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I am religious and believe in free will

71 (27.7%)

I am religious and do not believe in free will

10 (3.9%)

I am not religious and believe in free will

114 (44.5%)

I am not religious and do not believe in free will

61 (23.8%)

Total Members Voted: 251

[Frumple]

Question regarding the Trinity: So it's really three different people who work together (as a single God)? That's the impression I get from reading posts here, but I've also heard some very different things about it (i.e. it's just one person).

Think of it as one entity expressed as three separate entities. If you're looking for a different example, it's like a tiny brahman. There is only brahman (God), but there is also Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, and the other divinities (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). That Vishnu and Brahma are separate from each other makes them no less indivisible from the brahman. If that feels confusing to you, it's because it's confusing.

[TD1]

It was the subject of much debate and death, and I'm not even sure what explanation(s) won or how much it depends on denomination. Maybe st patrick can explain:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw

I wonder how many people here would still be arguing for a one god if the Arians had succeeded and hadn't been expunged from history as much as possible by the Nicene orthodoxy.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

The doctrine of the trinity is essentially what happens when you don't think out the whole son of god thing very well and then your descendants have to reconcile it. Except for the Arians. They just decided to roll with it.

[Arcvasti]

Question regarding the Trinity: So it's really three different people who work together (as a single God)? That's the impression I get from reading posts here, but I've also heard some very different things about it (i.e. it's just one person).

Interpretation varies wildly based on which Christian denomination you belong to. The most mainstream one, I think, is that the Trinity is one entity in three aspects. St. Patrick described it as like the trefoil leaf: Three seperate... THINGIES/LEAVES that still belong to one greater entity/stem.

There's also those that believe that the Trinity are three seperate entities that are just best bros, although professing that is a good way to get punched by Santa.

Its always seemed like a weird and tiny distinction to make, but this is apparently SRS BSNESS anyways.

[TheDarkStar]

There's also those that believe that the Trinity are three seperate entities that are just best bros, although professing that is a good way to get punched by Santa.

I suspect that I would be punched. Also, Santa?

[Baffler]

There's also those that believe that the Trinity are three seperate entities that are just best bros, although professing that is a good way to get punched by Santa.

I suspect that I would be punched. Also, Santa?

St. Nicholas famously punched Arius at the council of Nicaea.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Or if you prefer...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Grim Portent]

There's also those that believe that the Trinity are three seperate entities that are just best bros, although professing that is a good way to get punched by Santa.

I suspect that I would be punched. Also, Santa?

St. Nicholas famously punched Arius at the council of Nicaea.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The way his fist is painted makes it look almost like he's stabbing him in the head with a dart. The highlighting on the fold above the bottom of his thumb looks like fletching. 

[Helgoland]

-snip-

Made my day. Especially the second picture.

[Orange Wizard]

There's also those that believe that the Trinity are three seperate entities that are just best bros, although professing that is a good way to get punched by Santa.

So that's why I never get any presents.

[TD1]

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/heresy

I went there to get a quote for an essay, and got stuck.

[Helgoland]

Tell me, what effect do you hope for when posting a link essentially containing nothing but witticisms about organized religion being dumb and worthy of contempt into a thread like this?

[Orange Wizard]

[Adragis]

oh gosh that's adorable

[TempAcc]

Huh, I thought heresy was like, opinions on church doctrine that differ from the church's accepted doctrine, and not just disagreeing with the church in general.

Anyway, currently going through the 4th fundamental book in spiritism, right at the start of the book there's a rather interesting philosophical analysis on why people started to become more and more materialistic and nihilistic in western society and how christian doctrine (altough the author is clearly referring to catholic doctrine in specific, in this case) failed to provide people with reasons to not walk away from the idea of life after death and become more individualistic.

The very first part of the book is almost purely philosophical in nature, so regardless of what your religion (or lack of religion) is, it should be an interesting quick read for anyone interested (altough it does take several stabs at the catholic church). There's an english PDF version of it provided by the Baltimore Spiritist Society.

[TD1]

Tell me, what effect do you hope for when posting a link essentially containing nothing but witticisms about organized religion being dumb and worthy of contempt into a thread like this?

...not what you seem to be suggesting. I was not making some petty point to stir people up.

“One century's saint is the next century's heretic ... and one century's heretic is the next century's saint. It is as well to think long and calmly before affixing either name to any man.”

This is the quote that prompted me to share the page. So that's why I chose to share it - because I thought there might be the odd thought provoking quote in there. Feel free to look for them or ignore them all, I don't particularly care.