Tag Archives: Trinity

Christ’s Deity in the Synoptics

Leave a reply

I have been reading a book lately about the history of Christian doctrine.  In this work, the author comments on the differences between the Gospel of John and the other three Gospel writers.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke are often called the Synoptic Gospels.  The world “synoptic” basically means “seeing together.”  You may have noticed that these three Gospels present a great deal of similar material in a roughly parallel format.  So these Gospel writers often share the same material but with their individual perspectives and approaches.  The Gospel of John, however, is dramatically different from the Synoptics.

One of the chief differences is that John’s Gospel is very explicit in presenting Christ as divine.  The deity of our Lord is most clear in John.  The author of the book I am reading emphasizes this.  Yet, he goes beyond this, and states that it is only in John that we see Christ’s deity.  According to him, the Synoptics present Jesus as merely a man, Messiah perhaps, but certainly not divine.  Continue reading →

Does Theology Matter?

Leave a reply

Does theology matter?  If you listen to some people, you would have to say, “No!”

For example, a few weeks ago I was talking with a friend who is taking some classes in theology.  He told me how excited he was in his studies.  He also told me that he shared his excitement with a friend of his.  His friend commented positively, but then said, “But really, in the grand scheme of things, what does all that matter?  In our everyday lives, what good is theology?”

My friend was telling me this to make the point that theology is okay for theologians, philosophers, and academicians.  But for the common man, living in the real world, it has no value. Continue reading →

No “Trinity” in the Bible?

Leave a reply

Question:  If God is really a Trinity, then why is the word “trinity” not found in the Bible?

Answer:  A common argument against the doctrine of the Trinity is that the very word “trinity” is not found in the Bible.  This is often used by Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Yet they are not alone.  You hear this line of reasoning quite often from various sources.

Now we admit that the word “trinity” is not found in the Bible.  It is a post-biblical word coined by Christian writers.  However, the concept of the Trinity is definitely found in Scripture.  In fact, a careful study of both Old and New Testaments reveals a wealth of Bible passages that present the Trinity to us.  It is a solidly biblical concept.

Using a term such as “Trinity” for describing the Godhead came about because as the early followers of Christ examined the Scriptures, they were confronted with the reality that God is both One and Three.  For centuries they struggled with how to understand this truth.  In their attempts to discuss and explain the nature of the Deity, they developed a vocabulary that while not found in the Bible is still firmly rooted in the Sacred Writings. Continue reading →

Do We Have to Believe in the Trinity?

Leave a reply

Question: “The Bible doesn’t explicitly teach the Trinity. And there is so much controversy about this. Do you have to believe in the Trinity to be saved? Or isn’t belief in Jesus enough to be a Christian?”

My Answer: Essential Christian doctrines are being questioned more and more frequently. And the biblical doctrine of the Triune God is no different. This is a question of crucial importance.

To address this question please read “Is the Trinity Necessary”

Survival or Love?

Leave a reply

“Axiom 1: SURVIVE!” Thus declared L. Ron Hubbard, delineating the Primary Axioms of Dianetics in 1948. A few years later, in 1951, he described the Eight Dynamics which are foundational for Dianetics and Scientology. Here he stated, “The FIRST DYNAMIC is SELF. This is the effort to survive as an individual, to be an individual. It includes one’s own body and one’s own mind. It is the effort to attain the highest level of survival for the longest possible time for self.”*

Lately I have been studying Scientology in preparation for a seminar on the group coming up next week. Scientology is a complex system, with a very convoluted process of advancement and an equally complicated belief structure. But wading through books by Hubbard and books about Scientology I have come to see that Hubbard’s declaration in 1948 is a fundamental, if not the fundamental, concept of the entire system of Scientology. It is all about SURVIVAL. Continue reading →