The Trinity. Is It Real And Is It Biblical?
Contents—Click on Number to Open
1. What Jesus Taught about God- 2. Where did the godhead/trinity ancient idea come
from?
3. What the "Church Fathers" taught 4."Proof" texts ( including
the John 1:1 controversy )
5. Emperor Constantine 6.Secular Power and the early church's losing its way-
6-7-8. Developement of
un-Christian traditions 7. Conclusion.-
summary 8. References
Contents
1. What Jesus Taught about God-open-
Subheadings
- scriptures required showing separate persons
- is the holy spirit a person?
- showing the
lack of scriptural evidence for trinity.
2. Where did
the godhead/trinity ancient idea come from?
- triads of gods
- pagan dieties
- godhead is a pagan term
- laying
foundation for later thought from church fathers.
3. What the
"Church Fathers" taught
- influenced by
pagan thought
- Neoplatonisms influence
( but not actual model of trinity but an influence )
- Influence of
humanist greek philosophy ( its function as a humanist
religion aka buddhism )
- going beyond
what is written.
4. "Proof" texts ( including the John
1:1 controversy )
- Coptic texts
- how Greek is handled and misunderstood
-
proof texts quoted by trinitarians
- Use of logic to
show trinity doesn’t exist
5. Emperor
Constantine
- Who was he?
- His role in
trinity
- Was he truly christian?
- Did Christainity
become Christendom and thus the new Imperial Cult?
6-7-8. Secular Power and the early
church's losing its way
- Developement of
un-Christian traditions
7.
Conclusion.
- summary
8.
References
A
quick word from the author:
Years
ago I was exposed to christianity for the first time.
And the more I tried to understand about
God,
the muddier the waters seem to get, with doctrines and ideas about God that
seemed to get more
confusing
all the time. So I asked Yahweh, God of the Bible, revealer of secrets, to
guide my
research
to help me understand Him. After all with Yahweh God being a God of order, it
seemed
logical
all things should be easily and well understood about Him.
After
hours of prayerful and solid research, this document is the result of Gods
guidance.
I
was constantly amazed to see things appearing, to help me understand His Word.
The
trinity doctrine is everywhere, so its essential to
determine if it is indeed from God and
in
harmony with Gods word. Because if its not in harmony
with Gods word, then it isn’t from God.
Logically,
a God of order would not have messy bits and pieces hanging off His holy Word.
And
we are instructed to always test and see that things are from God, as Satan will
use
any
opportunity to sneakily direct proper worship due to God, to Satan’s false
time-waster religions,
which
would then stop people really getting to know God and His ways and what He
approves of.
This
is a LONG document, but it requires detail to get our understanding correct.
Thank
you for reading - this is a very important topic to understand.
0.
Background
The majority of
"christian" churches teach the doctrine of the trinity.
The critical question
is this - is the trinity actually Biblical?
And if the the
trinity is Biblical, can it be easily proven from the ultimate decision maker -
Gods Holy Word, the Bible?
Belief in the
Trinity is said to be essential to being christian.
See examples below:
Within the
doctrine of the trinity, God is taught as "God in three
persons/forms/substances" i.e. ( homousian ).
These are :
1 - God is God
Himself
2 - God is God
the Son ( God in the form of Jesus, as God on earth )
3 - God is the
Holy Spirit ( God in the form of the Holy Spirit, i.e.
a spiritual force with a "personality" )
God is taught as
having the 3 persons in the Godhead. But what is the Godhead?
Interestingly,
the "mystery religions" of
the
concept of a pagan godhead.
Surely with such
a supposedly critical doctrine central to being christian,
then this doctrine would be
heavily
supported and underlined in the Bible, with what the perfector of our faith,
Jesus Christ, taught
us
about God while he was on earth. That would be the most logical time to do it
so it was preserved forever
in
the Holy Scriptures ( the Bible ) for all time, for all men to know.
After all, the Son , who was first born of all creation and through whom
all things came to be, would
understand
his Father better than anyone else, correct?
Holding that
thought in our heads, let us move on.
1. What
Jesus Taught about God
- scriptures required showing separate persons
- is the holy spirit a person?
- showing the
lack of scriptural evidence for trinity.
