Biblical Arguments Against the Trinity
Making Sense of the Bible Without Believing in Trinitariansm
Jun 20, 2009
The word "Trinity" does not appear in the Bible, but was defined in the first Nicene Council of 325 A.D. to reconcile Biblical teachings that there is one God with other Biblical references to a distinct Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But the Bible poses issues that may not be fully answered or addressed by the doctrine of the Trinity.
Orthodox Definition of the Trinity - the Athanasian Creed
The orthodox definition of the Trinity comes from a 4th century document known as the Athanasian Creed. Its authorship is not certain, but the creed was the result of decades of intense theological debate on the subject of the Godhead. The Athanasian Creed comprises three main points:
- The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. All three are the infinite substance which is God.
- However, the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. They are three distinct beings, each with their own roles.
- There is no subordination within the Trinity. All three parts are co-eternal and co-equal.
To better understand the doctrine of the Trinity, see the Scutum Fidei (Holy Shield) diagrams below. Click on each image to see it larger.
Jesus Christ's Resurrected Body and the Trinity
Some issues, like Christ's bodily resurrection, are not quite settled by Trinitarianism. The tomb was empty at Jesus' resurrection, after which He approached His disciples in Luke 24:36-43, saying "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."
He then ate fish before them to prove that he was truly resurrected in body as well as in spirit. Philippians 3:20-21 also speaks of Christ's "glorious body."
According to the Scutum Fidei diagram, the fact that the Son has a body has no bearing on the person of the Father and the Holy Spirit. However, it does follow that if the Son has a body, the essence of God also has a body. But most Christian denominations actually believe that God is an infinite, non-corporeal essence.
Subordination Within the Trinity
Orthodox Trinitarianism asserts that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are also co-equals, but plenty of Bible verses show subordination among them:
- Jesus Christ calls the Father "my father" (Luke 22:2) and the Father calls Jesus Christ "my beloved Son" (Mark 1:11). The father-son relationship is not based on equality.
- Jesus Christ submitted to the will of the Father (Matt 26:39.) The fact that Christ prays to the the Father at all signifies an unequal relationship.
- The Father "sent" the son to the world (1 John 4:10.)
- The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son (John 14:26, John 15:26.)
Jesus Christ as the Son of God
Trinitarianism states that even though the Father and Son are distinct persons, God and the Son are the same divine being. But in John 11:4 Jesus Christ calls himself "the Son of God," not just the son of the Father. Christ's disciples after His death also preached that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" (John 20:31; see also Acts 9:20, 2 Corinthians 1:19.)
In many places in the New Testament, the Son is also said to sit at the "right hand of God," not just at the right hand of the Father (Acts 7:55-56, Mark 16:19, Acts 2:33, Romans 8:34.)
Reconciling John 17:22 with the Concept of a Holy Trinity
Perhaps the hardest Biblical verse to reconcile with the Trinity is John 17:22, which reads "that they may be one, even as we are one." Christ is praying for the faithful believers to be one with each other in the same sense that the Father and the Son are one. In keeping with the Trinity, this would have to mean that Christ is praying for all believers to become one entity or being.
These issues show that there may be more to the relationship of the members of the Godhead than the Trinity can answer. Most Christians accept the Trinity as doctrine, but many churches such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists, Christian Unitarians, the Unification Church, and others have developed alternate explanations about the identity of God.
Source:
The Holy Bible, King James Version. Salt Lake City: Intellectual Reserve, 1979.
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