hi, I have a few questions...

[shyfaeryxx]

1) If God is adrogenous (sp?)-neither a man nor a woman- what do I refer to him as? He or She? Mother or Father? Isn't he really both then? And therefor what does he physically look like?

2) I heard that it says in the Bible that "the man is the head of the household." Is this true?

3) What is God's personality like? Is he strict or ever hot-tempered? Does he ever get dissapointed or ashamed with us?

4) Isn't God and Jesus the same spirit/person? Which one should I pray to?

5) Is it ok to pray to angels occasionaly?

6) What do I do if there are certain sins that I have a really hard time stopping? What if some of the sins I don't think are that bad?

7) I know this may be wrong, but I'm not really into sharing my faith w/ others. I don't know, I just kind of feel that spirituality/religion is a personal choice. Is this bad?? I'm Catholic, btw.

--Thanks for any replies!!

 

[Radagast]

1) If God is adrogenous (sp?)-neither a man nor a woman- what do I refer to him as? He or She? Mother or Father? Isn't he really both then? And therefor what does he physically look like?

Call God "Father" -- that's what Jesus told us to do.

And we can't even imagine what God looks like.

2) I heard that it says in the Bible that "the man is the head of the household." Is this true?

The Bible says:

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. (Ephesians 5:22-33)

... Does he ever get dissapointed or ashamed with us?

Yes... read the Bible...

4) Isn't God and Jesus the same spirit/person? Which one should I pray to?

Kind of. Pray to God the Father, or to Jesus.

6) What do I do if there are certain sins that I have a really hard time stopping? What if some of the sins I don't think are that bad?

All sins are bad... but stopping them is a long-term goal.

7) I know this may be wrong, but I'm not really into sharing my faith w/ others. I don't know, I just kind of feel that spirituality/religion is a personal choice. Is this bad?? I'm Catholic, btw.

Would you wear a cross, for example?

-- Radagast

 

[Dark_Lite]

1) If God is adrogenous (sp?)-neither a man nor a woman- what do I refer to him as? He or She? Mother or Father? Isn't he really both then? And therefor what does he physically look like?

God is an it with male characteristics.

4) Isn't God and Jesus the same spirit/person? Which one should I pray to?

They are separate entities that make up the same God. The Trinity is an odd concept but think of it as 1 x 1 x 1 =1.

5) Is it ok to pray to angels occasionaly?

Yes. The Church teaches that we are allowed to pray to those canonized Saints (which include some angels) in heaven for intercession.

6) What do I do if there are certain sins that I have a really hard time stopping? What if some of the sins I don't think are that bad?

What does the Church say about it? You should probably talk to your priest about this.

I left out answers to the ones I thought were answered decently already.

 

[Endure2]

hey

hope you dont mind me having at go at those too.

1.
well Jesus refered to him as father, i dont think he is a male like me but hes more of a father than a mother.

2.
it is true. though the meaning of that is widely disputed by people.
some people really dont come to agreements on that means.
i myself believe that it means the man is more responsible for things, he has the responsibility to look after his family in a diffrent way than the wife does.
i dont believe the bible ever teaches a husband to boss a wife around, the bible specificly says they are to submit to one another.

3.
yeah he has a personality too, and i think he can feel all the things that we can. like another said, its all in the bible. though God really really leans on the side of mercy and grace. God is very slow to anger.

4.
well i for one dont believe they are the same person becuase to me alot of what Jesus said doesnt make sense if they are. but the bible specificly tells us to pray to the father in the name of Jesus, not to Jesus. to the father in the name of Jesus.

5.
i personally dont believe it is.
i believe the bible says so when it says there is only one intercessor between God and man and that is Jesus. the bible is clear that God is the only person with any power to change things, Jesus even said that it wasnt him but it was the father. and i dont believe corporate prayer or us all praying together for a united reason applies to saints in heavon or angles becuase Jesus said when two or more are gathered together on earth he would be there, not in heavon.
i believe Jesus is the way, the truth and the light and none comes to the father except by him. hes the way to God, we dont need anyone else, and no one else has any power to give. the bible clear promises that if we pray to God in the name of Jesus, or that means through Jesus, he WILL hear our prayers, i dont believe we need saints or angles. thats just what i believe.

