David C Pack of The Restored Church of God presents a lengthy bible based teaching over 7 videos, challenging the widespread belief of a triune God in Christianity. As Pastor General of The Restored Church of God, David C. Pack oversees the world’s most extensive biblically based websites. He attended Ambassador College, entered the Worldwide Church of God ministry in 1971 and was personally trained by Herbert W. Armstrong.
He has established over 50 congregations, authored over 80 books and booklets, a vast array of articles, and appeared on The History Channel. As Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of The Real Truth magazine and voice of The World to Come program, he has reached many millions around the globe with the most powerful truths of the Bible. Apart from his videos on this subject, you can also read about his debunking the trinity doctrine here.
The current mainstream teaching in Christianity is that God is a
coequal, coeternal, one-substance trinity, and that Yeshua too ( Jesus)
is God. This doctrine is considered by many as the cornerstone of
Christianity, but where did this doctrine come from? The historical
record is overwhelming that the church of the first three centuries did
not worship God as a coequal, coeternal, consubstantial, one-substance
three in one mysterious godhead.
The early church worshipped one God and
believed in a subordinate Son. The trinity originated with Babylon and
was passed on to most of the world's religions. 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 Yeshua ( Jesus ) .
__________________________________________________________________________________ There are a number of books written on the subject of the trinity. Here are a few :
The Trinity's Weak Link Revealed
The hub of Christendom
claims the trinity teaching to be the “central doctrine of the
Christian religion.” On the other hand, many in Christendom readily
admit the complete opposite. Jesuit Edmund Fortman says, “There is no
evidence that any sacred writer even suspected the existence of a
[Trinity] within the Godhead … New Testament writers … give us no formal
or formulated doctrine of the Trinity.”
Hence, there is obvious
disagreement and disunity amongst Trinitarians themselves. The reasons
for their confusion are revealed through the uncovering of ‘weak links’
located in the Trinity ______________________________________________________
This book is about the problem of truth: what truth is,
and
how we can tell whether what we have said is true. Bruce Marshall
approaches this problem from the standpoint of Christian theology, and
especially that of the doctrine of the Trinity. The book offers a
full-scale theological account of what truth is and whether Christians
have adequate grounds for regarding their beliefs as true. Unlike most
theological discussions of these issues, the book is also extensively
engaged with the modern philosophical debate about truth and belief.
The
absolute uni-personality of God is the first principle of the Jewish
Scriptures and the New Testament. Trinitarian Christians do not deny
that there is one God, but differ as to the absolute unity of God. They
speak of the Godhead as a Trinity composed of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. Trinitarianism maintains that the term God includes not
only the Father, but Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Yet, even the New
Testament shows that Jesus was a person as distinct from God as the
disciples were distinct from him.
God Is One & Christ Is All
This
book thoroughly exposes, in understandable language, the un-biblical
nature of the Trinity. The development of the Trinity is called to
account for adopting pagan, philosophical and even anti-Christian
(Gnostic) views of God and Christ.
The concepts underpinning the
Trinity are openly listed and dealt with and compared with Biblical
concepts. The ultimate goal for this book, of course, is to restore
believers in Christ to the simple, pure, undiluted faith once delivered
by Jesus Christ through his apostles.
The Doctrine Of The Trinity
This
book is a definitive presentation of a Christology rooted, as it
originally was, in the Hebrew Bible. The authors present a
sharply-argued appeal for an understanding of God and Jesus in the
context of the original Christian documents. The authors challenge the
notion that biblical monotheism is legitimately represented by a
Trinitarian view of God and demonstrate that within the bounds of the
canon of Scripture Jesus is confessed as Messiah, Son of God, but not
God Himself. Later Christological developments beginning in the second
century misrepresented the biblical doctrine of God and Christ by
altering the terms of the biblical presentation of the Father and Son.
___________________________________________________________________________________ Non Christians ridicule Christians for believing in the trinity
Too bad Christian don’t actually read the Bible and think for themselves. They need to believe, they are fearful little people that need to follow others and they will continue to be used and abused for it.
Read full article by True Logic
___________________________________________________________________________________
Muslims & Ex Christians ridicule the concept of the trinity
Both
secular historians and Bible scholars readily admit that the doctrine
of the trinity was not official church teaching until the council of
Nicaea in the year 325 of our common era. The New Catholic Encyclopedia,
1967, Vol. 14, concedes, "The formulation ‘one G-d 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… Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even
remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective." The early
Apostolic Fathers had no concept of a triune reading here.
relationship among the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is also freely admitted that the
doctrine was not established until 400 years after the Saviour’s
resurrection. This fact can only cause us to ask, if this were a key
truth known by YAHUSHUA the Messiah and the apostles, why is there no
evidence of it in their teachings or writings? And if the doctrine of
the Trinity is not of Biblical origin, where did it come from? Continue
Doctrine of the trinity
3 centuries after Yeshua ( Jesus ) emperor Constantine forced
the minority opinion of the trinity upon the council of Nicea.
The
history of religion has always been one of degeneration from the
originally revealed pure monotheism to various forms of polytheism.
