Godhead vs Trinity - the Early Church

Quoting the statement of faith and core belief of the Waldenses who as you may know suffered great persecution and slaughter by the Vatican. The Waldenses came about 400 years before the Reformation, 500 years before the King James Bible was printed. They did not believe in the Trinity although some modern scholars write about them holding this faith as well as their use of the Latin Vulgate Bible which is a lie. The term trinity definitely came after the Vatican I have links below in footnotes to show the history.

A must read is “The History of the Waldenses” by J.A. Wylie . (Note: J.A. Wylie lies when he says that the Waldenses used the bible translation from the latin vulgate (which came from the corrupted Vatican Alexandrian Greek Manuscripts. Please see note 1 below in End Notes to see link that refutes this) J.A. Wylie also holds that the Waldenses held to the doctrine of the trinity. This is not true from both their statement and their historical records. (See Note 2)

THE WALDENSIAN STATEMENT OF FAITH:

Please see link below note 3 on how their statement of faith gradually changed to include the trinity after the purge of the Jesuits.

The Waldenses, to remove the prejudices that were entertained against them, and to manifest their innocence, transmitted to the king, in writing, the following confession of their faith.

1. We believe that there is but one God, who is a Spirit--the Creator of all things--the Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all; who is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth--upon whom we are continually dependent, and to whom we ascribe praise for our life, food, raiment, health, sickness, prosperity, and adversity. We love him as the source of all goodness; and reverence him as that sublime being, who searches the reins and trieth the hearts of the children of men.

2. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son an image of the Father--that in Him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells, and that By Him alone we know the Father. He is our Mediator and advocate; nor is there any other name given under heaven by which we can be saved. In His name alone we call upon the Father, using no other prayers that those contained in the Holy Scriptures, or such as are in substance agreeable hereunto.

3. We believe in the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, proceeding from the Father, and from the Son; by whose inspiration we are taught to pray; being by Him renewed in the spirit of our minds; who creates us anew unto good works, and from whom we receive the knowledge of the truth.

4. We believe that there is one holy church, comprising the whole assembly of the elect and faithful, that have existed from the beginning of the world, or that shall be to the end thereof. Of this church the Lord Jesus Christ is the head--it is governed by his word and guided by the Holy Spirit. In the church it behooves all Christians to have fellowship. For her He (Christ) prays incessantly, and his prayer for it is most acceptable to God, without which indeed there could be no salvation.

5. We hold that the ministers of the church ought to be blameless both in life and doctrine; and if found otherwise, that they ought to be deposed from their office, and others substituted in their stead; and that no person ought to presume to take that honor unto himself but he who is called of God as was Aaron--that the duties of such are to feed the flock of God, not for filthy lucre’s sake, or as having dominion over God's heritage, but as being examples to the flock, in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, and in chastity.

6. We acknowledge, that kings, princes, and Governors, are the appointed and established ministers of God, whom we are bound to obey (in all lawful and civil concerns.) For they bear the sword for the defense of the innocent, and the punishment of evildoers; for which reason we are bound to honor and pay them tribute. From this power and authority, no man can exempt himself, as is manifest from the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who voluntarily paid tribute, not taking upon himself any jurisdiction of temporal power.

7. We believe that in the ordinance of baptism the water is the visible and external sign, which represents to us that which, by virtue of God's invisible operation is within us--namely, the renovation of our minds, and the mortification of our members through (the faith of) Jesus Christ. And by this ordinance we are received into the holy congregation of God's people previously professing and declaring our faith and change of life.

8. We hold that the Lord's supper is a commemoration of, and thanksgiving for, the benefits which we have received by his sufferings and death--and that it is to be received in faith and love--examining ourselves, that so we may eat of that bread and drink of that cup, as it is written in the Holy Scriptures.

9. We maintain that marriage was instituted of God--that it is holy and honorable, and ought to be forbidden to none, provided there be no obstacle from the divine word.

10. We contend, that all those in whom the fear of God dwells, will thereby be led to please him, and to abound with the good works (of the gospel) which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them--which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, sobriety, and the other good works enforced in the Holy Scriptures.

11. On the other hand, we confess that we consider it to be our duty to beware of false teachers, whose object is to divert the minds of men from the true worship of God, and to lead them to place their confidence in the creature, as well as to depart from the good works of the gospel, and to regard the inventions of men.

