Confusion about the Trinity

[Wertbag]

One study (The Biblical Doctrines Many Evangelicals Get Wrong - Lifeway Research) found great confusion amongst US evangelical Christians as to what the beliefs in the trinity meant. While 96% of respondents said they believed in the trinity, around 30% then answered a follow up question saying Jesus wasn't God. 65% answered that Jesus was created by God and half said the holy spirit was Gods power rather than another being.

Heresies that would have got you burnt at the stake in olden days.

 

92% said hell is a real place where certain people will be punished forever, and 84% believed in faith only salvation, and yet 43% disagreed that even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.

 

Funny to think that conservative types will say the trinity is the prime doctrine, and anyone not believing in that is not a true Christian, but potentially a third of all those declaring themselves trinitarian have no idea what the term really means.

[older]

Just this afternoon I stumbled upon this Youtube video of Richard Dawkins explaining it all. You see, there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. But there are not three gods, but one god. Get it?

 

 

[TABA]

18 hours ago, Wertbag said:

Funny to think that conservative types will say the trinity is the prime doctrine, and anyone not believing in that is not a true Christian, but potentially a third of all those declaring themselves trinitarian have no idea what the term really means

As most people here know, the matter of the Trinity was a source of great controversy in the early church.   Not surprisingly, since the concept of a being that is both three but also one is rather hard to wrap one’s mind around.   The Bible isn’t much help since it only hints at the concept of a triune deity.  So it’s no surprise that believers today are confused.   

It seems to me that the idea of the Holy Spirit in particular was promoted to cover for the fact that Jesus failed to return soon, as promised.  The existence of the Spirit is an unfalsifiable claim, conveniently.  We have recently had a Christian visitor, @aik, who is sure that the Spirit gives him knowledge and guidance.  However other Christians through the centuries appear to have received widely varying and contradictory guidance and knowledge from the same source.    I can say with utmost confidence that the Holy Spirit exists only in the minds of believers.  That rather does it for the Trinity.   

[◊ Weezer ◊]

Don't Catholics believe that communion is partaking of Jesus actual body?   That is the one that floors me.

[☆ moxieflux66 ☆]

This has been recently updated by Moonobserver. 

[older]

21 hours ago, Weezer said:

Don't Catholics believe that communion is partaking of Jesus actual body?   That is the one that floors me.

Someone called it ritualistic cannibalism. You pretend that Jesus is made out of bread and then you eat him.

[TheRedneckProfessor]

How many communions does it take before you've eaten an entire jesus?

[◊ Weezer ◊]

Do you get to pick which part of him you want to eat??

[☆ moxieflux66 ☆]

Can we make him out of gingerbread? I love me some gingerbread jesus! 

[older]

Just now, TheRedneckProfessor said:

How many communions does it take before you've eaten an entire jesus?

  

An interesting question. Let's do some math. We have a box of Ritz crackers from Costco. Let's use a Ritz cracker as the basis for this (I like Ritz crackers), and let's presume the Holy Guy weighed 150 lbs. (All the representations of him show him to be slim. Have any of you ever seen a fat Jesus?) Now there are 18 stacks of Ritz in the box, and each stack contains 31 crackers. So 31 x 18 = 558 crackers in the box. The box weight is listed as 3 lbs. 13.6 oz.  or 61.6 oz. total. Divided by 558 = .11 oz per cracker.  Now with Jesus weighing 150 lbs. that's 9375 ounces. So 9375 divided by .11 = 85227.27.

 

So in order to eat an entire Jesus who weighed 150 lbs. using Ritz crackers at .11 oz each you'd need 85,227.27 communions. If you took communion every day, with 365 days in a year it would take 233.49 years to get him all down. I think realistically it would be better to share with some friends. If you shared with three friends for a total of four eaters, it would only take 58.3 years, and you could alternate between all of you as to who's turn it was to bring the hummus.

[☆ pantheory ☆]

6 hours ago, older said:

  

An interesting question. Let's do some math. We have a box of Ritz crackers from Costco. Let's use a Ritz cracker as the basis for this (I like Ritz crackers), and let's presume the Holy Guy weighed 150 lbs. (All the representations of him show him to be slim. Have any of you ever seen a fat Jesus?) Now there are 18 stacks of Ritz in the box, and each stack contains 31 crackers. So 31 x 18 = 558 crackers in the box. The box weight is listed as 3 lbs. 13.6 oz.  or 61.6 oz. total. Divided by 558 = .11 oz per cracker.  Now with Jesus weighing 150 lbs. that's 9375 ounces. So 9375 divided by .11 = 85227.27.

