Matthew chapter 18

At the begining of this chapter the disciples ask a very important question of Jesus. "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" To which Jesus gives an equally interesting answer. "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
So what does this mean when Jesus want us to be "like little children"?
ajlin wrote "a childlike faith is necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven (see Mark 10:15) and while a childlike humility is necessary to grow in grace (see Matt. 18:4), a childish understanding of the nature of God and His work is no-where commended in Scripture. On the contrary, a refusal to mature in understanding concerning the things of God receives a rebuke" as seen in Hebrews 5:12-14. So we are to be like little children in our Faith and Humility, being innocent and in submission to Him but not childish in our understanding of His teachings and Word.

Jesus says that if your Hand, Foot, or even your Eye causes you to sin it is better to remove it than to be cast into Hell because of it. This is true, it is far better to be a one legged man in heaven than be an ablebodied man in Hell, but this is not the point of the statement. Of course Jesus does not want us to mutilate ourselves. What then is the crux of this lesson? "Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin!" our hands, feet or eyes do not cause us to sin. It is our sinful nature and wicked hearts which cause us to sin, not an actual body part. Jesus wants us to remove the temptations from our lives rather than keeping them there and continuing to sin. If a man were an alcoholic it would be beter for him to not sit at the pub each day crying out to God 'help me to stop drinking!' rather he should not go to the pub in the first place if the Holy Spirit is convicting him of drinking too much.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep is a beautiful representation of the doctorine of election, but we should not get carried away and read into the text what is not there or miss what is. The Parable is explained by "In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." and "these little ones" are the children from verses 2-6. This parable is specifically about children who already believe in Jesus. It can be generally applied to all believers but Jesus is specifaccly refering to children here.

Verses 15-20 is an interesting passage and ends with the often quoted but seldom correctly "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Nathan White has examined this passage in his post Exegetical Fallacies Part 2 but I will offer the crux of his words here.
"First things first, this passage is about Church discipline. Jesus is laying the guidelines for dealing with sin among those who profess to be believers. One thing to notice is that a man cannot be cast out of the church by just one person. He must be approached by one first (given the sin is a private matter), and if there is no repentance, more than one go to him, and if he still doesn’t repent, it becomes public knowledge to the entire church.

So after explaining church discipline, we then get to verse 20 and it begins with the word ‘for’. What does this tell us? This is short for ‘therefore’, and it points us back to the previous thought. Thus, we can clearly see that the ‘two or more’ Jesus described in verse 20 is simply a reference to the fact that when two or more agree to cast one out of the church, Jesus is giving them the authority to do this in His name. One person cannot cast another out of the church, it must be agreed upon by more than one believer. When more than one agree, Jesus is in the midst of them and essentially agrees with their decision."

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant is another one we should examine the context of. This parable is all about forgiveness and the that consequence of being unforgiving is being unforgiven. The Parable is about a servant who does not forgive a fellow servant, this parable is prompted by Peter asking "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?" Effectively Jesus says that every time forgiveness is needed we are to forgive our brothers from our heart or else just as the King had the unforgiving servant jailed and tortured "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Of course we should always be prepared to forgive, just as Jesus forgave us but this passage only says there are consequences if we do not forgive our brothers, other christians. The Lord has forgiven them, who are we to refuse forgivenes? All our forgiveness provides is an end to conflict and bitterness, Jesus' forgivenes provides eternal salvation and fellowship with Him.

Lest we forget.

ANZAC Day - 25 April - is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day.

Today Australians remember the ANZACs. We remember the blood, sweat, tears, innocence and lives lost in war. All for the purpose of preserving the way of life important to all Australians. The Brittish fight for the love of their Monarchy, the Americans fight for the love of their country, the Russians fight for duty to the 'motherland', Australins fight because we won't let our mates die for nothing. We won't let a mate down. We won't leave a mate stranded. We remember their sacrifice for our freedoms, LEST WE FORGET.

When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federal commonwealth for only fourteen years. The new national government was eager to establish its reputation among the nations of the world. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the allied navies. The plan was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of Germany. They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.

