Why do some Christians not believe in the Trinity?

Answer 1

The three monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - all purport to share one fundamental concept: belief in God 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 in a Biblical passage known as the "Shema," or the Jewish creed of faith:

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." (Deuteronomy 6:4)

It was repeated word-for-word approximately 1500 years later by Jesus when he said:

"...The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord." (Mark 12:29)

Muhammad came along approximately 600 years later, bringing the same message again:

"And your God is One God: There is no God but He, ..." (The 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, but one God... the whole three persons are co-eternal and co-equal... he therefore that will be save 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

A Jehovah's Witness viewHere is the definition of the trinity as defined by 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.

When one asks, "why should we believe in the trinity," would it not be wise to ask, ,"does the Bible teach the trinity?" Because if the Bible teaches it, then we should believe it, but if it does not teach it, then we should reject it as a teaching of man, and not the Bible.

What does the Bible say, first about the identity of the "holy ghost or spirit? Does the Bible teach that the Holy Spirit is a person?

Some individual texts that refer to the holy spirit (Holy Ghost, KJ) might seem to indicate that it has a personality. For example, the holy spirit is referred to as a helper, comforter, or advocate that teaches, bears witness, speaks and hears. (John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:13) But other texts say that people were filled with holy spirit, that some were baptized with it or anointed with it. (Luke 1:41; Matt. 3:11; Acts 10:38) These latter references to holy spirit definitely do not fit a person. To understand what the Bible as a whole teaches, all these texts must be considered. What is the reasonable conclusion? That the first texts cited here employ a figure of speech personifying God's holy spirit, his active force, as the Bible also personifies other things such as wisdom, sin, death, water, and blood.

The Holy Scriptures tell us the personal name of the Father is Jehovah. They inform us that the Son is Jesus Christ. But nowhere in the Scriptures is a personal name applied to the holy spirit.

Acts 7:55, 56 reports that Stephen was given a vision of heaven in which he saw Jesus standing at God's right hand. But he made no mention of seeing the holy spirit. (See also Revelation 7:10; 22:1, 3.)

The New Catholic Encyclopedia admits: "The majority of texts reveal God's spirit as something, not someone; this is especially seen in the parallelism between the spirit and the power of God."

The holy spirit is not a person, but it is God's active force, his power. Therefore, it could not be a mysterious third person of a trinity.

What does the Bible say about the identity of Jesus Christ? Is he equal with , and the same as God, the Father?

Matt. 26:39, RS: Going a little farther he [Jesus Christ] fell on his face and prayed, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. (If the Father and the Son were not distinct individuals, such a prayer would have been meaningless. Jesus would have been praying to himself, and his will would of necessity have been the Father's will.)

John 8:17, 18, RS: [Jesus answered the Jewish Pharisees:] "In your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true; I bear witness to myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness to me." (So, Jesus definitely spoke of himself as being an individual separate and distinct from the Father.)

John 14:28, RS: [Jesus said:] "If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I." So here Jesus is plainly saying that his father and he were not equal.

John 17:3, RS: [Jesus prayed to his Father:] "This is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God ['who alone art truly God,' NE], and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." (Notice that Jesus referred not to himself but to his Father in heaven as the only true God.)

John 20:17, RS: "Jesus said to her [Mary Magdalene], 'Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" (So to the resurrected Jesus, the Father was God, just as the Father was God to Mary Magdalene. Interestingly, not once in Scripture do we find the Father addressing the Son as 'my God'.)

1 Cor. 11:3, RS: "I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God." (Clearly, then, Christ is not God, and God is of superior rank to Christ. It should be noted that this was written about 55 C.E., some 22 years after Jesus returned to heaven. So the truth here stated applies to the relationship between God and Christ in heaven.)

There are many, many more scriptures too numerous to state here that indicate that Jesus is actually in subjection to the Father, and not equal.

In view of this, The New Encyclopaedia 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), Micropaedia, 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. Lachatre, Vol. 2, p. 1467. (This reference states that the trinity doctrine came from Pagan sources.)

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. (New York, 1965), p. 899.

What is the conclusion? That the Bible does not teach the trinity. Even religious and secular sources admit that it is not found in the Bible, some even stating that it comes from Pagan religion.

If it is not a Bible teaching, it must be rejected.

What is the truth? That Jehovah is the true God. His son Jesus Christ is in subjection to him. Because of Jesus loyalty to Jehovah, he has appointed Jesus to serve as king of his kingdom. And the holy spirit is not a person, but rather it is God's active force.

