The Confusion of Christanity

For as long as I can remember I had been taught that as pertaining to the God Head the Trinity existed.   I was taught to believe in The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.  Then came the detractors who said the trinity doctrine was wrong .  One of the reason being was that the word trinity is not mentioned in the Bible.  I did a computerized search and low and behold I could not find the word Trinity in the Bible.  I then did a detail search for grits and eggs.  There are five references to eggs, and two references to an egg, but no mention of grits and eggs.  Am I to conclude that to combine the two is wrong? 

     Next comes the real sucker punch, the enlighten ministers now say, “Jesus is the God of the Old Testament”.  To prove their point they  quoted John 10:30, “I and my Father are one.”  It is easy to draw the wrong conclusion when we try to combine our definition of God and the Father.  If I accept the word “God”  as the representative of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit where is the confusion?  Geneses 1:1 say, “In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth.”  God as being the unification of all three.  Trinity is an English word that implies the unity of three.  Now what’s wrong with that?  Maybe this Blog would be more believable if I used Hebrew words in the place of English  "translated' words.

     I and my Father are one. The word translated "one" is not in the masculine, but in the neuter gender. It expresses union or unity, but not the precise nature of the union. It may express any union, and the particular kind intended is to be inferred from the connection. In the previous verse he had said that he and his Father were united in the same object--that is, in redeeming and preserving his people. It was this that gave occasion for this remark. Many interpreters have understood this as referring to union of design and of the plan. The words may bear this construction.   In this way they were understood by Erasmus, Calvin, Bucer, and others. Most of the Christian fathers understood them, however, as referring to the oneness or unity of nature between the Father and the Son;

1 John 5:7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.   Matthew 28:19  “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”  The meaning, then, may be thus expressed: Baptizing them unto the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, by a solemn profession of the only true religion, and by a solemn devotion to the service of the sacred Trinity. 

     The union of these three names in the form of baptism proves that the Son and Holy Ghost are equal with the Father.  Nothing would be more absurd or blasphemous than to unite the name of a creature --a man or an angel--with the name of the ever-living God, in this solemn rite.  If Jesus was a mere man or an angel, as is held by many who deny his Divinity; and if the Holy Ghost was a mere attribute of God; then it would have been the height of absurdity to use a form like this, or to direct the apostles to baptize men unto them. How absurd would be the direction--nay, now blasphemous to have said, "Baptize them unto God, and unto Paul, and unto the wisdom or power of God!"  Can we believe that our Saviour would have given a direction so absurd as this? Yet, unless he himself was Divine, and the Holy Spirit was Divine, Jesus gave a direction substantially the same as this. The form of baptism, therefore, has been always understood as an irrefragable argument for the doctrine of the Trinity, or that the Son and Holy Spirit are equal with the Father. 

     Faith in God comes easy to some, but it is the confusion that is caused by those who possess to have an intimate knowledge of God that causes doubt.  So many churches with so many different denominations and doctrines.  When the Devil walked into the garden, he brought in a level of confusion that caused Eve to sin.  Since that day understanding the word of God is not a prerequisite to teach  the Bible.  Wouldn’t it be better  if we all come together and searched for a deeper understanding of God word?  Many denominational Bible studies have digressed to a forum whereby tired old clichés are rehashed and no new knowledge is imparted.  Then there are the newbies that attempt to restructure the fundamental belief in God, thus ensuring a level of confusion to exist to drive people away rather than draw Souls to Christ.   

     One denomination says it is ok to sin just remember to ask for forgiveness and one say you must strive to live free from sin.  Some groups believe in dancing with snakes and some just believe in dancing.  Some believe that the worship of God should be done in the sacred quietness of the soul, whereas others believe in making a joyful noise.  Some want to live by the Old Testament and some want to live by the New Testament.  Then there is that group that wants to live according to both.   The sad thing about this quagmire of confusion is many cannot explain to a eighth grade student the demise of the dinosaurs .

     Another area of confusion is the contention that God is doing great things for those that serve him.    Jesus message to the churches in the Book of Revelation was, “I know you are suffering, but if you can endure I will give you a crown of life.”   Much of the special things God is doing falls under the rule Jesus applied in Matthew 5:45  “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. “  There are testimonies of how God fixes peoples' cars, he put money in their bank account and he gives out conflicting messages.  If a leader can convince a group of people that a way has been found to get stuff from God, a large following can be amassed.  We have created a God that has changed his mind about getting rid of the evil that exist in the world.  We now have a God that wants us to enjoy all of the world’s pleasures.   To draw souls to Christ money, houses and special favors are being offered.   We have placed our Heavenly father in the driver's seat and made him responsible for everything that happen to us.   Have we placed our God in an untenable position and have we created a God that is unbelievable to the world?  The world does not believe God is repairing peoples' cars.  The world does not believe God is delivering wads of money to people’s bank account.  Why have we made the God of our salvation a laughing stock.  Oh,  we haven’t.  Look at our young peoples and tell yourself what you see.   Look at our schools, our communities, our churches, do you see God’s truth marching on?

          We want a God that sees all, knows all and controls all.  Everything that happens we look upon it as God way of shaping us and making us what he want us to be.  When there is a test God knows the outcome before we are tested.   When questioned about what is happening in our life, the pious response is, “God know what he is doing.”  A Sunday school student asked trying to justify her life of sin, “ If God knows everything then he knows who is going to Hell before we was even born and we can’t change that.”   It’s a trick question.  If we say God does not know everything we would be labelled worst than heretics.  If we agree then we justify living a life of sin.  The consensus of the class was God knows and sees everything.   Now the question becomes, why did God ask Adam, “Where art thou?”  Genesis 3:8-9  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.   (Is it possible to hide from the presence of God?)  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?  Did God know Abraham was going to pass the test before he was tested?  The class said yes.  Genesis 22:12  And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for NOW I KNOW that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. (Now I know seems to indicate a fact not known before.)  Genesis 18:21  I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.  This seems to indicate an action taken by God to find the answer to a question.  My study of the scripture seems to indicate that man was always given a choice and when man make that choice God knows.  Job 42:2  “I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.”  A fair assessment of a thought is, a thought exist when it is conceived within the mind.

     To try to live our life based upon our concept of what a supernatural God should be like can be confusing.  What we should acknowledge is that we have a choice and that choice is controlled by the war that exist between the natural man and the spiritual man.  Deuteronomy 30:19 best explains the choices we have, “ I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:”  Choice a God like, God given attribute that was impacted in man when God said let us make man in our own image.