Though the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives of capturing Constantinople and knocking Turkey out of the war, the Australian and New Zealand troops' actions during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an "Anzac legend" became an important part of the national identity of both nations. This shaped the ways they viewed both their past and their future.

Australians recognise 25 April as an occasion of national commemoration. ANZACs have come to represent more than the fallen Australian and New Zealand soldiers, they represent the very essence of what we hold dear as Australians, the ANZAC spirit is the Australian spirit.
Sacrifice for mates in the face of hardship. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)
Commemorative services are held at dawn, the time of the original landing, across the nation. Later in the day ex-servicemen and women meet and join in marches through the major cities and many smaller centres. Commemorative ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country. It is a day when Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war. Once all the official ceremonies are done, the old diggers and servicemen head to the local Pub or RSL (Returned and Services League) Club for a few stories, beers and the all important Two-up, ANZAC day is the only day in Australia where gambling over Two-up is legal, even without a Gameing Licence.

This year for the first time the decendants of Turkish soldiers are permitted and encouraged to officially take part in ANZAC day ceremonies, the only enemy we have fought who is allowed to do so. This is to commemorate the sacrifice made by the Turks and also because they were enemies the battle at Gallipoli was fought without malice or torture, without animosity other than facing an enemy bravely.

The Following poem is read at all ANZAC srevices no matter where they are held all around Australia, Australian embasies in foreign countries, or at Gallipol and the Kakoda Trail in Papua New Guinea fought over in the Second World War. The highlighted portion is most famous and known as "The Ode".

For The Fallen - Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

(LEST WE FORGET)

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

LEST WE FORGET.

Matthew chapter 17

Matthew chapter 16 ended with a verse that has caused some confusion. Jesus says "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." The confusion comes from the fact that these disciples are all dead but Jesus has not returned yet. Could this be a false prophesey? Critainly not.

This prophesey is actually fulfilled at the beginning of Matthew 17 with the Transfiguration of Jesus. "There he [Jesus] was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus."
My computer's dictionary program defines Transfigure as "To change completely the nature of something" and that a transfiguration is like a metamorphosis.
I will borrow the words of John Wesley for this section as he so eloquently says that when Jesus was transfigured or transformed...
"The indwelling Deity darted out its rays through the veil of the flesh; and that with such transcendent splendour, that he no longer bore the form of a servant. His face shone with Divine majesty, like the sun in its strength; and all his body was so irradiated by it, that his clothes could not conceal its glory, but became white and glittering as the very light, with which he covered himself as with a garment."
With the appearence of Moses and Elijah, Wesley continues saying "for the full confirmation of their faith in Jesus, Moses, the giver of the law, Elijah, the most zealous of all the prophets, and God speaking from heaven, all bore witness to him."
So we have Jesus transfigured, changed from the form of a servant to the vessel of God's full righteousness. Here Peter, James and John saw Jesus' full glory, saw Him clothed in splendour and righteousness, they saw Him in the full Glory of His Kingdom. Now Jesus' Kingdom is a heavenly one and not an earthly one so we will not 'see' Him in His Kingdom until we are taken there to dwell forever with Him in paradise. However we will know His glory once He comes to dwell in our heart as we are Transfigured and "born again" through Him and into Him.

Matthew 17 : 14-23 has Jesus healing a boy suffereing from a demon possession and the famous 'Mustard Seed' analogy. Jesus rebukes His disciples, calling them an "unbelieving and perverse generation" because they did not have the Faith to drive out the demon from the boy. Jesus continues by saying that "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Jesus does not mention any pious acts such as knowing the correct prayers, fasting for long enough, or even having great theological understanding, simply that Faith is needed for anything to be possible for us. Faith in Him as our God, Saviour, Lord, and Creator. With this illustration Jesus indicates that even were we casting out mountains rather than demons, we would only be scratching the surface of a life of faith. What could we do with faith greater than that of a tiny mustard seed! Like children who have only begun to walk, most of us have only begun our adventure of faith.

Now "faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17) and "it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ...to believe on Him" (Philippians 1:29). So Faith only comes through believing the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, but believing in His gospel can only be achieved through His Spirit openeing our eyes and ears.