6.
well the bible is very clear that its gonna be hard, and that we arent going to walk the perfect road. david talked alot about things being very hard for him.
and Jesus forgave many people over and over and told us hed always forgive us and said we must forgive seventy times seventy a day, he will too.
the most important thing is praying for him to help you and change you and set you free from sins that you cant stop on your own, if you do that, then trying hard will make a diffrence.

well let the bible tell you whats right and wrong, and if you have a question ask God about it. dont be afraid to bring your doubts to God, he can handle them and he WILL eventually answer them. and like another said, ask your priest or whoever you know that can help you understand.

7.
well, i believe thats something God works in us over time, the more you grow closer to him, the more you will begin to despair at other people walking away from God and away from heavon. and beyond this, God tells us to be a witness, becuase those people need to know.
we have to try and doit it anyway.
and the bible doesnt really teach that its "to each his own" the bible tells us that if were saved, we have the obligation of bringing that truth to others becuase we cant really find God by ourselves very well, we need people who have already found him, to help us see him. for a number of reasons.

 

[StAnselm]

1. God is masculine without being male.

6. Sin is something that everyone struggles with all the way to heaven. And yet, it is possible to have them completely and totally forgiven. That's why Jesus died - to pay the price for those sins, to suffer the punishment that our sins deserved.

Whatever you think of your sins, God thinks they're much worse than that. But not so bad that that they can't be forgiven.

 

[Tenorvoice]

This will be lengthy soo I appologise in advance.


As for #1 I would have to agree with what StAnselm said about it. He worded it better than I could have.

#2--Ephesians 5:18-6:4 explains this best. But for it to work properly you must understand that it is not the kind of "headship" that most men think that it is. Most men today think that it means that we boss our wives around, and force them to do what we bark at them to do. THis is not so. For when you read this Scriptures it tells us that we are to love our wives like Christ loves the Chruch. Well what did Christ do for the Chruch (and the whole world for that matter), He sacrificed Himself for us. He SUBMITTED Himself to the Chruch, and bore our sins for us. THis is the same sacrificial love that we are to have for our wives.

#3--here are a few scriptures for you to read on this (there are a lot of them)-- this is actually the Unity of God
Dt 4:35; 6:4; 2Sa 7:22; Isa 42:8). Taught by Jesus (Mk 12:29, 32; Jn 17:3). Taught by Paul (1Co 8:4, 6; Gal 3:20; Eph 4:6; 1Ti 2:5). Disbelieved in by Syrians (1Ki 20:28). Believed in by demons (Jas 2:19).

#4--Yes they are all the same. This is the only time that regular math will not work. 1+1+1=1 in this sence (its also the same fomula for a great Godly Marriage)

#5--Why would you want to, or need to for that matter. We have Jesus Christ as our intercessor, We Pray to God the Father and this is who Jesus commands us to Pray to (this is our Lord Speaking here in Matthew)
Mt 6:5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Mt 6:9 "This, then, is how you should pray:

" ‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

Mt 6:10 your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Mt 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.

Mt 6:12 Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Mt 6:13 And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’ 14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins

#6--In God's eyes all sins are the same there are no little or big, or one greater than the other. A sin is a sin.

#7--
The Great Commission

Mt 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.

Mt 28:17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

Mt 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Mt 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Mt 28:20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This is a commandment from our Lord and Savior, I know that at times myself I do not do this as much as I should, but we are ALL COMMANDED to do it.

Hope this helps

 

[DawnTillery]

Ill just answer one of these about who do we pray to... We pray our prayers to the Heavenly Father in Jesus' name. Thats the only one I pray to. ONLY God can answer prayers..

 

[Radagast]

...Sin is something that everyone struggles with all the way to heaven. And yet, it is possible to have them completely and totally forgiven. That's why Jesus died - to pay the price for those sins, to suffer the punishment that our sins deserved.

Whatever you think of your sins, God thinks they're much worse than that. But not so bad that that they can't be forgiven.

Great reply!

