Mittens wrote:the Trinitarian platform contains three planks: (1) there is but one God; (2) the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; (3) Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are eternally distinct.
The first plank underscores that there is only one God. Christianity is not polytheistic but fiercely monotheistic. “You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me” (Isaiah 43:10, The second plank emphasizes that in hundreds of Scripture passages the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are declared to be fully and completely God. As a case in point, the apostle Paul says that, “there is but one God the Father” (1 Corinthians 8:6). The Father, speaking of the Son, says, “Your throne, O God, will last forever and forever” (Hebrews 1:8). And when Ananias “lied to the Holy Spirit,” Peter points out that he had “not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:3–4).
The third plank of the Trinitarian platform asserts that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are eternally distinct. Scripture clearly portrays subject/object relationships between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For example, the Father and Son love one another, speak to each other (John 17:1–26), and together send the Holy Spirit (John 15:26). Additionally, Jesus proclaims that he and the Father are two distinct witnesses and two distinct judges (John 8:14–18). If Jesus were himself the Father, his argument would have been not only irrelevant but also fatally flawed; and if such were the case, he could not have been fully God.
what a bunch of babble (and just because you write "clearly" does not make it so...try using actual facts)
The bottom line is that the "trinity" is not scriptural, the early church had no issue to resolve, perhaps you should understand the creed's genesis.
you trying to sell the idea that one god is actually three gods is "fiercely monotheistic" has every Jewish and Islamic faith member rolling their eyes. (i honestly don't know who you are trying to convince because it seems as if you are trying to talk yourself into it)
The "plank" metaphor is completely strange except that you seem to be walking one....a short one
you cherry-pick scripture without any knowledge of their meaning
what is evident is that you can not make up your mind...you are confounded and though you have been trained by t-shirt designs that exclaim "saved!" "born again!" and "WWJD" you have never fully realized what it is you actually believe in.....read the scriptures, not just cut-n-paste, but actually read them for yourself.