The same, but different...? The egg...

[Rescued One]

The tri-unity of the Father, Son & Set-Apart Spirit is a mystery, IMO. How can 3 be 1?

Did God say 3 are 3?

 

[SkyWriting]

The same but different...?

I heard how one woman had a revelation that Jesus was God, and about the trinity, from cracking and egg, and saying how the shell, the whites and the yolk, were "one egg", and this, and I use this example, because it seems to very similar to the way many people try to explain the trinity...

But, my question would be, yeah, but the shell, the white, and the yolk, are each different right...?

So, how does that apply to God? How are they the same but different...?

God Bless!

Different parts of a fellowshipping whole.

 

[Cat Loaf You]

You cannoth separate these three , can't be more simple .

 

[GirdYourLoins]

Just saw this and the word "carbon" came into my head. Diamond, Coal and graphite. They are all made up of the same thing. They are all carbon. Their atoms are all the same. But they are made up differently.

 

[mkgal1]

Just saw this and the word "carbon" came into my head. Diamond, Coal and graphite. They are all made up of the same thing. They are all carbon. Their atoms are all the same. But they are made up differently.

Isn't that modalism, though? From the definitions I've read....modalism is the notion that God is Father, Son and Spirit one at a time for different modes of purpose (functional) or time (chronological). When we have diamonds we don't have coal or graphite....but the Trinity is never separated.

 

[dreadnought]

He wasn't talking about you. Your description of God is like(or similar to) the modalists' description.

It seemed to me his remark was aimed at me.

 

[RadiantGrace]

Some people are able to disagree with others without calling them heretics.

I didn't call you a heretic.

Your understanding of God in the modalist view is an error.

The belief you are promoting contradicts mainstream Christianity. Therefore, it is itself a heresy.

A person who understands the belief they are promoting contradicts mainstream Christianity becomes a heretic.

 

[RadiantGrace]

It seemed to me his remark was aimed at me.

Christianity has been around for nearly 2000 years with believers just as smart as anyone that exists today. They had spent a lot of time discussing the issues that come up with any random thought we as individuals have today. Some people thought that because Jesus was God, that God died on the cross. No, God, in the person of Christ, in the flesh of humanity died of the cross. Some people thought Jesus was a puppet of God, as if God killing a puppet means anything.

People thought that the persons of God were distinct by human perception, by how people understood God. Then you end up with an infinite God being defined by His finite creation. God is infinite, and therefore, cannot be defined by His own creation.

That's the problem of modalism. You are defining the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit by their relationship with humanity. Their distinctiveness cannot be defined by creation. If creation defines aspects of God, it is no longer divine, it is not longer infinite, ageless, and independent.

If God is the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that is a definition of God that REQUIRES humanity in modalism. God, who created humanity, cannot be defined by His own creation. God did not need to make people. If He did, He wouldn't be God. Therefore, what defines the three persons of the Trinity cannot be based on the existence of humanity.

God has always existed. God does not change. The nature of God cannot be dependent on His interaction with humanity because He did not need to make people.

 

[Beloved2018]

God is one, He cannot be divided. But He lives as Father, Son and Holy Ghost. There are if you will, three consciousnesses. But these consciousnesses are distinct, they are not separate, so if one didn't exist, neither would the other two. That's why most of these analogies fail. God's relationship within Himself, comes about through procession; from the Father proceeds the Son (begotten) and from the Father processed the Spirit (unbegotten). The best analogy I have heard, plays off the Creeds themselves, and it's the analogy of light as in, 'light from light'. But God is the Uncreated Light and comparisons to what is created can only go so far. This is what I have been taught.

 

[GirdYourLoins]

Isn't that modalism, though? From the definitions I've read....modalism is the notion that God is Father, Son and Spirit one at a time for different modes of purpose (functional) or time (chronological). When we have diamonds we don't have coal or graphite....but the Trinity is never separated.

Not what I was thinking at all. I was thinking more that carbon = God in the simile and exists at the same time in all of the forms, but all are equally carbon. I was not thinking that the carbon changes from one state to another.

 

[mkgal1]

I was not thinking that the carbon changes from one state to another.

I'm not sure. It seems like the trouble is trying to emphasize the distinctions in that analogy--then it seems like modalism or partialism (if you describe the distinctions like diamonds, graphite, and coal). They are all carbon (with the simile being God).....but if distinct from one another they aren't united. It's just not sitting right with me as a good analogy.

 

[dreadnought]

I didn't call you a heretic.

Your understanding of God in the modalist view is an error.

The belief you are promoting contradicts mainstream Christianity. Therefore, it is itself a heresy.

A person who understands the belief they are promoting contradicts mainstream Christianity becomes a heretic.

I was given a label and called a heretic by someone.

 

[RadiantGrace]

I was given a label and called a heretic by someone.

Not in this topic.

 

[mkgal1]

People love to put labels on other people, don't they?

That label (modalism) isn't for a person but for a belief (a specific belief that was declared heresy by the early church). There are some basic definitions and parameters in Christianity.

 

[dreadnought]

Not in this topic.

Yes, I was, and that's okay. I just fire back.

 

[dreadnought]

That label (modalism) isn't for a person but for a belief (a specific belief that was declared heresy by the early church). There are some basic definitions and parameters in Christianity.

A label is a label.

 

[mkgal1]

A label is a label.

Right.....but would you be offended if I accurately called a dog a dog (in response to someone calling it a cat)?

 

[dreadnought]

Right.....but would you be offended if I accurately called a dog a dog (in response to someone calling it a cat)?

A label is a label.

 

[mkgal1]

A label is a label.

So you'd have no trouble if your pastor said in a sermon one day that Christ didn't really rise from the dead...that His resurrection isn't what we've been taught? You'd see that as "labeling" him wrongly (unfairly?) to recognize that as a belief outside of Christianity (IOW.....a heterodox belief)? It's completely fine if a person believes that (they have freedom to believe what they wish).....just don't call it Christianity.

 

[dreadnought]

So you'd have no trouble if your pastor said in a sermon one day that Christ didn't really rise from the dead...that His resurrection isn't what we've been taught? You'd see that as "labeling" him wrongly (unfairly?) to recognize that as a belief outside of Christianity (IOW.....a heterodox belief)? It's completely fine if a person believes that (they have freedom to believe what they wish).....just don't call it Christianity.

I believe God is one God, not three. However, I don’t call people heretics when they disagree with me.