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I know a nice young man who is in discussions with some Oneness people. He has lots of questions. The Oneness people seem pretty entrenched and adamant. I can't help wondering if their aim is persuasion, but I guess anyone would want to express their opinions.

It is longer than an essay, but worth the effort. Written by a pentecostal (AG) academic theologian for a lay audience.www.amazon.com/Trinity-Practically-Speaking-Frank-Macchia/dp/0830857753/ref=sr 1 1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468370077&sr=1-1

Re: Looking for a concise description of the doctrine of the Trinity

Why can't both parties accept that both arguments have their strengths and weaknesses? Both affirm there are distinctions within the being of God. Both affirm the deity of Christ. Where they differ is on how they approach the distinctions within God's being. But what usually happens is that both camps try to have debate instead of dialog often treating the other like they would a Mormon or JW

delet

www.amazon.com/Oneness-Pentecostals-Trinity-Gregory-Boyd-ebook/dp/B009LNH3X4/ref=sr 1 2?ie=UTF8&qid=1468370702&sr=8-2&keywords=trinity+and+oneness Sorry. The book simply is not accurate. Much of what he says about Oneness Pentecostals can be said about Trinitariam Pentecostals. I hope Bonnie will not use this book.

As you might have surmised, the nice young man is my son. As far as I know, he is not engaging in debates, just asking questions. The Oneness adherents have invited him to lunch a few times and have had long discussions with him. They attend our church and love the fellowship. They weren't sure at first whether our church was Trinitarian, but when they asked in Sunday school, I and another person answered simultaneously that we are. After Sunday school, I mentioned that I didn't think our pastor would be open to beliefs other than Trinitarianism, and the woman assured me that it wasn't like she would be trying to teach that in our church.After one Sunday lunch my son had with them, I asked him what they talked about. He said, The Trinity. (for an hour)I said, What?! Are they trying to proselytize you?He grinned and said that she had told him, You better not tell your mom or she will think we are trying to proselytize you.So, yeah, I do wonder why they can't just live and let live, but in fairness, my son said he was asking questions.My son is an easy going, fairly level headed kid. If he has a viewpoint, he will make his point and move on. I've not noticed him trying to persuade someone who doesn't want to change his or her mind. And I can't see him arguing about the nature of the Trinity.

Why can't both parties accept that both arguments have their strengths and weaknesses? Both affirm there are distinctions within the being of God. Both affirm the deity of Christ. Where they differ is on how they approach the distinctions within God's being. But what usually happens is that both camps try to have debate instead of dialog often treating the other like they would a Mormon or JW. I hope these Oneness folk are not trying to proselytize. That was more common (by a minority of stalwarts) in years past but is not so common any more. One word of advise though.....Please have your son stress to them that Trinitarians do believe that God is a singular

In my experience (which I admit is by no means necessarily universally representative, though I'm certainly not the only one who has experienced this), Oneness folks consider it their mission to convert trinitarians to their view, with most seeing trinitarianism as 'idolatry' and trinitarians as not even saved, but instead, three-god devils. Another thing they typically do is appeal to personal revelation ultimately, saying things like, You can't get this by studying the Bible alone; the Spirit has to reveal it to you.

Why would I tell my son to stress to them anything?I'm not interested in telling my adult son what to say in a situation like this.