AnswerBecause 3 = 1 and 1 = 3, defies logic and mathematical law.

Is the doctrine of the Trinity taught in the New Testament?

"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" (I John v, 7).

This is the only passage in the New Testament which clearly teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, and this passage is admitted by all Christian scholars to be an interpolation.

When the modern version of the New Testament was first published by Erasmus it was criticized because it contained no text teaching the doctrine of the Trinity. Erasmus promised his critics that if a manuscript could be found containing such a text he would insert it. The manuscript was "found," and the text quoted appeared in a later edition. Concerning this interpolation Sir Isaac Newton, in a letter to a friend, which was afterward published by Bishop Horsley, says: "When the adversaries of Erasmus had got the Trinity into his edition, they threw by their manuscript as an old almanac out of date."

Alluding to the doctrine of the Trinity, Thomas Jefferson says: "It is too late in the day for men of sincerity to pretend they believe in the Platonic mysticism that three are one and one is three, and yet, that the one is not three, and the three not one.... But this constitutes the craft, the power, and profits of the priests. Sweep away their gossamer fabrics of fictitious religion, and they would catch no more flies" (Jefferson s Works, Vol. IV, p. 205, Randolph's ed.).

Again Jefferson says: "The hocus-pocus phantasy of a God, like another Cerberus, with one body and three heads, had its birth and growth in the blood of thousands and thousands of martyrs" (ibid., p. 360).

BTW, Mormons also believes in TRItheism not Trinitarianism.

Additional answersJohn Chapter 1 Says Jesus is also co-creator

John Chapter 1:1-4

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 8:58, Mark 12:35-37

Philippians Chapter 2;4-11 It Also says that Jesus was equal to God, but He became a man. But Jesus was perfect like God. He gave up his Godhood to become a man to die on the cross for are sins.

...................................................................

The Greatest problem faced by a believing Christian in regards to witnessing to a Jew or Muslim is this concept of the Trinity (which is no wise mentioned in the WORD of God) Jews have throughout their life learned unequivocally that God is One (The Shama... Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One). Not that three are triune or that God is a Multiplicity of "persons. As best as I understand too, the Muslims have great issue with the "Trinity" concept among other things Christians believe. It was not until the Council of Nicea (approx 325 AD) when an attempt to unify "Christian Beliefs" of a large host of Polytheistic countries occurred did the "Definition" of Trinity exist. God is without doubt One. His Word says so. Finite minds will never clearly understand the Infinite, the Trinity is the accepted definition by the RCC, the Ecumenical Council and thereby accepted and repeated as truth. Just as the majority of the World believing the Earth was flat did not make it truth neither does a majority belief in the concept of Trinity make it truth. God is now and has ALWAYS been One, singular and Sovereign. He, God, chose to humble Himself as man and thereby provide Himself as "Sinless Man", to redeem His creation. God (Prior to Christ) is Spirit, they that worship Him must do so in Spirit and in Truth, after the incarnation God provided what man could not, a PERFECT sacrifice for Adam's failure. Please understand this, IT IS A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, that is central to your understanding the lover of your soul. Not a denomination or a sect or some obscure definition of who God is. Paul said it well on the way to Damascus "Who art thou Adonai?", and the Response from God was clearer yet, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutes"

.................................................

Points to ponder

Of course, people may believe what they want to; belief is matter of custom, culture and personal choice.

Short list of those who should not believe in the Trinity:

1. Atheists. It would be entirely fitting for atheists not to believe in the Trinity, because belief the trinity would seem to be incompatible with atheism.
2. Monotheists, it would appear, should also not believe the trinity, for similar reasons.
3. Agnostics should also not believe the trinity, in the light of their view that no-one can know whether God exists or not.

A question in the form 'Why should we not ..." implies that 'we' are all under some sort of common obligation. Maybe 'we' are, but when it comes to belief of any sort, whether they be religious, scientific, political or commercial/business beliefs etc., 'we' have no authority to say what others 'should' believe.

In many cases, 'belief' is a reasoned opinion or viewpoint based on, or deduced from known facts. So many beliefs may have a sound basis. But the credibility of any belief is determined by the strength of the arguments and facts upon which that belief is founded.

'Belief' has several possible sources:

(1) Reasoning from sound facts, i.e. from what is known.

(2) Acceptance of 'received wisdom' from an authoritative source.

(3) Accepting commonly held views of others as one's own.

(4) Purely imaginary concepts which have no evident or obvious connection with reality.

In order to answer the main question, we really need to know...

