Hee Haw Theology

Words Should Mean Something

Words should mean something… unless of course we are talking about the trinity, in which case all bets are off. Hang on tight because here we go! God is One but He is Three. God is one Essence and three Persons and this is not tritheism but is really monotheism. How easy was that? God is one and God is three and that’s all there is to it! All we have to do is agree that words don’t really mean anything. This helps us revere an idea that we can’t even begin to understand in any sensible way. We are left asking the question: Does the trinity mean anything?

Hee Haw Theology

Most of us grew up believing that one means one and three means three and that pretty much settled it. Had it not been for the work of Platonic philosophers who latched onto Christianity with a vengeance we might have continued believing this old fashioned truth in blissful ignorance. But no! When the Bible declares that God is One it doesn’t mean one at all, it means three which now equals one. To believe it all we have to do is dispense with the pesky idea that words actually mean something understandable and sensible. One trinitarian writer even suggests we dispense with grammar altogether and start speaking of God as, “He are and They is.” We could call this kind of thinking “He Are Theology” but calling it “Hee Haw Theology” is more fun.

If God is Not Someone…What is He?

Classic Trinitarian sleight of hand claims that although God is three persons He (It?) is just one God. C.S Lewis helps us make sense of all this by declaring, “We must remind ourselves that Christian theology does not believe God to be a person.” In simple terms this means that God is not a divine individual at all. He is not really someone, He is something! This lines up perfectly with the oft expressed idea that “God is one what and three who’s“. What’s so hard about that? All we have to do is change our thinking! Instead of asking “Who is God? we should be asking “What is God?”… but somehow that doesn’t seem to reflect Biblical thought at all does it?

Trinitarian Logic

Monotheism with three “persons” is a lot like monogamy with three wives. Trinitarian logic would let you claim that although you are married to three different women you have only one wife and are a firm believer in monogamy. We say polygamy is not monogamy and the trinity is not monotheism. Simply claiming you believe in monotheism doesn’t make it true. Once you gut words of their meanings you can say anything you like no matter how absurd or illogical it might be. This dear friend is what we are faced with when we consider the most hallowed of all our religious traditions, the trinity.

A More Biblical Approach

A far better and more biblical approach is to simply declare that there is just one God, One Eternal Supreme Being we call the Father. He meant what He said when He declared “I alone am God and there is no other God beside me!” He is the Father of Eternity and the Father of Spirits. He is most assuredly a personal God. Jesus Christ, our Messiah and Savior, is His only begotten Son. These are the words and teachings of scripture and they mean something understandable. Someday these words will judge our beliefs and everyone, including you, will believe they mean what they say.

PS: I would like to thank everyone who visits and takes the time to read the things we post on this website. I know it has been awhile since new posts have been published but we press on and will try to be more diligent in the future. God Bless and thanks for your patience.

Has the Church Been Led Astray?

It’s reassuring to be in the majority, especially when it comes to religion. No one wants to be accused of belonging to some heretical cult and our herd instinct is pretty strong. Most people also have a lot of confidence in experts. This is especially true when all the experts seem to agree. Of course, sometimes the experts can be horribly wrong. Like when the chief priests and scribes wanted to kill Jesus and got everyone else to go along with the idea. History is filled with good examples of this! Here’s something to think about… has the Christian church been led astray by her leaders? Could it be the majority has been lead down a path of platonic philosophy that has nothing to do with Biblical truth? We think that’s a good question.

The Ancient Gospel That Pre-dates the Trinity

We preach an ancient Gospel that pre-dates the trinity. This Gospel proclaims there is just one God, the Father and Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son. Yahweh is the name of the Father and Jesus of Nazareth is His Christ or Anointed One, the Son of God. The Father is self-existent and eternal while His Son Jesus Christ was miraculously born of a virgin in Bethlehem. Jesus was crucified and then raised from the dead and now He is seated at the right hand of God. This isn’t hard to understand! You can believe it without resorting to the heady intellectualism that Greek philosophy has fashioned into the doctrine of the trinity. All you have to resort to is scripture.

Modern Christians are Embracing This Ancient Truth

What you just read about was the simple faith of most believers in the first three centuries of the Christian religion. This Biblical and understandable faith eventually fell into official disfavor thanks to the efforts and councils of the philosopher/theologians we call the “church fathers”. Fortunately, a growing number of Christians in our time are beginning to ignore the so called “church fathers” and embrace these ancient truths instead! Those of us who believe this Gospel now find ourselves asking a very old question, “Who has believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1) We hope you’ll believe our report… and that God will reveal Himself to you. God bless.