-- Radagast

 

[vinc]

1) If God is adrogenous (sp?)-neither a man nor a woman- what do I refer to him as? He or She? Mother or Father? Isn't he really both then? And therefor what does he physically look like?
Ans. Lord Jesus Christ (or Yahshua in Hebrew) mentions in the Lord's Prayer that we ought to pray to our Heavenly Father (Yahweh in Hebrew, Jehovah in English). I think He is the male part of the Triune God. None of the English Bibles mention about the feminine part of God. The Hebrew Bible mentions "Holy Spirit" as "Ruach" which is a feminine word in Hebrew. But, in English Bibles, Holy Spirit is mentioned as a male and is often referred as "He". The Hebrew word "Elohim" has been replaced with the English word "God" while translation. "Elohim" is a plural word in Hebrew. "Eloha" is the singular word. These are some of the translation errors from the Original Hebrew and Greek Versions of the Bible to English Bibles. So, if we consider the Hebrew Bible, we have Father-God (Yahweh or Jehovah), Mother-God (Ruach or Holy Spirit) and Son-God (Yahshua or Jesus Christ). And if we consider the English Bible, we have Father-God (Yahweh or Jehovah), Holy-Spirit-God, and Son-God (Yahshua or Jesus Christ). During prayer and communication, we mostly use the names "Father-God", "Heavenly Father", "Almighty Father", "Jehovah God" or "Yahweh" for addressing Father-God and we end the prayer in the name of Lord Jesus Christ or Yahshua. It is sufficient for us if we refer to them in this way. The Androgynous character of God is found only when we look into the Hebrew/Greek Bibles. It is not found in any of the English Bibles. And most christians who read the English Bibles will not agree with the Androgynous nature of God.

2) I heard that it says in the Bible that "the man is the head of the household." Is this true?
Ans. Yes. It is true. God designed man as the head of his family. Maybe because God thought that the man would be more careful in decision-making than the woman. He got this impression after Eve was first decieved by the serpent to disobey God. But, women also can make better decisions for the family and ought to be considered as the co-head alongwith her husband. When the wife loves and respects her husband, she immediately becomes submissive and obeys him and appreciates his decisions. If the husband loves and respects his wife then he likes to communicate with her and take her counsel regarding the decisions he has to take. There is no perfect husband and no perfect wife and everyone makes mistakes as we are human.

3) What is God's personality like? Is he strict or ever hot-tempered? Does he ever get dissapointed or ashamed with us?
Ans. The Bible says God is Love. God is kind. God is merciful. God is slow to wrath and quick to show mercy for any repentant and humble person. Like a Father pities (or has compassion) his children, similarly our Heavenly Father who created us, pities us. God is also strict so that we may not go astray by the deceptions of the world. Like a Father chastens His children, so God chastens/disciplines us only because He would want us to live an excellent life on earth and inherit His approval and blessings. Yes, sometimes He might be getting dissappointed with us and ashamed of us and would be even regretting having created us by seeing our evil/wickedness. That is why the Bible says that God is also a long-suffering God which means He is capable of suffering our wickedness for a long time. The Bible says that there is also a time of God's wrath for the wicked.

4) Isn't God and Jesus the same spirit/person? Which one should I pray to?
Ans. It is best to pray to our Heavenly Father in the name of Lord Jesus Christ (His Son). Because it is the Heavenly Father who sent His Son for us and out of love for us. Heavenly Father ought to be given more importance than Lord Jesus Christ. Bcoz it is out of our Heavenly Father came His Son Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible says, that Lord Jesus Christ has been given pre-eminence over all living beings by the Heavenly Father. We can refer to Lord Jesus Christ directly in prayer and still expect some results but we ought to always address our prayer to our Heavenly Father. We are all the Creation and Children of our Heavenly Father and it is best to address our prayers to Him alone just like Lord Jesus Christ informed His Disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13 "9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.". The word "Amen" means "so be it" (meaning let it happen accordingly). And we end our prayer in Jesus name because the Bible says in John 16:23 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you".

