Historical Background of the Trinity
By
Jeff Rath
The current mainstream teaching in Christianity is that God is a coequal, coeternal, one-substance trinity, and that Jesus Christ is God. This doctrine is considered by many as the cornerstone of Christianity, but where did this doctrine come from? The historical record is overwhelming that the church of the first three centuries did not worship God as a coequal, coeternal, consubstantial, one-substance three in one mysterious godhead. The early church worshipped one God and believed in a subordinate Son. The trinity originated with Babylon, and was passed on to most of the world's religions. This polytheistic (believing in more than one god) trinitarianism was intertwined with Greek religion and philosophy and slowly worked its way into Christian thought and creeds some 300 years after Christ. The idea of ';God the Son'; is Babylonian paganism and mythology that was grafted into Christianity. Worshipping ';God the Son'; is idolatry, and idolatry is Biblically condemned; it breaks the first great commandment of God of not having any gods before him (Exodus 20:3). Then three centuries after Christ the corrupt emperor Constantine forced the minority opinion of the trinity upon the council of Nicea. The Christian church went downward from there; in fact some of the creeds and councils actually contradict each other. The council of Nicea 325 said that ';Jesus Christ is God,'; the council of Constantinople 381 said that ';the Holy Spirit is God,'; the council of Ephesus 431 said that ';human beings are totally depraved,'; the council of Chalcedon 451 said that ';Jesus Christ is both man and God.'; If you follow the logic here then first you have Jesus Christ as God, then you have man totally depraved, and then you have Jesus Christ as man and God. If Jesus Christ is both man and God does this mean that God is also totally depraved? Well maybe the doctrine of the coequal, coeternal, one-substance, mysterious three in one triune godhead is deprived of any historical foundation tying it into the Christianity of the Bible and the Christianity of the first three centuries. However the historical information ties the trinity into various pagan origins
';The controversy first became heated when Apollinarius, a bishop in Syria . . . asserted that Christ could not have been perfect man united with complete God, for then there would not have been one Son of God, but two sons, one by nature and one by adoption, the first with a divine, the second with a human will. Such a thing seemed inconceivable, religiously abhorrent.';
';Nestorius . . . preached a sermon against calling the virgin Mary 鈥榯he mother of God鈥?declaring she did not bear a deity, she bore a man,';
Numbers 23:19 states that God is not a man. God was not born, and God certainly did not die, but when people deviate from what the Bible teaches you can come up with the bizarre complexities of trinitarian religious mysteries that contradict logic, common sense and God鈥檚 Word
New Bible Dictionary 1982
';The word trinity is not found in the Bible . . .';
';. . . it did not find a place formally in the theology of the church till the 4th century.';
';. . . it is not a biblical doctrine in the sense that any formation of it can be found in the Bible, . . .';
';Scripture does not give us a formulated doctrine of the trinity, . . .';
The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism 1995
';. . . scholars generally agree that there is no doctrine of the trinity as such in either the Old Testament or the New Testament.';
The New Catholic Encyclopedia 1967
';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.';
The New Encyclopedia Britannica 1976
';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.';
http://answering-christianity.com/trinit鈥?/a>
How much more proof does someone need to see that it is NOT a Biblical teaching?The trinity is not TRUE doctrine. How can educated people believe in this false doctrine?
That's right! lol Thanks too.
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One must wonder, if so many things are up for interpretation, and there are so many denominations, and so many versions of the Bible that literally say completely different things--and the Bible is the only basis for their religion, and the psychological effects they've experienced thereafter, is it really worth wasting your entire life trying to base your beliefs around, swatting off science and reason? And what about the other plethoras of religions that have gone unexplored by them?
i am between religions, not sure if that is how to say it. but are you say that if you are educatedyou should understand that you cant believe in 3=1? first of all its not a math question. its a belief question. intelligence does not relate with what you believ. belief if trust without proof. being educated should not affect your understanding of belief in the supernatural. you sir, are uneducated. that is why you cannot understand, this simple truth!
Indeed, ';true doctrine comes from the lips of God';! And when Christ instructed how to baptize, He said to baptize in ';the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.'; Sounds like 3 to me! The 3 are not separate, they are One God.
God bless!
the bible doesn't teach that it comes down to us from pagan religions. Lot's of things comes from pagans from the easter bunny to the cross.
