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The Trinity in Catholic Thought During the time that Gustave has been with us, I have appreciated his participation much. A frequent theme of his has been The Trinity an important doctrine in Christianity. I thought it might be of value to us to go to an official Catholic publication on that doctrine to see what the Roman Catholic teaching actually is. My reference source is the Catechism published by the Catholic Church in Rome, English Edition. It is listed below. * I have taken my postings from pages 66 to 70 of the following book. * A 3-digit number written in Bold is the numbered teaching. * Numbers printed in [brackets] are the numbers of related teachings. They also may refer to other information. * My postings are only a partial listing of Catholic teachings. * A pdf version of this book may be accessed at: https://www.spiralgalaxy.tech/biblestudygroup/supplementarymaterials/catechism.pdf 252 The Church uses (I) the term "substance" (rendered also at times by "essence" or "nature") to designate the divine being in its unity, (II) the term "person" or "hypostasis" to designate the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the real distinction among them, and (III) the term "relation" to designate the fact that their distinction lies in the relationship of each to the others. The dogma of the Holy Trinity 253 [2789] The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one [2789] God in three persons, the "consubstantial Trinity."83 [Council of Constantinople II (553) DS 421] The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: "The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e., by nature one God."84 [Council of Toledo XI (675) DS 30:26] In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215): "Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature."85 [Lateran Council (1215) SA 804] 254 The divine persons are really distinct from one another. "God is one but not solitary."86 [Fides Damasi"DS 71] "Father," "Son," "Holy Spirit" are not simply names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are really distinct from one another: "He is not the Father who is the Son, nor is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit he who is the Father or the Son."87 [Council of Toledo XI (675) DS 530:25] They are distinct from one another in their relations of origin: "It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds."88 [Lateran council IV (1215) DS 804]The divine Unity is Triune. 255 The divine persons are relative to one another. Because it does not divide the divine unity, the real distinction of the persons from one another resides solely in the relationships which relate them to one another: "In the relational names of the persons the Father is related to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to both. While they are called three persons in view of their relations, we believe in one nature or substance."89 [Council of Toledo XI (675) DS 528] Indeed" everything (in them) is one where there is no opposition of relationship."90 [Council of Florence (1442) DS 1330] "Because of that unity the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son." 91 [Council of Florence (1442) DS 1331] IN BRIEF 261 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of Christian life. God alone can make it known to us by revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 262 The Incarnation of God's Son reveals that God is the eternal Father and that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, which means that, in the Father and with the Father the Son is one and the same God. 263 The mission of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father in the name of the Son (Jn 14:26) and by the Son "from the Father" (Jn 15:26), reveals that, with them, the Spirit is one and the same God. "With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified" (Nicene Creed). 264 "The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father as the first principle and, by the eternal gift of this to the Son, from the communion of both the Father and the Son" (St. Augustine, De Trin. 15, 26, 47: PL 42, 1095). 265 By the grace of Baptism "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit", we are called to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity, here on earth in the obscurity of faith, and after death in eternal light (cf. Paul VI, CPG § 9). 266 "Now this is the Catholic faith: We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son's is another, the Holy Spirit's another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal" (Athanasian Creed: DS 75; ND 16). 267 Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable in what they do. But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, especially in the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The reference book: Catechism of the Catholic Church: Second Edition revised in accordance with the official Latin text promulgated by Pope John Paul II, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Copyright 1997 & 2000, 904 pages.

Oakwood University hs a unique place in Adventism. It was founded to provide advanced education to people who were typically denied such. Recently it has changed its President. The article linked below discusses changes that this new President is attempting to make. Such changes can only be expected to increase the controversy. if this focus of the President continues, I expect the situation with Oakwood to decline and a potential soon change again in leadership. https://spectrummagazine.org/news/bracelet-ban-sabbath-rules-and-a-crop-top-stop-where-is-oakwoods-new-president-leading-the-campus/ Oakwood University has clearly had its problems in recent times. After reading the article, my expectation is that they will get worse. The focus of the President, should be on academic scholarship and assuring financial stability. I wonder if Ellen white would meet the standards? After all, some of her use of jewelry has been air-brushed out of published photos.

Earlier, in a post that I titled Oakwood University #1, I linked to an article that discussed some of the recent issues that the current President has faced. The link below expands on that issue. https://spectrummagazine.org/news/response-to-spivey-browns-claims-against-spectrum/ NOTE: If the Current Oakwood President wishes to respond to either of those posts, I will be delighted to post them exactly as provided to me

The following article was first published in July. It is longer than many people will want to read. But it is well worth reading today. It contrasts the multi-year reign of Ted Wilson in Adventism with what might be expected from the newly elected GC President. https://spectrummagazine.org/views/analysis/is-the-wilson-era-over/

When the Global South speaks of mission, they mean growth. Rapid growth. Since the GC in July, we have had over 50 baptisms in our district alone. People in some of our churches are very complacent. The Global South is not. I cannot convey to you the ambition of our pastors. They are focused on planting churches and baptizing hundreds.

I don't see any timeline in the bible for things outside our planet. Our local solar system could have been created in the last 6000 years. As we study the "Flood" in Genesis 6-8, we can see it was much more than a flood. There were tides that lasted 3 months. Something very big went on besides the flood. It could have been a near passing of one of our now local planets. We have no records to know. When we get to heaven, this is an area I will seek to understand.

No one talks about fasting. Fasting dropped my sugar levels like nothing else can. Once a month I do a 30-40 hr fast. The rest of the time I eat in a 4 to 6-hour window. Once or twice a month, I eat 4 meals. Just to mix it up. My A1c is now 4.9 No metformin for me.

I am glad to see people waking up to this. It is a major problem.

The following is an interesting challenge: https://atoday.org/what-it-means-to-be-anti-christ/

Interesting: https://enewspaper.denverpost.com/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx?guid=9677f2e9-e321-44df-b91a-f243f31657c3&share=true

It is Finished: Salvation is accomplished. The reign of sin has ended. Humanity now has the potential to spend eternity with God. I am not disagreeing with what Gustave said, just expanding on it and saying it with different words.