5) Is it ok to pray to angels occasionaly?
Ans. There is no need to pray to Angels (even occassionally also). The Bible says we have only one mediator Lord Jesus Christ. It is sufficient for us, if we pray to our Heavenly Father in the name of Lord Jesus Christ. Nowhere, in the Bible it says to pray to the Angels. And nowhere in the Bible, we see God's children praying to Angels. Angels are created beings like us who were created by our Heavenly Father.

People are praying to Angels and Dead Saints like St. Jude and are getting the results. This could only be that God is seeing their faith (or cry for help) and decides to help them even though they have addressed the prayer wrongly.

6) What do I do if there are certain sins that I have a really hard time stopping? What if some of the sins I don't think are that bad?
Ans. There are bound to be certain sins which we have a really hard time stopping. But, God will see our intention that we are not wanting to commit such sins but due to our weakness are succumbing to those sins and therefore He is bound to be merciful and forgiving. It is usually the sins that we think are not that bad are the sins we find it really hard to overcome. There are also degrees of sins. Some sins weigh harder in the sight of God than some other sins. IMHO If you avoid the bigger sins and struggle to overcome the lesser sins, you will still be favoured by Almighty God. Nobody is perfect. Nobody is completely sinless. And there is always scope of improvement. The Bible also says, If we forgive others, we will also be forgiven of our sins.

7) I know this may be wrong, but I'm not really into sharing my faith w/ others. I don't know, I just kind of feel that spirituality/religion is a personal choice. Is this bad?? I'm Catholic, btw.
Ans. It is not mandatory to preach about your faith to others. Yes, i agree with you that spirituality and religion is a personal choice and he/she is free to make his/her choice. But, when asked about your faith by others, then you can possibly share your views and opinions. I would prefer that you say that you are a Christian who belongs to the Catholic Denomination. That would be the right way of saying because all Catholic Denomination is a part of Christianity too. The Catholic Denomination came after a few centuries after the work of Lord Jesus Christ, His Disciples and Apostles. If you read about Church History in Halley's Bible Handbook or any other book, you will get a good picture. It is good for every christian to read the Church History and also about How we got the Bible. These will help us to understand more about Christianity, Christian Groups, Christian life and the Bible.

No mention and Lord bless you.

 

[StAnselm]

I think He is the male part of the Triune God. None of the English Bibles mention about the feminine part of God. The Hebrew Bible mentions "Holy Spirit" as "Ruach" which is a feminine word in Hebrew.

That's ridiculous - you can't extrapolate from whether a noun is feminine to whether the object is feminine. Lots of nouns are feminine in Hebrew, including the words for fire, sword, foot, city and sin.

In other words, it doesn't mean squat.

 

[Endure2]

this subject of whether or not God is male or female is so vague and meaningless that the bible says so little about it specificly, that all anyone can really do is try to "extrapolate" words and origins of words.
when evidence begins to come down the the meanings of greek and hebrew words and all the diffrent uses of them, instead of what the book just plainly says, your beginning to be pretty useless, it doesnt matter. the bible is clear about what matters.
the scriptures change us, not the disection of everything. i think when people go too far into that their missing the point. i dont think God ordained it that we be obligated to all this speculation and searching out what a single word could mean from all these diffrent points of veiw. he wasnt about that when he was on earth, and he isnt about it now.

so who really cares whether or not we agree on this subject?
if God didnt really talk about his sex, it must not matter.

God being a male or female wouldnt change anything that matters.
it wouldnt begin to change Gods active role and actions in our lives.

 

[Simonline]

1) If God is androgynous -neither a man nor a woman- what do I refer to him as? He or She? Mother or Father? Isn't he really both then? And therefor what does he physically look like?

