Can someone please explain the concept of the Trinity (ie father, son
and holy ghost)in relatively simple terms. Please note I am an atheist
if that is going to make any difference to the answer...
Thanks.

Hi rai130-ga!

I hope this will be of help.

http://www.carm.org/doctrine/trinity.htm

Thanks, thats perfect. You're a star...

If the concept of a trinity had any substance, the actual word would
appear in the Bible. IT DOES NOT.

Jesus and his followers did not contradict the "Shema" in the old
testament Deuteronomy 6;4 "Hear O Israel, The Lord our God is one
Lord" Even the NEW CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPAEDIA states " The formulation
"one god in three persons" was not solidly established certainly not
fully assimilated into christian life prior to the end of the fourth
century. quote [1967] Vol. XIV, p. 299, Christianity derived from
Judaism and Judaism was strictly Unitarian [ believing that God is one
person. The greek philosopher Plato`s conception of the divine trinity
can be found in all the ancient PAGAN religions. The Holy Spirit is
God`s active force, that He uses to accomplish His purpose. People
were "filled" with holy spirit and "anointed" with it. Luke
1;41..Matthew 3;11..Acts 10;38. These references do not fit a person.
God has a name and that can be found at Psalm 83;18. We all know
Jesus. But nowhere in the scriptures is a personal name applied to the
holy spirit. At Acts 7;55, Stephen saw "Jesus standing at God`s right
hand", but he made no mention of seeing the holy spirit. Rev.7;10 and
22;1,3 The New Testament reveals God`s spirit as something, not
someone. God and Jesus are two separate individuals but share a common
goal. To improve our lives that we alone have messed up.At Matthew
26;39, Jesus prayed " My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as YOU will. If the trinity
had any truth in it, Jesus would have been praying to himself. Not
very logical.` John 8;17,18 saqid to the Pharisees " In your law it is
written that the testimony of two men is true. I bear witness to
myself, and the Father WHO SENT ME bears witness to me"  Mark 13;32
states " Of that day, or that hour [Armageddon] no one knows, not even
the angels in heaven, nor the son, but ONLY the Father. No mention of
the holy spirit. IF THE TRINITY HAD ANY TRUTH, GOD AND JESUS WOULD
BOTH KNOW AND THE THIRD PART [??????] WOULD KNOW. IT JUST DOESN`T ADD
UP. Q.E.D.,

Wasn't the schism between the Roman and Byzantine churches essentially
caused by a disagreement in the theology surrounding the concept of
the Trinity? If so, how daft to disagree so on something not even in
the Bible... who knows what the course of European history might have
been without the Great Schism? Istanbul might still be called
Constantinople and monastery barbers in Greece might still be in
employment...
(of course my memory could be entirely wrong and it was caused by
something entirely different!)

Can you explain the Trinity?

our A: "Trinity" is a term that is not found in the Bible but a word
used to describe what is apparent about God in the Scriptures. The
Bible clearly speaks of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ),
and God the Holy Spirit...and also clearly presents that there is only
one God. Thus the term: "Tri" meaning three, and "Unity" meaning one,
Tri+Unity = Trinity. It is a way of acknowledging what the Bible
reveals to us about God, that God is yet three "Persons" who have the
same essence of deity.

Some have tried to give human illustrations for the Trinity, such as
H2O being water, ice and steam (all different forms, but all are H2O).
Another illustration is an egg having a shell, egg yolk and egg white,
but this egg illustration shows that there would be "parts" to God,
which isn't the case.

God the Son (Jesus) is fully, completely God. God the Father is fully,
completely God. And God the Holy Spirit is fully, completely God. Yet
there is only one God. In our world, with our limited human
experience, it's tough to understand the Trinity. But from the
beginning we see God this way in Scripture. Notice the plural pronouns
"us" and "our" in Genesis 1:26 -- Then God said, "Let us make man in
our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea
and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and
over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Though not a complete list, here is some other Scripture that shows
God is one, in Trinity:

    * "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!" (Deut. 6:4)

    * "I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no
God." (Isa. 45:5)

    * There is no God but one. (1Cor. 8:4)

    * And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the
water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of
God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out
of the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am
well-pleased." (Matt. 3:16-17)

    * "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
(Matt. 28:19)

    * Jesus said: "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30)

    * "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)

    * "He who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me." (John 12:45)

    * If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong
to Him. (Rom. 8:9)

    * "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your
wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."
(Matt. 1:20)

    * And the angel answered and said to her [Mary], "The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of
God." (Luke 1:35)

    * [Jesus speaking to His disciples] "And I will ask the Father,
and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does
not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with
you, and will be in you." ... "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My
word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make
Our abode with him." (John 14:16-17, 23)

http://www.everystudent.com/forum/trinity.html

It's a matter of faith.

God Bless!

I happened upon this site & your question & I volunteer my opinion. 
It is not advisable to get into the long-drawn-out semantics on your
question.  I am a believer in a supreme being that created all that
is, including mankind.  If you sincerely, from your heart desire an
answer to your question, just ASK--go quietly alone and just ask from
within yourself--"If there is a God, SHOW ME!!!  Give me a sign that I
can believe that You truly exist."  As a Catholic who was away from
God for many years and have now returned to HIM, BELIEVE me, He WILL
answer your question/(prayer).

After He shows you, and He will, ask again to be given enlightenment
regarding the Trinity--and He will.  A single divine nature that has
three 'aspects'... the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  He
(They) are pure love--for YOU!

