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TRINITY DOCTRINE - REFUTING 3=1
LINK - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71YKu5JvaPk
I have often said one cannot debate a video. Videos may be informative but have no place in a debate because a video controls what issues are made public and which ones remain secret. A video can put spin on a subject or falsely present it in many ways including taking things out of context. Moreover, It is impossible to either question a video or to get an answer. Finally, one cannot disprove a 30 minute video with one Facebook post, although people try it all the time. I believe if a video is the only way one can make a point, maybe he should watch the video himself, so he can understand it enough to make a comment!
I will do the next best thing to debating a video. I will systematically refute a video regarding the Catholic Trinity Doctrine. There are many Trinity apologists such as Dr. Jay Smith, Dr. James White, and Dr. David Wood. Although my website, haasbiblepower.com, gives a complete study of the Catholic Trinity Doctrine, I felt it necessary to go one on one with a video. I got tired of screaming at my computer, and tired of being frustrated to hear intelligent men repeat what they think the Bible says rather than what the Bible actually says. More specifically, I was tired of people I admire being so wrong about this one subject of the Catholic Trinity Doctrine and deceiving others in the process.
I have picked a video entitled “The Question No Christian Can Answer” by Dr. David Wood. I picked this video because it focuses on only one subject, how can 1+1+1 = 1? In fact, Woods claims that questioning 1+1+1=1 logic is “one of the stupidest objections ever.” What I think is stupid is taking almost 20 minutes trying to explain something which Jesus never mentioned nor explained. This video is representative of the mindset that created the Trinity in the 4th century. Keep in mind, the triune God theory (The Trinity Doctrine) was debated for 56 years before the Catholic Church approved it. So, here is my answer to a question no Christian is supposed to be able to answer. By the way, I am a Christian.
The video claims a Christian should actually be able to answer how 1+1+1= 1 easily. That’s strange, it takes the video almost 20 minutes to prove this point! What is stranger is that a triune God is not explained at all in 30,102 verses of the Bible. In other words, neither Jesus nor Jehovah could explain it, but the Catholic Church and many apologists can explain it thoroughly. Jesus claimed to be the “Son of God,” and no Christian should dispute that. Neither does any Christian need proof that Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead for forgiveness of sins, and later ascended to Heaven. There are countless other concepts that do not need proven to Christians because they are stated clearly in the Bible.
Think about it, all the disciples and all the Jews believed in a monotheistic God that did not have 3 separate equal beings, each called “God.” Certainly, a triune God needed explained, but Jesus never explained it. Consequently, no one ever even asked Jesus to explain how 3 =1. The disciples, however, were asked twice by Jesus who they thought he was. One example is:
Mat 16:15-17 NIV.... "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.”
It is ironic that Jesus said this answer is true because it came from the Father and not a different answer given by men. This would have been the perfect place for Jesus to say, “PETER IS PARTIALLY RIGHT, BUT THE SON OF GOD IS ONE OF THREE EQUAL ENTITIES THAT MAKE UP A TRIUNE GODHEAD.” In other words, it would have taken a whole chapter or two to explain this concept, but Jesus didn't explain it because he never implied it. Only 300 years later, did people try to say what Jesus really meant and attempt to explain it.
The video talks about “units” and “blocks, and gives the example of 1000 blocks being equal to one house. However, this logic is wrong because each of the blocks does not have the same properties as the complete house. I would ask Wood if Jesus is 1/3 of Jehovah the same way that one block is 1/1,000 of a house. Hmmm....... We are back to real math – 1/3 +1/3+1/3 = 1, not 1+1+1+=1. Furthermore, Jesus is no more Jehovah than one block is a house. What wood is actually saying is that many blocks, each called a house, has the same properties of the complete house. This, of course, would be just as absurd as the Trinity Doctrine. After all, the Catholic Trinity Doctrine, as explained in the Athanasian Creed, states, "Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance." In other words, Jesus is the same substance as the Godhead, The video example of one block would mean one block has the same amount of concrete as the complete house. The video also uses the Shield of the Trinity, and a similar diagram to explain the Catholic Trinity Doctrine theory. Many such examples are evidently not enough to be convincing. Moreover, it is this 3=1 logic that is stupid, not the notion to question it.
In summary, I would say many Trinity Doctrine apologists think it is easy to explain a triune God, but Jesus never did this. I guess Jesus would been able to explain if he had been a member of the Catholic Church after 381 AD, or had a video on YouTube. Some Christians say no man can understand a triune God. This echoes #9 of the Athanasian Creed that states, "The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible." The creed , however, hypocritically makes 44 points explaining exactly the triune nature of God, which it states is "incomprehensible!"
A triune God can only be forced upon us by deductive reasoning stringing together several misinterpreted verses out of context, but that is another story. All I am saying, is that Jesus did not explain 1+1+1=3, but many do it easily. I go by what the Bible actually says, not what others think it says. I do not have to claim anything was “revealed” to me because I do not need church councils, creeds, a catechism, books, or YouTube videos to help me realize the Bible says, “A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.” (Gal 3:20 NIV)
Unfortunately, instead of bringing Muslims and others to Christ by teaching what the Bible actually says, many drive people away from God by making Jesus something that is not explained in 30,102 verses of the Bible. Jesus told of this danger to the Pharisees - Mat 23:15 NIV...... "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are." Only God will judge how bad the false Catholic Trinity Doctrine is, but we know Jesus never taught it!
However, the Athanasian Creed (Trinity Doctrine) states. "Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith; Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;" In contrast, Jesus said in Joh 3:3 NIV ...... "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." WHICH METHOD OF SALVATION DO YOU BELIEVE?
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