Firstly, it is not quite correct to say that God is androgynous. The Bible teaches that God and Humanity have a special relationship with each other that does not exist between God and any other creature. This is because Humans are made in the image of God (Gen.1:26-27). Because of this special relationship the terms 'male' and 'female' come into play. These terms are not absolute but are relative to each other. God (in relation to Humans) is always 'male'. This is why the Bible ALWAYS defines God in 'male' terms and NEVER defines God in 'female' terms. [On the few occasions when the Bible speaks of God using 'female' terms it is always of the nature of similie - God is like a mother rather than actually being a mother.] This is why the Bible teaches us that God is our Father and not our Mother; our Lord and not our Lady; our King and not our Queen; our Master and not our Mistress. It is for this reason that the Messiah (as the one Being who is both Infinite Divine and finite human - 'Emmanuel' - 'God with us') is exclusively 'male' and could not be 'female'

Humans, on the other hand, are ALWAYS referred to collectively (in relation to God) in 'female' terms and NEVER in 'male' terms. This is why in the Old Testament Israel is depicted as the 'wife' of YHWH and YHWH as her husband (Isa.54:5; Jer.3:14; 31:32; Hos.2:16 etc.) and in the New Testament the Church is depicted as 'the Bride of the Messiah' (Rev.18:23; 19:7; 21:2; 21:9; 22:17).

The exact nature of this relationship between God and humanity (especially redeemed humanity) is a profound sacred (spiritual) mystery which is represented by the institution of human marriage as a representational type or cameo of the 'master relationship' between God and humanity. The man as 'male' represents God and the woman as 'female' represents Humanity. Although there are obvious differences in the relationship between God and humans [God is Infinite Divine Creator whereas Man is finite human creature] there are also strong similarities [the Image] and these should not be ignored or down-played. The Bible declares that the 'male' is to take the lead but this is not to be understood as 'the 'male' is 'superior' to the 'female'' since the partnership is one of equality as well as difference. (cf Eph.5:22-33).

Eventually, the 'master relationship' between God and redeemed humanity will be revealed for all Creation to behold. When this happens all the representational types or cameoes will become obsolete [which is why all individual marriages between men and women end at physical death] since that which is being represented will finally be revealed in all its glory.

Matt.22:23-33 - When the Sadducees (who did not believe in the resurrection, which is why they were sad, you see?!) tried to trap the Messiah with what they thought was an impossible theological problem, that of a woman who married a man and, according to accepted Jewish custom, when her husband died without leaving any children, the woman married the man's brother so that he could have children to continue the name of the deceased brother. Unfortunately [very unfortunately], this scenario was repeated six times (?!) until the woman had been the wife of all seven brothers [either she or the brothers' family must have been cursed (?!)] Finally, the Sadducees asked the Messiah, "At the Resurrection, who's wife will she be?" The Messiah's reply was first to rebuke them for their unbelief and then to correct their defective theology. The Messiah taught the Sadducees that at the Resurrection, people will neither marry (men) nor be given in marriage (women) but they will be like the angels in heaven (which does not mean that humans will suddenly become a-sexual but rather that, like the angels, humans will no longer marry each other). This is because, at the Resurrection, there will only be ONE MARRIAGE between God and redeemed humanity collectively. This was always the 'Master Plan' as far as God was concerned and he intends to see it through to the end. It is for this reason that God declares that he hates divorce (Mal.2:16) since he passionately loves the Human Race with every fibre of his Being and 'divorcing' us for another is just absolutely unthinkable (such is the strength and passion of God's Love for us). God has reluctantly conceded divorce between individual human beings because of the hardness of their hearts (since God has no desire to see humans suffer in a destructive 'marriage') but this is not what God wants ideally.

See: Leadership Is Male by David Pawson, available online from either www.anchor-recordings.com (UK) or www.Goodseed.org (USA) or from your local Christian bookstore or public lending library.

God does not 'look like' anything. 'God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth' (Jn.4:24). When the Bible says 'No man has ever seen God [i.e. the Father in Heaven]' (Jn.6:46), it is for one reason and one reason only, there is nothing to see. God [in Heaven] has no physical form. However, since the Incarnation, God has incorporated human-ness into Himself in the Person of the Messiah (Jn.14:9) so now, if one has seen the Messiah then one has truely seen God.

2) I heard that it says in the Bible that "the man is the head of the household." Is this true?

Yes, it is. For reasons I have discussed in answer one.

3) What is God's personality like? Is he strict or ever hot-tempered? Does he ever get dissapointed or ashamed with us?

