My dear WesleyF, In post #13, I answered your question from post #1. This obviously didn’t satisfy you so in post #19 you expanded the question to include statements from church creeds.
Actually, you should have read post 5 and 7 as well. It’s the same question which I repeated in post 19.
It seems to me and accept my appology if I’m wrong, that you are reluctant to agree in concept that the Bible is capable of answering the question without help from church teachings.
I would readily agree only if someone would show it to me. I asked 3 basic questions in post 5 and repeated the same in post 19. Nobody has provided any biblical evidence for that.
Your Muslim friend knows this as well and is using your reliance on extrabiblical teaching to discredit your faith.
He may not possibly be able to discredit my faith, because I prove to him that we don’t go by the Bible alone. I had posed that question to him once (to prove that all the faith is contained in the Bible), but he didn’t answer.
This is the exact same tactic that some Catholics use to discredit protestants and Christians of all stripes can and do use it to discredit Muslims by asking them to prove their doctrine from the Koran. They have the same problem and they know it.
Well, in that case I would have not defended the Trinity solely from the scriptures when that Muslim challenged our group. I would have stepped back and let my Protestant colleagues do the talking so as to expose the weakness of Sola Scriptura. But in all sincerity, I didn’t do it. I have not tried this tactic on my Protestant colleagues so far. My only concern is, what would they have said in my absence? I can’t ask them that question now (since I myself gave all that I could from the scripture!
), but I want to ask other Protestants over here. Luckily, that Muslim didn’t ask the 3 questions I asked in post 5. If he had asked those, I would not be able to answer him solely from the scriptures. Would you?
You want a quick answer to the question and you want it now. Pick up any protestant theology book, I can make recomendations if you want to find your answer.
I don’t think I need to read a whole theology book to get three simple questions answered. If, like me, you don’t know the answer, let others do the talking.
But your problem is much more difficult than that because you do not believe in your heart that the Bible alone can answer the question and you are not willing to spend the many hours studying the Bible in context to get it stright in your head and heart.
Yes, I don’t believe that the Bible alone is sufficient, but I certainly didn’t expect that insult from you. You may have studied much more than me, but you are quick to insult. What’s the use of all that study then, if you yourself don’t follow what the Bible teaches? How do you know I’m not willing to spend hours studying the Bible? Do you know even 1% about me and my relationship with the Lord?
You could recite Bible verses to your friend to try to bluff your way through but if you don’t understand the full Biblical doctrine of the trinity you will stumble when you are asked follow on questions that he already has prepared to ask you.
It seems to me that it is you who have stumbled to explain it from the Bible.
If I were you and a Muslem asked me that question, my answer would be “I know I can do it but I have to prepare my answer. I will study it and get back to you when I’m ready”. Then I would do what ever it takes in time and energy to find the answer and if for some reason I cannot find the answer, I would have to re-evaluate my belief in the doctrine.
Then assume that I’m a Muslim and I am asking you those 3 questions which I asked in post 5 (or 19) and do as you say you would have done.
So WesleyF, you can get all annoyed at me for being honest and to the point or you can get busy and hit the books, the choice is yours to make. All you are getting out of me is this: you can prove the Trinity from the Bible. I’m not going to do your homework for you thought.
That’s sounds more like an escapist attitude to me. It’s not my homework, it’s your homework.
But if you take my advice to heart and spend the time in God’s word, God will reward you with a knowledge that transcends all understanding.
I do spend time in God’s word, I hope you do as well.
Asking them that question would spill the beans.
THank you. I am just like everyone else. I just keep reminding myself that everyone is fighting a dificult battle in this world and I try not to add to it.
