Church Chat

We’ve been on a bit of a tangent recently here at The Church of the Infinite Chasm. In a digression from our standard topics of science and observations about nature, we’ve been talking about why it has been said – quite accurately – that religion is the #1 cause of atheism. We’re saying there is a chasm – and a pretty big one – between what churches teach and what the Bible teaches. With the Bible’s appealing message adulterated, its attractiveness is correspondingly reduced. Our big topic of late has been hellfire and never-ending punishment, an illogical, unfair, cruel, and unscriptural teaching if ever there was one. There’s no telling how many people have been turned off religion by that one teaching alone.

But that’s not all.

Let us just briefly touch on another topic. This one may not be as reprehensible as teaching that a God of “love” will torture you forever for the mistakes of your brief life, but it’s just as illogical. Even so, it is a cornerstone of so-called Christian teaching. What are we talking about?

The trinity.

Churchgoers might accuse me of heresy for suggesting this teaching is unscriptural, but my intended audience is people who aren’t churchgoers (in part because of teachings like hell and the trinity). Since I’m not preaching to the proverbial choir, I’m not going to trot out chapter and verse to support my claim (although I could with ease). Instead, I’d like to ask you non-religious people out there (and even trinity believers) to reason with me on this topic for a few moments.

This should explain the enigma nicely. Click for a larger view.

This should explain the enigma nicely. Click for a larger view.

This subject – the teaching that god is three persons in one – is acknowledged even in official church doctrine as unexplainable and a divine mystery. People of a certain show-me persuasion are unconvinced. They wonder: “This is THE foundation teaching of Christianity – and it can’t be explained?” Supporters try to “prove” the trinity with illustrations. “Water can be liquid, solid or gas, but it’s still water.” Or “An egg is three distinct components – egg white, yolk, and shell – yet it’s still considered one egg.” Since neither the word nor the concept of the trinity clearly appears in the Bible, those illustrations are rather handy to have.

What the Bible does have are references (and plenty of them) to “the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Saying them all in one breath or one sentence doesn’t make them equal any more than Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were one and the same, or Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego of the book of Daniel were.

I said I wasn’t going to quote chapter and verse, but I’ll give you just one brief verse: Jesus said (in John 14:28) “The Father is greater than I am.” You can’t get much more simple and direct than that.

But back to points of logic and reasoning. If the Bible wanted to clearly convey the message that God and Jesus are equal, why does it depict them as father and son? Virtually every culture recognizes that as a relationship with some hierarchy involved. Wouldn’t twins have been a much more apt and fitting descriptor if you wanted to get across the point that they’re equal?

What does any of this have to do with evolution, always our basic topic here at the Church of the IC? Granted, your average evolutionist is not concerned with hell or the trinity in the slightest. He or she has long ago written off the entire realm of religion as a vestige of mankind’s ancient beliefs in mythology. But in the viewpoint of many, the rejection of faith in favor of science is in large measure due to the pollution of the waters by churches who teach what isn’t supported by the Bible. Every church has its own unique set of teachings. They all claim one of two things: either (#1), “we’re right and everyone else is wrong,” or (#2) they endorse the “everybody is right; all roads lead to heaven; attend the church of your choice” school of thought. In other words, “just pick a church – any church – and go.” To a logical mind, nothing could be more illogical. The scientific mind, ironically enough, knows there is such a thing (see #1 above) as established fact (although the point has been made that scientific facts tend to have a half-life). The Bible likewise is unambiguous in its principal teachings, but the scientific mind sees the chaos and confusion of thousands of religions and their conflicting teachings and says, “If I could discover what the Bible really teaches, maybe I would discover the reason for its centuries of appeal.” But how?

No differently than researching any other topic. Begin with an open mind. Then read. Study. Dig. Reason. Meditate. The truth is out there.

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