(i) Who are 'we' ? and (ii) What is 'the Trinity'?

Only when we have gathered sufficient and unequivocal answers to these two questions can we begin to compile a definitive answer to the question.

Answer 2

In the present generation, many are confused about the Christian concept of Triune God because mathematically this is impossible. However, in The Bible we find many references which justify the fact that even though God is one, He manifests Himself as a Trinity. The teaching of the Bible concerning the Trinity might be summarized thus. God is a Tri-unity, with each Person of the Godhead equally, fully and eternally God. Each is necessary and each is distinct, yet all are one. The three Persons appear in a logical, causal order. The Father is the unseen, omnipresent Source of all being, revealed in and by the Son, experienced in and by the Holy Spirit. The Son proceeds from the Father and the Spirit from the Son. With reference to God's creation, the Father is the Thought behind it, the Son is the Word calling it forth, and the Spirit is the Deed making it a reality. According to the Gospel of St. Matthew, when Jesus Christ commanded his disciples to baptize people into Him, he used the term "in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit". He did not say "in the names of" (a plural tense), instead he said "in the name of" as if to denote a single person, a Triune God. Jesus told his disciples: "I and the Father are one." In His prayer he said to the Father, "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one." Further, in the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit is also addressed as the Spirit of Jesus. Even though they have a separate identity, function and nature, essentially they are one.

I would like to illustrate this fact by using a simile. A mango tree has three parts, the root, the shoot which carries the branches and leaves, and the fruit. All these parts are morphologically and anatomically different because they have to perform different functions. However, not only is the basic genetic makeup of every individual cell of each part of the tree identical but the life of the tree is also considered to be one. We do not address the tree as three different beings instead we address it as a single being with three different parts. We also know that even though every part of the tree retains its individuality all these parts work in tandem with one another and within a healthy tree there is no scope of disharmony. Similarly, God of the Bible is a Triune God. He has three distinct personalities: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Although they all retain their individuality, they are essentially the same Spirit-being, just like how each and every cell of a mango tree carries a common genetic makeup and life.

The root taps water and essential minerals for the whole tree and grounds it so that it can stay upright even in hostile conditions. Therefore it is located at the bottom of the tree, goes deep into the soil and remains below the ground. The shoot reveals the existence and character of the tree to those who look at it from the ground level. It also serves to channelize water and minerals to the branches which hold the leaves that tap sunlight in order to bear fruit which in turn propagates the seed of the tree. Above all, it is the fruit that highlight's the character of the tree. In the words of the Lord, "Every tree is known by its fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit."

Likewise, God also has three personalities: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They enjoy an independent existence but are interdependent and carry out different functions for a common will because they contain the same spiritual life within them. The Father who is greater than all can be compared to the root which remains hidden but holds the whole tree together, and also acts as the source of nutrition to every other part of the tree. The shoot of the tree that reveals its existence can be compared to the Son who has revealed the character of the Father to human beings. And the Holy Spirit who dwells in the hearts of the people, who believe in Christ, can be compared to the fruit of the tree. It's the Holy Spirit that helps people to taste and know that the Lord is good. The Holy Spirit also sows in them the word of truth, the seed of life. If a mango tree that has three parts specialized to perform different functions can be considered as one, then why can't God who has three different personalities, specialized to do different functions also be considered as one? Moreover, the whole mango tree, with all the three parts comes forth from a single seed, likewise the whole personality of God can summarized as a seed, 'a word', the expression which St. John used in the first chapter of his gospel, "In the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God."

-By Dr. Manoj Kumar Khatore

-From GOD IN US A Progressive Revelation

SuggestionIf you want a really good explanation of the Trinity, see Karen Armstrong's book "A History of God." AnswerBenjamin B. Warfield, in his book The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity, goes into great detail on the subject. He begins thus: The term "Trinity" is not a Biblical term, and we are not using Biblical language when we define what is expressed by it as the doctrine that there is only one and true God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three coeternal and coequal Persons, the same in substance but distinct in subsistence. A doctrine so defined can be spoken of as a Biblical doctrine only on the principle that the sense of Scripture is Scripture. ... The doctrine of the Trinity lies in Scripture in solution; when it is crystallized from its solvent it does not cease to be Scriptural, but only comes into clearer view. Or, to speak without figure, the doctrine of the Trinity is given to us in Scripture, not in formulated definition, but in fragmentary allusions; when we assembled the disjecta membra into their organic unity, we are not passing from Scripture, but entering more thoroughly into the meaning of Scripture.

