Who invented the Trinity?

 

The three monotheistic religions -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- all profess to share one fundamental concept: belief in Allah as the Supreme Being, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. Known as Tawheed (monotheism) in Islam, this concept of the Oneness of God was stressed by Moosaa (Moses), may Allah exalt his mention, 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 ‘Eesaa (Jesus), may Allah exalt his mention, when he said: "...The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord." [Mark 12:29]

Muhammad  may Allah exalt his mention, came along approximately 600 years later, bringing the same message again (which means): "And your God is One God: There is no deity (worthy of worship) except Him ..." [Quran 2:163]

Christianity has deviated from the concept of the Oneness of God, however, into a vague and mysterious doctrine that was formulated during the fourth century CE. 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. The Christian Doctrine of the Trinity simply 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 saved must thus think of the Trinity..." (Excerpts from the Athanasian Creed)

Let us 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.

How did such a confusing doctrine start?

Trinity in the Bible

References in the Bible to a Trinity of divine beings are vague, at best.

In Matthew 28:19, we find Jesus, may Allah exalt his mention, telling his disciples to go out and preach to all nations. While the "Great Commission" does mention the three persons who later became components of the Trinity, the phrase "...baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" is quite clearly an addition to Biblical text -- that is, not the actual words of Jesus, may Allah exalt his mention -- as can be seen by two factors:

1. Baptism in the early Church, as discussed by Paul in his letters, was done only in the name of Jesus.

2.  The "Great Commission" found the first gospel written by Mark, bears no mention of Father, Son and/or Holy Ghost  (see Mark 16:15).

The only other reference in the Bible to a Trinity can be found in the Epistle of I John 5:7, Biblical scholars of today, however, have admitted that the phrase "...there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” is definitely a "later addition" to Biblical text, and it is not found in any of today's versions of the Bible.

Therefore, it can be seen that the concept of Trinity of divine beings was not an idea put forth by Jesus, may Allah exalt his mention, or any other prophet of Allah. This doctrine, now subscribed to by Christians all over the world, is entirely man-made in origin.

The Doctrine Takes Shape

While Paul of Tarsus, the man who could rightfully be considered the true founder of Christianity, did formulate many of its doctrines, the Trinity was not among them. However, he did lay the groundwork for such, when he put forth the idea of Jesus, may Allah exalt his mention, being a "divine Son." After all, a Son does need a Father, and what about an intermediary for God's revelations to man? In essence, Paul named the principal players, but it was the Church that later put the matter together.

Tertullian, a lawyer and presbyter of the Church in Carthage in the third century CE, was the first to use the word "Trinity" when he put forth the theory that “the Son and the Spirit participate in the being of God, but all are of one being of substance with the Father.”

A Formal Doctrine is Drawn Up

When controversy over the matter of the Trinity blew up in 318 CE between two churchmen from Alexandria -- Arius, the deacon, and Alexander, his bishop -- Emperor Constantine stepped into the fray.

Although Christian doctrine was a complete mystery to him, he did realize that a unified church was necessary for a strong kingdom. When negotiation failed to settle the dispute, Constantine called for the first ecumenical council in Church history in order to settle the matter once and for all.

Six weeks after the 300 bishops first gathered at Nicea in 325 CE, the doctrine of the Trinity was finalized. The God of the Christians was now seen as having three essences, or natures, in the form of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Church Puts Its Foot Down

The matter was far from settled, despite Constantine’s high hopes. Arius and the new bishop of Alexandria, a man named Athanasius, began arguing over the matter even as the Nicene Creed was being signed; "Arianism" became a catchword from that time onward for anyone who did not hold to the Doctrine of the Trinity.

It was not until 451 CE, at the Council of Chalcedon that, the approval of the Pope, with the Nicene/Constantinople Creed was set as authoritative. Debate on the matter was no longer tolerated; to speak out against the Trinity was now considered blasphemy, and such earned stiff sentences that ranged from mutilation to death. Christians now turned on Christians, maiming and slaughtering thousands because of a difference of opinion.

Debate Continues

Brutal punishments and even death did not stop the controversy over the Doctrine of the Trinity, and it continues even today.

The majority of Christians, when asked to explain this fundamental doctrine of their faith, can offer nothing more than: "I believe it because I was told to do so." It is explained away as "mystery" -- yet the Bible says in I Corinthians 14:33 that: "... God is not the author of confusion..."

The Unitarian denomination of Christianity has kept alive the teachings of Arius in saying that God is One; they do not believe in the Trinity. As a result, mainstream Christians abhor them, and the National Council of Churches has refused their admittance. In Unitarianism, the hope is kept alive that Christians will someday return to the preachings of Jesus: "...Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." [Luke 4:8]

Islam and the Matter of the Trinity

While Christianity may have a problem defining the essence of God, such is not the case in Islam.

The Quran says (what means):

"They have certainly disbelieved who say: ‘Allah is the third of three’. And there is no god except One God." [Quran 5:73]

Suzanne Haneef, in her book, What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims, (Library of Islam, 1985), puts the matter rather concisely when she says: "But God is not like a pie or an apple which can be divided into three thirds which form one whole; if God is three persons or possesses three parts, He is assuredly not the Single, Unique, Indivisible Being which God is and which Christianity professes to believe in." (pp. 183-184)

Looking at it from another angle, the Trinity designates God as being three separate entities -- the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. If God is the Father and also the Son, He would then be the Father of Himself because He is His own Son. This defies logic.

Christianity claims to be a monotheistic religion. Monotheism, however, has a fundamental belief that God is One; the Christian doctrine of the Trinity -- God being Three-in-One -- is seen by Islam as a form of polytheism. Thus, Christians do not worship just One God, they worship three.

This is a charge not taken lightly by Christians, however. They, in turn, accuse the Muslims of not even knowing what the Trinity is, pointing out that the Quran sets it up as Allah the Father, Jesus the Son, and Mary his mother. While veneration of Mary has been an invention of the Catholic Church since 431 CE, when she was given the title "Mother of God" by the Council of Ephesus, a closer examination of the verse in the Quran (5:116) most often cited by Christians in support of their accusation, shows that the designation of Mary by the Quran as a "member" of the Trinity, is simply not true.

While the Quran does condemn both trinitarianism (Quran 4:17) and the worship of Jesus and his mother Mary (Quran 5:116), nowhere does it identify the actual three components of the Christian Trinity. The position of the Quran is that who or what comprises this doctrine is not important; what is important is that the very notion of a Trinity is an affront against the concept of One God.

In conclusion, we see that the Doctrine of the Trinity is a concept conceived entirely by man; there is no sanction whatsoever from God to be found regarding the matter, simply because the whole idea of a Trinity of divine beings has no place in monotheism. In the Quran -- God's Final Revelation to humankind -- we find His stand quite clearly stated in a number of eloquent passages (which mean): "Say: ‘I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is One God. So whoever would hope for meeting with his Lord – let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone.’” [Quran 18:110]

And (which means):

"...And do not make (as equal) with Allah another deity, lest you be thrown into Hell, blamed and banished." [Quran 17:39]

Allah tells us over and over again in a Message that is echoed throughout all His Revealed Scriptures (what means):

"...and I am your Lord, worship Me ..." [Quran 21:92]  - islamweb.net