Opponents of theology frequently charge it with seeking to do away with mystery. This, by Thomas Weinandy, counters that objection. Theological reflection is not for the purpose of eradicating mystery but rather, for properly identifying it.
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Any man who thinks that any part of the miraculous universe is NOT "mysterious", is full of hubris that he knows more than he does. "He who speaks does not know, he who knows does not speak". All men who claim knowledge of "God", or to "talk to God", or to know "God's will"- they are ALL charlatans.
Didn’t the council of Nicea fabricate the Trinity out of whole cloth? Where is Christs mention of this in his ministry, if you don’t mind me asking for citations? tyi
I think you should do some research of your own. Because you made like four false statements right there. Start with learning what the council of nicea decided and why
This is one reason I bounced off religion. It's always opposite day. Inconsistencies and contradictions that would get a scientific paper tossed or a man convicted in court are, instead, elevated to the highest form of truth.
I appreciate that sentiment, but can’t we separate the “unknowable” from the “unknown”?
Personally, I’ve grown to appreciate the mysteries of spirituality as not obstacles to overcome, but yet another part of our universe we will never wrap our arms around. There can be comfort in that, I think.
Imagine the state mathematics would be in now if we dug up an old scroll saying "2 + 2 = 5" and spent the next two thousand years poring over it, muttering "What if we...?"
Yes, the answer is that people are limited and flawed. The people who wrote it.
Orrr, it's a nonsensical falsehood, the same way you acknowledge every other religion and god is a falsehood.
You would never engage in these sorts of mental gymnastics to justify believing the absurd myths of other religions; Christianity shouldn't get a special pleading pass.
From his “The Immutable and Impassible Trinity—Part 2: The Early Councils, Further Theological and Christological Developments, and Soteriological and Pastoral Implications” in 𝘖𝘯 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮: 𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥
Because we will remain finite creatures. Only God can exhaustively understand his own infinite being. We will be glorified but we will never be omniscient.
Hearing no rebuttal I turn to item #1: Jesus could not possibly have been the Messiah.
God threw Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden because he didn't want them to have knowledge of good and evil AND eternal life. They had eternal life while in Eden because they were eating the fruit of... /1
the tree of life. To prevent any human from ever being able to eat of that fruit God posted cherubim and a flaming sword at the entrance to the garden: Genesis 3:22-24.
So the moral of the story is that Adam and Eve blew the one chance that humanity had for eternal life.
perspective from which the ENTIRE Old Testament was written-- except for Chapter 12 of the book of Daniel. That is the only chapter of any O.T. book that describes either rewards or punishments in the afterlife.
Psalm 88:4-5 says that God has forgotten about the dead and that they are beyond... /3
his care. If God forgot about the dead then he can't forgive their sins. If the dead are beyond his care then he can't resurrect them.
The O.T. authors didn't believe anything Jesus taught. They didn't believe in his message about the afterlife. They didn't believe in anything he said about... /4
Let's go back to my original 2 objections. I'll take the second-- that Jesus could not possibly have been the son of God. Why? Because his most important prophecy was false. Matthew 24:32-34. That story is repeated in Mark 13 and in Luke 17:20-37, Luke 21:20-32. Jesus wasn't divine.
The Trinity was a human invention (the Bible is at best ambiguous on the topic as was theological tradition at the time). The only mystery is why the church doubled down on an idea so insane their only recourse was to claim “it’s impossible to understand it”.
I didn't mean the Trinity can't be found in the Bible (although it's not explicit). The problem is that each verse supporting the Trinity is matched by one denying it.
Christians took more than 3 centuries to declare and refine the doctrine of the Trinity, which screams human invention.
The Trinity is the acceptance of both sides of the seeming paradox. It's the acceptance that all the verses are true. It took that long for people to give up trying to make it make sense.
They haven't given up. Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses (and other smaller groups) are nontrinitarian.
Ever wonder if the Council of Nicea just got it wrong? It's not obvious in hindsight they were correct, we only think of the Trinity as established fact because we've lived with it for so long.
I'm happy to discuss why the trinity and incarnation aren't worth discussing. I'm not interested in discussing either the trinity or incarnation as if they could possibly be anything other than immensely useless constructs.
The church conceiving correctly and interpreting properly is the line I would have trouble with. When an outside force takes it upon themselves to define something, it puts it in a box, puts it under someone's control, makes it a standard and is a product of ego, agenda, politics and greed.
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Personally, I’ve grown to appreciate the mysteries of spirituality as not obstacles to overcome, but yet another part of our universe we will never wrap our arms around. There can be comfort in that, I think.
To quote The Judge: "If it doesn't make sense, it didn't happen." That's not a principle to set aside lightly.
Yes, the answer is that people are limited and flawed. The people who wrote it.
You would never engage in these sorts of mental gymnastics to justify believing the absurd myths of other religions; Christianity shouldn't get a special pleading pass.
God threw Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden because he didn't want them to have knowledge of good and evil AND eternal life. They had eternal life while in Eden because they were eating the fruit of... /1
So the moral of the story is that Adam and Eve blew the one chance that humanity had for eternal life.
And that is the... /2
Psalm 88:4-5 says that God has forgotten about the dead and that they are beyond... /3
The O.T. authors didn't believe anything Jesus taught. They didn't believe in his message about the afterlife. They didn't believe in anything he said about... /4
Christians took more than 3 centuries to declare and refine the doctrine of the Trinity, which screams human invention.
Ever wonder if the Council of Nicea just got it wrong? It's not obvious in hindsight they were correct, we only think of the Trinity as established fact because we've lived with it for so long.
And no, I don't think the council got it wrong
the council fathers were in clear consensus
The Trinity accommodates all biblical data
The Trinity is the strangest view, least likely to be a human invention
Jesus was not the Messiah.
Jesus was not the Son of God.
From those 2 premises I conclude that Christian theology is a monumental waste of time. And you agree, correct?
2. Jesus could not possibly have been the Son of God.
Hence the notions of the trinity and incarnation are not worthy of discussion.