Articles

IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY GOD


(ALLAH),


THE MERCIFUL, THE


COMPASSIONATE


WHO INVENTED THE TRINITY?


The three monotheistic religions - Judaism,


Christianity and Islam - all purport to share one


fundamental concept: belief in God (Allah) as the


Supreme Being, the Creator and Sustainer of the


Universe. Known as "tawhid" in Islam, this concept


of the Oneness of God was stressed by Moses


(phub) in a Biblical passage known as the "Shema,"


or the Jewish creed of faith: "Hear, 0 Israel: The


Lord our God is one Lord." (Deuteronomy 6:4)


It was repeated word for word approximately


1500 years later by Jesus when be said: "... The first


of all the commandments is, Hear, 0 Israel; the Lord


our God is one Lord." (Mark 12:29)


Muhammad (phub) came along approximately


600 years later, bringing the same message again:


'And your God is One God; there is no God but


He,.." (Qur'an 2:163)


Christianity has digressed from the concept of


the Oneness of God, however, into a vague and


mysterious doctrine that was formulated during the


fourth century This doctrine, which continues to be


a source of controversy both within and without the


Christian religion, is known as the Doctrine of the


Trinity Simply put, the Christian doctrine of the


Trinity states that God is the union of three divine


persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - in


one divine being.


If that concept, put in basic terms, sounds


confusing, the flowery language in the actual text of


the doctrine lends even more mystery to the matter:


“we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity


in Unity ...for there is one Person of the Father


another of the Son, another of the Holy Ghost is


all one... they are not three gods, butane God..


the whole three persons are co-eternal and coequal


... he therefore that will be saved must


thus think of the Trinity”


(excerpts from the Athanasian Creed).


Let's put this together in a different form: one


person, God the Father + one person, God the Son, + one


person, God the Holy Ghost = one person, God the


What? Is this English or is this gibberish?


It is said that Athanasius, the bishop who formulated


this doctrine, confessed that the more he wrote on the


matter, the less capable he was of clearly expressing his


thoughts regarding it.


How did such a confusing doctrine get its start?


TRINITY IN THE BIBLE


References in the Bible to a Trinity of divine heings are


vague, at hest.


In Matthew 2S: 19, we find Jesus (phuh) telling his


disciples to go out and preach to all nations. While this


"Great Commission" does make mention of the three


persons who later become components of the Trinity the


phrase~~... baptizing them in the name of the Father, and


of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" is quite clearly an


addition to the Biblical text - that is, not the actual words


of Jesus - as can he seen hy two factors:


1) baptism in the early Church, as discussed by Paul in


his letters, was done only in the name o Jesus; and


2) the "Great Commission" was found in the first gospel


written, that of Mark, hears no mention of Father, Son


and" or Holy Ghost - see Mark 16:15.


The only other reference in the Bible to a Trinity can


he found in the Epistle of 1 John 5:7. Biblical scholars of


today however, have admitted that the phrase ~ there are


three that hear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,


and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" is definitely


a "later addition" to the Biblical text, and it is not found


in any of today's versions of the Bible.


It can, therefore, he seen that the concept of a Trinity


of divine beings was not an idea put forth hy Jesus


(phuh) or any other prophet of God. This doctrine, now


subscribed to by Christians all over the world, is entirely


man-made in origin.


THE DOCTRINE TAKES SHAPE


While Paul of Tarsus, the man who could rightfully


he considered the true founder of Christianity did


formulate many of its doctrines that of the Trinity were


not among them. He did, however, lay the groundwork


for such when he put forth the idea of Jesus (phuh) being


a "divine Son." After all, a Son does need a Father, and


what about a vehicle for God's (Allah's) revelations to


man? In essence, Paul named the principal players, hut it


was the later Church people who put the matter together.


Tertullian, a lawyer and prebyster of the third-century


Church I Carthage, was the first to use the word "Trinity"


when he put forth the theory that the Son and the 'Spirit


participate in the being of God (Allah), hut all are of one


being of substance with the Father.


A FORMAL DOCTRINE IS DRAWN UP


When controversy over the matter of the Trinity blew


up in 318 between two churchmen from Alexandria -


Anus, the deacon, and Alexander, His bishop - Emperor


Constantine stepped into the fray


Although Christian dogma was a complete mystery


to him, he did realize that a unified church was necessary


for a strong kingdom. When negotiation failed to settle the


dispute, Constantine called for the first ecumenical


council in Church history in order to settle the matter once


and for all.


Six weeks after the 300 bishops first gathered at


Nicea in 325, the doctrine of the Trinity was hammered


out. The God of the Christians was now seen as having


three essences, or natures, in the form of the Father, the


Son, and the Holy Spirit.


THE CHURCH PUTS 115 FOOT DOWN


The matter was far from settled, however, despite


high hopes for such on the part of Constantine. Anus and


the new bishop of Alexandria, a man named Athansius,


began arguing over the matter even as the Nicene Creed


was being signed: “Arianias” became a catch-word from


that time onward for anyone who didn't hold to the


doctrine of the Trinity


It wasn't until 451, at the Council of Chalcedon that,


with the approval of the Pope, the Nicene/Constantinople


Creed was set as authoritative. Debate on the matter was


no longer tolerated; to speak out against the Trinity was


now considered blasphemy, and offenders earned stiff


sentences that ranged from mutilation to death. Christians


now turned on Christians, maiming and slaughtering


thousands because of a difference of opinion.


DEBATE CONTINUES


Brutal punishments and even death did not stop the


controversy over the doctrine of the Trinity however, and


the said controversy continues even today


The majority of Christians when asked to explain this


fundamental doctrine of their faith can offer nothing more


than “I believe it because I was told to do so.” It is


explained away as "mystery" - yet the Bible says in 1



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