Latvian Orthodox?!?
Which version of Christianity is the true one?
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You have no idea what you are talking about. Sad.
There are 10s of thousands of sects, churches and denominations in Christianity. But when Jesus walked on earth he established only one church, which is it?Jesus said, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
That's "church" in the singular.
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Theologically, there is basically agreement. Everyone can agree on "proceeds from the Father THROUGH the son", even if no one puts those words in the Creed because both Churches understand that the original source of the Spirit procession is the Father, and yet the Son as a mediate channel of this procession. The Son plays a role, but the role is different. For example, the biblical reference is John 15:26 "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me."
Now we come to the wording. The original Nicene Creed had neither, but the words under debate (not the Filoque but ANY words referring to the procession of the Holy Spirit) were added at the Council of Constantinople. The words were added to combat the heresy of Macedonianism, which believed that the Spirit was a creation of the Son, subservient to Father and Son. It was used at the Council of Chalcedon (together with the original Nicene Creed.)
There is (apparently) a subtle difference in the word meaning in Latin and Greek, both of which translate to "proceed". In Greek, the word can only refer to coming from its ultimate source, where in Latin it can come from a mediating channel.
The Latin Church adopted the Filioque wording in order to stress the equality and coopertion of the three Persons (in opposition to Arianism, for example, which rejected that the Son was equal in Divinity to the Father). The Greek Church did not use the Filioque because they wanted to stress the distinction of the three Persons (in opposition to Monarchianism, that says they are just three characterizations of the same God).All of the churches know that very few people in their congregation really understand the trinity. If you would do a poll around any religious group, most wouldn't be able to explain it to you. Those who say that they do understand it, are either lying or have submitted to simply repeating the official mantra. They know the doctrine but do not really *get* it because it is not meant to be logical: God has three parts but they are the same thing in an apparently "monotheistic" religion; how can Jesus be a part of God while at the same time being the son. Most people who consider themselves Christian can't even explain what the Holy Spirit really is all about.
What's even crazier is that if we would read the Bible without ever having heard of Christianity before. Let's say that we are aliens who came from space and have never heard of religion before. There is no way of arriving at the current explanation of the Holy Trinity simply by reading the Bible.
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You have no idea what you are talking about. Sad.
There are 10s of thousands of sects, churches and denominations in Christianity. But when Jesus walked on earth he established only one church, which is it?Jesus said, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
That's "church" in the singular.Only if you take Pete’s word for it.
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You have no idea what you are talking about.
You have no idea what you are talking about. Sad.
There are 10s of thousands of sects, churches and denominations in Christianity. But when Jesus walked on earth he established only one church, which is it?Jesus said, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
That's "church" in the singular. -
Theologically, there is basically agreement. Everyone can agree on "proceeds from the Father THROUGH the son", even if no one puts those words in the Creed because both Churches understand that the original source of the Spirit procession is the Father, and yet the Son as a mediate channel of this procession. The Son plays a role, but the role is different. For example, the biblical reference is John 15:26 "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me."
Now we come to the wording. The original Nicene Creed had neither, but the words under debate (not the Filoque but ANY words referring to the procession of the Holy Spirit) were added at the Council of Constantinople. The words were added to combat the heresy of Macedonianism, which believed that the Spirit was a creation of the Son, subservient to Father and Son. It was used at the Council of Chalcedon (together with the original Nicene Creed.)
There is (apparently) a subtle difference in the word meaning in Latin and Greek, both of which translate to "proceed". In Greek, the word can only refer to coming from its ultimate source, where in Latin it can come from a mediating channel.
The Latin Church adopted the Filioque wording in order to stress the equality and coopertion of the three Persons (in opposition to Arianism, for example, which rejected that the Son was equal in Divinity to the Father). The Greek Church did not use the Filioque because they wanted to stress the distinction of the three Persons (in opposition to Monarchianism, that says they are just three characterizations of the same God).
All of the churches know that very few people in their congregation really understand the trinity. If you would do a poll around any religious group, most wouldn't be able to explain it to you. Those who say that they do understand it, are either lying or have submitted to simply repeating the official mantra. They know the doctrine but do not really *get* it because it is not meant to be logical: God has three parts but they are the same thing in an apparently "monotheistic" religion; how can Jesus be a part of God while at the same time being the son. Most people who consider themselves Christian can't even explain what the Holy Spirit really is all about.
What's even crazier is that if we would read the Bible without ever having heard of Christianity before. Let's say that we are aliens who came from space and have never heard of religion before. There is no way of arriving at the current explanation of the Holy Trinity simply by reading the Bible.It's easy to slip into modalism if you try to explain the Trinity without using precise language.
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Theologically, you have no idea what you are talking about.
Theologically, there is basically agreement. Everyone can agree on "proceeds from the Father THROUGH the son", even if no one puts those words in the Creed because both Churches understand that the original source of the Spirit procession is the Father, and yet the Son as a mediate channel of this procession. The Son plays a role, but the role is different. For example, the biblical reference is John 15:26 "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me."
Now we come to the wording. The original Nicene Creed had neither, but the words under debate (not the Filoque but ANY words referring to the procession of the Holy Spirit) were added at the Council of Constantinople. The words were added to combat the heresy of Macedonianism, which believed that the Spirit was a creation of the Son, subservient to Father and Son. It was used at the Council of Chalcedon (together with the original Nicene Creed.)
There is (apparently) a subtle difference in the word meaning in Latin and Greek, both of which translate to "proceed". In Greek, the word can only refer to coming from its ultimate source, where in Latin it can come from a mediating channel.
The Latin Church adopted the Filioque wording in order to stress the equality and coopertion of the three Persons (in opposition to Arianism, for example, which rejected that the Son was equal in Divinity to the Father). The Greek Church did not use the Filioque because they wanted to stress the distinction of the three Persons (in opposition to Monarchianism, that says they are just three characterizations of the same God). -
Wow, reading what you idiots blather on about is amazing. There is no magic man in the sky, you morons. Is it more likely that there was carpenter with superpowers two thousand years ago or that those stories we read about Super Carpenter that were written hundreds of years later were just a wee bit embellished? Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Magic Jeebus, Loch Ness Moster. Whatever.
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Wow, reading what you idiots blather on about is amazing. There is no magic man in the sky, you morons. Is it more likely that there was carpenter with superpowers two thousand years ago or that those stories we read about Super Carpenter that were written hundreds of years later were just a wee bit embellished? Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Magic Jeebus, Loch Ness Moster. Whatever.
At least these other equally plausible fairytales don’t have elaborate pseudo-academic justifications.
No one worries about the “modalism” of Santa Claus
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Wow, reading what you idiots blather on about is amazing. There is no magic man in the sky, you morons. Is it more likely that there was carpenter with superpowers two thousand years ago or that those stories we read about Super Carpenter that were written hundreds of years later were just a wee bit embellished? Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Magic Jeebus, Loch Ness Moster. Whatever.
No, you're wrong. The Creator of the universe died on a cross for our sins and now He is returning to judge the living and the dead.
Day of wrath and doom impending
David's word with Sibyl's blending,
Heaven and earth in ashes ending.
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No, you're wrong. The Creator of the universe died on a cross for our sins and now He is returning to judge the living and the dead.
Day of wrath and doom impending
David's word with Sibyl's blending,
Heaven and earth in ashes ending.Convincing!
Look out, y’all — this guy’s got a rhyming song!