God is Love (1Jn.4:8). This is the foundational basis of who God is. This single attribute underpins all of his other attributes. It is because God is Love that he is also Holy, Righteous, Just, Gracious, Merciful. When God gets angry it is because he is passionate about us and he loves and cares both about and for us. God's anger is always destructive but it is always absolutely precise (like a laser beam) and ONLY destroys that which would seek to destroy those he loves. God NEVER flies off in uncontrolable rage and although his anger can flare up in a moment, he is quick to end it because he takes no pleasure in venting his anger. His constant over-riding hearts desire is to be in loving fellowship with his creatures (Ps.136).

Since God is all-knowing (omniscient) and there has NEVER been a point when he was not omniscient, then nothing you can do will ever surprize him or catch him unawares. He knows, and has known, the whole of your life (and everyone else's lives) from all eternity. God knows not only what has and will happen but also what might or could happen but never actually will happen too, in other words all possible possibilities even though they will never become actual reality. Furthermore, simply because God already knows all this in advance, it does not affect, in any way, shape or form, your abillity to freely make any kind of choice (moral or otherwise). Personally, I don't think it would be correct to say that God is ever ashamed or disappionted in us since these are traits of a Being with finite limited knowledge (a creature) rather than God.

continued...

 

[Simonline]

4) Isn't God and Jesus the same spirit/person? Which one should I pray to?

The Bible teaches first and foremost that God is ONE BEING (Deut.6:4). With regard to the Nature of God, this is the foundational starting point for both Judaism and Christianity. Whatever else God is, he is just ONE BEING.

However, the Bible also teaches that God is also three Persons or Personalities. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three Personalities exist together as the One Being that is God. The Athanasian Creed is the creed which the Church uses to both affirm and teach the Trinitarian Nature of God.

The Athanasian Creed

Whoever wishes to be saved, before all things, it is necessary that they hold the catholic faith.
And unless they keep this faith complete and uncompromised, without doubt they will forever perish.

And the Catholic faith is this - that we worship one God in trinity, and trinity in unity; neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.

For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son and another of the Holy Spirit.

But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one - their respective glory and majesty being both equal and co-eternal.

In exactly the same way as the Father is, so is the Son and so is the Holy Spirit.

The Father was not created, the Son was not created and the Holy Spirit was not created.

The Father is incomprehensible, the Son is incomprehensible and the Holy Spirit is incomprehensible.

The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal and the Holy Spirit is eternal.

And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal as also they are not three incomprehensibles, or three uncreated but one uncreated and one incomprehensible.

In exactly the same way as the Father is Almighty, so the Son is Almighty and so the Holy Spirit is Almighty.

And yet they are not three Almighties - but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God.

And yet they are not three Gods but one God.

In exactly the same way as the Father is Lord, so the Son is Lord and so the Holy Spirit is Lord.

And yet there are not three Lords but one Lord.

Therefore, in the same way as we are compelled by the truth to acknowledge every person of the Godhead by himself to be both God and Lord, so we are forbidden by the catholic faith to say, “There are three Gods” or “three Lords”.

The Father has not come from anyone and neither was He created, nor was He derived.

The Son is of the Father alone - not made, nor created, but derived.

The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son - not made, nor created, nor derived, but proceeding.

So there is one Father not three Fathers; there is one Son, not three Sons and there is one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.

And within this trinity no one existed before or after the other, no one is greater or lesser than the other, all three persons are together co-eternal and co-equal.

So that in all things, as has already been said, the unity in trinity and trinity in unity is to be worshipped.

Therefore whoever wishes to be saved must thus think of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that they also believe the truth about the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For the truth that we believe and confess is that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man; God, of the substance of the Father, derived before the world was created, and man of the substance of his mother, born into the world. Perfect God, and perfect man of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.

Equal with the Father, regarding his Godhood and inferior to the Father, regarding his manhood.

Who although He is both God and man yet He is not two persons, but one person – Christ.

One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh but by the taking of manhood into God.

One, integrated, not by confusion of Substance: but by unity of person.

For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man: so God and man is one Christ;

Who for our salvation suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.