Jesus then is challenged about paying the The Temple Tax which He does to demonstrate that while He is the fulfillment of the Law He does not abandon it. Adult Jewish males throughout the Empire paid an annual two-drachma tax, based on Exodus 30:13-16, for the upkeep of the Jerusalem temple. Even, after the temple was destroyed, this tax remained important: after 70, the Romans required all Jewish people to pay that tax to the Roman government. Jesus asks "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?" This points out that The Children of the King are exempt from Taxes. However, some Jewish stories, which may be folktales but are probably not, speak of God blessing pious people by leading them to find precious objects in fish. If Peter knew of such stories, the moral of Jesus' causing him to find money in a fish would not be lost on him. This is irony of a sort: the King's children can pay the tax because the King gives them the money to do so. The wages of our Sins were payed by Jesus, He does not collect that 'tax' from His children, rather only the unsaved are required to pay for their sins with eternal death and separation from Him.

The Greatest love.

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." - John 15:13-14

The following is a list of links to Joe's Jottings and a series of posts he has done for Easter which demonstrate the Greatest Love that was ever shown. I encourage anyone who has not read these posts by Joe to do so now, they are brilliant.

Mock, Mock, Mock

Pilate and Herod

Once More...Pilate

Thirty Nine

Crucified

The Invitation

The Celebration

Here are some Lyrics from the bridge and chorus of "Grace and Love" by Kutless

And it's by grace and love that I am free

I'll live with You eternally

I thank you Lord that I am free

I thank You Lord for loving me

I thank You Lord for dying upon the tree of Calvary

I thank You Lord for loving me

I thank You Lord for dying for me

It's by grace and love I am saved

It's by grace and love You've forgiven me

And by that love and grace I'm amazed

It's by grace and love I am free

I am free, I am free, I am free

The greatest day in History.

Today we remember the single most important event in the history of time.

A small group of almost insignificant women walked to the tomb of a recently executed friend and teacher. They simply wanted to annoint his body with oils and fragrences for the embalming process. However as they arrive at his tomb they do not find a dead body, but find an Angel standing by ready to give them the message, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.'"

"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith."
(1 Corinthians 15:14)

Today is Easter or Resurrection Sunday. Today, almost 2000 years ago it was discovered that the Tomb was empty!

Matthew chapter 16

Again the Pharisees and Saducees come and test Jesus, asking for a sign to prove what He has been telling them, and that He is the Messiah. A sign from heaven probably means a sign in the heavens, which essentially reduces them to the level of astrologers or diviners, something forbidden in the Torah and the Mosaic Law. Yet the same religous leaders ignored a previous sign in the heavens in the form of a great star which some pagan astrologers, the Magi, who came to worship Jesus as a baby did not ignore. Jesus points them to scripture and their own expectations as the sinfulness of that generation could itself be a sign. Many Jewish people understood that a sinful generation would signal the coming of God's kingdom. Jesus says "A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah."
The 'sign of Jonah' was that Jesus would be three days and three nights in the grave and then rise again, just as Jonah was three days and nights in the belly of the whale. 'Three days and Three nights' being one of the indicating factors that Jesus was in fact crucified on the Wednesday and not Friday as is the popular understanding celebrated at Easter time.

Jesus then cautions His disciples about the 'yeast' of the Pharisees. Again the disciples show little understanding and Jesus has to repeat Himself for them to get the analogy of yeast. As just a small amount of yeast will make a whole loaf of bread rise, just a small amount of unbelief will lead to complete spiritual blindness.

Next comes Jesus' declaration that He will build His church upon the rock who is Simon / Peter. This is actually where Jesus gives Simon the name Peter, which means rock. Jesus said "I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church." Jesus places this blessing and responcibility upon Peter because when Jesus asked him "Who do you say I am?" Peter replied. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." An answer whih was not an intellectual one "for this was not revealed to [Peter] by man, but by [Jesus'] Father in heaven." This response and understanding that Jesus was indeed the Messiah can only be achieved through spiritual revelation.

