30. Christ's Opinion of the Trinity

The doctrine of the Trinity is obviously a doctrine created by the Roman Catholic Church about three hundred years after the death of Christ.  The writers of the New Testament knew nothing about such a theory.  

Over the next number of posts, I will prove that to be true.  

1. We will look at what the Bible says about the subject  
2. We will also glance at the history of the teaching and at 
3. what Trinitarians say the Bible teaches about that subject.

Introduction

Wikipedia defines the Trinity as being "three persons in one Godhead"; the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, The Trinity is considered to be a mystery of Christian faith.

Wikipedia lists eleven non-trinitarian bodies which are included in the list of Christian churches.

The Encyclopedia Britannica states, To some Christians the doctrine of the Trinity appeared inconsistent with the unity of God....They therefore denied it, and accepted Jesus Christ, not as incarnate God, but as God's highest creature by Whom all else was created...[this] view in the early Church long contended with the orthodox doctrine, namely: the Trinity. ... the nontrinitarian view eventually disappeared in the early Church and the Trinitarian view became an orthodox doctrine of modern Christianity.

The fact that the trinitarian view was so vehemently opposed, till about the fifth century of the church's existence, is not at all surprising because there is much evidence in the New Testament that argues against that teaching.  

It does seem strange that people who insist that we must look to the Bible only for spiritual truths, still somehow endorse the false teaching of the Trinity which is based on Roman Catholic tradition.

The theory of a Trinity is illogical.  For example: just because my daughter has traits which I also have and a similar personality does not mean that she is me, nor does it mean that she is equal to me.  Yet that is similar to the claim that Trinitarians make about Christ who is the Son of God.

Christian trinitarian beliefs are similar to Hinduism.  Trinitarians say that God is three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The names of India’s gods are Vishnu, (the Supreme being), Brahma, (the creator) who is born to Vishnu, and Kalkin (who is yet to appear).  Most Christians reject the view that God the Father is supreme over Jesus Christ. 

In the Trinity, all three are said to be equal!  Yet they insist that the Son was begotten by the Father.  The word, begotten insists on having a starting point.

Of all the doctrines, which I believe theologians have wrong, this one bothers me the most. It seems so blatantly un-Biblical, and yet preachers can spend whole sermons and whole books defending this theory by using Bible verses that do not even touch on the subject.

To say that God died on the cross is just as absurd as saying that Mary is the Mother of God.  Neither of these two statements can be true. 

• If Mary was the mother of God than God would not have existed before Mary gave birth to Him. 
• Similarly, if God died on the cross, according to the teaching of the bulk of Evangelical Christianity, the universe would have smashed into nothingness because God (according to the Church’s own teachings) would not have been alive to maintain the universe, which He is credited with upholding.

Admittedly, Saint Paul wrote before the doctrine of the Trinity ever became an issue, but in 1 Tim. 1:7 he wrote, They understand neither the arguments they are using nor the opinions they are upholding.  Here Paul makes it sound as if he is talking about those who do teach the doctrine of the Trinity because they ignore much of what the Bible teaches.

Mr Thiessen, DD., writes, it is sufficient to say that the Scriptures … prove His (Christ’s) equality with the Father.  However, he severely mitigates his statement referring to equality between Father and Son by writing, The Father’s communion of life to Him (Christ) is an eternal process.  Surely, he should have seen the weakness in his argument; if One consistently communicates life to the other then they cannot be equal.

There are so many phrases and statements in the Bible that tell us that Christ is not God that I will not even attempt to use most of them.  However, let's look at a few spoken by different leaders of the Christian church.

Christ's Point of View Concerning the Trinity

First, we will look at the fact that Christ Himself taught that His Father was superior to Him; and if superior, then not equal.

He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. Mat.10:40.  The lesser is always sent by the greater; therefore the Father is greater than the son.

Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God. Mat. 19:17.  Christ denies His divinity; He says there is no one that is good except Jehovah, and Christ also says that He is not included in the one that “is good”.

Jesus said, you will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it was prepared by My Father. Mat. 21:23.  Christ is admitting His Father's superiority over Him.

Christ told us that the Father knows something that he, the Son, did not know; But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. Mat. 24:36. With a statement like this, straight from the Bible, how can anyone claim equality for the two?  

In arguments of this nature, it is stated that Christ was speaking from his human aspect and not from His divine nature.  The only reasonable retort then is: Christ had a split personality; this is also denied by Trinitarians.

Christ said I appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father has appointed unto me. Luke 22:29.  If the two were equal there would not be a greater one to appoint a kingdom to the lesser one?  In Christ’s statement, where does one find even a hint of equality?

If Christ, while He lived on earth, knew everything, how is it that in the Garden of the Olive Press (Gethsemane) he prayed if it is possible let this cup pass me by. Mat. 26:39 TJB.  

Christ did not know whether or not it was possible, but, he prayed, if it were at all possible, that He would not need to die on the cross.  In this verse again it seems so obvious that the Father and the Son are not equal; but the doctrine of the Trinity demands that the two are equal.

Not surprisingly, the writers of the New Testament agreed with Christ's viewpoint!  In the next few posts, we will look at some of the things St. John said about this subject.