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      ___/   oo    ___|     |___|     ___|              ___/          o

      In   the   name  of   ALLAH,   the    Beneficent,   the    Merciful



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             I N F O R M A T I O N    &   N E W S    N E T W O R K

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 File Name: 22.trinity
 Lasted Updated: Sept 11, 1994
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Date: Fri, 2 Sep 1994 00:29:20 -0600
From: mahmed@xnet.com (M. Ahmed)
Subject: 22. Who Invented Trinity?

III&E Brochure Series; No. 22
(published by The Institute of Islamic Information and Education (III&E)
and reproduced with permission)
----------------------------

=========================
WHO INVENTED THE TRINITY?
=========================

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.

How did such a confusing doctrine get its 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 telling his disciples to go out and preach
to all nations.  While the "Great Commission" does make mention of the
three persons who later become 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 - 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; and

2)  The "Great Commission" was found in the first gospel written, that of
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 test, and it is not found in any of today's
versions of the Bible.

It can, therefore, be seen that the concept of a Trinity of divine beings
was not an idea put forth by Jesus or any other prophet of God.  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, that of the
Trinity was not among them.  He did, however, lay the groundwork for such
when he put forth the idea of Jesus being a "divine Son."  After all, a Son
does need a Father, and what about a vehicle for God's revelations to man?
In essence, Paul named the principal players, but it was the later Church
people who put the matter together.

Tertullian, a lawyer and presbyter of the third century Church in Carthage,
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 between two
church men from Alexandria - Arius, the deacon, and Alexander, his bishop -
Emperor Constantine stepped into the fray.

Although Christian dogma 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, the
doctrine of the Trinity was hammered out.  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, however, despite high hopes for such on
the part of Constantine.  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 catch-word from that time onward for
anyone who did not hold to the doctrine of the Trinity.

It wasn't until 451, at the Council of Chalcedon that, with the approval of
the Pope, 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, however, and the said controversy 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.

"They do blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a Trinity, for there
is no god except One God." (Qur'an 5:73)  It is worth noting that the
Arabic language Bible uses the name "Allah" as the name of God.

Suzanne Haneef, in her book WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ISLAM AND
MUSLIMS (Library of Islam, 1985), puts the matter quite succinctly 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 is not exactly logical.

Christianity claims to be a monotheistic religion.  Monotheism, however,
has as its 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.  Christians don't revere just One God, they revere 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 Qur'an sets it up as Allah the Father, Jesus the Son, and Mary his
mother.  While veneration of Mary has been a figment of the Catholic Church
since 431 when she was given the title "Mother of God" by the Council of
Ephesus, a closer examination of the verse in the Qur'an most often cited
by Christians in support of their accusation, shows that the designation of
Mary by the Qur'an as a "member" of the Trinity, is simply not true.

While the Qur'an does condemn both trinitarianism (the Qur'an 4:17) and the
worship of Jesus and his mother Mary (the Qur'an 5:116), nowhere does it
identify the actual three components of the Christian Trinity.  The
position of the Qur'an 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 Qur'an, God's Final
Revelations to mankind, we find His stand quite clearly stated in a number
of eloquent passages:

"...your God is One God: whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work
righteousness, and, in the worship of his Lord, admit no one as partner."
(Qur'an 18:110)

"...take not, with God, another object of worship, lest you should be
thrown into Hell, blameworthy and rejected."  (Qur'an 17:39)

...Because, as God tells us over and over again in a Message that is echoed
throughout All His Revealed Scriptures:

"...I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore, serve Me (and no other)..."
(Qur'an  21:92)

-- Aisha Brown


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