ALTER2EGO -to- EVERYONE:
Two of the most basic teachings in Christendom are as follows:
1. THE TRINITY
The teaching that God is split up into three individual persons that are combined into one "Godhead" (Father, Son, and holy ghost/holy spirit). All three of these persons are said to be CO-EQUAL (meaning they have the same power) and CO-ETERNAL (meaning they have always existed at the same time and none of them can die).
2. HELLFIRE
The teaching that God will burn a person's soul in everlasting hellfire for committing wicked deeds. In other words, God will supposedly punish people forever in fiery flames of hell--despite the fact the crimes the persons committed were only done during the persons' brief human lifespan.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Are there scriptures in the Bible to support the teachings of Trinity and hellfire? If so, present the scriptures by giving Bible book, chapter, and verse and also explain why you believe the scripture you present is talking about Trinity or literal hellfire.
[sup]22[/sup] For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
[sup]23[/sup] And it shall come to pass,
that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. {from one new...: Heb. from new moon to his new moon, and from sabbath to his sabbath}
[sup]24[/sup] And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
(Isa 66:22-24 KJV)
2. Why are these teachings found in pagan/false religions that never worshipped the God of the Judeo-Christian Bible? For instance there were pagan trinities at least 200 years before Jesus came to the earth as a human.
Since all men are descended from Adam it's only natural that there would be similarities in beliefs. As Tertullian said, truth must precede falsehood. You cannot have corrupted doctrine before that doctrine exists. After the peoples were separated at Babel it's natural that things would become corrupted as people began to spread out.
[quote
]3. If the Trinity and hellfire are Bible teachings, why is it that Jesus and his apostles who followed him around never taught anyone about the Trinity and
literal hellfire?[/quote]
Jesus did teach about Gehenna.
[sup]47[/sup] And if thine eye may cause thee to stumble, cast it out; it is better for thee one-eyed to enter into the reign of God, than having two eyes, to be cast to the gehenna of the fire --
[sup]48[/sup] where their worm is not dying, and the fire is not being quenched; (Mar 9:47-48 YLT)
Comparethat with the passage from Isaiah I posted above.
[quote
]4. How is it that both the Trinity and hellfire teachings did not become "Christian" teachings until the Roman Catholics copied both of them from pagan/false religions--
AFTER Jesus returned to heaven?[/quote]
The trinity predates that Roman Catholic church. Look up the council of Nicea.
Isaiah speaks of hellfire.
[quote
]5. If hell is a place of literal fiery torment, how is it that the Bible says Jesus went to hell for the entire three days that he was dead?[/quote]
This goes to the point I was making in my initial post. The translators incorrectly translated two Greek words by the same English word. Both Hades and Gehenna have been translated Hell. This is what confuses people. Hades and Gehenna are two different places. Hades is the abode of the dead, Gehenna is the lake of fire, Jesus went to Hades, not Gehenna.
[quote
]6. If hell is a place of literal torment, why is it that the word
"hell" also means
"Sheol" and
"Hades" and
"the grave"?[/quote]
See the answer to question 5
[quote
]7. Does the Bible teach that humans have an immortal soul that survives the death of the person so that the soul can then be burned in eternal flames?[/quote]
In Luke 16 Jesus speaks of Lazarus and the rich man. Both were alive in Hades.
[quote
]8. Are the words "Trinity" and "Godhead" in the Bible? If so, were those words part of the original writings?[/quote]
The words were coined to explain concepts in the Scriptures.
It’s interesting that you’ve chosen these two doctrines, given the title of the thread, Christian doctrines that aren’t Biblical. These two are fairly well established. However, you didn’t mention others that are not Biblical doctrines such as the heavenly destiny, OSAS, and Just War to name a few.