On the third day He was raised to life and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father

from where He will come again in glory to judge both the living and the dead At His coming all the dead shall rise again with their bodies and shall give an account for their own works.They that have done good shall go into life everlasting and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.

This is the catholic faith and whoever does not believe faithfully cannot be saved.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

This is a slightly more up to date version of the Athanasian Creed since the original one uses rather antiquated language.

The New Testament teaches us that the second Personality of the Trinity (the eternally begotten [derived] Son/Word of God) became Incarnate. In other words he came to Earth and lived amongst the Human race as a human being known as the Messiah [Heb.] or the Christ [Gk.] meaning the 'chosen' or 'anointed' one. In order for this to happen, the Messiah had to have two natures. One nature that of the Infinite Divine Creator (the second Personality of the Trinitarian God - the eternally begotten [derived] Son/Word of God) and the other nature that of the finite human creature (Jesus of Nazareth). Together (and only together) they are the Messiah. The Messiah is the only Being in all existence who is BOTH Infinite Divine Creator AND finite human creature. The technical term for this is the hypostatic union. This is a fancy term that simply means the union of the two separate and distinct natures within the one Person of the Messiah.

Because the Messiah is a combination of Infinite Divine Creator and finite human creature, the Messiah always points us as humans to his Father in Heaven (who is purely Infinite Divine Creator). As Infinite Divine Creator, the Messiah is entitled to be worshipped (which is why he never rebuked anyone for worshiping him) but as finite human creature he is not entitled to be worshiped (which is why he never actively encouraged anyone to worship or pray to him as the Messiah but always directed others to worship and pray to God in Heaven, hence, the Lord's Prayer).

Therefore, whilst we must not play down or ignore the Messiah's Divinity, the Messiah himself would rather that we directed all prayers and worship to the Trinitarian God in Heaven (which includes Father, Son and Holy Spirit) rather than the Incarnated Messiah as both Infinite Divine Creator and finite human creature.

continued...

 

[Simonline]

5) Is it ok to pray to angels occasionaly?

In a word, no. No purely finite creature (including angels and believers who have died and gone on ahead of us) should ever have either prayers or worship directed toward them. This is because, God has declared that only He as the Infinite Divine Creator should be the object of our prayers and worship. Anything else would be idolatry.

6) What do I do if there are certain sins that I have a really hard time stopping? What if some of the sins I don't think are that bad?

Firstly, you need to immerse yourself in the Truth of God's Word and consciously and deliberately bring your thinking and beliefs into line with what God has declared to be the Truth [i.e reality as he has created it] (Rom.12:1-2). In other words you need to re-calibrate yourself so that you are conforming to the likeness of God's eternally begotten Son/Word who is also the Messiah (Rom.8:29)



If there are areas in your life where the Evil One is in control more than you are then you need to seek help from other 'older' more mature brothers and sisters (whom you love and trust and whom you know both love and trust you). You need to break this hold that the Evil One has over you and the way to do this is to confess your sin to them and then to ask them to hold you accountable on a very regular basis. They will also need to regularly ask you very direct and pointed questions (tailoring them to the specific area and nature of the sin) and not simply 'graciously skirt around the issue' by asking vague questions which you can deflect since this will enable you to deceive both yourself and your brothers and sisters and so continue in your 'secret sin(s)' (Jer.17:9). This will then result in your spiritual condition being worse than it is at present.

7) I know this may be wrong, but I'm not really into sharing my faith w/ others. I don't know, I just kind of feel that spirituality/religion is a personal choice. Is this bad?? I'm Catholic, btw.

--Thanks for any replies!!

It sounds like you are a nominal Roman Catholic (someone who has been raised within the Roman Catholic Church and who has been taught that you are a 'Christian' simply because you were 'baptized' as an infant)? This however, is not necessarily the case. There are many people within many churches (of all denominations) who believe themselves to be 'Christians' for a variety of reasons but who in fact are not Christians at all. (I say this not to be judgmental but on the basis of the confession of many true Christians who confess that they were raised in their church and held many offices/performed many functions within their Church before they came to a living and personal relationship with the Living God who is there. In other words, they went from knowing about God to knowing God personally.) If this sounds like you then I recommend that you get hold of a book called The Normal Christian Birth by David Pawson, available online from www.anchor-recordings.com (UK) or www.Goodseed.org (USA) or your local (non-denominational) Christian bookstore or public lending library.