12. We take the Old and the New Testament for the rule of our life, and we agree with the general confession of faith contained in (what is usually termed) the apostles' creed." p. 278-9

My purpose in End notes 5 is to share different and opposing views on the subject of Trinity as held by Unitarians, Binitarians, and Trinitarians.  Although the COG Binarians have good research, please note their teaching that portions of the Bible are not canon but were added later is complete heresy. The King James Version 1611 Bible is the complete canon scriptures and nothing was added later.

END NOTES: LINKS

1. The Waldenses used the old latin bible translation from the Textus Receptus Greek Manuscripts and NOT the corrupted Latin Vulgate from the Vatican corrupted Textus Alexenderia or Codex manuscripts. LINK

https://www.timefortruth.co.uk/content/pages/documents/1430943497.pdf

2. History and belief of Waldenses

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldensians

3. Statement of faith of the Waldenses Note: The Blog comparing the statement of faith of the Waldenses from the 11th through 17th century

https://pilgrimsprogressrevisted.com/2016/07/05/waldensian-confessions-of-faith-the-faith-of-heretics-so-called/

Waldenses Confession of 1544
www.creeds.net
1. We believe that there is but one God, who is a Spirit - the Creator of all things -
the Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all; who is to be
worshipped in spirit and in truth - upon whom we are continually dependent, and to
whom we ascribe praise for our life, food, raiment, health, sickness, prosperity, and
adversity. We love him as the source of all goodness; and reverence him as that
sublime being, who searches the reins and trieth the hearts of the children of men.
2. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son and image of the Father - that in Him all
the fullness of the Godhead dwells, and that by Him alone we know the Father. He is
our Mediator and advocate; nor is there any other name given under heaven by
which we can be saved. In His name alone we call upon the Father, using no other
prayers than those contained in the Holy Scriptures, or such as are in substance
agreeable thereunto.
3. We believe in the Holy Spirit as the Comfo

 The Waldenses never originally used God as 3 persons as post 1600 statements do.)

http://www.reformedreader.org/ccc/waldenses_confessions_of_faith.htm

Waldensian Confession (A. D. 1655)

Source: CARM (Christian Apologetics & Research Ministries)

A brief confession of faith of the Reformed Churches of Piedmont

[Italy, capitol Turin – literally “at the foot of the mountains”]

Published with their Manifesto on the occasion of the frightful massacres of the year 1655.

Having understood that our adversaries, not contented to have most cruelly persecuted us, and robbed us of all our goods and estates, have yet an intention to render us odious to the world by spreading abroad many false reports, and so not only to defame our persons, but likewise to asperse with most shameful calumnies that holy and wholesome doctrine which we profess, we feel obliged, for the better information of those whose minds may perhaps be preoccupied by sinister opinions, to make a short declaration of our faith, such as we have heretofore professed as conformable to the Word of God; and so every one may see the falsity of those their calumnies, and also how unjustly we are hated and persecuted for a doctrine so innocent.

I. That there is one only God, who is a spiritual essence, eternal, infinite, all-wise, all merciful, and all-just, in one word, all-perfect; and that there are three persons in that one only and simple essence: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."

It doesn't take much imagination to see how the Vatican systematically took out Godhead and replaced it with the Pagan doctrine of polytheism in Trinity.  

Here's the details how the early protestant  church never used the "T" word Trinity. It was bitterly despised.

1581 Allen Apologetics source Oxford University quote: "Trinitarians are wolves and daily decay and discover their own malice and folly."

 In  1872 Robertson sermon 34 Oxford University Archieves  stated, "Trinitarians are practically Tri Theists, worshipping 3 gods." 

Please read my Blog Godhead is BIBLICAL. The Trinity and Modalism are Pagan. 

For those who claim the La Nobla Leycon manuscripts prove the Waldenses believed in The Trinity, please read:

 IF you're naive enough to believe the Cambridge University manuscripts of the Noble Lesson are pure, then you also believe in the Vatican corrupted translations over the true King James Version Bible of 1611. Read below how your Cambridge documents are incomplete and corrupted. I invite you to read Dr. William Grady work: FINAL AUTHORITY...

FOLLOWING QUOTE TAKEN FROM WALDENSIAN www.archive.org:

"Morland brought to England the MSS. so col- 

lected, and deposited them in the library of the 

University of Cambridge. He represents the 

Noble Lesson as a poem written on parchment, 

in the language of the ancient inhabitants of the 

valleys, in a very ancient, but excellent character. 