Who Owns the Trinity?

There is a world of difference between the mysteries of men and the mystery of God. Divine mysteries are spiritual truths that were formerly hidden but are now meant to be understood. Man’s mysteries are something else altogether and can be permanently impossible to understand. Scholars declare the trinity is a mystery that is beyond understanding and we agree! Since the trinity is so utterly incomprehensible we ask ourselves, who owns the Trinity? Is it God’s mystery… or is it ours?

The Greatest Divine Mystery

There’s no doubt that the greatest divine mystery of all is the revelation of God Himself and His plan for the ages in His Son Jesus Christ. This is something we can definitely understand and that God wants us to understand! Our inheritance includes “the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ.” (Colossians 2:2) God did not leave us in the dark about Himself. When Christians though are pressed to explain the trinity they usually say, “It’s a great mystery that no one can understand.” A highly educated orthodox bishop once told me the trinity is “a vague nebulousness” but he believed it anyway. We just can’t help but wonder… who actually owns the trinity?

Does Anyone Understand the Trinity?

One of the most peculiar things about the trinity is that even people who claim to believe it wholeheartedly confess they have no idea at all of what it really means. We ask, “Does anyone honestly understand the trinity?” In an effort to explain how God can be one “substance” in three co-equal and co-eternal “persons” some have proclaimed that God is “One What and Three Who’s”. We say “who could fail to love a God like that?” To this day no one can explain precisely what a divine “person” is and how such a “person” differs from God’s “substance”. Where did men ever get the idea that God is some type of substance anyway? The answer is pretty clear, they got it from Greek philosophy because the Bible never says things like that about God!

How to Explain the Trinity

Common trinitarian illustrations include “God is like an apple with skin, seeds and flesh but it is just one apple.” And let’s not forget other well-known explanations of the trinity such as God is like an egg with shell, egg-white and yoke but it’s just one egg! Or God is like water, steam and ice! Do any of these things reveal God to us? Even more impressive than these examples is that most Christians subscribe to the notion that God is like a triangle! One modern theologian has stated that “The Trinity reveals God more as a verb than a noun.” Did you notice that none of these illustrations have anything at all to do with scripture? Maybe that’s because the trinity has nothing at all to do with the Biblical mystery of God.

The Trinity is Officially a Mystery

Isaac Newton found the trinity to be “unintelligible, it was not understood at the Council of Nicea… nor ever since”. Newton also wrote that “the debates at Nicea had more to do with Plato and Aristotle than with Jesus.” Thomas Jefferson wrote “The Athanasian paradox that one is three, and three but one is so incomprehensible to the human mind that no candid man can say he has any idea of it.” We affirm that the trinity is a man-made bafflement and a nonsensical philosophical abstraction. Perhaps the trinity is officially a mystery because it is man-made and doesn’t have much to do with God at all.

The Biblical Mystery of God and Christ

The divine revelation and Biblical mystery and of God and Christ is both clear and understandable. The One and only God we know as the Father miraculously brought about the birth of His only Son Jesus, who is God’s Christ and our Savior and Messiah. This Jesus was crucified for our sake, rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God! He has promised to return to earth someday and set up a kingdom that will never end. Believers in every age have looked forward to this blessed hope. Compared to the philosophical abstractions of men, the Biblical mystery of God and Christ reveals divine truths in ways even children can understand… and we like God’s approach a lot better.

Has Jesus Existed Forever?

The doctrine of the trinity insists that Jesus is one of three divine “persons” who have existed from all eternity. In fact, the idea that Jesus has existed forever is one of the foundations of trinitarian dogma. The Bible on the other hand tells a different story. Trinitarian creeds demand that you believe Jesus is co-eternal with God and did not have a beginning! Scripture says otherwise so what’s a believer to do? Well dear friend, you need to determine for yourself if Jesus has existed forever.

See for Yourself and Read With Your Own Eyes.

There is nothing in the Bible that says we must accept the archaic opinions of philosopher/theologians who lived in the distant past. We suggest that you read the sacred writ for yourself and while you’re at it you can think for yourself too! After all, the “church fathers” were just men who embraced Greek philosophy and then argued about how to apply it to the Bible. If we tested their Christianity with “by their fruits you will know them” most would fail miserably. They were far too eager to use the power of the Roman empire to banish or kill anyone who disagreed with their opinions and that doesn’t sound at all like the fruits of the Spirit.