"Christianity," as popularly known, has been no exception. The first
scriptural principle to be considered, when approaching the matter from a
scriptural point of view, is the oneness of God. God is constantly,
repeatedly, and emphatically stated to be ONE, never three. There is
never a word anywhere in the scripture from beginning to end about such
Greek metaphysics as "Three persons in the Godhead" or any such
language. continue reading
If
Paganism was conquered by Christianity, it is equally true that
Christianity was corrupted by Paganism. The pure Deism of the first
Christians was changed by the Church of Rome, into the incomprehensible
dogma of the Trinity. Many of the pagan tenets, invented by the
Egyptians and idealized by Plato, were retained as being worthy of
belief.
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. But nowhere
do we find any trinitarian doctrine of three distinct subjects of
divine life and activity in the same Godhead.
All
Pagan religions from the time of Babylon have adopted in one form or
another a Trinity doctrine or a triad or trinity of gods. In Babylon it
was Nimrod, Semiramas, and Tammuz. In Egypt it was Osiris, Isis, and
Horus. Within Israel paganism it was Kether, Hokhmah, and Binah. In
Plato's philosophy it was the Unknown Father, Nous/Logos, and the world
soul. In the book, A Statement of Reasons, Andrews Norton says of the
Trinity: We can trace the history of this doctrine, and discover its
source, not in the Christian revelation, but in the Platonic philosophy …
The Trinity is not a doctrine of Jesus and his Apostles, but a fiction
of the school of the later Platonists.
Historians also know that the trinity doctrine is not authorized in the New Testament.
There
is no evidence the Apostles of Jesus ever heard of a Trinity. The Bible
does not teach the doctrine of the Trinity. Neither the word Trinity
itself, nor such language as one in three, three in one, one essence or
substance or three persons, is biblical language. The language of the
doctrine is the language of the ancient Church, taken not from the Bible
but from classical Greek philosophy.
Long before the
founding of Christianity the idea of a triune god or a god-in-three
persons was a common belief in ancient religions. Although many of these
religions had many minor deities, they distinctly acknowledged that
there was one supreme God who consisted of three persons or essences.
The Babylonians used an equilateral triangle to represent this
three-in-one god, now the symbol of the modern three-in-one believers.
The Greek triad was composed of Zeus, Athena and Apollo. These three
were said by the pagans to 'agree in one.' One of the largest pagan
temples built by the Romans was constructed at Ballbek (situated in
present day Lebanon) to their Trinity of Jupiter, Mercury and Venus. In
Babylon the planet Venus was revered as special and was worshipped as a
Trinity consisting of Venus, the moon and the sun. This triad became the
Babylonian holy Trinity in the fourteenth century before Christ.
Although other religions for thousands of years before Christ was born
worshipped a triune god, the Trinity was not a part of Christian dogma
and formal documents of the first three centuries after Christ. That
there was no formal, established doctrine of the Trinity until the
fourth century is a fully documented historical fact.
Clearly,
historians of church dogma and systematic theologians agree that the
idea of a Christian Trinity was not a part of the first century church.
The twelve apostles never subscribed to it or received revelation about
it. So how then did a trinitarian doctrine come about? It gradually
evolved and gained momentum in late first, second and third centuries as
pagans, who had converted to Christianity, brought to Christianity some
of their pagan beliefs and practices.
When we turn to
the problem of the doctrine of the Trinity, we are confronted by a
peculiarly contradictory situation. On the one hand, the history of
Christian theology and of dogma teaches us to regard the dogma of the
Trinity as the distinctive element in the Christian idea of God, that
which distinguishes it from the idea of God in Judaism and in Islam, and
indeed, in all forms of rational Theism. Judaism, Islam, and rational
Theism are Unitarian. On the other hand, we must honestly admit that the
doctrine of the Trinity did not form part of the early Christian-New
Testament-message. Certainly, it cannot be denied that not only the word
"Trinity", but even the EXPLICIT IDEA of the Trinity is absent from the
apostolic witness of the faith.. The doctrine of the Trinity itself,
however, is not a Biblical Doctrine.
Since the doctrine is unscriptural, it took an emperor to make Christianity start embracing the concept.
It
was at this stage that Constantine made his momentous suggestion. Might
not the relationship of Son to Father be expressed by the term
homoousios ("of the same substance"). Its use, however, by the Sabellian
bishops of Libya had been condemned by Dionysius of Alexandria in the
260s, and, in a different sense, its use by Paul of Samosata had been
condemned by the Council of Antioch in 268. It was thus a "loaded" word
as well as being unscriptural. Why Constantine put it forward we do not
know. The possibility is that once again he was prompted by Hosius, and
he may have been using it as a "translation" of the traditional view
held in the West, that the Trinity was composed of "Three Persons in one
substance," without inquiring further into the meaning of these terms.
The Emperor had spoken, and no one dared touch the creed during his
lifetime. The great majority of the Eastern bishops found themselves in a
false position.There is only one passage in the Authorized Version of
the Bible used by Trinitarians to support their view.
I
John 5:7-8, 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. AV
Editors
added the bracketed words in the early fourth century to the Latin
Vulgate translation. They are not in the older Greek manuscripts. For
this reason, modern translations omit them. Bible commentaries explain
that these words were never in the apostle John's manuscript or any
existing early copies of it.How does the Trinity Doctrine apply to
mankind?God's PURPOSE in having created humanity – is to reproduce GOD.
God is not merely one Person, nor even limited to a "Trinity," but God is FAMILY. The doctrine of the Trinity is not a family.-
Taken from : The Reluctant Messenger
For more resources & information on the subject, visit the links below:
Is God a Closed Trinity Or An Open Family?
The Doctrine Of The Trinity
Is The Doctrine Of Trinity Biblical?
Disproving The Trinity
God is not 3 guys in the sky
An appeal to trinitarian christians
Trinity by John W. Ritenbaugh
Since I was born again in 1987, I have always believed in
the concept of the trinity because I was born into a congregation that
taught this doctrine. Every Christian I knew held this view too and it
seems like a sound doctrine that did not require any question or
examination - until I stumbled upon some articles on the Internet that
questioned its veracity . After a period of time searching the
scriptures on this subject, on Nov 21, 2011, I had a strong '
impression' that Yahweh God was One . It brought great relief to me .
Now I didnt need to grapple with the doctrine of God as existing in
three persons and one substance which is not demonstrable by logic or
Scriptural proof . If you scroll down further, you will see how this
trinity idea is ridiculed by non-Christians, Christians who have left
the church & became muslims as well as muslim theologians - all of
whom are well versed with the Bible . How did this doctrine which is
practiced by pagans & the Roman Catholic church creep into the
Protestant church ? We should all do some study on the history of
christianity & educate ourselves on this matter.
What
we should all note first is that the word
“trinity” doesn’t
exist anywhere in the Bible. Neither is there the term " triune God' .
Neither is there a sentence to say that God is three persons in one
substance. NOWHERE in the Bible is God referred to as “Substance”.
However, it does say that God is Spirit & there are numerous
scriptures which make it clear that God
is One & not a trinity. For example:
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesuswho gave Himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time” (I Tim. 2:5-6).
Not
much to argue here, perfectly clear that God is not a Trinity .Some
Christians will attempt to claim that 1 John 5:7 proves the doctrine of
the Trinity. Lets read it : “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
But get this!!! The words “in heaven, the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost” are words that do not appear in
many translations of the Bible but the King James added it. Look at the same Scripture in the Concordant Literal New
Testament, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, New Translation
by James Moffatt, and others. In fact, The Emphatic Diaglott translation has a footnote:
“This
text concerning the heavenly witnesses [as found in some versions] is
NOT contained in ANY Greek manuscript which was written earlier than the
15th century. It is not cited by ANY of the Greek ecclesiastical
writers; nor by ANY of the early Latin fathers…”
What about the following Scripture that some claim is proof of the Trinity?
“I and the Father, We are one” John 10:30.
What the above sentence means is I and the Fatherr, We are one in purposse . It does NOT say “I and the Father, We are ONE God”
But the Scriptures do tell us that there is but ONE God. Not a God of
three parts, not three Gods, not two Gods. NOWHERE does it state there
is a Trinity. What about this Scripture?
“For even if so be
that there are those being termed gods, whether in heaven or on earth,
even as there are many gods and many lords, nevertheless for US there is
ONE God, the father, out of Whom all is, and we for Him, and ONE LORD,
Jesus Christ, through Whom all is, and we through Him” (I Cor. 8:5-6).
Check out the next verse:
“But not in all is there this knowledge”
Yup, we should all ask hard questions about why we believe what we do
and check whether its biblical. Here are some other articles, great
videos and links to books written on this subject. I hope they will make
you more aware of this subject .
___________________________________________________________________________________
For
nearly 2,000 years the church has taught the doctrine of the Trinity.
Astoundingly, nowhere in the Bible can we find the word Trinity, and
even the concept of three beings in one heavenly majesty is just as
difficult to come by in the Scriptures.
Jay P. Green’s
Classic Bible Dictionary says about the word trinity, "This is not
itself a Biblical term, but was a term coined by Tertullian to refer to
this whole concept under one word" (p. 483). The Cyclopedia of Biblical,
Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature says forthrightly,
"Respecting the manner in which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
make one G-d, the Scripture teaches nothing, since the subject is of
such a nature as not to admit of its being explained to us" ("Trinity,"
p. 553). The doctrine of the Trinity is often defined in the following
terms: "The holy trinity is one supreme being existing in three persons,
all equal in rank and in eternity and having the same substance, all
united in one Godhead."
When pressed to explain it from
the Bible, clergymen usually respond with something like, "It is a
great mystery and no one can really understand it." This leads us to
ask, would YAHUAH give man a key teaching that could not be understood?
How could He teach us a concept that is absent in the Scriptures?
Regardless
of these facts, the belief in a co-equal and co-eternal Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit is so pervasive and ingrained that few any longer question its origins and legitimacy.In some congregations, It has even become a test belief to determine whether one is of the faith called Christianity.
Did we get our facts wrong on this page ? We would like to be factual as
we can on Detox . If there is any information here that is inaccurate, please inform us . All constructive criticism will be appreciated.
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