Discovering the true Christian faith

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The immediate context of Romans 10:13 alone does not make your assumption incorrect. As you correctly pointed out, it is possible to interpret the verse in another way. However, it is essential to ensure that any interpretation remains in agreement with the teachings of the entire Bible.
As stated in my original post, an interpretation must not contradict the explicit teachings of the Bible. If one were to interpret Romans 10:13 in a manner that suggests Jesus is Yahweh himself, it would be in conflict with several explicit scriptures such as John 8:54, 17:3, and Acts 3:13. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain consistency and coherence with the broader teachings of the Bible when interpreting individual verses.

Is it not reasonable to expect God to explicitly reveal His identity through His words when such understanding is crucial for human salvation? The abundance of warnings in the Bible regarding false worships indicates the importance God places on this issue.

You overlooked the inclusion of the word “one” before God. The explicit verses I shared in my original post do not merely state that God is the Father; they explicitly affirm that one God is the Father. This teaching contradicts the belief that one God exists as/in three distinct persons namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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That assumes that getting the doctrine of the Trinity right is essential for salvation; it may well be we can have an adequate knowledge of the identity of God without having the right answer to that question. More generally, though, this is effectively an “argument from silence” (in this case, divine silence) and has the shortcomings which are common to such arguments.

… no, it doesn’t. Completely the opposite of contradicting this teaching, the doctrine of the Trinity entails that there is one God and that the one God is the Father. (It further entails that the one God is not only the Father, but as I said, it’s begging the question to take this implication to contradict the earlier statement.)

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When someone argues that “one God is not only the Father”, they are contradicting the explicit statement made by Jesus himself. Jesus referred to his Father as “the only true God.” [John 17:3]

When the Bible states that one God is the Father, the assertion that one God is also the Father, Son, and Spirit is a clear example of an addition to the scriptures. The individuals who formulated the doctrine of the Trinity did precisely the same thing—they added to the scripture.

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No, they studied scripture. There is more, much much more, than the verses you like to quote. But I do understand when our atheist friends witness such contradictory positions and decide neither side has any rational claim.

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Discourse on issues like this lead me to ask why God never clears the air in an unambiguous manner. All we get is deafening silence from God resulting in a cacophony of answers from rival thinkers on the subject of interest.

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The Bible has shown that there is a God head. In Genesis we find God speaking to another, saying “Let us make man in our image”. Then later on He says, “Now man has become like one of us”.
So, even though God the Father, has not said, "Hello, let me introduce you to my Son, who, by the way is God also, until God does introduce Jesus, in the New Testament, there has always been an implied understanding that God, was at least made up of, or was two individuals.
In the New Testament, there is plenty of implication the Holy Spirit is not an inanimate power. He is God, as much as is God the Father and God the Son.

https://www.amazingfacts.org/media-library/watch/archives/o/68/t/the-holy-spirit

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If you think that I have selectively chosen verses, I encourage you to provide explicit verses from the Bible that state the identity of the One God which contradict my arguement.

Consider a scenario where an atheist renounces atheism and becomes a member of a Trinitarian Christian church. Given that Trinitarian churches do not have the approval of God, what advantage or benefit does this conversion from atheism to Christianity offer? What distinguishes individuals who do not believe in God from those who engage in false worship in the perspective of God? Hence, in my view, it is preferable for atheists to be aware of the conflicting beliefs within the Christian community rather than remaining uninformed.

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Theology proper has been litigated throughout church history. I just have no interest in a do over with you, especially on a forum focused on the intersection of faith and science. I think you are wrong, and my thinking on this is informed, but believe whatever you like.

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Alright. I recommend you take some time to reevaluate or expand your understanding of this topic. In the past, my family and I were also affiliated with a Trinitarian church. However, as we became more informed, we decided to let go of our belief in the Trinity. May God help you find the truth.

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If you read my original post carefully, you would have understood the reason for the use of plural pronouns. Don’t worry, I’ve updated the original post to add the case of Genesis 1:26.

It seems that you missed the Bible passages where God the Father explicitly declares, “Hello children, I am the one and only God in town.”

I have an abundance of evidence to demonstrate that the Holy Spirit is not a person. However, I don’t intend to list them now unless you insist. Instead, I pose a simple question: If the Holy Spirit is truly God and worthy of our worship, why is there not even a single instance in God’s word explicitly stating this?

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“It seems that you missed the Bible passages where God the Father explicitly declares, “Hello children, I am the one and only God in town.”
That was Jesus.
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6

“I have an abundance of evidence to demonstrate that the Holy Spirit is not a person.”
List on, please.
I’ll start by listing the verses that demonstrate God the Holy Spirit is as much God as is the Son and the Father.

"As an integral part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit has existed from eternity, and the Bible reveals Him as a person, not an impersonal force. He strives, as we read in Genesis 6:3 where the Lord says, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever . . .” He teaches, as indicated in Luke 12:12, “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” He convicts, as we noted in John 16:8. In Acts 13:2, we see Him directing in church affairs.

In Romans 8:26 we read this beautiful description: “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

He inspires, as indicated in 2 Peter 1:21—“for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” And He sanctifies, as 1 Peter 1:2 refers to “the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”
The Holy Spirit was active at Creation, “hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:1,2). David knew Him when he cried out in Psalm 51:11, “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.”

