What’s So Amazing About the Trinity? Absolutely Nothing !
Forgive
me for stating the obvious, but the Christian doctrine of the trinity
is utterly ridiculous. Not only do I find the idea to be unfeasible and
nonsensical, but as far as I can tell, it isn’t even necessary for the
Christian faith to exist.
These two criticisms are
extremely intertwined; I’ll try to differentiate them though. The first
relates primarily to the absurdity of it. What is the trinity? How can
one god be three persons/people? Does Yahweh have multiple personality
disorder? These questions raise interesting concerns, which are never
answered by theologians, the only answers we ever receive are statements
of overwhelming inanity like “God is mysterious” or incredibly weak
analogies.
Does Christianity even require the trinity?
In my opinion, no it doesn’t. I am not a biblical scholar, but it seems
that deriving the doctrine of the trinity from the Biblical texts
requires some mental and theological gymnastics. Besides the
polytheistic/Henotheistic/Monolatrist vibes one gets from many Old
Testament passages, the rest is extremely monotheistic, and there are no
hints that Yahweh is actually three entities. The doctrine of the
trinity isn’t even implicitly taught in the New Testament, but rather
seems to be a poorly constructed doctrine based on a few scattered
verses mentioning the Spirit of Yahweh God, various passages from John and
Paul’s writings that allude to the supposed divinity of Jesus, and some
of the polytheistic references from the Old Testament. The only time
they are all mentioned at once as far as I know is in the prescription
of the Rite of Baptism, which I suspect may even be a later
interpolation.
As many will be aware, some early sects
of the Christian cult were not even Trinitarian, and the primary reason
that most denominations today are, is because this was the position of
the various Catholic councils that deemed other views heretical. Some
examples of other views are the Modal view of God, where the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit were just different ‘modes’ of God, or expressions. In
this view, the deity was still very much singular. Other views included
ones where Yeshua (Jesus ) was either not human, or not divine such as Arianism
(Do not confuse this with Aryanism).
What does the
trinity even bring to the Christian faith ? Nothing. What doctrines are
illuminated by God being split into three personalities? Why would an
infinite deity require being composed of 3 parts? It is questions like
these remaining almost entirely unanswered that makes me more certain
that this 'doctrine' is of purely human origin. Doctrines were invented
whimsically to try to explain ideas, but instead they only serve to
confuse.
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A stupid doctrine
I
want to make it clear that I am not a Jehovah’s Witness, yet when
considering this Nicean doctrine, it way amazes me how people can define
the form of a God that Jesus confirmed that no one had seen at any
time, neither have we seen his shape, what makes it rather annoying is
that people seem to patronize you and in the process try and undermine
one’s faith in a loving God. I have a question for you.
Is God subject to Jesus as Jesus is subject to God?
I
believe that there is God and he reveals himself in these last days by
his Word (Jesus), Hebrews 1:1-2. Where do you see Jesus sending God to
do something or the Holy Spirit telling God to do something? Jesus said
he could do nothing of self, Jesus confirmed that the Holy Spirit can do
nothing of self, but all power belongs to God.
In the
book of Corinthians 14:11-24, you would see that there is a time when
the power that was given and I stress that word given to Jesus will be
submitted on to God. I wish for once you Trinitarians will allow the
Holy Spirit to reveal who God is by his Son and not through pulpits.
Frankly
speaking if you have to have the Holy Spirit reveal all things you
would find the doctrine is stupid, and hey if the Jehovah Witness is
right in this instance so be it, even in the time of Christ our Lord he
acknowledged the Pharisees to be right in at least one instance, it
didn’t do anything to his pride, and I believe that that is the example
we must follow.
http://articles.mcall.com/2010-05-29/features/all-faithlashell.7277208may29_1_god-trinity-doctrine
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Definition of the central doctrine of religions of Christendom.
According to the Athanasian Creed, there are three divine Persons (the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost), each said to be eternal, each said to be almighty, none greater or less than another, each said to be God, and yet together being but one God. Other statements of the dogma emphasize that these three “Persons” are not separate and distinct individuals but are three modes in which the divine essence exists. Thus some Trinitarians emphasize their belief that Jesus Christ is God, or that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are Jehovah/Yahweh.
This is not a Bible teaching.
What is the origin of the Pagan Trinity doctrine?
The New Encyclopædia Britannica says: “Neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord’ (Deut. 6:4). . . . The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. . . . By the end of the 4th century . . . the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since.”—(1976), Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia states: “The formulation ‘one God in three Persons’ was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century. But it is precisely this formulation that has first claim to the title the Trinitarian dogma. Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective.”—(1967), Vol. XIV, p. 299.
In The Encyclopedia Americana we read: “Christianity derived from Judaism and Judaism was strictly Unitarian [believing that God is one person]. The road which led from Jerusalem to Nicea was scarcely a straight one. Fourth century Trinitarianism did not reflect accurately early Christian teaching regarding the nature of God; it was, on the contrary, a deviation from this teaching.”—(1956), Vol. XXVII, p. 294L.
According to the Nouveau Dictionnaire Universel, “The Platonic trinity, itself merely a rearrangement of older trinities dating back to earlier peoples, appears to be the rational philosophic trinity of attributes that gave birth to the three hypostases or divine persons taught by the Christian churches. . . . This Greek philosopher’s [Plato, fourth century B.C.E.] conception of the divine trinity . . . can be found in all the ancient [pagan] religions.”—(Paris, 1865-1870), edited by M. Lachâtre, Vol. 2, p. 1467.
John L. McKenzie, S.J., in his Dictionary of the Bible, says: “The trinity of persons within the unity of nature is defined in terms of ‘person’ and ‘nature’ which are G[ree]k philosophical terms; actually the terms do not appear in the Bible. The trinitarian definitions arose as the result of long controversies in which these terms and others such as ‘essence’ and ‘substance’ were erroneously applied to God by some theologians. prior to the end of the 4th century.
”—(New York, 1965), p. 899.
Greetings from the UK. I have just discovered your blog and look forward to working my way through your many cross references. It is a lonely road being a biblical unitarian and it is so good to find others who know the truth. One of the greatest wickednesses of the Trinitarian movement is the stranglehold they have over any dissenting voices - as you say - to deny the Trinity is a heresy of the highest order. Thank heavens we don't get burned at the stake any longer.
ReplyDeleteHello & Greetings my precious friend bound together in heart by walking that lonely road ! You have certainly made my day cos I'd rather have a few friends that can see than many who are blind, although all credit must go to Yahweh God who has opened our eyes by grace. ! And thanks be to Him too we dont get burned at the stakes any longer, nonetheless travelling this lonely road brings its fair share of social crucificxion as youve experienced . One Believer labelled me a heretic... i thought that would be a cool name for a band & seriously named my group The Heretics....lol .. (Am not sure if the rest of the band members have figured out its meaning yet, but there you go) ... Thanks for your lovely feedback .Press on dear Unknown with courage, strengtth & yearning for the truth --
ReplyDeleteThe latter gives me an adrenalin rush & strength to put aside time o set up this site ... the site is still a work in progress & your feedback has inspired me to get cracking .
Stay safe & may you have peace & plenty .... your exceptionally happy friend, Joseph Lefort, from singapore .