- God is God
alone
(a) Jesus is
separate to God
But he, being full of the Holy
Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus
standing on the right hand of God,
And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing
on the right hand of God. ( Acts 7:55-56 )
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him]. ( Jhn
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ( Jhn
"There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man,
Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all." ( 1 Timothy 2:5, 6 )
"And when he was come to the other side into the country of the
Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs,
exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they
cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to
torment us before the time?" ( Matt 8:28-29 )
"Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching
Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared
greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God." ( Matt
27:54 )
"For us there is one God, the Father, from whom
are all things . . . and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all
things." ( 1 Corinthians 8:6 )
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him,
Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it]
unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. ( Matt
16:15-17)
(b) Is the Holy Spirit a person?
An important question
- what is the thing people call the Holy SSpirit? Is it another part of God as
part of the godhead?
Lets
look at Biblical words and translations of the words used when people refer to
the "holy spirit".
The Greek word
pneuma (as in pneumonia, a breathing disease) means breath or wind – the
movement of air. In other Bible translations, this word is often translated as
spirit or ghost – as in Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. However, spirit is just a
shortened form of the Latin word espiritu, which just means breath in Latin.
And ghost conveys another meaning altogether.
The most common
use of the word pneuma in the Bible is to imply an unseen
force (such as breath or wind). And the problem with translating
it as “spirit” or “ghost” is that many people have started believing that the
unseen force that is called [God’s] Holy Breath herein, is another God-like
person and part of a Divine Trinity. This can’t be true, because the only
scripture that can be used to support this theory (that is, where the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Breath are supposed to be ‘one’) is found at Matthew
28:19, which simply says that baptism should be done ‘in the name of’ (or, in
recognition of) these three, and there is good reason to believe that even
these are spurious and added in the Third Century C.E. And all other scriptures
that are used to prove the Trinity theory fail to mention the Holy Breath as
part of that group.
Notice that the
King James wording of 1 John 5:7 (which was used for years to attempt to prove
the Trinity) is definitely spurious (something that was added to the Bible).
So to prevent
confusion, the Greek word pneuma is usually translated as breath here. The only
exceptions would be in instances where the Bible refers to demons as ‘spirits,’
for translating pneuma as breath in these cases, although correct, might just
be confusing. And there are also instances where we have used the word spirit
to indicate a person’s inward inclinations or feelings.
Another
important use of the word pneuma is in the phrase, ‘Breath of Life.’ This
phrase means more than just breathing, it refers to the entire mechanics of
life itself. It’s the unseen force of life for all creatures… it’s what makes
each cell alive. However, nowhere does the Bible describe the ‘pneuma’ as
immortal, nor is it the same as the soul (a breathing thing), so it can
(figuratively) ‘return to God’ at death,’ because all hope of future life
depends on God and His promise of a resurrection. For more information, see the
attached link, The Powers of God’s Holy Spirit.
We see below the
hebrew lexicon for the Hebrew word "Ruwach" ( in
English "breath" ) - Strongs number H7307.
For completeness,
we have included the root word of "Ruwach" ( H7306
) lexicon , which also means "breath".
You will also see
in section (g) below the usage of H7307 with the Trinity. As the trinity is
based on a man-made church dogma, and not on actual Biblical translation, it is
unsound reasoning to say within a Lexicon that H3707 is part of the trinity.
This is irresponsible reverse-engineering trying to make an unproven man-made
dogma / concept back into the Bible where the evidence does not support it. It
should also be noted that many people who wrote lexicons have allowed their
personal theology into these lexicons.
