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