Praying to the Triune God

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Matthew Shaw wrote:
>While it is true that many Christians (especially laiety) seem cloudy on
their
>perceptions and articulations concerning the trinity and are often modal in
>their descriptions of the Godhead, I find that trinitarian Pentecostals are
>often virtually tritheistic....

Yes, that's a tendency in Trinitarian Pentecostalism that hasn't gone
unnoticed even by other Trinitarians. I have an interesting message posted
on a religious forum by a charismatic Episcopal priest, who affirms "a
triune nature of God," but believes the Trinitarianism common in
Pentecostalism is a distortion of the historic version. He was raised in
the Assemblies of God (a preacher's kid), and says, "In my training, I came
to question the 'standard' A/G line of Trinity, for it smacked of tritheism
to me. As I studied the early writers of the Church...I discovered that
CLASSICAL trinitarianism, unlike its popular counterpart, is decidely
monotheistic. Whatever else may be said, it must be said first that 'God is
One.'"

>...which may be because of their desire to seem so
>distinct from their Oneness schismatics.

I wonder too if we Oneness folks, in our own desire to seem so distinct,
are reluctant to fully explore and give expression to God's threefold
revelation, for fear of detracting from His oneness.

Along this line, a pet peeve for me is the propensity among apostolics for
calling the Holy Ghost "it." A spirit is, of course, a "thing." But the
Holy Ghost is more than an impersonal force. "It" is Almighty God Himself,
living and working in our hearts and lives. I wonder how much deeper our
relationship with the Lord might become, if we really took our Oneness
concepts to heart and recognized the Holy Ghost not just as an abstract
blessing or presence, but truly as God Himself -- Jesus -- personally
dwelling within us!

>All said our differences are not simply semantical but fundamentally and
>practically in opposition.

I agree the differences are more than mere semantics, although some
language issues (such as the meaning of the word "person" in regard to the
Godhead) do seem to hinder Trinitarians and Oneness believers from better
understanding one another.

I appreciated Bro. David K. Bernard's refreshing comments at the close of
his review of Gregory Boyd's _Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity_:

	Instead of focusing on philosophical arguments, historical
	opinions, creedal formulations, nonbiblical terminology,
	and derogatory labels, perhaps Oneness and Trinitarian
	theologians could profit from a dialogue that could erase
	some misconceptions, correct some mutual imbalances, and
	encourage greater attention to a more strictly biblical
	theology. The difference between Oneness and Trinitarinism
	is more than semantics, yet those who share common spiritual
	experiences and values may also find some surprising
	commonalities of thought as well.

Cary Robison