Authority

I would disagree with the statement that the doctrine of the Trinity (as we both confess it) is taught clearly anywhere in Scripture. The verse you sighted above, 1 John 5:7, indeed states that there are "three witnesses that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and that these three are one." Now, I won't get into a translation battle here, but let it suffice for me to say that I am not academically fond of the KJV.

However, even if we accept the disputed verse you sighted, it still does not state that Jesus and the Word are one in the same; eternal and fully God and fully Man - that took the Church 300+ years to pin down! Sure, we can bring the first chapter of John's Gospel into play here, but even it does not adequately explain the doctrine of the Incarnation (necessary for a true understanding of the Trinitarian doctrine).
</font>[/QUOTE]I can understand that you are not "academically fond of the KJV. In the thread on purgatory, when I posted that there were omissions in the Bible that the Catholics used, it raised many eyebrows. Here is a sample of them:

"What verses has the Catholic Bible ommitted? I have never, not once, heard of such a thing, so please back it up immediately." (Grace Saves)

"I cannot post in the Bible versions/translations forum. You'll have to bring this astounding evidence here to us." (Grace Saves)

"*whistle* wow.. Now, this is interesting. I'm all ears!" (Carson)

"I'm waiting for you to post your proof that the Catholic Church added books to the Bible rather than the Protestants removed those same books. And for proof of your assertion that the Catholic Church deleted verses from the Bible. A list please."
(Pauline)

"Is it just me, or is the fact that you are not posting in the other threads but completely avoiding this one proof that you made this statement up entirely and have no way to back it? Well, this is the truth, because our Bible is the exact same as your Bible, only we have MORE, not LESS in any part of it. And, since you can simply make such an enormous lie, I don't see how any of your other assertions can be seen in a truthful light. I could be wrong, and feel free to prove me wrong." (Dojo Grant)

I did post an explanation in that thread, but no one has responded much to it. I did use 1John 5:7 as an example. Using 1John 5:7, along with John 1:1 and John 1:14, there can be no doubt about the doctrine of the trinity. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." "And the Word was God." There is nothing that is more plain than that. Just because your Catholic Church fathers did not recognize it until a much later date, does not mean that it was not believed at a much earlier date. The Bible teaches it; we believe it. Written historical silence proves nothing. There are many things that history is silent about. My authority is not history. It is not church councils. It is the Word of God.
DHK