The Hidden Truth

 

 

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST GRACIUOS, THE MOST MERCIFUL

 

 

“TRINITY”

 

By UMAR HASSAN

 

 

"THEY DO BLASPHEME WHO SAY: GOD IS ONE OF THREE IN A TRINITY: FOR THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ONE GOD."

 

Holy Qur’ân, 5:73; Trans.: Yusuf Ali

 

 

 

Praise is to Almighty Allah and Peace and Blessings of Almighty Allah be upon all His Messengers.

 

Introduction

 

   I was actually pushed into this topic by a Christian brother. At this stage, when I have come to know so many facts about "Trinity", it would be really selfish not to thank him, by whose push I explored this topic.

 

It was indeed an interesting topic to search. In the following are some important facts along with proves.

 

The purpose of these articles is not to hurt the Christians, but, to bring forward the facts.

 

 

Let us first of all have a glance in the time of yore to know about Trinity, and how it crawled into Christianity.

 

Trinity

 

   The concept of "Trinity" was in fact a very old worshipping practice; it started long time before the time of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –. It was in Babylon that the idea of "Trinity" first appeared. This Trinity consisted of Baal, the Sun-god as father, Semiramis, the Queen mother and Nimrod, the divine child. A day was set aside to rejoice over and to celebrate the re-birth of the young god. From Babylon this worship spread to other places, but the names varied in different countries.

 

In Western Asia, the god Attis was worshipped as the child of miracle, born to a virgin mother Nana. In Egypt, we have again the same belief with a change of names. There is Isis and Osiris were worshipped as "Mother and Child". In Rome, the "Mother and Child" deities were known as Fortuna and Jupiterpuer; in Greece, Demeter and Dionysus; and in other countries such as India, Tibet and China. Therefore, one can easily understand how the concept of `Trinity' crept into the doctrines of Christianity as it was adapted to suit the Gentiles.

 

This polytheistic (believing in more than one god) Trinitarianism was intertwined with Greek religion and philosophy and slowly worked its way into Christian thought and creeds some 300 years after Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – The idea of "God the Son" is Babylonian paganism and mythology that was grafted into Christianity. 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.

 

Three centuries after Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –, the corrupt emperor Constantine forced the minority opinion of the trinity upon the council of Nicea. The Christian church went downward from there; in fact some of the creeds and councils actually contradict each other. The council of Nicea 325 said that "Jesus Christ is God," the council of Constantinople 381 said that "the Holy Spirit is God," the council of Ephesus 431 said that "human beings are totally depraved," the council of Chalcedon 451 said that "Jesus Christ is both man and God."  

 

If you follow the logic here then first you have Jesus Christ – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – as God, then you have man totally depraved, and then you have Jesus Christ – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – as man and God.

 

If Jesus Christ – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is both man and God; does this mean that God is also totally depraved?

 

Doctrine of Trinity

 

 

   According to the first two Ecumenical Councils of Church, God is three gods merged into one God. This one God is called the Trinity. This name of God does not exist anywhere in the New Testament! However, to say that God is three, in Christianity, is a blasphemy of the highest order. All three parts of the Trinity are "coequal", "co-eternal" and "of the same substance." In other words, while the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost sustain distinct relationships to one another, they share the same divine nature.

 

   The Trinitarian doctrine of the Gnostic, which was adopted by the Church in 325 C.E. states the following [Joseph Campbell, "The Masks of God: Accidental Mythology", Penguin Books, New York, 1976, p.389]:

 

1.      We believe in one God, the Father all-Sovereign, maker of all things, both visible and invisible;

 

2.      And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, an only begotten;

 

3.      That is, from the essence of the Father,

 

4.      God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God - begotten, not made - being of one essence with the Father;

 

5.      By whom all things were made, both things in heaven and things on earth;

 

6.      Who for us men and for our salvation came down and was made flesh, was made man, suffered, and rose again the third day, ascended into heaven, cometh to judge the quick and the dead;

 

7.      And in the Holy Spirit.

 

8.      But those who say that `there was once when he was not,' and `before he was begotten he was not,' and `he was made of things that were not,' or maintain that the Son of God is of a different essence, or created or subject to moral change or alteration - these doth the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematize.

 

The Christians have their three Gods responsible for the following duties:

 

(a) The Father creates and sustains the world.

(b) The son ensures salvation and atones for the sins of man.

(c) The Holy Ghost prepares the human mind for faith and maintains the believer in the state of faith.

 

Rational Examination

 

   Let us first analyze the 2^nd point of the Trinitarian Doctrine of the Gnostic, which states:

 

"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, an only begotten;"

 

Christian brothers and sisters, you should not accept the word "son" literally, because the God has ‘Sons by the Tons’ in the Bible. Please, have the pleasure of investigating for yourself

 

"And thou [Moses] shalt say unto Pharaoh: 'Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn."' Exodus 4:22 (Emphasis mine)

 

"He [Solomon] shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father and he shall be My son." II Samuel 7:13-14 (Emphasis mine)

 

"I am a father to Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn." Jeremiah 31:9 (Emphasis mine)

 

"Ye are the children of the Lord your God." Deuteronomy 14:1 (Emphasis mine)

 

"For whom he did fore know, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn of many brethren." Romans 8:29 (Emphasis mine)

 

 How many sons? So you see my Christian brothers and sisters, Moses – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is the son of God, Solomon – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is the son of God, Ephraim – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is the son of God, common people are children of God, David – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is the son of God. So many sons, yet ONE son claimed by the Christendom.

 

The reality is that, the phrase "Son of God" signifies love and affection and nearness to God, and that it is not to be applied to Jesus alone. You will see sons and daughters of God: II Corinthians 6:18: "And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

 

Now, to the point of being "BEGOTTEN"

 

About RSV

 

   First published, as Sir Winston says, in 1611, and then revised in 1881 (RV), and then re-revised and brought up to date as the Revised Standard Version (RSV) 1952, and again re-re-revised in 1971 (still RSV for short). Let us see what opinion Christendom has of this most revised Bible, the RSV:-

 

1.  "THE FINEST VERSION WHICH HAS BEEN PRODUCED IN THE PRESENT CENTURY." — (Church of England Newspaper) (Emphasis mine)

 

2.  "A COMPLETELY FRESH TRANSLATION BY SCHOLARS OF THE HIGHEST EMINENCE." — (Times literary Supplement) (Emphasis mine)

 

3.  "THE WELL-LOVED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AUTHORISED VERSION COMBINED WITH A NEW ACCURACY OF TRANSLATION." — (Life and Work) (Emphasis mine)

 

4.  "THE MOST ACCURATE AND CLOSE RENDERING OF THE ORIGINAL" — (The Times) (Emphasis mine)

 

The publishers (Collins) themselves, in their notes on the Bible at the end of their production, say on page 10: "THIS BIBLE (RSV), IS THE PRODUCT OF THIRTY-TWO SCHOLARS, ASSISTED BY AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPRESENTING FIFTY CO-OPERATING DENOMINATIONS."

 

So, you see that RSV is ‘Finest Version’, by the ‘32 Highest Eminent Scholars’ and above all ‘Most Accurate and Close Rendering to the ORIGINAL’.

 

And you know, that this RSV, which is claimed to be in accordance to the ‘ORIGINAL SCRIPTURES’ removed the word, "Begotten" in their RSV.

 

Now, this verse in RSV reads like:

 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son," John 3:16

 

 

Secondly, long before Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – was born, God said to David (Psalms 2:7):

 

 

"I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me [David]: 'Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee."' Psalms 2:7 (Emphasis mine)

 

Islamic Point of View

 

   We, as Muslims take strong exception for attributing such a quality to that Almighty One. Begetting is an animal act; it belongs to lower class of animal group. The Almighty God does not take his seed and put it into anyone’s daughter, sister mother or a wife. How can you attribute such a filthy quality to The Almighty God?

 

 

The Holy Qur’ân speaks of the same issue

 

 

"He Begetteth not, Nor is He Begotten." Holy Qur’ân 112:3

 

 

As far as the 3^rd point of the Trinitarian Doctrine of the Gnostic is concerned, that states:

 

"(2) And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, an only begotten; (3) That is, from the essence of the Father,"

 

You can see that the 3^rd point is the continued link to the 2^nd point. The 3^rd point states that Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is of the same essence as that of the Father.

 

 

This point is further clarified in the 4^th point of the same Trinitarian Doctrine of the Gnostic:

 

 

"God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God - begotten, not made - being of one essence with the Father;"

 

 

If Jesus is from God, then both of them have the same "Fundamental Nature" as mentioned in the 3^rd point and explained in the 4^th point, then the problem with this point is that:

 

 

1.        It means, that when Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – died on the cross (Romans 5:6, John 19:33) The Father will also have this UNCHANGED "Fundamental Nature" of DYING!?

 

2.   According to John 4:24 "God is Spirit" and in John 5:37:

 

"Ye have neither heard his voice at anytime, nor seen his shape."

 

Now, if God is Spirit according to John 4:24, and Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is of the same substance as God according to Athanasius, then the substance of both God and Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is Spirit. It follows that humans should not be able to see Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –, because he is also spirit!

 

With regards to the 6^th point of the Trinitarian Doctrine of the Gnostic:

 

 

"Who for us men and for our salvation came down and was made flesh, was made man, suffered, and rose again the third day, ascended into heaven, cometh to judge the quick and the dead;"

 

It has some of the following answer demanding questions:

 

 

1.   God is Just, and justice requires that nobody should be punished for the sins of others, nor should some people be saved by punishing other people. Doesn’t the claim that God sacrificed Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – to save us contradict the definition of justice?

 

2.   Christians say that "GOD SACRIFICED His only son to save us". The question is "to whom did God SACRIFICE Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – when God owns the whole universe?"

 

3.   A real sacrifice is when you can’t get back what you have offered, so what would be the big deal about such a sacrifice if God could recover the same offering? (Hebrews 9:28 "… he (Jesus) will appear a second time")

 

 

4.   If all the Christians are saved through Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – and are going to Heaven no matter what they do, then the teachings of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – are irrelevant and the definition of good and bad are also rendered irrelevant. If this is not so, then do Christians who believe in Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – yet do not follow his teachings nor repent go to Hell?

 

 

5.        Why does the Bible say that Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – wanted to die on the cross, when, on the cross, he was shouting "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" according to Matthew 27:45 and Mark 15:33?

 

 

6.           How can Christians take deeds as irrelevant after becoming one when Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – says in Matthew 12:36;

 

 

"But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment. For by the words thou shalt be justified, and by the words thou shalt be condemned"?

 

 

Final Questions

 

 

   Regarding "Trinity", following are some logic demanding questions:

 

 

1.           When Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – died on the cross. Did he die as a "MAN" or did he die as a "GOD"?

 

 

2.   To be "GOD" means freedom from finite forms and from helplessness, and to be "MAN" means the absence of divinity. Can you have the FINITE and INFINITE at the same time?

 

 

3.   Is God three-in-one and one in three simultaneously or one at a time?

 

4.   If God is one and three simultaneously, then none of the three could be the complete God. Granting that such was the case, then when Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – was on earth, he wasn’t a complete God, nor was the "father in Heaven" a whole God. Doesn’t that contradict what Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – always said about His God and our God in heaven, his Lord and our Lord? Does that also mean that there was no complete God then, between the claimed crucifixion and the claimed resurrection?

 

5.   If God is one and three at a time, then who was the God in heaven when Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – was on earth? Wouldn’t this contradict his many references to a God in Heaven that sent him?

 

6.   If God is three and one at the same time, who was the God in Heaven within three days between the claimed crucifixion and the claimed resurrection?

 

7.        Christians say that: "The Father (F) is God, the Son (S) is God, and the Holy Ghost (H) is God, but the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost is not the Father". In simple arithmetic and terms therefore, if F = G, S = G, and H = G, then it follows that F = S = H, while the second part of the statement suggests that F ¹ S ¹ H (meaning, "not equal"). Isn’t that a contradiction to the Christian dogma of Trinity in itself?

 

 

Unitarian Christians

 

   Quite soon after Jesus’ – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – disappearance from earth, there was a definite and widening divergence between the followers of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – and the Pauline Church, which was later to become known as the Roman Catholic Church. Differences between the two were not only evident in life-style and belief, but were also clearly delineated geographically. As the Pauline Church grew more established, it became increasingly hostile to the followers of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –. It aligned itself more and more with the rulers of the Roman Empire, and the persecution which to begin with had been directed at all who called themselves Christians, now began to fall mainly on those who affirmed the Divine Unity. Attempts began to be made to change their beliefs and forcefully to remove those who refused to do so, together with the books they used.

 

Most of the early martyrs were Unitarians. The more the doctrine of Trinity became accepted, the more its adherents opposed those who affirmed the Divine Unity. By the time the Emperor Julian came to power, this infighting had reached such a level that he said:

 

"No wild beasts are so hostile to man as Christian sects in general are to one another."

 

Naturally, those who deviated from the teaching of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – were prepared to change the Scriptures too, and even introduce false writings in order to support their opinions. Toland, in his book The Nazarenes, records these words of Iranius, who was one of the early Unitarian martyrs:

 

"In order to amaze the simple and such as are ignorant of the Scriptures of Truth, they obtrude upon them an inexpressible multitude of apocryphal and spurious scriptures of their own devising." Toland, J., "The Nazarenes", 1718.

Toland continues:

 

"We know already to what degree imposture and credulity went hand in hand in the primitive times of the Christian Church, the last being as ready to receive as the first was to forge books... This evil grew afterwards not only greater when the Monks were the sole transcribers and the sole keepers of all books good or bad, but in process of time it became almost absolutely impossible to distinguish history from fable, or truth from error as to the beginning and original monuments of Christianity...

How immediate successors of the Apostles could so grossly confound the genuine teaching of their masters with such as were falsely attributed to them? Or since they were in the dark about these matters so early how came such as followed them by a better light? And observing that such Apocryphal books were often put upon the same footing with the canonical books by the Fathers, and the first cited as Divine Scriptures no less than the last, or sometimes, when such as we reckon divine were disallowed by them. I propose these two other questions: Why all the books cited as genuine by Clement of Alexander, Origen, Tertullian and the rest of such writers should not be accounted equally authentic? And what stress should be laid on the testimony of those Fathers who not only contradict one another but are also often inconsistent with themselves in their relations of the very same facts?" Toland, J., "The Nazarenes", 1718.

 

Toland goes on to say that when these questions are asked of the "wooden priests and divinilings," instead of meeting the arguments, they begin to call those who raise the questions "heretics or concealed atheists." He continues:

 

"This conduct will make them suspect all to be a cheat and imposture, because men will naturally cry out when they are touched in a tender part... No man will be angry at a question who is able to answer it." Toland, J., "The Nazarenes", 1718.

 

Finally, Toland asks:

 

"Since the Nazarenes or Ebionites are by all the Church historians unanimously acknowledged to have been the first Christians, or those who believed in Christ among the Jews with which, his own people, he lived and died, they having been the witness of his actions, and of whom were all the Apostles, considering this, I say how it was possible for them to be the first of all others (for they were made to be the first heretics), who should form wrong conceptions of the doctrines and designs of Jesus? And how came the Gentiles who believed on him after his death by the preaching of persons that never knew him to have truer notions of these things, or whence they could have their information but from the believing Jews?"

 

Toland, J., "The Nazarenes", 1718, pp.73-76

 

 

Mr. Paul

 

   "Let the reader contrast the true Christian standard with that of Paul and he will see the terrible betrayal of all that the Master taught.... For the surest way to betray a great Teacher is to misrepresent his message.... That is what Paul and his followers did, and because the Church has followed Paul in his error it has failed lamentably to redeem the world.... The teachings given by the blessed Master Christ, which the disciples John and Peter and James, the brother of the Master, tried in vain to defend and preserve intact were as utterly opposed to the Pauline Gospel as the light is opposed to the darkness."

 

Rev. V.A. Holmes-Gore: "Christ or Paul?" (Emphasis mine)

 

Paul deviated further and further from the teachings Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – had embodied, and laid more and more emphasis on the figure of Christ whom he claimed had appeared to him in visions. His defense against those who accused him of changing the guidance Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – had brought was that what he preached had its origin in a direct revelation he had received from Christ. This gave Paul Divine Authority. It was by virtue of this "authority" he claimed, that the blessings of the Gospel were not limited to the Jews, but to all who believed. Furthermore, he asserted that the requirements of the Law of Moses were not only unnecessary, but also contrary to what had been revealed to him from God. In fact, he said, they were a curse. Thus, Paul incurred not only the wrath of the followers of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –, but also that of the Jews, since he was contradicting both of their prophets.

 

Paul justified his new doctrine with the use of this analogy:

 

"Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then; if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but, if her husband be dead, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."

Romans 7:1-4 (Emphasis mine)

 

According to Paul’s reasoning, the law which had bound Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – and his followers was no longer necessary, since Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – had died. Now they were no longer "married" to Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –, but to "the one", who had brought another law. It was, therefore, necessary to follow "the one" and not Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –. Thus, anyone who held to Jesus’ – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – teaching had gone astray.

 

Paul's reasoning had two major consequences. It not only resulted in further changes being made to what Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – had taught, but also prepared the way for completely changing people's ideas to who Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – was. He was being transformed from a man to a conception in people's minds. This emphasis from Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – as a man to the new image, which was divine, enabled the intellectuals in Greece and Rome to assimilate into their own philosophy what Paul and those who followed him were preaching. Their view of existence was a tripartite one, and, with the Pauline Church's talk of "God the Father" and the "Son of God", it only needed the inclusion of the "Holy Ghost" to have a Trinity which matched theirs.

 

It appears that Paul rationalized his actions by holding that there was no link between the period in which Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – had lived and the period in which he himself now lived. Times had changed and the conditions which now prevailed were such that the teaching of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – was out of date and could no longer be applied. It had therefore become necessary to find a new basis for ethics. Paul took stock of the conditions which existed then taught what they seemed to require him to believe:

 

"All things are lawful unto me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." 1 Corinthians 7:12

 

Paul not only rejected both Moses and Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon them –, but asserted that he was a law unto himself. Many people, obviously, could not accept this. Paul responded by saying:

 

"For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto His Glory; why yet I am also judged a sinner?"

Romans 3:7-8

 

It would seem from this statement that, although he knew he was lying, Paul felt that the end justified the means, but it is not understood how truth would abound through a lie. According to this reasoning, if the man Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – was equated with God, what objections could a follower of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – have?

 

'In reality' said Paul, 'the law produces wrath, but where there is now law, neither is there any transgression.' Romans 4:15

 

The abrogation of the Law of Moses – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – by Paul has been a gradual process. In the beginning he started with a few innovations. Later the Gentile element kept on tampering with the books and introducing new ideas. Innovations introduced by Paul were simply to entice the Gentiles. He started with canceling the law of circumcision. But one wrong step let the next inequality, and ultimately it ended into a faith which more resembled pagan beliefs than the revealed teachings of Moses or Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon them –.

 

There is, therefore, some justification for Heinz Zahrant calling Paul a "corruptor of the Gospel of Jesus" and Werde describing him as "the second founder of Christianity." Werde says that, due to Paul: "... the discontinuity between the historical Jesus and the Christ of the Church became so great that any unit between them is scarcely recognizable."

 

Schonfield also wrote: "The Pauline heresy became the foundation of Christian orthodoxy and the legitimate Church was disowned as heretical." (Emphasis mine)

 

 

History

 

Constantine

 

   The involvement of the Roman Emperors with the Christian Church started with Emperor Constantine. It all started in Rome when he became jealous of his eldest son and heir, Crispus, because of his popularity among the people. To make sure of his position as Emperor, Constantine had him murdered. It was known that the step-mother of Crispus had wanted her own son to succeed Constantine. She, therefore, had the motive for killing Crispus. Constantine accordingly put the blame of his crime on her, and killed her by immersing her in a bath full of boiling water. He hoped to mitigate one crime by the other.

 

The result, however, was just the opposite of what he had planned. The supporters of the dead queen joined forces with the followers of his dead son, and both sought revenge. In desperation he turned to the priests of the Roman temple of Jupiter for help, but they told him there was no sacrifice or prayer which could absolve him from the two murders. It became so uncomfortable to be in Rome that Constantine decided to go to Byzantium.

 

On his arrival there, he renamed the city after himself, and called it Constantinople. Here he met with unexpected success from the Pauline Church. They said that if he did penance in their Church his sins would be forgiven. Constantine made full use of this facility for his hands were stained with the blood from two murders. Furthermore, he saw the possibilities of using the Church to his own ends provided that he could win its loyalty to him.

 

Without hesitation, Constantine gave the Church his full support. With this unexpected backing, the Church became a strong force almost overnight. Constantine made full use of her. The country around the Mediterranean was dotted about with Christian churches and the Emperor utilized them to great advantage in the wars he was fighting. Many of the priests carried out very useful intelligence work for him, and their help was an important factor in his effort to unite Europe and the Middle East under him.

 

Constantine also made full use of the Church in maintaining discipline in his army. The authority of the bishops was used to ratify the obligation of the military oath. Deserters faced the added threat of excommunication. Partly as a token of his gratitude and partly in order to diminish the power of the Roman priests in the temple of Jupiter who had refused to support him, Constantine encouraged the Christians to open a church in Rome. He also encouraged his subjects to become Christians, promising them not poverty, but wealth:

 

"The salvation of the common people was purchased at an easy rate, if it be true, that, in one year, 12000 men were baptized at Rome, besides a proportionable number of women and children; and that a white garment, with twenty pieces of gold, had been promised by the Emperor to every convert..." Gibbon, E., "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", 1823, p.458

 

However, Constantine did not become a Christian himself, for many of his subjects still believed in Jupiter and the other gods in the Pantheon of Rome. In order to ally any suspicions they might have, he made a number of decisions which seemed to prove that he too worshipped the Roman gods. He liberally restored and enriched the temples of the Roman gods. The coins and medals of the Empire were impressed with the figures and attributes of Jupiter and Apollo, of Mars and Hercules.

 

"...the devotion of Constantine was more peculiarly directed to the genius of the Sun, the Apollo of Greek and Roman mythology; and he was pleased to be represented with the symbols of the god of light and poetry... The sun was universally celebrated as the invincible guide and protector of Constantine." Gibbon, E., "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", 1823, p.448

 

The Emperor was considered to be the manifestation of the Sun-god on earth.

 

Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – had celebrated the Sabbath on Saturday. To please the Emperor, however, the Pauline Church accepted the following changes:

 

-  Declared the Roman Sun-day to be the Christian Sabbath;

 

-  Adopted the traditional birthday of the Sun-god, the twenty-fifth of December, as the birthday of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –;  

 

-  Borrowed the emblem of the Sun-god, the cross of light, to be the emblem of Christianity;

 

-  And, decided to incorporate all the ceremonies which were performed at the Sun-god's birthday celebrations into their own ceremonies.

 

Unity of Church

 

   Constantine, who at this stage neither understood nor believed in Christianity, saw the political advantage of having a united Church which would obey him, and whose center would be based in Rome and not in Jerusalem. When the members of the Apostolic Church refused to obey these wishes, he tried to compel them by force. This pressure from without, however, did not produce the desired result. A number of the Apostolic Christian communities refused to accept the overlordship of the Bishop of Rome. They recognized this move as a political ploy by a foreign ruler, and as something entirely apart from the teaching of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –.  

 

The first revolt came from among the Berber communities of North Africa. It was led not by Arius but by a man name Donatus. The Berber always believed in the Divine Unity; they could believe in Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – as a Prophet, but never as God. In 313 CE Donatus was chosen from among the people as their bishop. For forty years he remained the leader of their Church which continued to flourish in opposition to the Bishop of Rome. According to Jerome, "Donatism" became the religion of nearly all North Africa within a generation, and neither force nor argument could change it.

 

The Bishop of Rome tried to install one of his own bishops in Carthage to replace Donatus. His name was Caecelian. This caused further unrest; the populace of Carthage gathered around the office of the Roman pro-consul and denounced Caecelian. As it was, the North African Christians had little respect for the Roman pro-consul and the other imperial officials. For generations now the Christians had suffered persecution at their hands, and regarded them as emissaries of Satan. Formerly, they had been persecuted because they were Christians. Now, they were to be persecuted because they were not the right kind of Christians. Up until this point, Donatus had been their bishop. He now became their popular leader.

 

The Church of Rome, which had by now adopted the epithet "Catholic" to indicate the universality of its approach in the worship of God, appealed to the Donatists to unite. The appeal had no effect, and Donatus refused to hand over his churches to Caecelian. The differences in beliefs were too wide to bridge. Finally, the Roman army came into action. There were mass slaughters of people. Dead bodies were thrown into wells, and bishops were murdered in their churches. These events widened the rift between the Donatists and the Catholic Church even further. Since the Catholic Church was working in alliance with the pagan magistrates and their soldiers, the Catholics were called schismatics and their churches were identified as places of "hated idolatry".

 

Constantine, who was a good administrator, realized the futility of trying to restore religious harmony and unity by force. Deciding that discretion as the better part of valor, he left the people in North Africa to themselves.

 

Arius

 

   The leader of the Apostolic Church, which continued to affirm belief in One Reality, was at this time a presbyter known to history as Arius. He followed the teaching of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – implicitly, and refused to accept the innovation introduced by Paul.

 

"Follow Jesus as he preached" was the motto of Arius. His importance can be gauged by the fact, that, his name had become a synonym of Unitarianism even today.

 

Although the early life of Arius is hidden in mystery, it is recorded that in 318 CE, he was in charge of the Church of Baucalis in Alexandria. Arius was no "bustling schemer" as his enemies would have people believe, and even they were forced to admit that he was a sincere and blameless presbyter. He remained aloof from the alliance which the organized Church had made with the Emperor Constantine.

 

At his time, Trinity was accepted by many of those who called themselves Christians, but no one was sure what it actually meant. After more than two centuries of discussion, no one had been able to state the doctrine in terms which were free from equivocation. Arius stood up and challenged anyone to define it. Arius, by the use of reason, and relying on the authority of the Scriptures, proved the doctrine to be false.

 

Arius began his refutation to the doctrine of Trinity using the following argument: if Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – was in reality the "son of God", then it followed that the father must have existed before the son. Therefore, there must have been a time when the son did not exist. Therefore, it followed that the son was a creature composed of an essence or being which had not always existed. Since God is in essence Eternal and Ever-existent, Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – could not be of the same essence of God. Arius backed his arguments with numerous verses from the Bible which nowhere teaches the doctrine of Trinity. If Jesus said:

 

"My father is greater than I," John 14:28

 

Then to believe that God and Jesus were equal, argued Arius, was to deny the truth of the Bible. 

 

The arguments of Arius were irrefutable, but Alexander, the Bishop of Alexandria, by virtue of his position, excommunicated him. However, Arius had such a large following that he could not be ignored by the Pauline Church. The controversy which had been simmering for nearly three hundred years came to its boiling point. The Pauline Church was troubled and annoyed that so many of the Eastern bishops supported Arius, whose greatest ally was Eusebius of Nicomedia, for they were friends and both of them had been students of Lucian.

 

325 CE

 

   As far as Constantine was concerned, things were going from bad to worse. He was plagued with internal political problems, and the conflict between the Pauline Church and the Apostolic Church was not helping his effort to unify the different parts of the Empire. His experience in dealing with the North Africans seemed to have taught him a lesson: he should not take sides openly. So he decided to call a meeting of Christian bishops in order to settle the matter once and for all. The gathering of the bishops in Nicaea in 325 CE under Constantine is known today as the Council of Nicaea.

 

Apart from the leaders of the two contending parties, the majority of those who were invited to the Council were not on the whole very knowledgeable. No one from the Church of Donatus was asked to attend, although Caecelian, Donatus's chief opponent, was invited. Alexander, who was growing old, and who had been routed so many times before by Arius, decided to send Athanasius a young and fiery supporter of Trinity to Nicaea as his representative instead of going there himself.

 

Thus, the Council was composed largely of bishops who held their faith earnestly and sincerely, but without much intellectual knowledge of the grounds on which they maintained it. These men were suddenly brought face to face with the most agile and most learned exponents of Greek philosophy of the age. Their way of expression was such that these bishops could not grasp the significance of what was being said. Incapable of giving rational explanations of their knowledge or entering into arguments with their opponents, they were to either stick to their beliefs in silence or to agree to whatever the Emperor decided.

 

The Council dragged on for three months without reaching a definition to Christianity that satisfies the two sides. As the debate continued, it became evident to both parties that no clear-cut decision would be reached on the floor of the Council. However, they still both desired the support of the Emperor since, for the Pauline Church, it would mean an increase in power, and for the North African Church an end to persecution. Princess Constantina, the sister of the Emperor, had advised Eusebius of Nicomedia that the Emperor strongly desired a united Church, since a divided one endangered his Empire. However, if no agreement was reached within the Church, he might lose patience and withdraw his support for Christianity altogether. Should he take this course of action, the situation of the Christians would be even worse than before, and the teaching itself would be endangered even further.

 

Counseled by their friend Eusebius, Arius and his followers adopted a passive role, but disassociated themselves from all changes to the teachings of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – the Council agreed to. Under these circumstances, the dogma of Trinity was finally accepted as a fundamental doctrine of Christianity. The Nicene Creed was then drawn up an attested to in writing by those present with the full support of the Emperor Constantine. It enshrined the view of the Trinitarians and had the following anathema appended as a direct rejection of Arius's teaching:

 

But those who say that `there was once when he was not,' and `before he was begotten he was not,' and `he was made of things that were not,' or maintain that the Son of God is of a different essence, or created or subject to moral change or alteration - these doth the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematize. Campbell, J., "The Masks of God: Accidental Mythology", Penguin Books, New York, 1976, p.389

 

Arius and some of his followers did not sign the creed. Of those who signed it, some believed in it, some did not know what they were putting their names to, and the majority of delegates in the Council, did not agree with the doctrine of Trinity, but, nevertheless, signed with mental reservation, to please the Emperor.

 

Line of Attack

 

   Constantine knew that a creed which was based not on conviction but on votes could not be taken seriously. One could believe in God, but could not elect Him by the democratic method. He knew how and why the bishops had signed the creed. He was determined not create the impression that he had forced the bishops to sign against their convictions. So it was decided to take resort to a miracle of God to affirm and support the decision of the Council.

 

The pile of the Gospels-the written record of Jesus’ – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – teaching still lay in the middle of the hall where they had been placed at the beginning of the Council. According to one source, there were at least 270 versions of the Gospel at that time, while other states: there were as many as 4000 different Gospels. Even if one accepts the most conservative record, the number must have been quite overwhelming. The drawing up of a creed which contained ideas not to be found in the Gospels and, in some cases, in direct contradiction of what was in the Gospels, must have made matters more confusing for some people. The continued existence of the Gospels must have been very inconvenient.

 

It was decided that all the different Gospels should be placed under a table in the Council Hall. Everyone then left the room and the door was locked. The bishops were asked to pray for the whole night that the correct version of the Gospel might come onto the top of the table.

 

In the morning, the Gospels acceptable to Athanasius (a fiery supporter of Trinity), Alexander's representative, were found neatly placed on top of the table. It was decided that all the Gospels remaining under the table should be burned.

 

Unfortunately, there is no record of who kept the key to the room that night!

 

It became a capital offence to posses an unauthorized Gospel. As a result, over a million Christians were killed in the years following the Council's decisions. This was how Athanasius tried to achieve unity among the Christians.

 

381 CE

 

   In 328 CE, Alexander, the Bishop of Alexandria died and a stormy election to fill the vacant position followed. The Arians put up a strong resistance, but Athanasius was declared, elected, and consecrated as a bishop. His election was disputed. Those who opposed his election complained of persecution, political intrigue and even magic.

 

Meanwhile, at Constantine's court, Constantina, his sister, who feared and loved God, continued to voice her opposition to the killing of the Christians. She never tried to hide the fact that she thought Arius represented true Christianity. She also opposed the treatment of Eusebius of Nicomedia who had been banished by the Emperor for his beliefs. At long last, she had her way, and Eusebius was allowed to come back. His return was a great blow to the Athanasian faction. The Emperor gradually began to lean towards the side of Arius.

 

In 335 CE, a Council was held in Tyre to celebrate the thirtieth year of Constantine's reign. Here, Athanasius was accused of Episcopal tyranny, and the atmosphere was so charged with feeling against him that he left the Council without waiting to hear what decisions would be made. He was condemned. The bishops then gathered in Jerusalem where the condemnation of Athanasius was confirmed. Arius was taken back into the Church and allowed to receive communion.

 

The Emperor invited Arius and his friend Euzous to Constantinople. The peace between Arius and the Emperor was virtually complete, and to further this, the bishops again officially condemned Athanasius. Arius was then appointed the Bishop of Constantinople.

 

Arius, however, died from poisoning in 336 CE. The Church called it a miracle, but the Emperor suspected murder. He appointed a commission to investigate the death which had taken place in such a mysterious manner. Athanasius was found to be responsible, and he was condemned for the murder of Arius.

 

The Emperor, greatly moved by the death of Arius, and doubtlessly influenced by his sister, became a Christian. He was baptized by Eusebius of Nicomedia. But, he died only a year later in 337 CE. Constantine, who had spent so much of his reign persecuting those who affirmed the Divine Unity, died in the faith of those he had killed.

 

After Constantine's death, the next emperor, Constantius, also accepted the faith of Arius, and belief in the Divine Unity continued to be officially accepted as the orthodox Christianity. A conference held in Antioch in 341 CE accepted monotheism as the true basis of Christianity. This ruling was confirmed by another Council that was held in Sirmium in 351 CE.

 

In 360 CE Constantius called the famous Council of Rimini. It was attended by a much larger gathering than the Council of Nicaea. More than four hundred bishops from Italy, Africa, Spain, Gaul, Britain and Illyricum attended the Council. The majority of the bishops were from the Official Church. However, a creed drawn up by the Arian bishops which stated that the `son' was not equal or consubstantial to the father, was agreed to by the assembly. It was on this occasion that, according to Jerome, the world was surprised to find itself Arian. This creed was ratified in the Council of Seleucia. However, when the Official bishops realized what they had done, they withdrew their support and reaffirmed the creed of the Council of Nicaea and the doctrine of Trinity.

 

The Official Church continued to become more established, especially in Rome, and finally found unqualified imperial favor during the rule of Theodosius. On being baptized in 380 CE, Theodosius issued a solemn edict, which proclaimed his own faith, and prescribed the religion for his subjects:

 

"It is our pleasure that all the nations, which are governed by our clemency and moderation, should steadfastly adhere to the religion which was taught by St. Peter to the Romans; which faithful tradition had preserved, and which is now professed by the pontiff of Damascus, and by Peter, bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the discipline of the apostles, and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe the sole deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; under an equal majesty, and a pious Trinity. We authorize the followers of this doctrine to assume the title of Catholic Christians; and as we judge, that all others are extravagant madmen, we brand them with the infamous name of heretics; and declare that their conven-ticles shall no longer usurp the respectable appellation of churches. Besides the condemnation of Divine justice, they must expect to suffer the severe penalties, which our authority, guided by heavenly wisdom, shall think proper to inflict upon them." Gibbon, E., "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", 1823, p.400

 

Shortly after this edict, Theodosius called the famous Council of Constantinople in 381 CE. A hundred and fifty bishops:

 

"proceeded without much difficulty or delays, to complete the theological system which had been established by the Council of Nicaea. The vehement disputes of the fourth century had been chiefly employed on the nature of the Son of God; and the various opinions, which were embraced concerning the Second, were extended and transferred, by a natural analogy, to a Third person of the Trinity... final and unanimous sentence was pronounced to ratify the equal Deity of the Holy Ghost." Gibbon, E., "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", 1823, p.408

 

It had taken nearly four centuries for a doctrine which Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – had never preached to be accepted in his name, and finally established as `the truth'. In the reign of Constantine, the Official Church, or the Roman Catholic Church, had been clearly subservient to the Emperor. In the reign of Theodosius it began to exert its influence over the Emperor:

 

"The decrees of the Council of Constantinople has ascertained the `true' standard of the faith; and the ecclesiastics, who governed the conscience of Theodosius, suggested the most effectual methods of persecution. In the space of fifteen years, he promulgated at least fifteen severe edicts against the `heretics'; more especially against those who rejected the doctrine of the Trinity..." Gibbon, E., "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", 1823, p.412

 

These edicts formed the foundation, and were the origin of all the laws which the Roman Catholic Church subsequently promulgated in its attempts to eliminate all beliefs, especially affirmation of the Divine Unity, other than its own.

 

The edicts were directed against the leaders, the places of worship, and the persons of the `heretics'. Their leaders were refused the privileges and payments which were so liberally granted to the leaders of the Official Church. Instead they face the heavy penalties of exile and confiscation of property for preaching and practicing their faith. By eliminating the leaders it was hoped that their followers would be compelled by ignorance and hunger to return within the pale of the Catholic Church.

 

The rigorous prohibition of the use of their places of worship was extended to every possible circumstance in which the `heretics' might assemble to worship their Lord. Their gatherings, whether public or secret, by day or by night, in cities or in the country, were equally proscribed. The buildings and the land which they had used for worship were confiscated.

 

All the followers of the `heretical leaders' were left to the mercy of the general public. The anathema of the Official Church was complemented by the condemnation of the supreme magistrate. Thus a man could commit any outrage against a `heretic' with impunity from the law. There were thus ostracized from society and excluded from all but menial work. Since they were not permitted to make a will or receive any benefit from a dead person's will, they soon lost what little property they had.

 

All citizens of the Empire were encouraged to participate in the elimination of the `heretics', who were put to death if they persisted in their faith. A special group of people were organized to facilitate the execution of the edicts and to deal with accusations and complaints against `heretics':

 

"Every Roman might exercise the right of public accusation, but the office of the `Inquisitor of the Faith', a name so deservedly abhorred, was first instituted under the reign of Theodosius." Gibbon, E., "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", 1823, p.413

 

Thus the origins of all `Inquisitions' which were instigated by the Roman Catholic Church and which culminated in the notorious Spanish Inquisition are derived not from the teaching of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –, but from the dictates of a `HOLY' Roman Emperor.  

 

With the passage of time the Roman Emperors became even more subservient to the Roman Catholic Church. The coronation of the Emperor became a religion ceremony. He was admitted into the lower orders of the priesthood and was made to anathematize all `heresy' raising itself against the Holy Catholic Church. In hading him the ring, the Pope told him it was a symbol of his duty to destroy heresy. In girding him with the sword, he was reminded that with this he was to strike down the enemies of the Official Church.

 

This then is the story of the doctrine of Trinity, and how the Roman Catholic Church originated. Neither this Church, nor its doctrines were instituted or preached by Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –. Yet in the name of God and Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –, the Church reached a point where it not only considered itself able to define who a follower of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – was, but also felt itself obliged to eliminate all those who did not fall within this definition, especially those who affirmed Divine Unity.  

 

   From the past, let us now come to present and analyze this Trinity on the basis of Bible which we have today with us, and discuss some of the important points.

 

Bible

 

 

   As Bible is the basic Doctrine of the Christendom, therefore, like every sensible person let us approach towards the Doctrine of the Christian religion - Bible.

 

 

It was an astonishing discovery for me that this ‘Trinity’ does not exist anywhere in the New Testament! Also Jesus never mentioned the trinity and certainly did not explain it in the clearest way.

 

 

At first the Christians had a verse of 1 John 5:7-8 from the KJV to back their Trinity theory.

 

 

"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the Water, and the Blood; and these three agree in one." 

1 John 5:7-8 

 

 

In RSV, you find this verse like this:

 

 

"There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree." 1 John 5:7-8

 

 

When the verse was removed in RSV, it made an affect upon the Christians and doubts regarding there belief on Trinity were raised in people’s mind. Since then, attempts were made to justify the concept of Trinity in some way or the other.

 

 

Whole energy is devoted to prove Trinity. No matter how much proofs you provide them and also if their own Christian fellows guide them, they are stubborn to their feetless, illogical concept. You bare in your mind, these words of mine, because, I am going to provide basis to back these words of mine.

 

 

 

Assembling Arguments

 

 

   At 12:00 noon on a clear sunny day, have you met a person to whom you said: "There is sun" pointing to the sun. And he replied: "That is not sun." What did you tell him, what was your reply to him, what did you thought of him?

 

As I said earlier, that, every attempt is made to prove which does not exist. I have come across some of these attempts. Some Christian apologists advocate that God shows us trinity everywhere:

 

·        Time is divided into past, present, and future and they are all time.

·        Matter is divided into gas, liquid, and solid and they are all matter.

·        Coordinate is divided into X, Y, and Z and they are all coordinates.

 

 

Imagine! how belief is being proved.

 

 

You can see that these are not hard facts. Anyone can assemble an argument for duality such as day and night, positive and negative, good and evil, etc. Anyone can assemble an argument from the very many natural facts to strengthen his claim. The Pyramid of Giza was exhausted in numbers to prove that it is a cosmic structure. So where does this leave us?

 

 

One apologist explained these three ways in which God exists and acts with the following example:

 

 

Mr. Abraham is a mechanic; he is also the husband of Mrs. Abraham, and again he is a member of the Evangelical Church. He may be in the workshop repairing cars, he may be at home with his wife, and he may be at prayer in the church. He is always one and same Mr. Abraham. He is at once mechanic, husband and member of his church, yet always the same man.

 

 

At first, you see, this apologist stated only 3 jobs for Mr. Abraham to justify the trinity.

 

Secondly, this apologist ignored to realize one very important point, that:

 

·        When Mr. Abraham is at workshop, he is not present at home with his wife and not present in the church.

·        And when he is at home with his wife he is not present in the workshop and not in the church.

·        And when he is in the church, he is not at workshop and not in the home with his wife.

 

 

When this apologist gives this example to prove Trinity, he shall also tell us that; Shall we believe that God of Trinity is also in one place at one time? 

 

 

One apologist claims that humanity was not ready for that language of one God with different personalities. The example that he gives to clarify this point is that his son used to call the lid of a can of coke ‘door’ when he was a child. When his son grew up, he knew that it is the lid that opens the coke! Similarly, God was one; and when humanity grew up, God revealed that he is still one but with personalities!

 

 

Well, I don’t believe upon this theory because any sensible mind person, after studying the Bible is going to ask a simple question, that; How was the humanity ready to understand other things mentioned in the Bible and not Trinity?

 

 

Another apologist said: Why is it so difficult to comprehend (and as an example) that 'Water' put into three Separate Vessels always remains Water by its very nature (!!!) flows together again as ONE Water-body when together in One Vessel/one stream/one Ocean.

 

 

Three-in-ONE clearly says it all!

 

 

Yes, I do agree that Water will remain the same Water, even in three separate Vessels. But, a very important point which this apologist ignored out is that:

 

 

1.           The characteristics of this Water, present in different Vessels will remain same i.e. UNCHANGED.

 

2.           Now, if you freeze this Water present in one Vessel, it means that the same Water present in other Vessels will also freeze upon freezing. Remember The UNCHANGED Characteristic.

 

3.           Now, think, It means, that when Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – died on the cross (Romans 5:6, John 19:33) The Father will also have this UNCHANGED Characteristic of DYING!?

 

 

Let me conclude with a very eloquent example which was once presented by the British scholar Richard Porson. One day, Porson was discussing the "Trinity" with a Trinitarian friend when a buggy containing three men passed by.

 

"There," Porson's friend exclaimed "is an illustration of the Trinity."

 

Porson replied "No, you must show me one man in three buggies, if you can."

 

 

 

Verdicts by Teammates

 

 

   In following are some of the verdicts by the learned Christian people of Christendom upon Trinity:

 

 

The Doctrine of the Trinity Christianity’s Self-Inflicted Wound 1994 Anthony F. Buzzard Charles F. Hunting

"Those Trinitarians who believe that the concept of a Triune God was such an established fact that it was not considered important enough to mention at the time the New Testament was written should be challenged by the remarks of another writer, Harold Brown:"

"It is a simple fact and an undeniable historical fact that several major doctrines that now seem central to the Christian Faith – such as the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of the nature of Christ – were not present in a full and self-defined generally accepted form until the fourth and fifth centuries. If they are essential today – as all of the orthodox creeds and confessions assert – it must be because they are true. If they are true, then they must always have been true; they cannot have become true in the fourth and fifth century. But if they are both true and essential, how can it be that the early church took centuries to formulate them?" (Emphasis mine)

 

 

A History of the Christian Church 2nd Ed. 1985 Williston Walker

"AD 200. . Noetus had been expelled from the Smyrnaean church for teaching that Christ was the Father, and that the Father himself was born, and suffered, and died."

 

 

New Bible Dictionary 1982

"The word trinity is not found in the Bible . . ."

". . . it did not find a place formally in the theology of the church till the 4th century."

". . . it is not a biblical doctrine in the sense that any formation of it can be found in the Bible, . . ."

"Scripture does not give us a formulated doctrine of the trinity . . ." (Emphasis mine)

 

 

The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism 1995

". . . scholars generally agree that there is no doctrine of the trinity as such in either the Old Testament or the New Testament." (Emphasis mine)

 

 

The Encyclopedia Americana 1956

"Christianity derived from Judaism and Judaism was strictly Unitarian (believing in one God). The road which led from Jerusalem to Nicea was scarcely a straight one. Fourth century Trinitarianism did not reflect accurately early Christian teaching regarding the nature of God; it was, on the contrary, a deviation from this teaching." (Emphasis mine)

 

 

The New Catholic Encyclopedia 1967

"The formulation 'one God in three persons' was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century." (Emphasis mine)

 

 

Who is Jesus? Anthony Buzzard

"The Old Testament is a strictly monotheistic. God is a single personal being. The idea that a trinity is to be found there or even in any way shadowed forth, is an assumption that has long held sway in theology, but is utterly without foundation." (Emphasis mine)

 

 

The New Encyclopedia Britannica 1976

"Neither the word trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord' (Deut. 6:4). . . The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. . . . By the end of the 4th century . . . the doctrine of the trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since." (Emphasis mine)

 

The Shema consists of three sections of scripture Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21, and Numbers 15:37-41. It is called the Shema after the Hebrew word "Hear", the first word in Deut. 6:4. The Shema was to be recited twice daily once upon arising and once when going to bed. So the Old Testament Jews would start and finish their day with 'Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.'

 

 

Why You Should Believe In The Trinity 1989 Robert M. Bowman Jr.

"The New Testament does not contain a formalized explanation of the trinity that uses such words as trinity, three persons, one substance, and the like." (Emphasis mine)

 

 

The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology 1976

"The Bible lacks the express declaration that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are of equal essence. [said Karl Barth]" (Emphasis mine)

 

 

Why You Should Believe In The Trinity 1989 Robert M. Bowman Jr.

"Roman Catholics . . . often claim that the trinity is not a biblical doctrine and was first revealed through the ministry of the church centuries after the Bible was written. This is in keeping with the Roman Catholic belief that Christian doctrine may be based either on the Bible or on church tradition." (Emphasis mine)

 

The Roman Catholic Church did not get the doctrine of the trinity from the Bible; they hammered out their own theology of what they wanted God to be over several hundred years, and mixed Greek philosophy with Babylonian mystery religion, and their own private interpretations of the Bible.

 

In "The Dictionary of the Bible," John L. McKenzie, S.J., p. 899  bearing the Nihil Obstat, Imprimatur, and Imprimi Potest (official Church seals of approval), we read:

 

"the trinity of God is defined by the Church as the belief that in God are three persons who subsist in one nature. That belief as so defined was reached only in the 4th and 5th centuries AD and hence is not explicitly and formally a biblical belief." (Emphasis mine)

 

 

The Oxford Companion to the Bible, Bruce Metzger and Michael Cogan, p. 782

 

"Because the Trinity is such an important part of later Christian doctrine, it is striking that the term does not appear in the New Testament. Likewise, the developed concept of three coequal partners in the Godhead found in later creedal formulations cannot be clearly detected within the confines of the canon … While the New Testament writers say a great deal about God, Jesus, and the Spirit of each, no New Testament writer expounds on the relationship among the three in the detail that later Christian writers do." (Emphasis mine)   

 

 

Christadelphianism, F. J. Wilkin, M.A., D.D, The Australian Baptist, Victoria.

 

"In the Old Testament, the Unity of God was clearly affirmed. The Jewish creed, repeated in every synagogue today, was 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord (Deut. 6:4). This was the faith of the first Christians, so Paul writes, 'There is one God and Father of all, Who is above all and through all and in you all" (Eph. 4:6). But gradually some addition or modification of this creed was found necessary. Christians were fully persuaded of the Deity of Jesus Christ and later of the Deity of the Holy Spirit, and they were compelled to relate these convictions with their belief in the Unity of God. During many years, the problem was discussed and many explanations were attempted. One advanced by Sabellius, that became fairly popular was that Christ and the Holy Spirit were successive manifestations of the Supreme Being, but finally, the belief prevailed that the words Father, Son, Spirit, declared eternal distinctions in the Godhead. That is, that the Trinity of Manifestation revealed a Tri-unity of Being. In other words,' that Christ and the Holy Spirit were coeternal with the Father. With the exceptions of the Unitarians, this is the belief of Christendom today" (Emphasis mine)

 

 

Imagine! Christendom themselves were not sure about this doctrine of Trinity; first they believed the Holy Spirit and Christ – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – as "Successive Manifestation" of God. And then, they believe Trinity as Father, Son, and Spirit being "Eternal Distinctions" in Godhead.   

 

 

 

Is Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – GOD?

 

 

   The most important basis for Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – being a "God" is his Son-ship to The God Almighty.

 

In the 2^nd point of the Trinitarian Doctrine of the Gnostic, it states:

 

"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, an only begotten;"

 

 

Previously, if you remember, I have dealt with this point (in this article) under the heading "Doctrine of Trinity". Here, I would deal with it in a different style.

 

 

Anglican Bishops Doubt

 

   "More than half of England's Anglican Bishops say that Christians are not obliged to believe that Jesus Christ was God, according to a survey published today. The pole of 31 of England's 39 bishops shows that many of them think that Christ's miracles, the virgin birth and the resurrection might not have happened exactly as described in the Bible. Only 11 of the bishops insisted that Christians must regard Christ as both God and man, while 19 said it was sufficient to regard Jesus as 'God's supreme agent'" British newspaper the "Daily News" 25/6/84 under the heading "Shock survey of Anglican Bishops"

 

But what is a messenger of God? Is he not "God's supreme agent"? This is indeed what Almighty Allah Himself has already told us in the noble Qur’ân 1400 years ago, (interpretations of the meaning)

 

"...Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of God..." Holy Qur’ân 4:171

 

"Christ the son of Mary was no more than a messenger: many were the messengers that passed away before him ..." Holy Qur’ân  5:75

 

"And Zachariah and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous." Holy Qur’ân 6:85

 

Another very comprehensive study of this matter can be found in the book "The Myth of God Incarnate" which was written by seven theologian scholars in England in 1977 and edited by John Hick. Their conclusion in this matter is that Jesus was

 

"A man approved by God, for a special role within the divine purpose, and..... the later conception of him as God incarnate ... is a mythological or poetic way of expressing his significance for us." (Emphasis mine)

 

At University of Richmond, a professor, Dr. Robert Alley, after considerable research into newly found ancient documents concludes that:

 

"....The (Biblical) passages where Jesus talks about the Son of God are later additions.... what the church said about him. Such a claim of deity for himself would not have been consistent with his entire lifestyle as we can reconstruct. For the first three decades after Jesus' death Christianity continued as a sect within Judaism. The first three decades of the existence of the church were within the synagogue. That would have been beyond belief if they (the followers) had boldly proclaimed the deity of Jesus." (Emphasis mine)

 

Is there any confirmation of this in the Bible, yes! If we were to read the Bible we would find that long after the departure of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –, his faithful followers continued to

 

"keep up their daily attendance at the Temple" (Acts 2:46)

 

It would be beyond belief to imagine that had Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – indeed preached to his apostles that he was God, and if Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – had indeed commanded them to forsake the commandments, that they would then disregard all of this and continue to worship in a Jewish synagogue on a daily basis, let alone the great Temple itself. It is further beyond belief that the Jews of the Temple would stand idly by and allow them to do this if they were preaching the total cancellation of the Law of Moses and that Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon them – was God.

 

Can any Trinitarian Christian, even in their wildest fantasies, imagine that the Jews in an orthodox Jewish synagogue would stand idly by while he took out his cross and prayed to Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – in the midst of their synagogue and was publicly calling others to worship Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – and forsake the commandments? How much more preposterous to imagine that they would have nothing to say to someone who did that in their most sacred of all synagogues, the Temple, on a daily basis yet.

 

This is further evidence in support of the Qur’ân, that Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – only called his followers to a continuation of the religion of Moses – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – and not by any means to the total cancellation and destruction of that law.

 

Astounding, isn't it? With every passing day, the most learned among the Christian community are slowly recognizing the truth and drawing closer and closer to Islam. These are not Muslims who issued this statement. These are not "liberal" Christians. These are the most learned and most highly esteemed men of the Anglican Church. These men have dedicated their whole lives to the study of the religion of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –, and their study has driven them to the truth which The Almighty God had already revealed to them in the Qur’ân 1400 years ago: That Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – was not God. That God is not a Trinity. And that the stories of the ministry of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – in the Bible have been extensively tampered with by the hands of mankind.

 

The Dead Sea Scrolls

 

   In 1947, young Bedouin shepherds, searching for a stray goat in the Judean Desert, entered a long-untouched cave, on the shores of the Dead Sea, and found jars filled with ancient scrolls. That initial discovery by the Bedouins yielded seven scrolls and began a search that lasted nearly a decade and eventually produced thousands of scroll fragments from eleven caves. These scrolls were immediately identified as the work of a very devout sect of the Jewish community that lived centuries before the birth of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –.

 

Hershel Shanks says in his book Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls:

 

"Such was the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, manuscripts a thousand years older than the oldest known Hebrew texts of the Bible, manuscripts many of which were written a hundred years before the birth of Jesus and at least one of which may have been written almost three hundred years before the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem" Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls, Hershel Shanks, pp. 7-8 (Emphasis mine)

An immediate frantic search ensued through the remaining caves in the region in order to find what other ancient scrolls could be discovered therein. A small group of "international" scholars in Israel were given exclusive access to them and the rest of the world was all but totally barred from gaining even the slightest glimpse of the texts.

 

Prof. Eisenman observes that one of the major stumbling blocks for the publication of the scrolls was that "in the first place, the team was hardly "international". Prof. Robert Eisenman was one of the key players in the drama that finally lead to the release of the scrolls.

 

In his book The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered we read:

 

"In the spring of 1986, at the end of his stay in Jerusalem, Professor Eisenman went with the British scholar, Philip Davies of the University of Sheffield, to see one of the Israeli officials responsible for this - an intermediary on behalf of the Antiquities Department (now 'Authority') and the International Team and the Scrolls Curator at Israel Museum. They were told in no uncertain terms 'You will not see the Scrolls in your lifetimes'". (Emphasis mine)

 

This stung them into action, and as a result of this statement, a massive effort was launched and five years later, through a whirlwind of media publicity, absolute access to the scrolls was attained.

 

A very interesting discovery for me was in the book of Mr. Tom Harpur on The Dead Sea Scrolls

 

Mr. Tom Harpur in the preface to his book writes:

 

"The most significant development since 1986 in this regard has been the discovery of the title "Son of God" in one of the Qumran papyri (Dead Sea Scrolls) used in relation to a person other than Jesus.....this simply reinforces the argument made there that to be called the Son of God in a Jewish setting in the first century is not by any means the same as being identical with God Himself." Mr. Tom Harpur "For Christ's Sake, pp. xii"

 

The Dead Sea Scrolls have been the subject of avid interest and curiosity for nearly fifty years. Today, scholars agree on their significance but disagree on who produced them. They debate specific passages of individual scrolls and are still assessing their impact on the foundations of Judaism and Christianity.

 

 

So, Anglican Bishops say "Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is not Son of God" and The Dead Sea Scrolls say that the title "'Son of God' is also used for another person other than Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –."

 

 

 

Final Knock Out

 

 

   Let us tackle with the point of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – being a "GOD", as "Trinity" has the most important ingredient of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – as being among the Godheads of Trinity. 

 

There are numerous accounts in the New Testament which deny Jesus’ – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him –divinity.

 

In John, Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – says:

 

"The Father is greater than I." John 14:28

 

By stating that the “Father” is greater than himself, Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – distinguishes himself from God. Also in John 20:17, Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – told Mary Magdalene to tell his followers:

 

"I ascend unto my Father and your Father; and to my God and your God." John 20:17  

 

Jesus’ – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – reference to God as “my Father and your Father” further emphasizes the distinction between himself and God. Furthermore, by referring to God as “his God”, he left no room for anyone to intelligently claim that he was God. 

 

Even in some of the writings of Paul, which the Church has taken to be sacred, Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is referred to as a “man”, distinct and different from God. In 1st Timothy, 2:5, Paul writes:

 

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1-Timothy 2:5

 

In Soorah al-A`râf Allah also directed Prophet Muhammad – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – to acknowledge that the time of the Judgment is known only to Him.

 

"They ask you about the Final Hour: 'When will its appointed time be?' Say: 'Knowledge of it is with my Lord. None can reveal its time besides Him.'" Holy Qur’ân 7:187 (Emphasis mine)

 

 

In the Gospel according to Mark 13:31-32, Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is also reported to have denied having knowledge of when the final hour of this world would be, saying:

 

 

"Heaven and the earth shall pass away but my word shall not pass away, but of that day or hour no man knoweth, neither the angels in the heaven nor the Son but the Father." Mark 13:31-32 (Emphasis mine)

 

 

One of the attributes of God is Omniscience, knowledge of all things. Therefore, his denial of knowledge of the Day of Judgment is also a denial of divinity, for one who does not know the time of the final hour cannot possibly be God.

 

 

   As, for the final knock out point for this article,

 

 

You see, it is easy to claim something about anyone but hard to prove it. Same is the fact with this issue of Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – being claimed as God by the Christendom.

 

 

To analyze this issue, we first ask the Christians few very basic and most simple questions

 

 

·        Did Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – CLAIMED to be a God?

 

The answer is "NO".

 

·        Now, when a person who didn’t claimed to be a God, why wasting your breath upon him?

·        Why wasting your time in proving a person as God, who himself didn’t do?

 

 

On the contrary, let me give you a very interesting and gleaming verse from the Bible, in which Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – himself gives the final knock out to all the beliefs of the people, concerning, whether declaring him as God or even putting him near to God.

 

 

In Matthew, Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – responded to one person, who calls upon him:

 

 

"And behold, one came up to him, saying, 'O good master, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life (paradise)?' And he said to him, 'Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God.'" Matthew 19:16-17 (Emphasis mine)

 

If he rejected being called “good” and stated that only God is truly good, he clearly implies that he is not God.

 

Notice here that, Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – becomes uncomfortable at being called as good. Yet, further, he justifies his uncomfortability by stating that Only God is good. This is a classic example of circular reasoning. We can imagine a conversation between Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – and a more critical questioner:

 

 

 

 

Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is making a very logical clearance over here:

 

·        Don’t call me good, because, it is God who is to be called good.

·        I am not good, because I am not God.

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

   We have analyzed, and analyzed with proves that Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – is not God, neither did his followers ever thought him as God. And, Trinity itself is also not taught by Jesus – peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him – nor is it a Biblical doctrine.

 

In "The Dictionary of the Bible," John L. McKenzie, S.J., p. 899  bearing the Nihil Obstat, Imprimatur, and Imprimi Potest (official Church seals of approval), we read:

 

"THE TRINITY OF GOD IS DEFINED BY THE CHURCH AS THE BELIEF THAT IN GOD ARE THREE PERSONS WHO SUBSIST IN ONE NATURE. THAT BELIEF AS SO DEFINED WAS REACHED ONLY IN THE 4th AND 5th CENTURIES AD AND HENCE IS NOT EXPLICITLY AND FORMALLY A BIBLICAL BELIEF." (Emphasis mine)

 

Praise is to Almighty Allah and Peace and Blessings of Almighty Allah be upon all His Messengers.