Can 3 be 1?

I often hear that God(the father) Jesus and the holy spirit are ONE( = 1 ?)
Now what do you get if you divide 1 by 3?
I get it to 0.3333333......

Now when I try to multiply 0.3333333... I get the result 0.9999999...
Can't reach 1

Any thoughts?

I suggest the use of fractions instead of decimal approximations.

If you have any more questions just ask.

Ahh,

So God isn't perfect.

He has one flaw.

Or perhaps Jesus DID lie......

Originally posted by Kiljo
....
Now when I try to multiply 0.3333333... I get the result 0.9999999...
Can't reach 1

Any thoughts?

no 0.33333333333333 * 0.33333333333333 = 0.111111111111111
so it's still zero.
or in fractions 1/3 * 1/3 = 1/9 = 0.1111111111111

Ok I thought wrong there.
I meant 0.3333333 * 3
Is that still 1?

Originally posted by Kiljo
Ok I thought wrong there.
I meant 0.3333333 * 3
Is that still 1?

Yes, for very large values of 0.33333333333333333333333333

(sorry. Old math joke, but I just couldn't resist!)

when the roman empire was adopting christianity as the official religion of the empire, there were various councils that set up creeds to "simplify" how the bible will be interpreted. Saying that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is one being is one of the crazy ideas that came up.

Since the people were not allowed to read the bible for themselves and relied on the priests to "teach" them, they wouldn't know the truth.

There are a couple of instances in the Bible where all three appear at the same time as three separate beings, when Jesus was being baptized is one example :
Mathew chapter 3 :

16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The spirit in the form of a dove and the Father talking about his Son.

The idea of a Trinity is not exclusively a Christian one, it can be found in many ancient religions. For example, Hindus have the three, Brahman, Vishnu, and Shiva, which are all a part of Brahma, the one; ancient Mesopotamia had Ea (or Enki), Ellil (or Enlil), and Anu as their trinity; Egyptians worshipped Re or Ra as the source & creator god, as well as Ra-Atum (the setting sun), Ra-Khepri (the rising sun), and Ra-Harachte (the risen morning sun) which were all a part of Ra.

As for whether or not it can exist, I don't see why not. I consist of flesh, bones, and blood, but the combination of those separate elements make up my one body. Even water, the source of all life, is a combination of 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom, but those 3 smaller parts, when added together, create 1 molecule of water.

The body and water are only simple examples of how it is possible to have 3 in 1, so I hope you can see what I'm getting at.

I think the concept comes from the fact that nearly everything in nature consists of a masculine part, a feminine part, and their offspring. The sum of these 3 elements equals one whole cycle. It follows then, that the Creator of this process must also share these qualities. My own belief of what God is, also follows this pattern. I believe that It consists of the consciousness (masculine), potential (feminine), and creation (offspring), which is why people are said to be created in God's image and are called the sons of God. Another way of saying it would be, the universe, and everything in it, is the Observer's Observation being brought into existance.