 

So in order to eat an entire Jesus who weighed 150 lbs. using Ritz crackers at .11 oz each you'd need 85,227.27 communions. If you took communion every day, with 365 days in a year it would take 233.49 years to get him all down. I think realistically it would be better to share with some friends. If you shared with three friends for a total of four eaters, it would only take 58.3 years, and you could alternate between all of you as to who's turn it was to bring the hummus.

 

Hummus, that's OK but how about real spirits like tequila?

[☆ moxieflux66 ☆]

13 hours ago, older said:

Let's do some math.

Really, you had me at this statement.....

The rest was hard to read because I was laughing so hard. But overnight I thought about this: 

6 hours ago, pantheory said:

 

Hummus, that's OK but how about real spirits like tequila?

And it seems to me since we're reworking the Holy Communion, and now decided it should be jesus shaped Ritz crackers, hummus and tequila, can we establish our own religion around it? Seems to be all the rage.................

 

[Casualfanboy16]

2 hours ago, moxieflux66 said:

shaped Ritz crackers

What about pairs of animal crackers on a Noah's Ark display for dessert?

[◊ Weezer ◊]

10 hours ago, pantheory said:

 

Hummus, that's OK but how about real spirits like tequila?

That would make for soggy crackers.  

[Dsred19]

10 hours ago, moxieflux66 said:

Really, you had me at this statement.....

The rest was hard to read because I was laughing so hard. But overnight I thought about this: 

And it seems to me since we're reworking the Holy Communion, and now decided it should be jesus shaped Ritz crackers, hummus and tequila, can we establish our own religion around it? Seems to be all the rage.................

 

ritzafarianism! Or The Church of Latter Day Margaritas

[Casualfanboy16]

1 hour ago, Dsred19 said:

ritzafarianism! Or The Church of Latter Day Margaritas

Ritzafarianism is religion where we follow our Lord and Savioritz, Cheesus Christ

[☆ pantheory ☆]

10 hours ago, Weezer said:

That would make for soggy crackers.  

 You don't have to mix them. A shot, a cracker, a shot a cracker, a shot a cracker, etc.

[☆ moxieflux66 ☆]

21 hours ago, Casualfanboy16 said:

What about pairs of animal crackers on a Noah's Ark display for dessert?

Good idea! We can be the first religion to offer dessert after waiting in line for that damn cracker! 

 

20 hours ago, Weezer said:

That would make for soggy crackers.  

Nah, we make a giant mountain cake, call it Ararat, and park the ark on top, surrounded by animal crackers and a pool of champagne! 

13 hours ago, Dsred19 said:

ritzafarianism! Or The Church of Latter Day Margaritas

.............or surrounded by a pool of Margaritas! 

Great names! Keep 'em coming folks! 

11 hours ago, Casualfanboy16 said:

Ritzafarianism is religion where we follow our Lord and Savioritz, Cheesus Christ

Our holy creed.....

 

9 hours ago, pantheory said:

 You don't have to mix them. A shot, a cracker, a shot a cracker, a shot a cracker, etc.

Our weekly ritual............

And perhaps we should offer a cut rate tithe! Only 5% instead of 10%? 

 

[TheRedneckProfessor]

1 hour ago, moxieflux66 said:

And perhaps we should offer a cut rate tithe! Only 5% instead of 10%?

Nah.  Can't do that, because the whole point behind communion is that the church...

 

...really kneads the dough.

 

 

I'll see myself out now.

[☆ moxieflux66 ☆]

7 hours ago, TheRedneckProfessor said:

Nah.  Can't do that, because the whole point behind communion is that the church...

 

...really kneads the dough.

All right, all right.......my final offer........8% tithe........................?

We got any other gimmicks? C'mon people! The Mormons are gaining ground as we speak! 

[Casualfanboy16]

8 minutes ago, moxieflux66 said:

All right, all right.......my final offer........8% tithe........................?

We got any other gimmicks? C'mon people! The Mormons are gaining ground as we speak! 

Taco Tuesday for Cheesus Christ

[☆ moxieflux66 ☆]

1 minute ago, Casualfanboy16 said:

Taco Tuesday for Cheesus Christ

Oh shit. That made me salivate. Bring the salsa!!! 

[Casualfanboy16]

1 hour ago, moxieflux66 said:

Oh shit. That made me salivate. Bring the salsa!!! 

Will do! Should I bring board games or card games? Video games? We need some entertainment!!

[☆ moxieflux66 ☆]

2 hours ago, Casualfanboy16 said:

Will do! Should I bring board games or card games? Video games? We need some entertainment!!

Bring 'em all! We're shooting for the most fun religion of the century; food, fun, tequila, games, prizes AND fellowship! 

 

*And no confusion about the Trinity* 

[Wertbag]

I think I understand the holy trinity:

 

 

He is the taco, the taco is chocolate and both are the dessert.  They are all one and the same while being separate