Agree with you Gabriel of 12. So, if God says the greatest commandment is to love Him and what you have explained above, which is what the Bible (His inspired Word) says that God is a Trinitarian God, do those who do not love a Trinitarian God really love the revealed God of the Bible?
Please allow me to get this out first; No human being can define the mystery of the Trinity, nor can man define God or ever reach God’s essence.
Yes, Jesus came to fulfill the law…not abolish it. The 10 commandments seen in Exodus are still in effect…but not the other 600plus laws that were meant to try to keep them from breaking the first 10 commandments. The first three ordered to God…and the last 7 ordered toward our neighbor. That is how we are to love God…by loving our neighbor. Which is very difficult to do if we do not put God first before all.
But never was there a Jew or Hebrew that loved his enemy so much that a Jew or Hebrew would give his life for his enemy?
I agree that a finite mind cannot understand the essence of an Infinite Trinitarian God perfectly. We are imperfect, finite beings and until we reached Glorification, we will not understand this as God does.
Thank you for the information. However, the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud are strewn with verses about loving our enemy, from Exodus (in particular, caring for our enemy’s animals) to Job, from Leviticus to Proverbs and Wisdom. For example, Leviticus states thou shalt not harbor hatred toward thy brother in thine heart and the Book of Proverbs attests to feeding thine enemy when he is hungry and giving him drink when he is thirsty. Moreover, the word “neighbor” in the Hebrew Bible often means both friend AND enemy. Again, Rabbi Hillel expressly uses the Hebrew word which denotes all men, not just friends. Even the criminal, about to be executed, is commanded to be treated with tenderly love. Insofar as the Law being kept, Deuteronomy informs us that it is not so difficult as might be imagined, and if and when we transgress, the act of repentance is always heard by a merciful and forgiving G-d.
I agree with all you have revealed here. Yes it is true, the Old Covenant of God gave us the decalougue and the prophets broke it down to loving God and loving neighbor. But man alone cannot keep the Law and the prophets of Loving God with all our being and loving neighbor as ourselves. Never mind loving ones enemies, which requires a divine presence to reach such a level of love for an enemy as to sacrifice oneself out of love for ones enemy.
“Rejoice not when thine enemy falls” seems more like a “though shalt not gloat” directive than a call to “love your enemy”. There is quite a bit of difference between the two.
Yes, although the Trinity is not revealed until the Word became flesh and revealed the Trinity.
Yes, God said, “let there be” and it came to be. The voice is the Father, in, with and through His Word “let there be” that he begets and sends to do His Will, all things came from His Word, who does his Father’s will and from dust and water from that Word man became flesh. But man does not become a living being until the third person of the blessed Trinity perfects creation by giving His life of breathe, which proceeds from the voice (Father), and the Word (Son).
Neither is distinct from the other both examples you give is One God. One God is spoken of in Essence unapproachable by human standards. Trinity is spoken of as One God who reveals from His presence to all of Creation, by the divine economy revealed in that ONE NAME Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
It is difficult to judge the heart, but God knows. Denying or rejecting theology or a teaching of divine revelation without practicing and living it, cannot truly reject the Trinity. A perfect example would be a Catholic Priest who lived the sacramental divine economy and then reject Him, is a very rare, rare, rare case. But that is the only example of one who knows the Trinity in all knowledge revealed by God and then reject it.
Without the Trinity, you don’t have a God who speaks, nor a God who loves with His presence. For without the Trinity, no one can see God. and no one can enter’s God’s essence let alone his presence because they deny the Son or God’s Word, which is divine revelation in both the Old and New Covenants.
My whole comment is based on your scripture quote
Yes, that is one interpretation. Why, however, should one be told not to rejoice? Perhaps because one’s enemies are also the children of G-d, whom we should at least respect if not love. How about in Proverbs where it states we should feed our enemy when he is hungry and give him drink when he is thirsty? See also portions of Exodus, Job, Wisdom of Solomon, etc.
Yes. These are all instructions from God, not to do harm. There seems to be some distance between that and an instruction to love thy neighbor as yourself. Even your enemy.