He speaks of another MS. the letter of which was 

almost worn out, but bearing internal evidence of 

having been written at least 600 or 700 years 

before (before 1658). 

https://archive.org/stream/waldensianresear00gill/waldensianresear00gill_djvu.txt

It is to be deeply regretted, that there is no 

longer an opportunity of examining these vener- 

able documents. Allix l had seen them, and 

found no reason to doubt their authenticity ; but 

they have since disappeared from the library to 

which they were so carefully consigned. I made 

enquiries for them at Cambridge.

Old Testament, which the Manichseans re- 

jected, and an acknowledgment of the divinity of 

the Son. ' As we adore the Holy Trinity.' Is 

this the language of Arians ? Nor were the Vau- 

dois Manichseans or Arians when they published their Catechism or Formulary of Faith, in the 

shape of a dialogue, in the year 1100; for there 

we find a scheme of faith built upon the Old and 

New Testaments, which is in direct opposition to 

the impiety of the Manichseans, and upon the 

Godhead of the Son and the Holy Ghost, which is at variance with the blasphemy of the Arians. 

Were the Vaudois or Albigenses Manichseans or 

Arians when St. Bernard said in the twelfth cen- 

tury, * All heresies have their authors."

traces whatever remain of more than fourteen 

out of the twenty-one volumes stated by Morland 

to have been presented by him to the Cambridge 

University Library, in August 1658. The MSS, 

which have disappeared, are the most precious of 

the whole, being the oldest, and those which esta- 

blished the fact of the conformity between the 

doctrine and discipline of the ^ancient and present 

Waldenses. The very writings which Archbishop 

Usher was so anxious to obtain, as " being of ex- 

ceeding great weight and moment for stopping the 

mouths of our Popish adversaries, and discovering 

the footsteps of our religion in those dark inter- 

vals of the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries." 

Copies of some of them have been preserved, 

as I before remarked, in the works of Morland 

and Leger, but it is not only grievous, but some- 

what strange, that the pieces of greatest value 

should be missing from the collection. Not a 

clue remains by which they can be traced, and I 

am informed that it is the opinion at Cambridge,

is no proof that the lost MSS. were ever 

confided to the university. There can be little 

doubt, it is said, that Morland intended to send 

the whole collection to Cambridge, and therefore 

he stated in his work that they might be seen 

there — but from some circumstance or other they 

may never have arrived, for there is no mention 

or memorandum of them in any catalogue that 

can be found, although several catalogues do 

make mention of the 14 volumes which remain. 

It is also contended at Cambridge, that the obser- 

the observations of Allix do not go the length of asserting that he himself had consulted the MSS., but contain nothing more than a loose remark, hazarded upon the credit which he attached to Morland's own statement of their being to be seen in the university library. 

The other ground which is taken up at Cam- 

bridge, is this. If the lost MSS. ever did arrive 

at their destination, they very soon disappeared : 

most probably during the reign of James II. The 

reason assigned for this suspicion rests upon the 

precautions taken by Tennison, afterwards arch- 

bishop of Canterbury, who, having cause to fear 

that the papists were ransacking the libraries at 

WALDENSIAN RESEARCHES. 155 

Cambridge, and destroying or removing what was 

offensive to them, had attested copies taken of 

the valuable MSS. in Corpus Christi College 

relating to the Reformation. 

Such are the conjectures afloat in relation to 

the matter in question. — The real facts in elucida- 

tion of it are these. 

A catalogue of the university library printed in 

1690, says nothing about any of the Morland 

MSS. But this is no authority, because it was 

copied from one compiled before he made the 

present of his collection. 

Another made in 1753, speaks of the 14 volumes 

only which yet remain, those from H to W. 

In 1794, Nadsmith completed a catalogue of 

the MSS. in the university library, at which time 

seven volumes of the Morland MSS. and the box 

of papers marked X were missing, and it would 

seem from the following extract from Nadsmith's 

catalogue, that nobody had any knowledge of the 

manner in which they had disappeared. "

END QUOTE

4. The Jesuits

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Jesus

5. The trinitarians traditionally teach God is one who shows Himself in three modes (or hypostases), Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all of the same substance.

Hypostasis (Greek: ὑπόστασις) is the underlying state or underlying substance and is the fundamental reality that supports all else.

In early Christian writings, hypostasis is used to denote "being" or "substantive reality" and is not always distinguished in meaning from ousia ('essence' or 'substance'). It was used in this way by Tatian and Origen, and also in the anathemas appended to the Nicene Creed of 325.

https://www.biblicalunitarian.com/articles/faq/trinitarian-or-unitarian-does-it-really-matter

http://www.cogwriter.com/trinity.htm

http://www.cogwriter.com/binitarian.htm