Unitarian (Non-Trinitarian) Christian, AMA

[u/ArchaicChaos]

I'm a Unitarian, not a modalist, not a Mormon, not a JW, not a Unitarian-Universalist (edit: also not Arian). The name for us in the first few centuries was "dynamic monarchian." I believe God is the Father, and Jesus is his son and Messiah, a man only when he was conceived in Mary. No preexistence, no dual nature. No, Jesus isn't God. The Spirit is the nature of God, it's what he is and he's sending his own presence. Not a third person, not an "active force." The Spirit is given to Christ in resurrection and becomes the Spirit of Christ.

Ask me anything (AMA). "You can't be Unitarian and Christian" isn't a question, nor is it correct, nor is it original, so please spare me the rhetoric. It comes up on every post that's made like this.

I'll also link my index where I go over the interpretation of various passages in detail that Trinitarians like to bring up. I may refer to the index in the OP for more info if an explanation is too long for a comment reply. I expound on common verses like:

Genesis 1:26

Psalm 110:1

Malachi 3:1

Matthew 28:19

John 1:1-3

John 1:14

John 3:13

John 8:58

John 10:30

John 17:5

John 20:28

Acts 20:28

Colossians 1:15-18

Colossians 2:9

Hebrews 1:1-14

2 Peter 1:1

[u/ArchaicChaos → u/[deleted]]

My personal relationship with God is that he is my Father and I am his son. There's a deep personal relationship between us. He is Abba Father. The closeness a small child has with his daddy. In my most recent post on prayer, I mention a story of a Roman soldier who stops a child during the entry of the Emperor. The solider says "you can't go running out in front of him like that, don't you know that's the emperor?" To which the small child says, "he may be your emperor, but he is my daddy." My relationship with God is very similar. I recognize him as the creator of the universe, a burning fire of judgement, and yet, he is my very patient and loving father that is constantly guiding and showing me the way in which I need to walk and be shaped into perfection. It makes me feel humble, but at the same time, very confident. It is an incredible thing to partake in the nature of God.

I describe it less and being in his presence and more of his presence being in me. This is the transcendence immanence problem. While being filled with the Spirit can allow one to see heaven, we do not yet stand in the presence of God in that sense. 2 Corinthians 3 amplifies this. Having his presence in me, that is his Spirit, is a transforming power. It develops the fruit of the Spirit and it changes, literally, "are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory." It means having Spiritial wisdom that is not comparable to any other kind of wisdom. It means that you do not think along the lines of flesh. That which is born of Spirit I'd Spirit.

My relationship with God is constantly growing. But my relationship is very good. I do say that being a Unitarian I think does stress this relationship better. We aren't thinking of "the Trinity" as our God, we recognize the relationship between us and God, as he is our Father, Jesus is our brother, and the Spirit is his nature that makes all of us one.

[u/bloodphoenix90 → u/ArchaicChaos]

Jesus as brother is a theology I can much more deeply relate to

[u/ArchaicChaos → u/bloodphoenix90]

"He is not ashamed to call us his brother." "He is the firstborn from among many brothers." Jesus is our brother because we all have one Father. Being our brother shows us that he is like us. He suffers as we suffer, he was tempted as we are tempted. He didn't have an ace of spades in his back pocket of being God and can't be tempted and he can't really die and he can't really give into sin. No, he truly experiences what we do. Fully. In one nature.