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<blockquote data-quote="bbsam" data-source="post: 935091" data-attributes="member: 22662">What you imply here is that if a Christ based faith in, say Saudi Arabia, does not reflect what is done in the U.S., it is somehow an abomination?&nbsp; Consider this.&nbsp; If the idea of the Trinity did not arrive in Christian thought until 350 A.D. and has over the centuries been mulled over, disputed, re-explained, and generally confused those it sought to enlighten, is it not possible that removing such a doctrine is actually closer to&nbsp; early Christian teaching?&nbsp; If so, how is that suddenly &quot;not Christian&quot;?&nbsp; Or consider the case of Mormons in America.&nbsp; Their doctrine of the Trinity is quite different than &quot;main stream&quot; Christianity and yet they are Christian.&nbsp; In short, how humans come to understand God does not define God.&nbsp; That we see Him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are human constructs and not the God-being itself.&nbsp; So, shall the importance be in the words or in the heart touched by the Word?You mentioned you were surprised at my responses.&nbsp; Honestly, so am I.&nbsp; I am passionate on the subject because I am certain that God had to &quot;lower the bar&quot; for me.&nbsp; I literally learned about God from&nbsp; people who &quot;drank coffee, smoked cigarettes, and told dirty jokes&quot;.&nbsp; He spoke to me on my level, and it was at a level far below a theological discussion on Christian terminology.&nbsp; It is for that reason that I view such matters as trivial and obstructive.&nbsp; I may not be a good Christian, but I am one who has been saved by God and remembers fully the darkness of meaningless existence.&nbsp; If my God can spare that agony for others by speaking to them on their level and in their vernacular, then I am all for it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="bbsam, post: 935091, member: 22662"] What you imply here is that if a Christ based faith in, say Saudi Arabia, does not reflect what is done in the U.S., it is somehow an abomination? Consider this. If the idea of the Trinity did not arrive in Christian thought until 350 A.D. and has over the centuries been mulled over, disputed, re-explained, and generally confused those it sought to enlighten, is it not possible that removing such a doctrine is actually closer to early Christian teaching? If so, how is that suddenly "not Christian"? Or consider the case of Mormons in America. Their doctrine of the Trinity is quite different than "main stream" Christianity and yet they are Christian. In short, how humans come to understand God does not define God. That we see Him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are human constructs and not the God-being itself. So, shall the importance be in the words or in the heart touched by the Word? You mentioned you were surprised at my responses. Honestly, so am I. I am passionate on the subject because I am certain that God had to "lower the bar" for me. I literally learned about God from people who "drank coffee, smoked cigarettes, and told dirty jokes". He spoke to me on my level, and it was at a level far below a theological discussion on Christian terminology. It is for that reason that I view such matters as trivial and obstructive. I may not be a good Christian, but I am one who has been saved by God and remembers fully the darkness of meaningless existence. If my God can spare that agony for others by speaking to them on their level and in their vernacular, then I am all for it. [/QUOTE]

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