The Trinity - Fact or Fiction?
By Frank Brown
One of the most cherished doctrines of the Christian Church is the doctrine of the Trinity - the belief that "God," the supreme being of the universe, is divided into three parts, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. To most, if a person does not believe in the trinity, he is not a true Christian.
If this doctrine is true, then we should be able to prove it from the Bible; if it is not true, then we should be able to disprove it from the same source. But where did this belief originate? Let us examine a little history.
The concept of a triune godhead is found in the history of ancient religions, beginning with that of the Chaldeans and Babylonians. It originated with the trio of Nimrod, his wife Semiramis, and their son, Tammuz. According to Alexander Hislop's book, The Two Babylons, the pagan religion founded by this trio spread from Babylonia to Assyria, Egypt, and other places in the Middle East, thence to Greece and Rome. And from there it was adopted into Christianity within the first few decades of Yahshua's death and resurrection. Upon Nimrod's death, his wife Semiramis spread the deception that he had become the sun-god, and was to be worshipped as such. This is the origin of Sun-day worship. There is much more information in this book than can be commented on here. If you want to study in more detail the origin of many of today's Christian customs, I suggest you get a copy of this book. It might be found in libraries, or in religious bookstores. It was written about 150 years ago, and has been revised two or three times since then.
Another source of information is "Fossilized Customs,"5th Edition, by Lew White. It can be ordered for $9.95 plus 10% shipping from Fossilized Customs, 2325 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY 40205-2120.
Nimrod, a great-grandson of Noah, was the world's first tyrant. He established the kingdom of Babylon, and proceeded to move people into cities for their "protection." Read about Nimrod in Genesis 10.
In verse 6, Ham begat Cush and others, and in verse 8, Cush begat Nimrod, who "…began to be a mighty one in the earth." Verse 9 tells us that he was a mighty hunter before Yahweh. An examination of this word in the Hebrew shows a great variety of meanings, one of which means "against." Thus, Nimrod was a mighty hunter against Yahweh. He was teaching a false religion, passing himself off as a god.
Now let's examine the Scriptures most often used to support the trinity doctrine. The night Yahshua was betrayed, He promised His disciples that after His death and ascension to the Father, He would send the "Comforter" to them.
"And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know Him; for He dwells with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:16-17).
The terminology employed here implies that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is a person, a "He." However, upon examination, we find that this word can just as well mean "it." And that is what we will find. The Holy Spirit is not another Being, a member of a "Trinity," but rather, an extension of the Father, Yahweh, and also of His Son, Yahshua the Messiah. Notice the following verses that Yahshua spoke just a few breaths later to His disciples:
(John 14:20 KJV) "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you."
He is saying that when they receive the Holy Spirit (which they did on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2), He will be actually dwelling inside their hearts and minds, in spirit. Verse 23 repeats the same thought:
(John 14:23 KJV) "Yahshua answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
This is the meaning of Jeremiah 31:31-33 (repeated in Hebrews 8:10), where He prophesied that He would "write His laws in their hearts." This is the heart and core of the New Covenant. By having the Holy Spirit dwelling in our innermost parts, we can keep the Law of Yahweh (the 10 Commandments) as He intended.
This was the promise the inspired apostle Peter spoke of in Acts 2:38: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yahshua the Messiah for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
You might think of the Holy Spirit and its relation to Yahweh and Yahshua like this: Yahweh as the generator in a power plant. He generates POWER. He IS power. Yahshua His Son, now sitting at His side, is the transformer. He transforms this power into a form we as finite creatures can use. We are the recipients. The Spirit itself is the electricity flowing through. As we exercise the Spirit, it does its work of leading and guiding us, and then flows back to the Father (maybe in the form of our prayers?), only to repeat the cycle over and over again.
All analogies fall a little short of perfection, especially when applied to the Majesty of the Universe, but maybe this one will help you understand that the Holy Spirit is not a third member (a person) of the so-called God-head. It is simply the power emanating from the Almighty, by and through which He upholds the universe He created, and intervenes in the affairs of man.
The New Testament writers did not use language that would indicate that they thought the Holy Spirit was a separate entity, as Trinitarians believe. For example, in the Gospels, the Holy Spirit is described as like a dove (Mat. 3:16, Mark 1:10, Luke 3:22, and John 1:32). Yahweh said in Acts 2:17, "I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh…" Yahshua was "full of the Holy Spirit…," Luke 4:1; Acts 2:4, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. These and other expressions show that the disciples thought of the Holy Spirit as spiritual power coming from Yahweh, and not as the third person of a Trinity.
Let's now look at one final scripture often used to support the Trinitarian doctrine. It is found in 1 John:
(1 John 5:7-8 KJV) "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. {8} And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."
This is the way this passage is recorded in the King James version of the Bible. Most other versions do not render it this way. The reason is because parts of these two verses are spurious, having been added in 1522 by a Greek translator, Erasmus. He mistook comments by Cyprian as part of the text and added it in. The King James translators copied his mistake. The passage should read as follows:
(1 John 5:7-8) "For there are three that bear record: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."
This is one of the better-known errors to be found in the King James version of Scripture. Almost all theologians are aware of it, and realize that this verse offers no support for the Trinity doctrine. Yahweh told Moses that He is ONE.
(Deut 6:4 KJV) "Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our Elohim is one Yahweh."
Yahshua quoted this same Scripture when asked what was the greatest commandment:
(Mark 12:29 KJV) "And Yahshua answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; Yahweh our Elohim is one Yahweh:"
This is admittedly a very short article on this
subject, and much more could be said. But this should give you enough so that,
if you are interested in finding out the truth of this and other popular
Christian doctrines, you have a starting place for your quest. A
desire for the truth, and a little diligence on your part, will unearth this and
other fallacies that have been pawned off on an unsuspecting public for
centuries. May you have a desire for Yahweh's true doctrines!