Lexicon
Results for ruwach (Strong's H7307)
Hebrew
for H7307
רוח
Transliteration
ruwach
Pronunciation
rü'·akh (Key)
Part of Speech
feminine noun
Root Word
(Etymology)
from H7306
TWOT Reference
2131a
Outline of
Biblical Usage
1) wind, breath, mind, spirit
a) breath
b) wind
1) of heaven
2) quarter (of wind), side
3) breath of air
4) air, gas
5) vain, empty thing
c) spirit (as that which breathes quickly in animation or
agitation)
1) spirit, animation, vivacity, vigour
2) courage
3) temper, anger
4) impatience, patience
5) spirit, disposition (as troubled, bitter, discontented)
6) disposition (of various kinds), unaccountable or
uncontrollable impulse
7) prophetic spirit
d)
spirit (of the living, breathing being in man and
animals)
1) as gift, preserved by God, God's spirit, departing at death,
disembodied being
e) spirit (as seat of emotion)
1) desire
2) sorrow, trouble
f) spirit
1) as seat or organ of mental acts
2) rarely of the will
3) as seat especially of moral character
g) Spirit of God,
the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with
the Father and the Son
1) as inspiring ecstatic state of prophecy
2) as impelling prophet to utter instruction or warning
3) imparting warlike energy and executive and administrative
power
4) as endowing men with various gifts
5) as energy of life
6) as manifest in the Shekinah glory
7) never referred to as a depersonalised force
Authorized
Version (KJV) Translation Count — Total: 378
AV — Spirit or
spirit 232, wind 92, breath 27, side 6, mind 5, blast 4, vain 2, air 1, anger
1, cool 1, courage 1, misc 6
Gesenius's
Lexicon (Help)
Lexicon
Results for ruwach (Strong's H7306)
Hebrew for
H7306
ריח
Transliteration
ruwach
Pronunciation
rü'·akh (Key)
Part of Speech
verb
Root Word (Etymology)
a primitive
root
TWOT Reference
2131
Outline of
Biblical Usage
1) (Hiphil) to
smell, scent, perceive odour, accept
a) of horse
b) of delight (metaph)
Authorized
Version (KJV) Translation Count — Total: 11
AV — smell 8, touch 1, quick understanding 1, accept 1
Gesenius's
Lexicon (Help)
So we can see
that the general usage is "breath", such that the "holy
spirit" is the holy breath of God.
Interstingly is we look at
Genesis and the account of the creation of Adam and Eve we find the following :
And the LORD God formed man [of]
the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living soul.
So in this case, Gods' breath
animates / makes alive Adam after he was formed from dust.
Could we also logically then
reason that God has provided his breath to create life?
Yes it would be safe to say
that.
Logically then we could say that
- if Gods breath can bring things to life,, then it can achieve other things.
But do we see Gods breath being
given a "personality" here? no we dont. Gods beath is imperosnal.
It is an active force, which
animated / made alive a living soul through Gods application of His breath to a
pile of dust.
To put things in perspective, do
you give your own breath a name? I have never heard of such a thing. Silly idea isnt it?
God is a God of order. If He
wanted his breath to have a name, we would have been told in the Bible.
We also see at 2 Timothy 3:16,
17,
‘All the Scriptures are inspired by God and are good for teaching, for
correcting, for setting things straight, and for providing righteous
discipline. They qualify a man of God and provide him with whatever he needs to
do all sorts of good work.’
Notice that, although the Greek word
pneuma (Spirit or Breath) wasn’t used in the above scripture, it is found in
the related word TheoPneustos, or God Breathed, which we have translated as
inspired by God. Translating pneustos as inspired is particularly appropriate,
since the word in/spired means breathed in. So, any time we refer to a
particular work, person, or act as inspired, we are really implying that it
came from the Breath of God.
The English word
"inspired" literally means "produced by blowing or breathing
[into]," with the connotation that a deity is doing the breathing!
Given by inspiration of
God" literally means "given by the breath of God".
"In" obviously means "in" or "into";
"spire" comes from the Latin word for breath and is the source of our
word "spirit" (see John 3:8 and 20:22). When your breath exits your
body, you "expire." When it comes back (returns)
into you, you "respire" (usually on a respirator). When you
breathe through your skin, you "perspire." When you get close enough
to someone else that you share his breath, you "conspire." When your
breath travels, something has "transpired." Notice that all of this
can be discovered simply by looking into a dictionary; a lexicon was not
necessary.
From the Dictionary:
in·spire
Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[in-spahyuhr] Pronunciation Key -
Show IPA Pronunciation verb, -spired, -spir·ing.
–verb (used
with object)
1. to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting
influence: His courage inspired his followers.
2. to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.): to inspire
confidence in others.
3. to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought, etc.:
to inspire a person with distrust.
4. to influence or impel: Competition inspired her to greater
efforts.
5. to animate, as an influence, feeling, thought, or the like,
does: They were inspired by a belief in a better future.
6. to communicate or suggest by a divine or supernatural
influence: writings inspired by God.
