1.2.2: The "Trinity," or 1+1+1=1
"O people of the book! commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was [no more or less than] a messenger of Allah, and His word, which he bestowed upon Mary, and a spirit preceding from Him: so believe in Allah and his messengers. Say not "Three": desist!, it is better for you, for Allah is one god, Glory be to Him, Far exalted is He above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and the earth. And enough is Allah as a disposer of affairs."
The noble Qur'an, Al-Nissah(4):171
"Or have they (mankind) chosen gods from the earth who raise the dead If there were therein gods besides Allah then verily both (the heavens and the earth) would have gone to ruin. Glorified be Allah, the Lord of the throne from all they ascribe (unto Him)"
The noble Qur'an, Al-Anbia(21):21-22
"Allah coineth a similitude: A man in relation to whom are several partners
quarreling, and a man belonging wholly to one man. Are the two equal in
similitude? Praise be to Allah, but most of them know not."
The noble Qur'an, Al-Zumar(39):27.
In other words, which would be more conducive of harmony: For an employee
to have two bosses quarreling over him, or for each employee to have only
one boss?
"Say (O Muhammad, to the disbelievers): If there were other gods along with
Him, as they say, then they would have sought a way against the Lord of the
Throne. Glorified is He, and High Exalted above what they say! The seven
heavens and the earth and all that is therein praise Him, and there is not
a thing but hymns his praise; but you understand not their praise. Lo! He
is ever Clement, Forgiving."
The noble Qur'an, Al-Israa(17):42-44.
"And say: Praise be to Allah, Who has not taken unto Himself a son, and Who
has no partner in the Sovereignty, nor has He any ally through dependence.
And magnify Him with all magnificence."
The noble Qur'an, Al-Israa(17):111.
"Allah has not chosen any son, nor is there any God along with Him; else
would each God have assuredly championed that which he created, and some
of them would assuredly have overcome others. Glorified be Allah above all
that they allege. Knower of the invisible and the visible! and exalted be
He over all that they ascribe as partners (unto Him)!"
The noble Qur'an, Al-Muminoon(23):91-92.
The concept of the "Trinity" as originally adopted by Christianity three
centuries after the departure of Jesus (see historical details at the end
of this chapter) and taught to Christians ever since is the merging of three
entities into one similar entity while remaining three distinct entities.
In other words: Three bodies fold, blend, or merge into one body so that
they become one entity while at the same time exhibiting the characteristics
of three distinct and separate entities. It is described as "a mystery."
As we just read, the first definition of the Trinity was put forth in the
fourth century as follows: "...we worship one God in the 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, but one God... the
whole three persons are co-eternal and co-equal...he therefore that will
be saved must thus think of the trinity..." (excerpts from the Athanasian
creed).
When the Church speaks of worship, God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are claimed
to be one being. This is because verses such as Isaiah 43:10-11 and countless
others are very explicit in affirming that God Almighty is ONE. However,
when they speak of "the death of God" it is Jesus (pbuh) who is claimed to
have died and not God or the "Trinity." Now the three are separate. When
God is described as having "begotten" a son it is not the "Trinity" nor Jesus
(pbuh) which has begotten, but a distinctly separate being from the other
two... there are many such examples. So how do we resolve this problem? Do
we simply have blind faith or do we "love the Lord thy God … with all thy
mind,"?. If we chose the later course of action then we shall first need
to specify what authority we shall accept in our recognition of the true
divine nature of God Almighty.
When God Almighty sends down a revelation, He addresses it to the common
man, the carpenter, the blacksmith, the local merchant. God does not reveal
His scriptures in a language that only the deep thinkers, the most learned
scholars, and those with Ph.D.s in rocket science alone can understand. This
is not to say that it is not necessary to consult people of authority in
this scripture in times of difficulty regarding matters of secondary importance,
however, if it were impossible for the common man to even recognize from
his scripture who is God, or "who do I worship?" without extensive external
influences from learned clergymen, then I am sure you will agree that not
very many people shall ever be guided to the truth of this scripture and
the basic message contained therein.
