Monday, April 25, 2011

Is the Trinity Biblical?

Many Muslims claim that Christians are polytheists because Muslims do not believe such a thing as the trinity could ever be possible.  The Qur'an does say in surah 5:73, "They do blaspheme who say God is one of three,... for there is no God except one God."  It may be surprising to some, but as a Christian, I agree with surah 5:73.  God is not one of three gods.  He is three beads-of-water.jpggods in one.

It is true that the word "trinity" is never once mentioned in the Bible.  However, there are several verses in Biblical scripture that confirm such a belief.  The Lord is incomprehensible.  We will never be able to understand His entire being.  Because of that, He has shown us Himself through three pictures: as a Father, as a Son, and as a Spirit.  There are many verses in Scripture that reference the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three unique entities but as one unified being.  I'll list a few of them at the bottom of this page.

Christians firmly believe in absolute monotheism.  Deuteronomy 6:4 says, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!"

I read this in a book called "More Than A Prophet" and loved it, so I thought I'd share it here.  "Skeptics have said that Christianity defies logic, making 1+1+1=1?  This is a misunderstanding.  The Trinity is not a triplex (by ice-cube-tray-400x600.jpgaddition) but a triunity (by multiplication).  'His one essence has multiple personalities.  Thus, there is no more of a mathematical problem in conceiving the Trinity than there is in understanding 1 to the third power (1³)' (Answering Islam, 282)" (More than a Prophet, 341-45).

Christians and Muslims both believe in Jesus Christ.  As a Christian, I believe Jesus Christ is God and the Messiah, while Muslims believe Him to be a prophet, similar to Muhammad.  Most Muslims believe the Injil -the first four Gospels of the Bible- to be a message of truth from the Lord.  If Jesus Christ is a prophet, He cannot be a deliberate liar, can He?  In John 10:30, Jesus said to a group of people, "I and the Father are One" and was nearly stoned by the Jews for His words because He was calling Himself God.

A prophet of the Lord would not be a blasphemer, would He?  Either Jesus was blasphemous or He was telling the truth.  In Matthew 16:16-17, when Peter said, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God," Jesus did not rebuke him as one who was only a prophet would.  Instead, He commended Peter and said, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven."

steam oh steam jpgIf Jesus was a prophet, He must have been telling the truth in what He said and in order for Him to be telling the truth, He must be God.

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Agree?  Disagree?  Feel free to share your opinions in the comments, so long as you are civil and respectful.  Otherwise your comment will be deleted.

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Here are a few verses that reference the trinity-
+ 1 Peter 1:1-2
+ John 1:1-2
+ Colossians 2:9
+ Matthew 10:18-20
+ Acts 5:3-9
+ 1 Corinthians 1:21-22
+ 2 Corinthians 13:14     

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