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Son of God or God the Son?
Please help me out. I am a relatively new Christian and am still trying to learn as much about Jesus Christ as I could by participating in many Bible Studies and Christian ministries, and of course by reading the Bible.
I have two good friends. I will name them Peter and Robert. Both have been my mentors in my Christian walk. Both are God-loving, God-fearing, Bible-reading, church-going family-loving individuals. They have been friends for more than 30 years. Each one has also been a Christian for more than 40 years.
Recently, there has been a serious falling-apart in their friendship and I have been witness to this falling-off from the time the conflict came up until the time that Robert announced that he doesn't want to be involved any longer with our Bible Study group.
The conflict started with the doctrine of the Trinity. Robert believes in this doctrine wholeheartedly and he (after asking other Christians) believes that anything that is against the Trinity is against Christ (or anti-Christ). Peter, who has been studying the Bible for more than 40 years, on the other hand, believes deep in his heart that Christ is the Son of God, that he did not exist at the beginning (as Trinitarians claim in John 1:1 and other verses), but that Christ is the Messiah.
In other words, Peter is monotheistic and Robert is Trinitarian.
Caught right in the middle of this and looking for direction, I have done a little research and a lot of prayers on this matter. From what I can tell, neither side has a conclusive proof on his claim. I thought about asking my pastor for his opinion but as a pastor of a church that believes in a triune God, I'm sure he'll dwell only on things that prove his belief.
I'd like to throw this issue out there and ask for your thoughts on this matter. It breaks my heart that the two people whom I look up to so much as Christians, are almost at the point of not talking to each other just because of this difference in opinion.
Who is correct? Needless to say, I am very confused.
I have two good friends. I will name them Peter and Robert. Both have been my mentors in my Christian walk. Both are God-loving, God-fearing, Bible-reading, church-going family-loving individuals. They have been friends for more than 30 years. Each one has also been a Christian for more than 40 years.
Recently, there has been a serious falling-apart in their friendship and I have been witness to this falling-off from the time the conflict came up until the time that Robert announced that he doesn't want to be involved any longer with our Bible Study group.
The conflict started with the doctrine of the Trinity. Robert believes in this doctrine wholeheartedly and he (after asking other Christians) believes that anything that is against the Trinity is against Christ (or anti-Christ). Peter, who has been studying the Bible for more than 40 years, on the other hand, believes deep in his heart that Christ is the Son of God, that he did not exist at the beginning (as Trinitarians claim in John 1:1 and other verses), but that Christ is the Messiah.
In other words, Peter is monotheistic and Robert is Trinitarian.
Caught right in the middle of this and looking for direction, I have done a little research and a lot of prayers on this matter. From what I can tell, neither side has a conclusive proof on his claim. I thought about asking my pastor for his opinion but as a pastor of a church that believes in a triune God, I'm sure he'll dwell only on things that prove his belief.
I'd like to throw this issue out there and ask for your thoughts on this matter. It breaks my heart that the two people whom I look up to so much as Christians, are almost at the point of not talking to each other just because of this difference in opinion.
Who is correct? Needless to say, I am very confused.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Pinoy sa Arkansas on -
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Kenny. I really appreciate your taking time out to respond to something that has really been bothering me--not really in the subject in question, but more in the fact that these two people are very close friends of mine and after living in the same state for the past 30-some years like true brothers, they now treat each other like strangers. Sad.
I cited Romans 14:1-4 to one of them but it was to no avail.
"Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant?"
Congratulation
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