We see the role of the Holy Spirit in the incarnation of Jesus Christ when an angel told Mary, as recorded in Luke 1:35, “'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.”

Jesus Himself acknowledged the anointing of the Holy Spirit when He read from Isaiah 61:1— “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”

Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus assured His disciples: “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:25, 26).

Just 50 days later, Christ’s promise to His disciples was fulfilled, as recorded in Acts 2:1-4 “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit . . .”"
Source: God the Holy Spirit | Adventist News Network

Please take note of the number of times, the Holy Spirit is referred to with the personal pronoun, he.
And with all of this He is said to be active in doing something.

“In Matthew 12:31, 32 we read: “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.””
Source: God the Holy Spirit | Adventist News Network

" Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19 NLT).

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons (1 Timothy 4:1 ESV).

Mar 3:29-30 KJV - 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: 30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit."

For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials (Acts 15:28 NRSV).

But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me; and you also are witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning (John 15:26-27 RSV).

As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Acts 13:2

These are only a few. Please check out the rest from this article

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You did say, you THINK I was wrong. So, you recognize you could be wrong.
You say you were more informed. So, please share this information with me.

I have provided actual biblical references that should help you change your mind.

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Are you suggesting that God the Father and Jesus the Son refer to the same entity?

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Did I say that? I can’t locate it. Could you please quote that particular statement of mine to which you are referring?

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(1) The most compelling evidence or argument against the idea that the holy spirit is God and deserving of our worship is that this notion is not only explicitly stated in the Bible but also contradicts the explicit teachings of the Bible about the identity of the One God. (I have listed a few of those explicit verses in my original post).

(2) In the Bible, the personal names of the Father and the Son are mentioned as Yahweh and Jesus, respectively. However, when it comes to the holy Spirit, the Bible does not provide a specific personal name. God and angels are spirit persons, and they are holy. Hence, they can all be referred to as “holy spirits.” What name distinguishes holy spirit of the trinity from them?

(3) When God “pours” His spirit upon His servants, they become “full of holy spirit” or “filled with holy spirit.” Let’s ponder this: Can a person be ‘poured out’ onto various individuals? Is it logical to think that one person could ‘fill’ an entire group of people? Such ideas defy common sense. The Bible does talk about people becoming filled with wisdom, understanding, or even accurate knowledge, but it never describes anyone as being filled with another person.

(4) In the Bible, there are numerous instances where God’s servants witnessed visions of heaven. Some of them saw God, Yahweh, along with His heavenly armies. Notable figures like Daniel, Stephen, and the apostle John had visions of both God and His Son, Jesus, in heaven. However, there is no account of anyone seeing a person specifically named “Holy Spirit” in heaven. The reason for this is straightforward: No such individual named “Holy Spirit” exists as a distinct person in heaven.

(5) Mary was conceived by holy spirit and she gave birth to Jesus. This raises the crucial question: who is the father of Jesus? Throughout the scriptures, Jesus consistently refers to God the Father as “Father,” but He never addresses the Holy Spirit as “Father.”

(6) There are several passages that indicate the holy spirit ‘speaking’ to someone, which can lead some to mistakenly believe that the Holy Spirit is a person. However, what they fail to recognize is that there is not even a single instance in the Bible where the holy spirit directly speaks, and nowhere do we see ‘his’ words in quotation. In all those instances, another person was merely inspired by God through His spirit, and the speaker is that person themselves, not holy spirit.

(7) Personification does not necessarily imply personality. Jesus referred to the holy spirit as a “helper” and described the helper as involved in activities like ‘teaching,’ ‘bearing witness,’ ‘giving evidence,’ ‘guiding,’ ‘speaking,’ ‘hearing,’ and ‘receiving.’

However, it is not uncommon in the Scriptures for non-personal entities to be personalized or personified.
For instance, in the book of Proverbs (1:20-33; 8:1-36), wisdom is personified, and in the original Hebrew, feminine pronominal forms are used for it. Additionally, wisdom is personified in Matthew 11:19 and Luke 7:35, where it is depicted as having both “works” and “children.”

The apostle Paul also personalized concepts like sin, death, and undeserved kindness as “kings” in his writings (Romans 5:14, 17, 21; 6:12). He spoke of sin as “receiving an inducement,” ‘working out covetousness,’ ‘seducing,’ and ‘killing’ (Romans 7:8-11).

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No. They refer to the same God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are One.
But, Christ was the One dealing with man in both the Old and New Testament.
He was the One who spoke to Moses and used His finger to write the commandments on the stone tablets.

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“His finger?” Which one? His index? Middle? Pinky? How many fingers does He have? Is He a tetrapod? Is that why He has limbs with digits, like humans, monkeys, cats, dogs and bats do?

Interesting questions. I look forward to your interesting answers.

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If you really were interested, why the sarcasm?

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I asked for interesting answers. That one was boring. Please try again.

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Sarcasm? @Faizal_Ali raised a legitimate question. Do you take the anthropomorphism in the Bible so literally that you think God actually has fingers?

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