looking into it now...

Interesting! I've never heard of it before. If my ramblings about it are of any interest to you, I'll do some studying about it. One thing I see right off is that monarchianism doesn't believe that the "three persons" of the Godhead are separate entities. If that is the case, then who, exactly, was Jesus praying to the whole time he was here on earth? Himself??? If you read the prayer of Jesus in John 17, I think it is pretty clear that the Father and the Son are two entities.

Thanks for your response Laura. I responded to your thoughts over on my blog. There is nothing wrong with challenging your beliefs, as long as you line the challenge up with scripture. And it isn't always easy to sort out what one person says about the meaning of scripture with what another says. First and foremost, pray and ask God to reveal the truth to you by His Spirit.

And when I say "God turned His head away", I mean God could not look upon Jesus while He was on the cross.

I've never really thought about it. Is there a particular verse you're talking about?

move your curser over the image and watch the little hamster follow it! click and watch him eat the food, or click the yellow button in the middle and he'll get on the wheel!

That's fun!! I love hamsters. They make great pets. I had two when I was a kid.

ok...that's super cute. haha.

Addicting...

Oh how fun!!!

I'm due the 17th....but hoping for Baby to enter the world THIS year!!

Merry Christmas!

I'm preaching a lesson on this in a few weeks. I'll email you my notes. But, for now, I'll just say this:
1. In the very first verse of the Bible (Genesis 1:1), we find the word "elohim" which is the plural form of the word "eloah" which is an elongated form of the word "el" which is the generic word for "god." So, in the first verse of the Bible, we are told something about the nature of God, namely that His nature is plural.
2. The first point is seen in the second verse of the Bible (Genesis 1:2) when we see that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters of the earth. So, at the very least, God is comprised of Himself and His Spirit.
3. In the New Testament, notice what the Hebrew writer says in Hebrews 1:8-10. God the Father speaks to His Son (Jesus) and tells Him "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundations of the earth. And, the heavens are the works of Your hands." Jesus wasmost definitely in the beginning with God AS God (John 1:1, 14) and it was through Him and for Him that God created everything (Colossians 1:16-17).
4. These points are furthered by what we see in Genesis 1:26 when God says to Himself "Let US make man in OUR own image, according to OUR likeness." Again, God is shown to be plural in nature. And, considering these first three points, God is "TRIUNE" in nature.
5. However, in Genesis 1:27, Moses (the probable writer of Genesis) uses the singular of "God" to show that He did what He said He was going to do.
*All throughout the Bible, beginning in Genesis 1:1 to the very end, God is shown to be One while Triune at the same time.

Hey... this is Chris (ilsoapfan's husband).

The Trinity is a complex subject, which would deserve lengthy discussion, but lengthy comments to blog entries rarely get read, so I'll stick to just a few points (much like the poster above me):

1. The word "Trinity" is not specifically in the Bible (most translations, anyway).
2. The book of Matthew ends with Jesus mentioning "The Father", "The Son", and "The Holy Spirit" in one sentence, so the three of them do exist.
3. There is only one God.
4. In the beginning, Jesus, according to John 1, was with God and was God at the same time.
5. The Pharisees were angry with Jesus on multiple occasions because Jesus would do or say something that made him, in their minds, equal with God the Father.
6. Jesus and God the Father seem to quite enjoy having a father-son relationship. Jesus calls him his Father many times, and when Jesus is baptized, God calls Jesus his son.

At the very least, what this tells us is that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have a complex relationship. But the whole idea of God being three and one at the same time isn't hard for me to grasp at all. Water, ice, and steam are three things, but they are also all H20. Same structure, different form.

There are preggo pix on FB-check 'em out :-)

So what are your thoughts?

This isn't scripture, but an analogy that might help, imperfect though it is.

I've always compared the Trilogy to water. There are three forms of water with which we are familiar: ice, water in liquid form, and steam / water vapor. They are all water, but each form has distinct characteristics and functions differently. Ice is no less water than the water coming out of a faucet, but it is unique and distinct in that form and can do things that neither liquid nor water vapor can do.

Oh, and regards to the below.... The Bible is God's word and is Truth. "Scripture interprets scripture", as they say. If I have been taught something my whole life, and the Spirit enlightens me through the reading of the Word and shows my beliefs to be in error (which has happened, and still happens), then I'd better listen to the Spirit, yes?

Pray about it - ask the Holy Spirit to show you the Truth, and I think He will. When it comes down to what Man believes, and what God has stated, God is usually right. HA! Usually?? He's always right. :^)

Intrigued!

I would hope that I would be able to put aside what I currently believe and evaluate it based on evidence/support.

You have a sweet heart, Laura.

Looking forward to reading this. I have two things rolling around in my mind right now that are exactly like that, and I haven't done much of anything about them.

very intrigued as well.
I have no problem talking to people about my beliefs. If they show me scripture that goes against what I always thought, then I would ask them for more time so I can do some studying. I think if they truly wanted me to know the truth they would give me that time.

I can honestly say that there are things I"ve believed my whole life and was raised to believe that have since been challenged and that I've had to change my mind about. Things are ALWAYS worth studying very thoroughly.

James and I have challeneged a lot of our beliefs lately. Whether we reached a different conclusion or not, it was good to re-examine and discuss what we truly believe, not just what we've been taught. Looking forward to your follow-up post!

We got beagles! Not what I was expecting to end up with when we started the search for the right dog for "us", but we're happy.

The vet gave us medicinal collars to put on the puppies. It's just localized--only a few spots, but he's just been so itchy and miserable.