What is the source of the Christian concept of 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..." (Quran 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 outside 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
saved 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, plus one person, God the Son, plus one person, God the Holy
Ghost, equals 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 this "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 1 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 didn't 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 1 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" (Quran 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."[1]
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 Quran 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 verses
in the Quran most often cited by Christians in support of their
accusation, shows that the designation of Mary by the Quran as a
"member" of the Trinity, is simply not true.
While the Quran does condemn both trinitarianism (the Quran 4:171;
5:73)[2] and the worship of Jesus and his mother Mary (the Quran 5:116)
[3], nowhere does it identify the actual three components of the
Christian Trinity. The position of the Quran is that WHO or WHAT
comprises this doctrine is not important; what is important is that
the very notion of a Trinity is an affront against the concept of One
God.
In conclusion, we see that the doctrine of the Trinity is a concept
conceived entirely by man; there is no sanction whatsoever from God to
be found regarding the matter simply because the whole idea of a
Trinity of divine beings has no place in monotheism. In the Quran,
God's Final Revelation to 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." (Quran 18:110)
"... take not, with God, another object of worship, lest you should be
thrown into Hell, blameworthy and rejected." (Quran 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) ..." (Quran 21:92)
Footnotes:
[1] What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims (Library of
Islam, 1985) (pp. 183-184)
[2] "O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion
or say about God except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of
Mary, was but a Messenger of God and His word which He directed to
Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in God
and His messengers. And do not say, 'Three'; desist--it is better for
you. Indeed, God is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son.
To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the
earth. And sufficient is God as Disposer of affairs." (Quran 4:171)
[3] "And [beware the Day] when God will say, 'O Jesus, Son of Mary,
did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides
God?' 'He will say, 'Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that
to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it.
You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within
Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen.' (Quran
5:116)
see this site for more information
www.sultan.org
who invented the trinity 
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