Verses 21-28 have Jesus revealing His comming suffering, death and resurection at the hands of the chief priests and teachers of the law. Peter rejects this and challenges Jesus saying "This shall never happen to you!" Peter, who was obviously close to Jesus and also knew He was the messiah could not undestand the redemptive requirements of Jesus death on the cross. The same Peter upon whom Jesus wil establish His church is then rebuked by Jesus who says, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." The Same Peter who recognised Jesus as the Christ is now called Satan and a stumbling block because although he knows Jesus is the Messiah, Peter does not want to conform to Jesus' perfect will. Jesus' harsh reaction shows us that it is far worse to deny the will of God for our own desires than it is to deny Him out of ignorance. Jesus then tells the disciples that no matter the earthly gain, anyone who refuses to die to themself and follow Jesus fully will lose their very soul.

The last verse of this chapter has caused some confusion. Jesus says "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." The confusion comes from the fact that these disciples are all dead but Jesus has not returned yet. Could this be a false prophesey? Critainly not. As we will see, this prophesey is fulfilled in the very next chapter with the Trasnfiguration which is whitnessed by Peter, James and John. They see Jesus in His full Glory of the Kingdom, "His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light." but that is for my next post...

Easter: Paganism vs Passover

With Easter comming up and the rememberance of our salvation through Christ's suffering I thought I'd look at exactly what Easter is and where it comes from.

Paganism:
Since Easter falls during Spring, near the vernal equinox, in the the Northern Hemisphere it has been linked with pagan fertility celebrations. Some historians have suggested that Easter is apparently named after the pagan goddess Eostre (Latin: Oestre), an Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility. Some also link her to Ishtar / Astarte, the Middle Eastern goddess. The Easter Rabbit/Bunny is thought to have been included as the Hare is sacred to the goddess in Indo-European mythology and supposedly the markings of the moon (also linked to goddess worship) resemble a Hare. Eggs are also a clear symbol of new life and fertility.

Passover:
The Jewish observance of Passover begins on the 15th day of Nisan, which falls in the early Autumn here in Australia (spring in the Northern Hemisphere) and commemorates the Exodus and freedom of the Israelites from ancient Egypt. Passover marks the "birth" of the Jewish nation, as the Jews were freed from being slaves of Pharaoh and allowed to become servants of God instead. The term 'Pesach' or, more exactly, the verb "pasàch" is first mentioned in the Torah account of the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:23). It is found in Moses' words that God "will pass over" the houses of the Israelites during the final plague of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, the killing of the first-born. On the night of that plague, which occurred on the 15th day of Nisan, the Jews smeared their lintels and doorposts with the blood of the Passover sacrifice and were spared. (Exodus 12:1-30)

Passover Links to Jesus - The Israelites were commanded to sacrifice a Lamb so that theirs children would be saved. Jesus is the Lamb who was slain to purchase salvation for His people.
The timing of Easter in relation to passover is due to the "Last Supper" being considered by most scholars likely to have been a Passover meal, celebrated on the Thursday night (Holy Thursday) before Jesus was crucified on Friday (Good Friday). This belief is based on the chronology of the Synoptic Gospels, but the chronology in the Gospel of John has the Last Supper occurring before the Passover, for in that Gospel, Christ's death occurs at the time of the slaughter of the Passover lambs. For this reason, some argue that a thorough examination of the Gospels indicates that the Last Supper was on a Tuesday, and that Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday.

See What day was Jesus crucified on? for more information about the day of the crucifixion.

While there are some pagan symbols which seem to have been apropriated in the celebration of Easter there are three important truths we should remember.

1. Jesus was cricufied for ous sins so that we might have life.
2. Jesus was buried in a tomb.
3. He rose again three days later, defeating death.

This is the gospel!

"Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" - 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

This post was intended to encourage study and constructive conversation during this precious season. However the important thing is that the tomb was empty. The authorities made sure that this was indisputable. Indeed, Jesus our Lord and Saviour is risen!

There is no evil in celebrating Easter only a Great Truth!

See The Suffering and Glory of the Servant for the truth of Easter.