What is a Beginning-less Beginning?

Some trinitarian theologians have proposed an “eternal begetting” or a “beginning-less beginning” for Jesus (whatever those things are supposed to mean). These non-sensical and totally incomprehensible ideas were invented in a desperate attempt to support the notion of three co-eternal persons in the Godhead and should not be taken seriously. The Bible presents a clear and understandable alternative to this kind of nonsense and also warns us to “beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. (Colossians 2:8) If the Bible shows that Jesus did have a beginning the whole notion of His co-eternal status with God would go up in a puff of smoke and the mirage of the trinity would fade away. Once you discard the fanciful idea that Jesus had no beginning you will begin to see the Biblical message of One God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ emerge in glorious clarity.

The Beginning and Birth of Jesus

God prophetically declared to His Christ, “Thou art my Son, this day I have begotten thee.” (Psalm 2:7) God Himself described a beginning in time for Jesus Christ. This event came into focus when the angel Gabriel told Mary “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, therefore also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35) When Christ was actually born an angel announced His birth to shepherds saying, “There is born to you this day in the city of David a savior who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) These few verses alone reveal that Jesus was not an eternal being but had a definite beginning in time. Christ was in the plan of God from all eternity but his actual life began when Mary conceived and then gave birth in Bethlehem.

PS: Let’s give thanks that scripture offers clear and comprehensible teachings about God and Christ. This is truly a Mystery that God loves to reveal. All we have to do is look and we will see, seek and we will find. We’ll look at Christ’s pre-existence more in future posts. Please come back again and take a look. God Bless.

How Old is Jesus?

The doctrine of the trinity alleges that Jesus existed before He was born and that Jesus Christ is co-eternal with the Father. This notion is generally described as the pre-existence of Christ and without it the trinity falls apart.

Did Jesus Actually Exist Before He Was Born?

Advocates for the trinity declare that Jesus had a dual nature held together by virtrue of a hypostatic union and that only the human part of Christ was born in Bethlehem. This means that while the humanity part of Jesus was being born His eternal and unborn part was waiting in the wings to occupy its new home in a human body. This is a strange and unbiblical doctrine to be sure! We wonder if it means Jesus wasn’t really and truly born in Bethlehem after all. Did Jesus actually exist before He was born?

The Peculiar Idea of Eternal Begetting

There is talk in the creeds of another novel and unbiblical idea called “eternal begetting”. This teaching is just one of many desperate attempts that try to support the whole shaky house of cards we call the doctrine of the trinity. Along with being totally unintelligible, wouldn’t the peculiar idea of eternal begetting have put a lot of strain on Mary? Is there any truth to the idea that Jesus existed from eternity long before He was born? No doubt there is some language in the New Testament that is confusing but fortunately there are other Biblical teachings that help clarify things. Let’s take a closer look.

What is Prophetic Prolepsis?

This might be a term you’ve never even heard but prophetic prolepsis is an academic way of saying that God “calleth the things that are not as though they are.” (Romans 4:17) You can write it in your book that once God wills and determines something it is as good as done. “Yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it, I will also do it.” (Isaiah 43:13) God can speak of things He has planned as though they have already happened because they are absolutely certain to take place. This is why He can speak of things that have yet to occur as though they have existed from all eternity. The things that God plans already exist in His sovereign will and that is the ultimate and eternal reality! “He calleth the things that are not as though they are.”

How Old is Jesus Christ?

God’s eternal plan was that He would have a Son who would ultimately redeem mankind and bring us to our high destiny. This plan was from eternity but Jesus’ actual life didn’t begin until He was conceived and then born in Bethlehem. How old is Jesus Christ? “His goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2) The promise of Jesus Christ was in the mind of God “from everlasting” but Jesus’ actual appearing didn’t come to pass until He was born in Bethlehem. This is a biblical way to understand scriptures that would otherwise seem to indicate Jesus existed from eternity. It’s helpful to read your Bible with the idea in mind that the things God declares in His Word already exist in His plan for the ages even though the fulfillment of those things may still be in the future.

PS: This isn’t a hard idea to understand but it is important. If what we have shared here makes sense to you please share this post with a friend. Thanks and God bless.