First, you have to get out of the JW mindset that there were other Triune Gods and that somehow the Christian view of the Trinity is a "borrowing" of sorts from them.
That is simply not correct.
I did not get that from the WTBTS, dear P (peace to you, luv!). I received it from my Lord... and it is corroborated by history. There is a PLETHORA of triune gods... most preceding our dear Lord, dear one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_deityThat the current "christian" belief has its roots in GREEK beliefs, is due to "polydeism":
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Polydeism (
from Greek πολύς ( 'poly' ),
meaning 'many', and Latin deus meaning God) is a polytheistic form of Deism
encompassing the belief that the universe was the collective creation of multiple Gods,
each of whom created a piece of the universe and then ceased to interact with the universe. This concept addresses an apparent contradiction in Deism – that a monotheistic God created the universe, but now expresses no apparent interest in it – by supposing that if the universe is the construct of many gods, none of them would have an interest in the universe as a whole.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PolydeismBut you DON'T have to take my word for this, dear, dear brother. The information is OUT there. One can ask (Christ), of course... but not only is he a resource to knowing the truth about this development, man's own history is a resource as well.
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If we are to criticize the Trinity doctrine then we must criticize what it IS, not what we THING it is.
I totally understand.
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God being ONE does NOT go against the Triune Nature of God.
Dear one, that is the VERY reason He made the statement TO Israel: Abraham, the forefather of Israel... CAME FROM A LAND (the "East")... where "God" WAS a triune entity!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrimurtiPlease... research Hinduism... Vedas/Vedic... and Rigveda.
Then, they were enslaved for more than 400 years in Egypt... which ALSO revered a triune god. Please, research Osiris, Isis, and Horus!
And so JAH had to TELL them... when they were in the wilderness... that HE was ONE! But they didn't LISTEN! Nope. They kept taking on the gods of the nations, including the triune god of Babylon (which originated in the days of Nimrod, an OPPOSER of JAH): Tammuz (the "son"), Nimrod (the "father"), and Semiramis (the "dove").
THEN... they took on the "Old Persian" triune god, "Ahura Mazda":
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Ahura Mazda (/əhˌʊrəmˈæzdə/;[1]), (also known as Athura Mazda, Athuramazda, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hourmazd, Hormazd, Hurmuz, and Azzandara) is the Avestan name for a divinity of the Old Iranian religion who was proclaimed the uncreated God by Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism. Ahura Mazda is described as the highest deity of worship in Zoroastrianism, along with being the first and most frequently invoked deity in the Yasna. The word Ahura means light and Mazda means wisdom. Thus Ahura Mazda is the lord of light and wisdom. Ahura Mazda is the creator and upholder of Arta (truth). Ahura Mazda is an omniscient and omnipotent god, who created a being called Angra Mainyu, the "evil spirit" who as the creator of evil will be destroyed according to the frashokereti (the destruction of evil).
Ahura Mazda first appeared in the Achaemenid period (c. 550 – 330 BCE) under Darius I's Behistun Inscription. Until Artaxerxes II (405-04 to 359-58 BCE), Ahura Mazda was worshiped and invoked alone.
With Artaxerxes II, Ahura Mazda was invoked in a triad, with Mithra and Apam Napat. In the Achaemenid period, there are no representations of Ahura Mazda other than the custom for every emperor to have an empty chariot drawn by white horses, to invite Ahura Mazda to accompany the Persian army on battles. Images of Ahura Mazda began in the Parthian period, but were stopped and replaced with stone carved figures in the Sassanid period.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahura_Mazda[/quote]
And after THAT... the trinue god of the GREEK empire - Zeus, Athena, and Apollo!
I am not alone in this understanding, though, dear one. There is MUCH information out there on this topic... the triune gods of the nations. This article (author unknown), includes some pretty good research might even be helpful to you:
http://www.bibleanswerstand.org/UnknownAuthor.htm Quote:
I am ONE, yet I am also Body, Mind, Soul/spirit.
Yes, dear one. But even in body, mind, and soul/spirit... you are Paul. Not Paul/Shel. Or Paul/Shel/Tammy. HOWEVER, because of LOVE... and because of BLOOD... and because of BREATH... and because of SEED... you are Paul/your wife. Or Paul/your child. And your wife is wife/Paul. Or wife (mother)/child. But you are not Paul/wife/child.
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The "O Shema" prayer isn't a comment on God's nature, but His supremacy as the One and Only Creator God.
It is both, dear one, and intended more as to the first... because He KNEW Israel would, again, follow the gods of the nations. JUST like our dear Lord KNEW Peter would deny him; yet, he gave Peter an opportunity NOT to do so. Same thing as to Israel... and serving others gods. That is the reason why the FIRST 'commandment' WAS:
“You shall have no other gods BESIDES/other than... me." Exodus 20:3Because, He KNEW them! Better than they knew themselves! As Christ knew PETER... BETTER than Peter knew himself!
I do understand what you wrote here about THE HS and the Spirit, you mentioned that before.
While I don't agree with the materialistic and graphic view of the Spirit being "blood, breathe, semen" when it what it is is simply the Spiritual Essence of God, I do see what you are trying to convey.
Then that's all that matters, dear one: that you understand what I am conveying. The rest... whether you can actually RECEIVE what I shared, what was given ME by the Spirit that is Christ... up to Christ. Between you and him, dear one. I'm just a little 'ol rock... cryin' out. That's it and that's all.
I wish you TRUE peace, dear P... as our dear Lord gives it! In your life... and as to these things. Truly.
YOUR servant, sister, and fellow slave of Christ,
Shel