Matthew chapter 15

In this chapter we have the pattern of Jesus' whole ministry on earth. The educated religious elite of Jesus' day confronting Him, His own disciples trusted but could not understand him, but a foreign woman who had both understanding (but not necessarily of the scriptures) and faith, recognized his identity as the Son of David or Messiah.

The confrontation with Pharisees here is yet another important warning for believers about living the way God wants us to, and not just studying or practicing the law. Jesus points out that though the Pharisees use their traditions as a standard for righteousness, some of their traditions can be extended to even contradict the written law of the Old Testament. Notice also that the most heinous crime the Pharissees could confront Jesus and His disciples about was not washing their hands. Christians today who strongly advocate particular views as biblical, yet cannot demonstrate them from Scripture understood in context, follow tradition rather than Scripture just as did many of Jesus' contemporaries. Jesus is very stern here and quotes Isaiah 29:13 saying that "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men."

This is why it is so important to continually examine the scriptures and seek God's truth when building or hearing a doctorine.

Jesus points out that it is not 'breaking the law' which makes us unclean and unrighteous but what comes out. The things we do and say not the things we intake or hear. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.'" Since the words and actions which come out are a sign of what is in our hearts it is not what we revieve but what we demonstrate which is evidence of an unclean heart.

Next Jesus has an interesting encounter with a Canaanite woman. The woman's daughter is possessed by a demon and is in need of healing. Jesus ignors her at first, unill the disciples plead for Him to send her away. Jesus then says "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." This statement is directly related to God's plan for ministry and reconciling the world to Him. Jesus' ministry was specifically for the Jews but His death purchased life for paople of all nations.
"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." - Romans 1:16
and
"There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." - Romans 2:9-10
These scriptures do not suggest a preference for the Jews but simply a chronological order. God first revealed Himself to them in the Old Testament, Jesus came and ministered specically to Jews and they will be the first to recieve glory, honor and peace.
Jesus also compares Jews to His children while Gentiles to dogs.
Jesus said "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."
"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour."
The woman did not ask for the greatest of Jesus glory and power, she knew that even the crumbs that fell from His table would be sufficient for the healing of her daughter. Again, as a result of voicing their faith, Jesus does heal a Gentile, and agian it is from a distance. It is also important and enouraging to note that while she is a Gentile and thus a 'dog' from the parable, it is this Gentile woman, not the Pfarisees or even the disciples who are commended for faith. The Pharisees are hypocrites who honor God with their lips, but have their hearts far from Him. The disciples trust and obey Jesus but still dont understand Him and He calles them dull or dimwitted. This Gentile however is a woman of great faith!

In Matthew 15:29-39, like in the previous chapter, Jesus has compassion on the crowd listening to him and performs a miracle so that they might be fed.

What kind of Coffee are you?

The Modern Day Magi is like an Espresso

At MDM's best, he is: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At MDM's worst, he is: anxious and high strung MDM drinks coffee when: anytime he's not sleeping MDM's caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Brisbane, Australia - a city of BLOODY IDIOTS!

Here in Australia the Roads and Traffic authorities have used a popular Australian phrase in their anti-drink-driving campaigns.

"If you Drink then Drive, you're a Bloody Idiot!"

Its fairly logical, Drunk drivers kill people, make quadroplegics out of able bodied people, they smash vehicles, and drive dangerously.
Don't do it!

In Brisbane, Australia (where I live) this weekend just gone there was a major offencive by police on people D.U.I (Driving Under the Influence of alchohol or drugs) in one suberb alone "the Valley" a very popular venue for live bands and night clubs, 375 people were arrested for D.U.I. and 17 for driving without a licence.

Wake up Brisbane, we are not all Bloody Idiots, surely?

The Trinity: False polytheism or Correct doctorine?

Noun: Polytheism - Belief in multiple Gods.
Noun: Monotheism - Belief in a single God.
Doctorine: Trinity - In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost: the Father is of none, neither begotten, not proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. (Westminster Confession of Faith)

So which is it?
Is the Trinity a correct Christian Doctorine or is it something more sinister, and is pagan polytheism creeping into the pews?