The matter of "who do I worship" is without a doubt the hands-down most
important, nay crucial, piece of information that must be provided a reader
of a divine scripture before they can accept a single word of this scripture.
This matter must be made exceedingly clear to them before they can accept
a single commandment. If I wish to work for a company but I do not know who
is(are) my boss(s) then how can I know what he(they) want me to do? How can
I know which commands to follow and which not to?
For the same reason, we would be justified in expecting that if we were to
present a native of the jungles of Zimbabwe with a copy of a divine scripture
in its original language, and we were to leave without saying a single word
to him, then we would expect that at the very least, this person should be
able to extract from this scripture the nature of the One who inspired this
book.
Therefore, let us begin by drawing a table and including in this table some
commands of the Bible where we are explicitly commanded to recognize that
God is one, and also all verses where it explicitly commands us to believe
that He is three. Once the Bible commands me to believe that God is three
in one then I shall not ask for an explanation or a justification. I do not
need God to explain "how" He can be "one" and also "three" at the same time.
All I want is for the Bible to command me to believe that this is so and
then command me to have blind faith. Here is our table:
Explicit Statement
God is ONE
God is THREE
Now that we have built this table we are ready to proceed. Let us begin by
filling in the first line.
In the Bible we read:
1)"Know therefore this day, and consider [it] in thine heart, that the LORD
he [is] God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: [there is] none
else." Deuteronomy 4:39.
2)"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:3
3)"For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is] Jealous,
[is] a jealous God:" Exodus 34:14
4)"Ye [are] my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen:
that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] he: before me
there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, [even] I, [am]
the LORD; and beside me [there is] no savior." Isaiah 43:10-11.
5)"Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts;
I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and beside me [there is] no God."
Isaiah 44:6
6)"That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that
[there is] none beside me. I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else." Isaiah
45:6
7)"For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed
the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain,
he formed it to be inhabited: I [am] the LORD; and [there is] none else."
Isaiah 45:18.
8) "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [am]
God, and [there is] none else." Isaiah 45:22
9)"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD:" Deuteronomy 6:4
This is only a brief sampling, however, it is sufficient for now. So let
us fill in the table.
Explicit Statement
God is ONE Isaiah 43:10-11, Deuteronomy 4:39, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 44:6,
Isaiah 45:6, Isaiah 45:22, Exodus 20:3, Exodus 34:14
God is THREE
So now let us move on and fill in the second line. Let us start with the
verses quoted by Mr. J.
Mr. J. has presented us with Matthew 28:19, I Corinthians 12:4-6, II Corinthians
13:14, and Jude 1:20-21 as proof of the claim that God Almighty is three-in-one.
Let us study them. But first, let us clearly define our goal. When I asked
for a verse wherein God is explicitly claimed to be "three in one," what
I wanted was a verse that says something like "God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost
are all gods, however, they are not three gods but one God," or "God, Jesus,
and the Holy Ghost are the same being," or "God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost
are one and the same" etc.
Just because the words "God," "Jesus," and "Holy Ghost" might appear together
in one verse does not mean this verse requires a "Trinity," or "merging of
three into one." Even if this verse also contains the word "one" this still
does not necessarily require a "Trinity." For example, if I say "Joe, Jim,
and Frank speak one language" this is not the same as saying "Joe, Jim, and
Frank are one person." As we shall see, the examples Mr. J. has presented
are all at best implicit statements, so let us begin by modifying our table
and inserting these verses:
Explicit Statement Implicit Statement
God is ONE Isaiah 43:10-11, Deuteronomy 4:39, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 44:6,
Isaiah 45:6, Isaiah 45:22, Exodus 20:3, Exodus 34:14
God is THREE None so far Matthew 28:19, I Corinthians 12:4-6, II Corinthians
13:14, Jude 1:20-21
Let us now study Mr. J.'s examples: