Who Invented Trinity?

Audhu billahe minishaitan Ar-rajim(I seek refuge in Allah from
the rejected Satan.)

Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim(In the name of Allah, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful.)

 Who Invented Trinity?

III&E Brochure Series; No. 22

(published by The Institute of Islamic Information and Education
(III&E) )

   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   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. 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)

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