(Colossians 1:15-20) 15聽He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16聽because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created through him and for him. 17聽Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exist, 18聽and he is the head of the body, the congregation. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that he might become the one who is first in all things; 19聽because [God] saw good for all fullness to dwell in him, 20聽and through him to reconcile again to himself all [other] things by making peace through the blood [he shed] on the torture stake, no matter whether they are the things upon the earth or the things in the heavens.
(Revelation 3:14) 14聽鈥淎nd to the angel of the congregation in La路o路di路ce麓a write: These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God,
(Acts 7:55) 55聽But he, being full of holy spirit, gazed into heaven and caught sight of God鈥檚 glory and of Jesus standing at God鈥檚 right hand,
Who was he praying to in the garden of Gasememie? his self. It is a pagan teaching that has no place in Christian religion.
There is a father who has a first creation Jesus who rules the world. That is so simple why do they try to make it complicated.
Looks like everyone else pretty much answered your question for you... perhaps you should support your argument a bit better in the future.
1Jo 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
Except that it is in the Bible. Here are three proofs, each one sufficient alone to prove that the Godhead consists of God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit.
First, consider that God is revealed as a plural person from the beginning: Genesis 1:26 Then God said, ';Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness......Ge 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them'; Note that here God is not referring to Himself and the angels, as some suggest, since man is strictly revealed as being the image of God, verse 27. God is also revealed as a plurality in the beginning by the use of the name Elohim, Hebrew for ';Gods';; it references a plurality of the One True God. Genesis 1:1 ';In the beginning God %26lt;'elohiym%26gt; created the heaven and the earth. ';
Since the Bible reveals that the creation was also a work of Jesus Christ (John 1:3 All things were made through Him (Christ), and without Him nothing was made that was made) (Hebrews 1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, ..... through whom also He made the worlds) and a work of the Holy Spirit (Psalms 104:30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created) (Genesis 1:2 And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.), then we must conclude that Elohim is the name of God in multiple persons.
Secondly, can we find that the God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit all share qualities that are only found in God?
Hopefully you would agree that God the Father is all knowing (omniscient), all powerful (Omnipotent), in ever-present (omnipresent), and eternal; these characteristics make Him God, do they not? Not even angels possess these characteristics. Does the Holy Spirit possess these characteristics? He is Omniscient 鈥?1 Corinthians 2:10-11; omnipresent 鈥?Psalms 139:7; omnipotent 鈥?Psalms 104:30 eternal 鈥?Hebrews 9:14. Therefore, the Holy Spirit has all of the characteristics of God. Does Jesus Christ possess these same characteristics? He is omniscient - John 4:18-19; omnipresent - Mt 28:20; omnipotent - Matt 28:18; eternal - I Timothy 1:17.
Finally, can we find that the Bible states that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are all God?
First, are they each called God?
God the Father is God: Mark 12:29 Jesus answered him, ';The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD(Jehovah) our God, the LORD(Jehovah) is one.';';
God the Son is God: John 1:1 ';In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.';
God the Holy Spirit is God: John 4:24 ';God is Spirit';; consider also 1 Cor. 3:16 ';you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you'; and I Cor 6:19 ';Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit';; (Paul consider Holy Spirit to be synonymous with God)
Secondly, do they refer to one another as God
What more can we add? The term trinity is not found in the Bible, but the word Godhead is, which means exactly the same thing, God in a multiple form:
Acts 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
Col 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily
Who then is the Comforter which Jesus often refers to?
Baptize them in the name of the ....
ahhhhhhhhhh, say that again, in the make sence way.
I worship the one true God, Jesus Christ. We read in Isaiah 9:6 the following,
';For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.'; This the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah about the future birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Note He is called the Mighty God and the Everlasting Father.
John1:1-5 states, ';In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.';
In John 8:51-58 Jesus declares to the church leaders the following, '; Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.';
The Lord God of the Hebrews told Moses that He is the great I AM. Christ declared that He is the I AM. I believe that Jesus is the Father in creation, the Son in redemption, and the Holy Spirit in regeneration, but ONE GOD who manifests Himself in three ways. I believe in being baptized in Jesus Name because that formula was commanded on the day of Pentecost by Peter. There are a total of four times in the book of Acts where we read of someone being baptized in or into the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin. Whe Jesus commanded His disciples to ';...go ye therefore into all the earth baptizing them in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost'; He was not speaking that formula. Notice He said the NAME not the NAMES. The NAME is that of of the one true God, Jeshua, Yahweh, Jehovah. The NAME that is above all names, Jesus, Creator, Saviour, and Redeemer. Praise His Holy NAME!
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