36. Rise in the belief of the Trinity

The Growing Divine Family

If Christ is God, would the Bible not have made that doctrine very clear?  Would it have been necessary for the church fathers to argue about it for 300 years before they could decide which way "the ball would bounce"?  

If the Holy Spirit is also a member of the trinity why was "he" not invited into the divine family until 56 years after Christ was?

Why have so many Christians who do not believe that God is a Trinity been killed because of what they believe by those who believe in the Trinity?  That is not the example Christ left us.  Those murders were designed by those who thought their opinions were more important than the teachings of the Bible.

A Selfish Church Leader

Perhaps it is no wonder that the theory of the Trinity was accepted as widely as it was because Athanasius, a leader in the church at that time, would try to destroy those people who did not agree with his heretical, theological trinitarian views. 

About Athanasius, Wikipedia writes, there were allegations of defiling an altar, selling Church grain that had been meant to feed the poor for his own personal gain, and for suppressing dissent through violence and murder. He also was accused of threatening to interfere with the supply of grains from Egypt.  If this last accusation is true, his reason for doing that probably would have been to starve those Christians in Europe who did not yet agree with his theology concerning the Trinity.  Yet, he is the man whose "doctrinal statement" many people in the church accept as the gospel truth!

About Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, at the end of the fourth century, we find this interesting bit of history.  Before the meeting of the council, he had intervened on behalf of Arius, (a leader of the non-Trinitarians) and had remonstrated with Alexander ... for deposing him (Arius). By the more vehement enemies of Arianism he (Eusebius) was regarded with great distrust. When the creed of Caesarea had been modified ... (to include the words stating that the Son was) “of the substance of the Father,” “begotten not made” ... Eusebius hesitated whether he should subscribe it. He did not like the new terms; ... But after a day’s consideration he signed with the rest, and in a letter to the people of Caesarea he explained that, “though he would resist to the last any vital change in the traditional creed of his Church, he had nevertheless subscribed to these alterations, when assured of their innocence, to avoid appearing contentious."  

So the creed which changed Christ from being the “Son of God” to being "God, the Son" happened, in part, because one leader in the church did not have the backbone to stand up for what he believed to be right!

Even Among Protestants

Another horrible example of Christian non-charity is the case where John Calvin, a leading hero of the Protestant Reformation, had Michael Servetus arrested, mistreated and murdered simply because Servetus was not a trinitarian.  

History books are full of examples such as this.  Could this possibly be what Christ meant when he said, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?

The Church, as a group, did not accept that Christ was God until about 300 years after Christ’s death.   At a council meeting in 325 AD, the Church leaders made it official that the church believed that Christ also was God.   It was in 381 AD that the church added The Holy Spirit to the Godhead, and finally, officially stated that God consisted of three persons.

By the year 381 AD, the African Christian church had already imported so many doctrines from the Greek pagan culture that it was an insignificant thing for them to add another teaching to their already “non-Christian” set of beliefs.  Therefore, accepting the doctrine of the Trinity would have seemed like a small step.

Even under the threat of persecution or death, there were some who followed Arius who insisted that God is not a Trinity.  He taught that Christ is the Son of God, but not God himself.  Based on the teaching of the New Testament it seems obvious that Arius and his followers were closer to the right path than the church, which took a wrong turn way back in the fourth century. Sir Isaac Newton expressed that same thought in these words, Christianity went astray in the 4th century AD, when the Council of Nicaea propounded erroneous doctrines of the nature of Christ.

The following quotes, are taken directly from the booklet, Is God A Trinity, printed in 2011, by United Church of God: 

In the early church, it wasn't long before true servants of God became a marginalized and scattered minority among those calling themselves Christians.

The doctrine of the Trinity is considered so sacred and fundamental that many churches ... view it as a litmus test for defining who is and who isn't a true Christian. For example, author and theology professor James White writes; "We hang a person's very salvation upon the acceptance of the doctrine ... No one dares question the Trinity for fear of being branded a 'heretic' ... We must know, understand, and love the Trinity to be fully and completely Christian".

Another author writes: You cannot be saved if you don't believe in the Trinity. 

The booklet continues with many more examples from teachers who insist that the un-scriptural belief in the Trinity is essential to being a Christian.  

Ironically, those same Bible teachers say they base their doctrines on what the Bible teaches.  They may have studied their theology books - but nor their Bible.