I now offer a prayer up to God, to come and show you the way to Him. 
May He shower you with peace and graces in answer to your prayer. 
Marilyn B... sunriser7

Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness jesussaves...

oh and nfpolaris, faith is very dangerous... it closes your mind to
other possibilities... just take a look at history (I'm not talking
about the history of just Christianity but of many occasions of faith
and belief leading to disaster...)
Sorry, I'm not trying to have a dig at you here, its often good for
people to have something to cling to...

Rai130....yes...i believe that we all need something to cling
to....it's God who I cling to when life throws me a curveball...in my
depth of despair...& it's Him who I cling to in my glory...because
ultimately it's all for His glory, not mine.  He is the creator of
heaven & earth, of every human being...believer in Him or not.  He
loves us all deaply, more than our finite minds could ever
comprehend...each individually and personally and longs for us to long
for and reach for Him, in His grace & mercy.  I'm not saying to close
your mind....accept everyone....love your neighbor as thyself. Jesus
surrounded Himself with tax collectors (the most despised people at
the time) and prostitutes and all sorts of people who were shunned in
society and brought them life...eternal life.  We've got to stop
thinking about time being temporal & start thinking with a more
eternal perspective.  I respect any other way of thinking....i respect
all people and their beliefs, but i won't open MY mind to any other
possibilities when it comes to God...i know the truth & it has set me
free.

Rai130,

"faith is very dangerous... it closes your mind to other possibilities..."

Likewise, having no faith or God is also very dangerous. It closes
one's mind to the "possibility" that there is a Supreme Being.

Since you don't believe in God, it follows that you also don't belive
in the Bible since it is the compilation of the words of God. The kind
of answer you are seeking should come from a personal standpoint.

Nfpolaris gave you a nice definition of "Trinity" in his/her first
paragraph -- God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the
Holy Spirit. In truth, God is not limited to being a "tri-unity"
because He can exist and manifest in so many ways when He wants to.
God can be a situation that can bring change to your life. He could be
a beggar in the corner, or manifest as an person or organization that
helps the needy. He shows His love and concern for us in so many ways
we can never imagine. He uses situations and people as His eyes,
mouth, feet, hands and His smile -- to meet, speak, act, share, and
manifest His love for us. Who knows, He may be using you as a means to
make other people like you that He really exists -- whether you accept
this or not. The fact that you don't believe that there is a God and
that inspite of that, there are people who care for you shows that
there is someone out there that is worth believing in.

Please don't get me wrong Rai, I respect your way of thinking because
you are what you are and nobody can change you but yourself and the
God that I have faith in. May you have peace in yourself and know Him
at some point in time as you make your journey in life.

God bless,
Feilong

I hadn't intended to make any more comments on this topic...really. 
But...i just got an e-mail from my mother...it was something she wrote
last week....at 3am....titled "Faith".  How poignant to the topic
Rai130 brought up....I choose to share it...with her blessing....Good
night...and God Bless.

FAITH

Can there be joy in pain?  Can there be joy in sorrow?  Have we ever
found ourselves thanking God for our thorn?  Or can we thank God when
we can?t even get a glimpse of hope?  When it is so dark out there
that all we know is to trust that God will one day show us a star? 
That is the kind of faith I ask God for each and every day.  Before my
feet touch the ground every morning I vest myself with God?s Holy
Armor, and as I take upon my hands the Shield of Faith I thank Him for
this precious gift.  Then, in humble plea, I cry out to God for His
promise.  Then I smile and rest on this? His Holy promise.

As I journey through my life with Multiple Sclerosis I maneuver the
peaks and valleys of this debilitating disease with not much attention
to my condition, aside, of course, of taking care of myself physically
as well as I can.  Knowing God, clarifies my purpose in life, and my
purpose in life is to Glorify Him and to do His will.  Through my pain
I have drawn closer to Him.  It is in pain that I experience Him the
most.  What else do I have in my moments of pain and sorrow but Him to
draw from?  Oh, how I have learned to thank Him for those glorious
moments!  They have been the moments that I have felt Him the closest;
the moments that He has carried me, the moments that I have truly felt
His hand on me.  True, there are times when in the mist of the
darkness He seems far, far away, but then there is the promise!  I
just hold on to it.  I keep repeating to Him.  ?God, you promised.? 
?God, you promised.?  Then I smile and rest on this? His Holy promise.

Hebrews 11:1-2 says, ? Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and
certain of what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were
commended for.?   Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph are but a
few of the heroes of faith mentioned in this passage.  They all went
through many trials, incredible hardships and physical pain before God
rewarded them.  I know my reward will come.  When and were?  Here or
there?  It does not matter, what does matter is that the reward will
come, because it is His promise to me.  His promise?  ?No one will be
able to stand up against you all the days of your life.  As I was with
Moses so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.?
Joshua 1:5.  Again, I hear these words and I smile.  Thank You Lord,
for your promise!

How can I not walk in joy?  He will take care of me.  ALL of me. ALL
of the time.  For ALL eternity!
                                                                      
                By:  EJR
                                                                      
                         January 26, 2004

To add a different view, I suggest this quote from Thomas Paine's "The
Age of Reason":
http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/3743

The christian system of faith, including in it [...] the mythological
idea of a family of gods, and the christian system of arithmetic, that
three are one, and one is three, are all irreconcilable, not only to
the divine gift of reason, that God has given to man, but to the
knowledge that man gains of the power and wisdom of God by the aid of
the sciences, and by studying the structure of the universe that God
has made.