The concept of the Trinity, like the concept of the Rapture of the church, is not directly and plainly noted in the Bible, but the idea is intertwined throughout. In several places in the book of Genesis, God refers to Himself in the first person plural: "we," "our," "us," etc. On the other hand, when He answers Moses' question about whom he should say sent him, God responds with "I AM THAT I AM! Tell them 'I am' sent you."

The Old and New Testaments both speak of the "spirit of God" or the "Holy Spirit" (translated by some as the "Holy Ghost"). The Greek word for spirit here is the word from which we get the word "pneumatic" ... essentially it's the "breath" of God. The Genesis account of the creation of Adam refers to God giving Adam the "breath of life." John the Baptist, or baptizer, was granted the indwelling Holy Spirit from birth, a rare occurrence before Jesus' ascent to Heaven. The New Testament, more than the Old, personifies the Holy Spirit.

One question that relates to the idea of the Trinity is whether Jesus claimed to be God. Different cults, sects, and religions will say "of course not," as they begin with the assumption that Jesus could not be God and, therefore, there can be no Trinity. The notion of the Trinity, as Warfield later notes, is something for which we have no physical analogy. Many people have attempted to make numerous analogies, ranging from a multi-faceted diamond to the three states of water to the concepts of body, mind, and spirit or id, ego, and superego, to cherry pie of all things. While they show how we can perceive three things that can also be perceived as one, each analogy has its flaws. We just don't have a well-known physical equivalent.

In numerous places in the Gospels, Jesus claimed to be God incarnate, or "in the flesh." John 8:56-57 shows one example that relates back to God's name being known to the Jews as "I am;" in this setting Jesus uses the exact same phrasing, which turns out to be unique in both Hebrew and Greek, even though it seems like no big deal in English. Jesus also said, "I and the Father are one," which was understood to mean literally the same entity, not some philosophical or Eastern notion of "oneness" while being separate. The related question, "Is Jesus God?" deals with some of this, although the answer, as of this writing, currently reflects more Muslim ideology than Biblical.

Perhaps the most important reason Jesus had to be God in the flesh is because, otherwise, he would've been under the same curse of sin that started with Adam, and, thus, could not be the pure sacrifice needed to save the sins of the world. Without that one important factor, His sacrifice is nothing more than a justified death penalty, one that falls on each and every one of us. Only by being born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit, could He bypass the legal and practical curse.

This brings up another tie-in point. Jesus was called "my Son" by God at His baptism. Again, many have tried to complicate what that means, again starting with the assumption that there can be no Trinity. A child, however, wouldn't have seen it that way; a child would take it at face value. Yet He was "fathered" not by Joseph the carpenter, but by the Holy Spirit. If Jesus was the son of both God and the Holy Spirit, does it not stand to reason that the two are one? Adding that to later passages indicating that Jesus was God incarnate, and you get the Scriptural backing of the idea of the Three-in-One God.

AnswerIs the doctrine of the Trinity taught in the New Testament?

"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" (I John v, 7).

This is the only passage in the New Testament which clearly teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, and this passage is admitted by all Christian scholars to be an interpolation.

AnswerYou should believe in the Trinity if you want an absolute guarantee of not going to hell:- Mar 3:28-29 MKJV Truly I say to you, All sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and blasphemies with which they shall blaspheme. [v. 29] But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never shall have forgiveness, but is liable to eternal condemnation.

1Jn 5:6-12 MKJV This is He who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by the water and blood. And the Spirit [ie holy Spirit] is He who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth. [v. 7] For there are three that bear witness ... [v. 8] [portion not in original deleted]... the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three are into the one. [v.9] If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God which He has testified about His Son. [v. 10] He who believes on the Son of God [ie Jesus Christ] has the witness in himself. He who does not believe God [ie God the Father] has made Him a liar, because he does not believe the record that God gave of His Son. [v. 11] And this is the record, that God has given to us everlasting life, and this life is in His Son. [v. 12] He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Mat 12:31-32 MKJV Therefore I say to you, All kinds of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven to men. [v. 32] And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this world or in the world to come.

"The Concise Dictionary of Evangelical Theology" by Walter Elwell says on page 523 in the article on "Trinity" that:

...while we have no dogmatic statement, there are clear references to the three persons of the Godhead in the NT.

-All three are mentioned at the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:16-17).

-The disciples are to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

-[Paul's blessings] include the grace of the Son, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit (2Corinthinians 13:14).