Hope this helps?



Simonline.

 

[STARMAKER]

i think it is very difficult to answer these Qs.


but,you have to accept it blindly

 

[Simonline]

i think it is very difficult to answer these Qs.


but,you have to accept it blindly

No! Absolutely not! Judeo-Christianity is an intelligent faith, not a blind faith. There are always sound theological reasons why things are the way that they are. To discover those reasons you have to study the Scriptures for yourself and allow God to speak to you through those Scriptures.

If you just accept things blindly then you have no way of knowing that what you are accepting blindly is true or not or if you are actually being mislead through false teaching. God expects us to study and learn the truth for ourselves (as far as we are able) and not just blindly try and absolve ourselves of responsibility by leaving it up to others to spoon feed us our theology (Acts.17:11)

Simonline.

 

[Mr_E]

2) I heard that it says in the Bible that "the man is the head of the household." Is this true?

My understanding is that the man is the head and the a woman is like the body. One cannot live without the other. There are several places in the bible that sort of refer to men in this way. I do not think the answer to this question is important because as husband and wife you should always put one another first, so if a man were the decision maker he should do what is best for his wife anyway, and she should do the same for him.

 

[Simonline]

2) I heard that it says in the Bible that "the man is the head of the household." Is this true?

My understanding is that the man is the head and the a woman is like the body. One cannot live without the other. There are several places in the bible that sort of refer to men in this way. I do not think the answer to this question is important because as husband and wife you should always put one another first, so if a man were the decision maker he should do what is best for his wife anyway, and she should do the same for him.

Sounds like you already know the answer to your question?....yes, because of the created order, the 'male' is the one who holds the position of leadership whereas the 'female' holds the supporting role. The two are completely equal whilst at the same time being different and therefore not interchangable (as if God and Humanity could swap places)?!

See: Leadership Is Male by David Pawson, available online from www.anchor-recordings.com (UK) or www.Goodseed.org (USA) or from your local Christian bookstore or public lending library.

Simonline.

 

[GREENLIGHT]

1) If God is adrogenous (sp?)-neither a man nor a woman- what do I refer to him as? He or She? Mother or Father? Isn't he really both then? And therefor what does he physically look like?

2) I heard that it says in the Bible that "the man is the head of the household." Is this true?

3) What is God's personality like? Is he strict or ever hot-tempered? Does he ever get dissapointed or ashamed with us?

4) Isn't God and Jesus the same spirit/person? Which one should I pray to?

5) Is it ok to pray to angels occasionaly?

6) What do I do if there are certain sins that I have a really hard time stopping? What if some of the sins I don't think are that bad?

7) I know this may be wrong, but I'm not really into sharing my faith w/ others. I don't know, I just kind of feel that spirituality/religion is a personal choice. Is this bad?? I'm Catholic, btw.

--Thanks for any replies!!

1- NO COMMENT.....Reason:i dont trust in Bible

2- God something we cant imagine or see by our eyes,but we can see him by heart,God is the whole perfect,and unique value.

3-......................

4- God is not jesus and jesus is not God.God Is somethingelse,he is our creator,and then the other things are his creatures.

5- No,angels are creatures like us,they pray to god.

6-........................

7- you are right,we need to share our faith,because this will help us to understand the beiliefs.go ahead,ask for your religion to understand it well and perfect.

 

[StAnselm]

1- NO COMMENT.....Reason:i dont trust in Bible

How come, Greenlight? And what exactly do you mean? Surely all Christians believe the Bible in some way at least.

God is not jesus and jesus is not God.God Is somethingelse,he is our creator,and then the other things are his creatures.

Are you saying that Jesus is a created being? I'm surprised that you have a Catholic icon, if that is the case. Also, to post in this Forum you need to indicate that you accept the teaching of the Nicene Creed, which means that you believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was "begotten, not made".