Pentecostals and the Trinity

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From: Steve Starcher[SMTP:stevstar@prodigy.net]
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 1998 8:28 PM
To: higher-fire@prairienet.org
Subject: Pentecostals and the Trinity


Questions on The Christian Doctrine of God.  True or False.

1. The Christian doctrine of God has its source in the revelation of God
in human history.

True-Though not all history that claims to be church history truly is nor 
does it all truly represent the Christian doctrine of God.

2. The Christian doctrine of God is derived from Holy Scripture.

True

3. The doctrine of the Trinity is the explicit teaching of Holy
Scripture.

False

4. The doctrine of the Trinity has always expressed the Church's
understanding of God.

False

5. The doctrine of the Trinity is foreshadowed in the Old Testament.

False

6. The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that their is one God in three
persons.

Depends on who you ask or which version you read. It tends to teach
more along the line of three persons that comprise one God and there
IS a profound difference between that and one God in three persons.

7. The new Testament specifies the nature of the relationships between
and among the persons of the Trinity.

False due to the doctrine of the Trinity being false. It does specify the
nature of the relationship between the *man* Jesus Christ and the 
Father however.

8. The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that God has only one divine
nature or essence.

Once again it depends on who you ask or which version you read. 

9. In the doctrine of the Trinity the term person means "possessing an
independent self consciousness."

Refer to question #8. Some explain it this way, others say no. Some
explain it this way in different words and then when they hear it in the
above written form, they deny that ideology, apparently not understanding
their own explanation. Some would be vehemently opposed to such an
idea from my experience.

10. The doctrine of the Trinity was developed to protect the Church
against heresy.

According to historical data, True. Some feel that there were other 
motivating factors however.

11. The doctrine of the trinity uses Hellenistic, Greek, philosophical
terms and concepts to express define God.

True, though I'd lean more toward the concepts than the actual terms
or "wording".

12. All Christians have the same understanding and interpretation of the
doctrine of the Trinity.

False.

13. The Christian doctrine of God states that Jesus is God.

True

14. The Christian doctrine of God states that God Himself was incarnate
in Jesus Christ.

True

15. The Christian doctrine of God states that God has an identity apart
from Jesus Christ.

False

16. Holy Scripture was written with the explicit purpose of giving
Christians a knowledge of the inner being of God.

True

17. The Christian doctrine of God states that God's revelation in
history as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is His essence (being).

True(if I understand your question correctly)

18. Christians come to know God Himself (the Father), in Jesus Christ
(the Son), through the Holy Spirit.

True

19. The Christian doctrine of God is a revelational event.

True

20. Sermons explaining the doctrine of the Trinity are frequently
preached in Pentecostal churches.

True in some places. False in others. 

21. The doctrine of the Trinity is an essential part of Pentecostal
worship.

False

22. The focus of Pentecostal worship is the person and work of Jesus
Christ.

True

23. Most Christians understand the doctrine of the Trinity.

I cannot speak for those folks. :-)

24. The Christian doctrine of God is not a mystery.

True, as far as to whom it's been revealed. False, as far as the unbeliever
goes.

25. The Modalists condemned by the church fathers believed that Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, were transitory roles assumed by God in historical
revelation.

According to all we know, modalists did believe this, though transitory
probably ought to be left out of this equation.

26. The Modalists condemned by the church fathers believed that God was
somehow different than His historical revelation.

False

27. The belief of contemporary Oneness Pentecostals is a form of 
modalism.

True, to the extent of our knowledge of modalism

28. The doctrine of the Trinity has been understood in a tritheistic
(three God) manner by some Christians.

True

29. The Christian doctrine of God should avoid both modalism and
tritheism.

It should avoid theological debates and focus on the person and work of
Jesus Christ and that alone.

30. There can be more than one expression of the Christian doctrine of
God.

False 



In Jesus' Name,
Bro. Daniel M. Westbrook, Sr.