The following is a cut 'n' paste of an anonymous comment left at Puritan Belief regarding a debate about the truth of the Trinity Doctorine, titled Emmanuel Our Advocate.
_____________________

Anonymous said...
The Scripture attests that “the mystery of godliness is great” (1 Timothy 3:16)—hence I am not presuming to resolve everything with regard to the triune Godhead. May the Lord give us insight into these things.
With regard to the Trinity, I think everyone (on this blog) is agreed that Scripture describes much commonality and overlap with regard to activity and characteristics of “the Father,” “the Son,” and “the Spirit.”
For instance, the Father, the Son and the Spirit all sanctify (1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 2:11, 1 Peter 1:2), each is eternal (Psalm 90:2, Micah 5:1-2, Hebrews 9:14), each is called God (Philippians 1:2, Colossians 2:9, Acts 5:3-4), and many other examples, including omniscience and omnipresence, and speaking, creating, and loving. And the Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, so it should not surprise us that Scripture refers to the Spirit within (John14:17), Christ within (Colossians 1:27), and God within (2 Corinthians 6:16). It should not surprise us that Jesus refers to himself as the “I AM” (John 8:58) or that the “Lord is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:17) or that God sends his Spirit and they are created (Psalm 104:30), or that God sends his Spirit to Mary (Luke 1:35), and the Son of God is born in the flesh. The pattern seen in Scripture, although I do not have space to develop this, is that the Son and the Spirit eternally act on behalf of (and to glorify) the Father (e.g., Jesus glorifies the Father’s name, Jesus is the lamb slain before the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8), the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will—Romans 8:27).
This is to be entirely expected, if as Scripture teaches: “Here O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Nonetheless, the Hebrew word translated "one" in this verse often refers to plurality in unity, such as two people becoming one flesh (Genesis 2:24), the builders of Babel powerfully being one people (Genesis 11:6), the people of Israel answering with one voice (Exodus 24:3), and many other examples. There is a different Hebrew word for “unique,” or “one and only,” but this is not used in Deuteronomy 6:4 to describe God.
Plurality within unity, then is also consistent with Scripture’s describing distinctions within the Godhead. For instance, during Jesus’ baptism, the Father speaks while the Spirit comes down in bodily form like a dove while Jesus is coming out of the water (Luke 3:21-22). During Stephen’s stoning, he is filled with the Spirit and sees Jesus standing beside God the Father in heaven (Acts 7:55).
That Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not synonymous should be clear insofar as: “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:32). That Jesus and the Father are not identical should be clear from the fact that Jesus calls upon the Father as his second witness (John 8:16-18). Moreover, Jesus prays to his Father, is often described as being in heaven alongside the Father, does not know the day and hour of his return whereas his Father does, and is the appointed mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). That God the Father and the Spirit are not identical should be clear from the fact that the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will (Romans 8:27), and that “God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Galatians 4:6).
This view of the Trinity as ontological unity but economic trinity is fully consistent with the Sovereign God who says, “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26) or who says regarding the builders of Babel, “Come, let us go down and confuse their language” (Genesis 11:7). This is consistent with the God who consistently throughout the Hebrew bible is called “Elohim,” (God in plurality) although he acts with singular verbs (in contrast, when the false gods are called elohim, they almost exclusively govern plural verbs).
This is consistent with the Godhead who is self-reliant and does not depend on creation for anything, who can act as he sees fit, always in the presence of witnesses, including the two other persons of the Trinity (sometimes God calls heaven and earth as two witnesses, as in Deuteronomy 30:19. But clearly this would not have been an option in eternity-past before God created the heavens and the earth). Jesus demonstrates this for us in John 8:16-18: “But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me”.
And it is from those Scriptures (and many others) that is derived the concept of “one God, three persons”—the orthodox view of the Trinity.
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For more information please see the following articles from C.A.R.M.
What is the Trinity?
Is the Trinity possible?
The Trinity makes no sense. It isn't logical.

See also 1 John 5:7 and The Father's Name at Deeper Truth.
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" - 1 John 5:7 - KJV

The doctorine of the Trinity is crucial to understanding who God is.
Christians do not worship three gods but the one true living God. The Father, The Son made flesh (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. They are separate yet inseprable, three and yet One.