-[and Peter refers to]the election of the Father, the sanctification of the Spirit, and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (1Peter 1:2) in relation to the salvation of believers.

Mat 3:16-17 MKJV And Jesus, when He had been baptized, went up immediately out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spiritof God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him. [v. 17] And lo, a voice from Heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Mat 28:19 Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of theSon and of the Holy Spirit,

2Co 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

1Pe 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of theSpirit, to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

1Pe 1:12 To them it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us, they ministered the things which are now reported to you by those who have preached the gospel to you in the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

The question, "Why should we believe in the Trinity?" is a really loaded question. The first respondent seeks to provide a resource to help the questioner understand the concept of the Trinity. It is well asked, "How can we believe in something we do not understand?" The concept of the Trinity is beyond the scope of understanding. Anyone can appreciate the concept of one equals one, and three equals three, but Trinitarians ask us to endorse the idea that one equals three, and that three equals one.

Benjamin Warfield correctly states, in his book "The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity,"

The term "Trinity" is not a Biblical term, and we are not using Biblical language when we define what is expressed by it

By his own admission, Mr. Warfield is stating that he must use extrabiblical terms to make his case. One must proceed with extreme caution in doing so, lest we be led to believe in something that is not in the Bible.

The first answerer states, "The concept of the Trinity, like the concept of the Rapture of the church, is not directly and plainly noted in the Bible..." This person is accurate as regards the Trinity, but the Rapture is directly and plainly noted (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:51-54). Concepts such as redemption, salvation, Christian unity, the methods of the Devil, the Mosaic Law, and much of the nature of God (that He is love, that He is light), are spelled out in explicit detail. If there are any concepts that aren't as explicit, they can be ferreted out through study of linguistics and Biblical culture. We dare not insert our own meaning to Scripture, but we must determine the Author's meaning. Because Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all mentioned in one verse, that does not mean they constitute one being. Peter, James and John were all mentioned in one verse, and that does not mean they were all one person. The "Us" and "Our" of Genesis 1:26 does not mean there were three at the beginning. "Us" could just as well be referring to thousands, as many pantheists would attest to. God can be the Holy Spirit and still be one. I am referred to by two different names, and it doesn't mean I am two people. Read "I and my Father are one" in the context of the verses immediately preceding, and it is revealed that Jesus was saying that he and the Father have the same purposes and goals.

It is rightly stated above that the three that bear record "in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost" line is an interpolation, which is a synonym for "insertion." It was inserted into the text to lend credence to Trinitarian doctrine. It was not part of the letter that John the apostle wrote. So obvious is it that there is no evidence of the Trinity in Scripture, that some had to be manufactured.

Jesus' statement about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit offers no evidence of the Trinity. To see it, one needs to presuppose that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity.

To answer the question, my answer would be, since there is no Biblical basis for the concept of the Trinity, and that it directly violates God's assertion that He is One (Deuteronomy 6:4; Malachi 2:10; Mark 12:32; Romans 3:30; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 2:19), we should not believe in the Trinity.

Answer 3

For Christianity to have legitimacy, it ought to be based on revelation, otherwise its beliefs are simply the inventions of men, no matter how well-meaning or pious they are.

There is no mention of the Holy Trinity in the Bible, with the closest apparent reference being the "Johannine Comma" (1 John 5:7), which refers indirectly to the concept of the Trinity. This verse was not in the earliest Greek manuscripts until it appeared in a Latin copy in the fifth century. Belief in the Holy Trinity was formally adopted at the Council of Nicaea in the fourth century, but the concept was already being debated in the third century and possibly earlier. But debates and Council resolutions do not make an abstract notion true, in the absence of any evidence or alleged revelation.

Answer 4

The Trinity was a teaching created in the third century that explains how the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit can all be God. As it is an early teaching it has been inherited in the modern Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Baptist denominations. Other Christian groups reject the idea of the Trinity because it is not directly attested to in the Bible, and even terms like 'substance' and 'essence' used to explain the Trinity are not used in those contexts.

Answer 5

From the earliest days of the Christian Church there have been those who did not believe in the Holy Trinity, because there is no scriptural support for the concept. During the fourth century, Arianism, a Christian view that rejects the Trinity, almost won the day and would have led to all modern Christians not believing in the Trinity.

Even today, some Christians do not believe in the Trinity. Whether or not that is the most appropriate belief, it is at least rational.

Answer 6

I would like to know your answer to my question? I am curious to know why you do not believe in God, Son and Holy Spirit?