My scripture quote was from 1 Corinthians 2:14-cont;
Without the Trinity, you don’t have a God who speaks, nor a God who loves with His presence. For without the Trinity, no one can see God. and no one can enter’s God’s essence let alone his presence because they deny the Son or God’s Word, which is divine revelation in both the Old and New Covenants.
My whole comment is based on your scripture quote
peace be with you
Those without the Trinity, do not have ears to hear or eyes to see, what the Blessed Trinity reveals in the Spirit of Truth to our humanity.
Ghandi a professed Hindu, practiced the Christian virtues of love God, love neighbor and love enemy. Yet did not know God. He knew of Jesus and his teachings and practiced the virtues of Love from his flesh and was martyred, purgatory God placed to purge these before entering heaven. Ghandi is no different from the good theif who repented from his baptism by blood enter’s paradise with Jesus.
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You appear to be reducing all non-Christian, non-Trinitarian religions to “submission of the flesh” without elevation of the spirit. Speaking for Judaism, please understand that submission is NOT the essence of the religion. In fact, the “flesh,” including sexuality, is accorded a high value in Judaism since mankind is created as body and soul. Thus the “Old” Covenant is not regarded merely as a covenant of the flesh or of natural man but rather a covenant between mankind and G-d.
I gave three examples which included non-catholic christians.
Why do you think G-d would give us the Law if He knew we cannot fulfill it? Is it to frustrate and torment us or to ennoble and enlighten us? I think the latter. IOW, G-d realizes none of us can fulfill the Law in its entirety, but striving to do the best we can helps to sanctify us and make us strong despite this. And when we err, we can always seek forgiveness from G-d and from our neighbor. Further, Judaism does not view “death of the flesh” as a means to fulfill the Law. Quite the contrary. The way in which we are able to praise G-d and perform the good deeds He commands of us here on earth is to unite body and soul, not divorce one from the other. After all, G-d created us as flesh infused with spirit; who are we to separate them? You spoke of faith as dominant; but does not the Church also believe, based on Scripture, that faith without works is dead? One final note: following the Law is not considered to be an all-or-none proposition, but rather a step-by-step process of improvement in which we become more spiritual and grow closer to G-d in small increments. It is the fortitude and perseverance from us that G-d most appreciates.
“And I can fight only for something that I love, love only what I respect, and respect only what I at least know.” Another quote- “Who says I am not under the special protection of God?” These both are quotes from Adolph Hitler. I am certain we both agree that Adolph Hitler was a God-less, wholly evil man. Hitler, on the other hand, believed he was serving God by ridding the earth of Jews, blacks, gays, mentally handicapped, etc. He thought he was doing God’s work for him. Hitler made his own god to what fit his agenda. One could tell Hitler he was breaking the second part of the law (therefore breaking the first part), but he would have said he was actually following the whole law by ridding the world of impure blood to make the world a better place for the betterment of the people. He made a god to fit his own beliefs. Gandhi did not profess the death, burial and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. He made a god that he saw fit to serve, which was not the True and Eternal God- Father Son and Holy Spirit. He said he desired to follow the ideals of Christianity, but when you say he was a “professed Hindu who practiced the Christian virtues of loving God”- which millions of Hindu gods did he love? To love the Trinitarian God of Christianity is to cease being a Hindu which tells you to adore a god for this and that. There are many Hollywood actors/actresses, who are working for the betterment of mankind, but they do not profess Christ and Savior and Lord (in fact some deny Him outright). There are certain politicians who are working to make their country a better place to please their countrymen, but they do not confess Christ as Savior and Lord. It is not hard to look “good” infront of cameras and to look pious on paper. But the Bible states Christ saying over and over one HAS TO confess and believe in Him and if you deny Who He is, you never really knew Him nor served Him- or the Father and Spirit for that matter. God has written the law on men’s hearts. Men are made in His image. Some choose to reject the laws that do not fit their idea of a god.
Gandhi is very different from the thief. Gandhi knew of Jesus and His commands and ultimately rejected Him. The thief cried out to Jesus for mercy. Gandhi, while on his deathbed, did not cry out to Jesus for mercy(as far as anyone knows atleast, but yes, you are correct in saying only God can judge a heart).
Agreed, but I am thankful to be washed in the blood of the Lamb!
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