Episode 44 of the Theopologetics Podcast is now available! In this episode, I read some recent feedback from listeners and my responses, discussing Oneness Pentecostalism, Israelology and the Calvinist doctrines of Total Depravity and Irresistible Grace.
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Cool, Chris! I don't think I've ever heard my e-mail read in a broadcast before.
ReplyDeleteI'm still not sure I made myself completely clear. I didn't even really know about Oneness Pentecostalism until I heard your post-debate shows. I touched on my real struggle when I mentioned the seven spirits of God in the Revelation, but what I should have made clear is that my problem had to do with the fact that we don't know that there aren't even more interpersonal relationships within the Godhead that the Bible doesn't tell us much about. Since childhood I had read things in the Bible about the seven spirits and the persona of Wisdom in the Proverbs, with little insight as to what those actually were. So I worried for years that what we were calling the Trinity might in fact be much more complex and have many more parts to it. How could we know He wasn't a God in four, forty, or infinite Persons? I view this as the opposite of Oneness Pentecostalism, but your show got me thinking about it again, so I wanted to bring it up.
However, even though you might have thought you were addressing the opposite problem, your answer helped me just the same. When we speak of the Trinity, we are speaking about God in a way that He has revealed to us through His word. If I put it in context and make sure my audience knows exactly what I mean by the Trinity, as you described it, and confess that God's nature surpasses our understanding, then I don't need to worry about the complexities of God that I don't understand when I use the word Trinity, because I've already addressed them.
It's probably obvious that I'm not nearly as practiced as you are in talking about these things, and certainly not in debating them. Thanks again for taking the time to gently explain and persuade me that it's ok to talk about the Trinity as long as everyone is clear on what is meant by it.
I hear ya, Scott. I'm glad I was able to help either way :)
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