Our God takes on many forms, yet stays One.
As Jesus John dipped, the Father onlooked,
And the Spirit in a dove, all three done,
But no divine function was left forsook;
No work undone over the rest of earth.
In Job's whirlwind, the Father spoke, and yet
The planet's work went on, o'er all its girth;
None called on Him that He failed to abet.
The mind of God is not a single-track,
That He must end one job to start anew;
He's never so busy His children must lack;
Or a lost one's plea's unattended to.
He Who spoke the stars to be and append,
Suffice this wee world its affairs attend!
New Christians often become confused and discouraged at the many names the Bible uses for God. They may even get the wrong idea that our one God is really three. If you will go to the archives of my blogs and click on Call Him Not Thief, the commentay will explain and list a number of different names used at various places for God.
The poem above refers to the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, found in Matthew 3:13-16. There are all three forms of the Trinity---Father, Son, and Holy Spirit---appearing simultaneously. The main subject of the poem is the greatness of our God. and how, even though He may appear in two or three different forms at the same instant, He is so magnificent that all of the affairs He customarily deals with are cared for efficiently and equally well.
The Muslims' god is Allah and is considered by them emphatically to be one being. Perhaps their biggest criticism of Christianity is that we have three gods. Some Christians are confused and they might say, "Christians and Muslims worship the same god." This is a definite falsehood. If we who think that are simply uninstructed and not just being kind or politically correct, we ought to read an English translation of the Qur'an, or any book about Islam. We will see quickly that the characteristics and attributes of Allah are violent, impersonal, and unattached, while those of Jehovah God, are loving, personal, and deeply involved in the affairs of men. They are not the same. God is getting very angry at the impertinence of Muslims who deny that He is God by their substitution of Allah. Even President Bush is quoted as saying that Christians, Jews, and Muslims all worship the same god. It is doubtful that he is confused with the expert advisors he has; I think he was speaking as president and being politically correct. It is a tremendous benefit to Islam to keep that kind of fuzzy thinking prevalent in America, because it keeps us asleep to the danger we face.
Christians, let's be precise about what we're supposed to do about Islam. We are told to love everybody, friends, enemies, and non-acquaintances. We are not to hate them. As a nation, though, we must be alert to enemies of freedom. Our nation has fought many wars and lost many soldiers in war defending our liberty. There is evidence that Islam hates us, not only by the September 2001 attack that killed more Americans than the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but by the numerous other attacks in the last 40 years. More than that, the Qur'an explicitly includes Christians as Islam's target to take over our nation and subject us to the dictatorship of shari'a law and religion, and all followers of Islam, radical and moderate are deeply involved in everything in the Qur'an. Beheading is specifically endorsed for those who have been conquered and who refuse to worship Allah. So, what do we do? Paraphrasing a WW2 popular song, we "praise God and pass the ammunition", and when we win, we love them and try to convert them.
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5 comments:
Greetings Dr. William J. B. Crittenden
On the subject of the Trinity,
I recommend this video:
The Human Jesus
Take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will aid you to reconsider "The Trinity"
Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor
Dear Pastor Adam,
I watched the video The Human Jesus as you suggested. After deep consideration, I will hold to my belief in the Trinity. I see a lot of value in your interpretation, but without the impact of Paul's influence on the Apostles' understanding of the gospel, Christianity would have held on to some Judaistic trappings. Thanks again. I respect your position. William Crittenden
Thank you William Crittenden,
for taking the time to watch the video & thanks for your comments.
BTW, my name is Adam Pastor.
I am no pastor!
Please bear in mind,
Paul was never a trinitarian.
He believed in solely ONE GOD.
And that ONE GOD is the Father,
[1 Cor 8.4,6]
Thanks again
In defence of Paul
Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor
In response to Adam Pastor:
The names YHWH and Elohim frequently occur with the word Ẓeba'ot ("hosts"), as Yhwh Elohe Ẓeba'ot ("YHWH God of Hosts") or "God of Hosts"; or, most frequently, "YHWH of Hosts." To this last Adonai is often prefixed, making the title "Lord YHWH of Hosts."
Transliteration of the four-letter name of God YHWH in the Torah; also called the tetragrammaton. In Jewish prayer it is never pronounced; it is replaced by the Hebrew word for "lord," which is itself never pronounced in conversation, being replaced by Hashem (literally, "the name [of God]").
John 14
8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need."
9Jesus replied:
Philip, I have been with you for a long time. Don't you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father? 10Don't you believe that I am one with the Father and that the Father is one with me? What I say isn't said on my own. The Father who lives in me does these things.
11Have faith in me when I say that the Father is one with me and that I am one with the Father. Or else have faith in me simply because of the things I do."
"For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living."
—Romans 14:8, 9 (Paul)
I'm sure you are not saying Jesus was a liar or Paul. The Trinity IS a mystery of which salvation does not depend. One day when we are together in the presence of God, we will all understand.
My own personal thinking at all times is "Do not limit God." He is much more than our finite minds can imagine.
S.Williams
Dear Adam,
I appreciate your second comment. I have traced all references (I think) from Genesis to Revelation that put at least two of the three beings we are discussing. I have not found a text that verifies the equality of God the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit are one being. To me, that signifies that we have a mystery that I won't be able to solve without some special revelation or until I see God and ask Him. It is logical, then, that some would believe that the Father was the supreme God; the Son second in power; the Holy Spirit third; but given certain scriptures, such as Matthew 28:19, where Jesus told His disciples to spread the gospel to the world, He included a phrase that named all three to honor a believer's baptism. Also, Paul uses all three in bidding adieu to the Corinthians 2 Cor. 13:14. Also, in saying goodbye to the Colossians, Paul says that "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority."
There are other verses, but we both probably agree that the Trinity is simply an interpretation that can be believed or disbelieved. I lean to the belief that The Human Jesus in the flesh was the One God; that the Father was God of most power depicted in writings (the Bible), and the Holy Spirit is God that is depicted in writings as the least; that when we get to heaven, we won't have 3 separate beings, but the One will be Christ Jesus. Just don't ask for proof now. John Milton believed in 3 beings with varying power in Paradise Lost, as did many others.
One last comment: I sense Christ in you and that makes us brothers; neither will be denied heaven for whatever we believe about the Trinity,
However, in reading about Restoration Fellowship, I caught hints of criticism about believing a different gospel. a dimunition of John's gospel; a statement that if we didn't ascribe to the Shema, we could not be saved. That I don't accept. Thanks for your interest. We just have to be agrreable in our disagreement.
William Crittenden.
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