Answer:

No, I no longer believe the Godhead is 3 persons or a trinity as I was raised and schooled to believe. Conducting my own personal studies, it has become apparent to me that the trinity concept is never taught in Scripture and neither Jesus nor any of His disciples taught this 'doctrine of men.' Yet many would say that this doctrine of the Trinity is the basis of their Christian faith.

As the New Bible Dictionary states: "The term 'Trinity' is not itself found in the Bible. It was first used by Tertullian at the close of the 2nd century, but received wide currency (common use in intellectual discussion) and formal elucidation (clarification) only in the 4TH and 5TH centuries" (1996, "Trinity").

The New Bible Dictionary continues, "the formal doctrine of the Trinity was the result of several inadequate attempts to explain who and what the Christian God really is...To deal with the problems the Church Fathers met in [A.D.] 325 at the Council of Nicaea to set out an orthodox biblical definition concerning the divine identity." However, it was not until 381, "at the Council of Constantinople, [that] the divinity of the Spirit was affirmed" (ibid).

So this man-made doctrine of the trinity wasn't formalized until 350 years after the crucifixion of Christ and long after the death of the Apostles - the last, presumed to be John, dying circa 95 A.D.

There are many verses of Scripture those who believe in the concept will quote and say justifies their belief. But a closer analysis of each will show that they are misinterpreting the words. Consider the Scripture usually uses the possessive pronouns 'My, His or Your' when speaking of God's Holy Spirit - which is also called the Spirit of Christ as Jesus is the other member of the Godhead:

Numbers 11:29New King James Version (NKJV)

29 Then Moses said to him, "Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!"

Lastly, read the opening greeting of the Apostle Paul's letters. Not a one will mention the Holy Spirit - only the Father and the Son. This is an enormous error for an Apostle to make if it were true that God was a trinity of persons.

Answer 7

The question itself attempts to separate the two, as if belief in Trinity is separate from belief in one god. Trinity is a theological method (the word does not show up in scripture) to describe the many ways the one God has revealed God's self. Technically speaking, one does not believe in the Trinity, rather one believes in God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Answer 8

A:

There is a whole continuum of reasons not to believe in the Trinity, even if you start off as a mainstream Christian.

The first reason which, if accepted, overrides all other reasons is the realisation that God does not really exist. Without a God, there can be no Trinity. At this point you also cease to be a Christian in the usual sense.

If you believe God does exist, another reason not to believe in the Trinity is that there is no scriptural support for the notion of the Trinity. While 1 John 5:7, known widely as the 'Johannine Comma', does refer indirectly to the concept of the Trinity: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one," this was never in the early Greek manuscripts and appeared in the Latin translation of the fifth century, after the Trinity doctrine had been accepted by the Council of Nicaea. Without a doubt, the Trinity was a late theological explanation, but there is no good reason to believe every explanation that comes from the mind of man.

Answer 9

According to the New Bible Dictionary: "The term 'Trinity' is not itself found in the Bible. It was first used by Tertullian at the close of the 2nd century, but received wide currency [common use in intellectual discussion] and formal elucidation [clarification] only in the 4th and 5 centuries" (1996, "Trinity").

It further explains that "the formal doctrine of the Trinity was the result of several inadequate attempts to explain who and what the Christian God is...To deal with these problems the Church Fathers met in [A.D.] 325 at the Council of Nicaea to set out an orthodox biblical definition concerning the divine identity." However, it would not be until 381 A.D. at the Council of Constantinople that the divinity of the Spirit was affirmed (ibid.).

This is a manmade concept and not found anywhere in the Bible. So many have made surprising admissions about the Trinity - "an absolute mystery," "mysterious in its origin and its content," "impossible for Christians actually to understand," " unintelligible," "misunderstood," "presents strange paradoxes" and "widely disputed." One would have to question then why/how a doctrine on which billions of people base their faith and salvation is accepted. The Apostle Paul was inspired to tell us in 1 Corinthians 14:33 that "God is not the author of confusion" yet this doctrine of men is total confusion.

Answer 10

An even more fundamental question is whether we should believe in God. Without the existence of God, there can be no Trinity.

If you choose to believe in God - and in the absence of proof, it is a choice - the next hurdle is that there is no biblical support for the Trinity. The concept of the Trinity began to be debated in the third century, then it was adopted as doctrine by the Council of Nicaea in the fourth century, but it was not until the end of the fourth century that Emperor Theodosius mandated that all Christians must believer in the Trinity.

There are good reasons not to believe in the Trinity, either by not believing in the existence of God, or by considering the history of early Christian belief in the Trinity.