Godhead (Christianity)
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In Christianity, the Godhead is a unit consisting of God the Father, Jesus Christ (the Son), and the Holy Spirit. Though often used interchangeably with the concept of Trinity, the terminology of Godhead is broader than the idea of Trinity, and includes other ideas of how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are interrelated. However, the word "Godhead" is itself a word that simply means "godhood" and, thus, it is erroneous to use it as synonymous with the English word "trinity." In those English translations of the Bible that use "Godhead," there are only three passages of scripture where it is used - Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; and Colossians 2:9 - and each time it is used, it is translated from a different Greek word: theios (godlike, divinity), theiotes (divinity or divine nature), and theotes (deity), respectively.
Contrasting views of the Godhead
The nature of the Godhead is defined differently among different Christian denominations. In most branches of Christianity, including Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and most of Protestantism, trinitarianism prevails and the Godhead is viewed as the Holy Trinity, and so the word Godhead is often used interchangeably with Trinity.
Contrasting views of the Godhead include the version of tritheism accepted by some denominations of Mormonism, the unitarianism of the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Monotheistic Modalism of the Oneness Pentecostals (in which manifestations of God are not limited to three), the Dualism of Gnosticism, and various other nontrinitarian views of denominations such as the Church of Christ, Scientist, the Unification Church, and Unitarian Universalism.
See also
Godhead also refers to the divine nature or essence of God; see Theology.
External links
- "The Oneness of God" by David K. Bernard (Series in Pentecostal Theology, Volume 1) (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm)
- Comprehending God - Part 1 (http://alpha.bme.emory.edu/bible/index-24k/eg/Comprehending_God-pt1.mp3) mp3 sermon/study from Hope Video Ministries (http://www.hopevideoministries.com/media_with_doug_batchelor.htm)
- Comprehending God - Part 2 (http://alpha.bme.emory.edu/bible/index-24k/eg/Comprehending_God-pt2.mp3) mp3 sermon/study from Hope Video Ministries (http://www.hopevideoministries.com/media_with_doug_batchelor.htm)
- Amazing Facts Questions Answers about trinity (http://www.amazingfacts.org/media/radio/question_archive.asp?tName=God)