Thank you.
Since “eternal” means without beginning or end, I will have to answer no. The only eternal Being in existence is the Father, the Creator of all things, and the Begetter of of his firstborn son. Is Jesus now immortal? Yes, I believe that he was rewarded for his faithful course. That simply means that he cannot die, not that he ever was “eternal”.
It is God himself who identifies the relationship of Father and Son. The being who became Jesus Christ was a “son of God” before his human birth. If they were equal parts of a triune godhead, then why depict themselves this way? The Father has a personal name (YHWH, Yahweh or Jehovah) and the Son also has a personal name (Jesus) but the holy spirit does not have a personal name because it is not a person. It is God’s spirit in that it emanates from him as the power he uses to accomplish his will.
what you said about no trinity until the 4 century is not true, it may have not been defined but thee faith in its entirety is handed from Christ to his church to the apostles eph 4:5 Jude 1:3
OK.....at Eph 4:1-6 the apostle Paul says....
“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” (NASB)
I like to see verses in context. The “one body and one spirit” is expressing the unity of the body of Christ’s disciples. Their “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” meant that all adhered to the same teachings. But their “one God and Father” was not Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:3 was an admonition for the disciples to “put up a hard fight for the faith” that was “delivered to the Holy Ones”. Why was there need to “put up a hard fight”? Because dark forces were against them both from outside and also within, they needed to stay on track and not be deterred or overreached by those forces.
We know from history however, that they did not fight hard enough, and true to the apostles’ words, the corruption from within was what took the biggest toll on the Christian Faith. What had happened to the Jewish faith, would also happen to the Christian faith, (because they had the same enemy) men would teach “commands of men as doctrines”, making their faith “in vain”. (Matthew 15:7-9; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; Acts 20:30)
aka the sacred deposit of thee faith of Christians
The teachings that Jesus left for his followers were going to be replaced by the “weeds” sown by the devil. (Matthew 13:24-30) What became known as “Christianity” by the world from the second century onward, was a steady decline into outright apostasy. The “wheat and the weeds” would grow together in the world right up until the end times. And people would have to make a choice between them. Jesus indicated that the majority would choose the wrong path, for the wrong reasons. (Matthew 7:13-14) How can anyone excuse the despicable history of the Roman Catholic Church?
On investigation, I could find precious little of what Jesus taught, in the Catholic Faith. But if it’s been ingrained since childhood, being taught blind obedience to the church, how would anyone know how far they had strayed off the path?
The truth is there for anyone who really wants to know.
FYI: the divinity of Christ and the blessed trinity are Christian doctrines so to deny them shows that you are not a Christian!
On the contrary, I believe that making Jesus into something he never was, and never claimed to be, is what disqualifies one from being a Christian.
John 17:1-5.....
“Jesus spoke these things; and raising His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, so that the Son may glorify You, 2 just as You gave Him authority over all mankind, so that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I glorified You on the earth by accomplishing the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now You, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world existed.” (NASB)
All things come from the Father to the son....so where is the equality? God gave his son a commission and also gave him authority to carry it out because the son is not God. He is a servant of his Father. (Acts 3:13-15)
So, the scriptures tell a very different story to the RC church......
Nowhere in the Bible will you find any of the following as teachings for Christians....
A trinity.
The veneration of Mary, who was never called the “mother of God”.
The offering of prayers to Mary or the saints as intercessors.
The use of images in worship.
Infant baptism.
A hellfire of eternal torment.
Immortality of the human soul.
Purgatory.
Indulgences.
An earthly priesthood with identifying garb.
A Pope as head of the church.
Liturgy.
Repetitive prayers.
Holy water.
Offering of incense.
The celebration of disguised pagan festivals.....
If you would like to start a thread to explore these things I will be more than happy to discuss them with you, just using the Bible.
I can see that you are very sincere, but I believe that the power of the church, exercised even over world rulers for many centuries, has virtually destroyed the Christian Faith with its false teachings. Christendom is the result....hopelessly fractured and eternally bickering over who is right. That is not the Christian Faith that Jesus taught. (1 Cor 1:10)
The “fruitage” of the church has identified it, not as a work of Christ, but of his enemy.
Christendom’s hands are filled with blood...always eager to support the wars of their nations even if it meant killing their own “brothers” in the faith. (Isaiah 1:15; 1 John 4:20-21)
There is a bigger picture....if you want to see it.