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The Trinity/Binity, Part 12 (5): Is There Proof That Jesus Is God? (Romans to 1 John)

DOES ROMANS 8:9 [ pa | in ] PROVE THAT JESUS IS GOD? It is thought by some that "the spirit of God" here is the same as "Christ’s spirit" later in the verse. However, as brought out in the context in verses 10 and 11 [ pa | in ] , this verse is saying that "Christ’s spirit" is the qualifier to receive God’s holy spirit. That is, in order to have union with God, one must have union with Christ, just as Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father except through me." ( Joh 14:6 [ pa | in ] ) By not unerstanding that, one misses the point of this Scripture entirely. (See DOES ACTS 16:7 PROVE THAT JESUS IS GOD? in part 12 [4] for more details.) Having "Christ’s spirit" is having a "spirit" in the same sense as having "the spirit of wisdom" or "of disobedience". It is an attitude that one adopts. Thus we must adopt the attitude, or spirit, of Christ in order to receive God’s holy spirit. God’s holy spirit "...

The Trinity/Binity, Part 1: Introduction

The biggest thing causing division among claimants to Christianity is whether Jesus is God. Certainly this should be very important for all of us to consider. What we believe about God and Christ can have a profound effect on our relationship with God and our eternal salvation as it relates directly to the salvation message and who or what we perceive God to be. Surely something as "clear" as the Trinity is claimed to be should not be so confusing as to require centuries of theological debate, bloodshed, and forbidding Bible reading to enforce. 4 is 5 and 1 is 3 The Trinity doctrine reminds me of the moment in George Orwell's 1984 in which O'Brien gets Winston to state that O'Brien is holding up 5 fingers instead of 4. Similarly, in our current situation the so-called "orthodox" religions are training people through propaganda to believe that God is three beings instead of one, even though the evidence in the Bible clearly shows that there is only one s...

Hellfire and the Underworld

Fear of punishment in an afterlife has haunted the dreams of mankind for millennia. Many ideas about this punishment have been put forth by various religions. But it might surprise you to know that the fear of the dark underworld where souls undergo judicial punishment by fire did not begin with Abrahamic religions, but from other religions and national groups. The fact that the earth's core is molten is indeed associated with the destruction in the lake of fire with  Deuteronomy 32:22 , but that is merely an illustration of its destructiveness. (See DOES DEUTERONOMY 32:22 BURNING ALIVE IN HELLFIRE? below.) However, unlike the Trinity, or inherent immortality of the soul, it is understandable how hellfire could be read into the Scriptures given all the references to souls being tossed into the fire and certain entities being "tormented". In fact,  Luke 16:19-31  and  Revelation 14:9-11  understandably seem to provide a very clear representation...