7.
to guide or control by divine influence.
8. to prompt or instigate (utterances, acts, etc.) by
influence, without avowal of responsibility.
9. to give rise to, bring about, cause, etc.: a philosophy that
inspired a revolution.
10. to take (air, gases, etc.) into the lungs in breathing;
inhale.
11. Archaic.
a. to infuse
(breath, life, etc.) by breathing (usually fol. by into).
b. to breathe
into or upon.
–verb (used
without object)
12. to give inspiration.
13. to inhale.
Origin:
1300–50; ME inspiren < L inspīrāre to breathe upon or into, equiv.
to in- in-2 + spīrāre to breathe]
Also the root
of "inspire" as a word : inspiration
c.1303,
"immediate influence of God or a god," especially that under which
the holy books were written, from O.Fr. inspiration,
from L.L. inspirationem (nom. inspiratio), from L. inspiratus, pp. of inspirare
"inspire, inflame, blow into," from in-"in" + spirare
"to breathe" (see spirit). Inspire in this sense is c.1340, from
O.Fr. enspirer, from L. inspirare, a loan-transl. of
Gk. pnein in the Bible. General sense of "influence or animate with an
idea or purpose" is from 1390. Inspirational is 1839 as "influenced
by inspiration;" 1884 as "tending to inspire."
A final word-
The words that many Bibles
translate as ‘Spirit’ or ‘Ghost’ are Ruach (in Hebrew) and Pneuma (in Greek),
and both words mean (and should be translated as) Breath or Wind.
However, the Bible also
occasionally uses these words to mean a person’s attitude or leaning, where the
words breath and wind would make no sense in English, so in such places we have
left it translated into the Latin word for Breath, Spirit (espiritu).
From an online Latin dictionary :
spiritus -us, m. breathing,
breath, exhalation; a sigh; the breath of life, life; inspiration; spirit,
disposition; a high spirit, pride.
In Luke
However, if we look at the
original Greek workds, we see the phrase usually translated "holy
ghost" is in fact "breath" as in Gods breath.
English Strong's Greek (Root
form) Tense
(Click on any item below for
Concordance)
|
And [2532] |
kai |
|
the angel [32] |
aggelos |
|
answered [611] |
apokrinomai |
|
and said [2036] |
epo |
|
unto her, [846] |
autos |
|
The Holy [40] |
hagios |
|
Ghost [4151] |
pneuma |
|
shall come [1904] |
eperchomai |
|
upon [1909] |
epi |
|
thee, [4571] |
se |
|
and [2532] |
kai |
|
the power [1411] |
dunamis |
|
of the Highest [5310] |
hupsistos |
|
shall overshadow [1982] |
episkiazo |
|
thee: [4671] |
soi |
|
therefore [1352] |
dio |
|
also [2532] |
kai |
|
that holy thing [40] |
hagios |
|
which shall be born [1080] |
gennao |
|
of [1537] |
ek |
|
thee [4675] |
sou |
|
shall be called [2564] |
kaleo |
|
the Son [5207] |
huios |
|
of
God. [2316] |
theos |
(c) Lack of scriptural evidence
for the the trinity.
Let us ask a simple, logical and
powerful question about the trinity :
(a) God is a God of order, as
revealed in His laws, methods, and the methodical way He created the earth , and;
(b) He is wise, fair and loving,
and;
(c) He sent His son, Jesus
Christ to persoanlly walk the earth to explain Him and His kingdom to all men,
and;
(d) He left His word preserved
in the Bible as declared directly from Jesus Christ and His Apostles, and;
(e) There is NO mention of a
trinity by word or direct teaching , and;
(f ) He
is Truth and cannot lie, and;
(g) He warned
us through Jesus Christ that we should avoid the doctrines of men and test all
we hear to make sure it is scripturally sound
- then how,
in any logical way, with our reasoning based on the Scriptures, expect the
dogma of the trinity to be any part of the Christian faith?
- No where in the Bible is the
word "Trinity" ever mentioned. Not once.
(d) God is God ALONE
"I am Yahweh
your God . . . You shall have no gods except me." (
Exodus 20:2, 3 )
"I am the
Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to
another, nor My praise to graven images." ( Isaiah
42:8 )
"God is
only one." ( Gallatians
"…the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him…" (Deu