviticus 19:2; Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Isaiah 5:16; 6:1-7; 40:18-31; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19-20; John 14:6-27; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 4:4-6; Ephesians 2:13-18; 1 John 1:5; 4:8)
II. Jesus Christ
2. We believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Triune Godhead; that He was eternally one with the Father; that He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary, so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say the Godhead and manhood, are thus united in one Person very God and very man, the God-man.
We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that He truly arose from the dead and took again His body, together with all things appertaining to the perfection of man’s nature, wherewith He ascended into heaven and is there engaged in intercession for us.
(Matthew 1:20-25; 16:15-16; Luke 1:26-35; John 1:1-18; Acts 2:22-36; Romans 8:3, 32-34; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:12-22; 1 Timothy 6:14-16; Hebrews 1:1-5; 7:22-28; 9:24-28; 1 John 1:1-3; 4:2-3, 15)
III. The Holy Spirit
3. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Triune Godhead, that He is ever present and efficiently active in and with the Church of Christ, convincing the world of sin, regenerating those who repent and believe, sanctifying believers, and guiding into all truth as it is in Jesus.
(John 7:39; 14:15-18, 26; 16:7-15; Acts 2:33; 15:8-9; Romans 8:1-27; Galatians 3:1-14; 4:6; Ephesians 3:14-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 John 3:24; 4:13)
IV. The Holy Scriptures
4. We believe in the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, by which we understand the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, given by divine inspiration, inerrantly revealing the will of God concerning us in all things necessary to our salvation, so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith.
(Luke 24:44-47; John 10:35; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Timothy 3: