The Trinity is a true doctrine of the Bible

First let me apologize for the delay and also for forfeiting the last rounds. Some things came up that prevented me from being able to spend the time to make a proper response. Now I am able to, so I will be making my case for the Trinity here. To begin, I will say that my intention with this debate is to demonstrate that the Trinity is a doctrine that is truly taught in the Bible. I was not trying to demonstrate that the Triune God actually exists. That would take a separate debate to properly demonstrate and argue that. My opponent is correct in that I should have worded my debate differently. Now my response to my opponent's argument: The Trinity doctrine was NOT "set up" at the time of the Athanasian Creed. It was taught in the churches well before the time of the Athanasian Creed. Tertullian, among many other Pre-Nicene Church Fathers, was a devout Trinitarian Christian. (If you would like, I can provide Church Father quotations, or you can search on Google or Wikipedia). So, for this debate, we are not bound by the definition of the Trinity found in the Athanasian Creed or any other creed. I define the Trinity as it is taught in most churches today: 1:) There is only One "Being" who is God in Nature. This "Being" is the only Being in existence that is eternal, self-existing, all-powerful, all-knowing, and unchanging in Nature. This "Being" is the only Being which can read human hearts and minds (thoughts and emotions). This is the only "Being" that existed before our physical Universe and is the "Being" that created the physical Universe. This is the only Being who should be worshiped and prayed to. 2:) Within this one "Being" (or Essence, Nature, Godhood) there exist three distinct "Persons" (or "centers of consciousness", "minds"). One of these "Persons" is referred to as The Father, another as The Son, and the third as The Holy Spirit. 3:) Each "Person" is equal to the others in terms of Essence (or Nature, Godhood), attributes, qualities, and abilities. Anything that defines The Father as being God is found fully in The Son and The Holy Spirit. 4:) Within the "Being" (or Essence, Godhood), among the three "Persons" there are distinct roles or positions. Each "Person" has a unique role or function. The Father serves no one and is sent by no one. Whereas The Son serves The Father and is sent by Him, and The Holy Spirit is sent by both The Father and The Son. 5:) Finally, the second "Person" of the "Being" (Godhood), The Son, became flesh (a human being known as Jesus). He did not cease to be God in Nature. However, when He became a Man, He voluntarily "emptied Himself" of some of His divine prerogatives and His full glory was temporarily hidden as He took the role of a human slave of God the Father. Since The Son had two natures at the same time, the Nature of God and the Nature of Man, that is the reason why He got hungry, thirsty, tired, and that is how He was able to die on the Cross -- because He was fully 100% human in addition to being God in Nature. _____________________________________________ That is how I define the Trinity Doctrine for this debate, because that is how most churches today teach that doctrine, and it is also how Tertullian and the early Pre-Nicene Church Fathers explained it. I will respond to your contentions later. First, I would like to build a better case to demonstrate that the Trinity (as defined above) is taught in the Bible. A): The Son shares The Father's Nature (Essence, Godhood) * According to several Greek scholars, John 1:1 should be rendered "The Word had the same nature as God." At John 20:28, the apostle Thomas declared that Jesus was "The God of me" (in Greek) and then in John 20:29, Jesus blesses anyone who believes what Thomas believes without having to see Him. Then at John 20:31, it says that the Gospel of John was written to prove that Jesus was the Son of God. At John 5:18, it says that "Son of God" means "Equal to God." John 5:23 says that all people should honor [worship] Jesus equally with The Father. * Colossians 2:9 says that "All of the whole fullness of the Deity [or Nature of God] dwells in Him [Jesus] bodily." According to Thayer's Greek Bible Lexicon, the Greek word for "Deity" means "The State of Being God." Many modern Translations render it as "The Nature of God." * Philippians 2:6 says that Jesus exists in the "Very Nature of God" and that He is "equal to God" (Today's New International Version, New International Version, New Living Translation, among other Translations) * Hebrews 1:3 (in the Greek) shows that Jesus actually beams forth from within The Father's Being or Essence and is the Exact Expression of His Very Being. * At John 14:14, Jesus tells His followers to pray to Him and He will answer their prayers. Something only God can do according to the rest of the Scriptures. * At Hebrews 1:6, God the Father commands all of His angels to worship Jesus. All of the Scriptures teach that only the One True God should be worshiped. B:) The Holy Spirit is shown to be God: * In Acts 5:3-4, the Holy Spirit is equated with God. * 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 says that the Holy Spirit is The Lord. (examine the context closely) * At John 14:16-17, Jesus promises that "ANOTHER HELPER" is coming to His disciples to teach them. This Helper is the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for "Another" means "Another of the Same Kind." Then, in John 16:12-15, Jesus teaches explicitly that this Spirit is a Person who hears and teaches and has His own will. * Matthew 28:19 teaches that all Three "Persons" share the SAME NAME ("name" is singular) and that all believers should be baptized in the one Name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. * 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 shows that The Spirit is equal to The Father and The Son, and that The Spirit has a will and a mind of His own. I will post more in the next round.