[Jaysh]

http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/is...cal_teachings_

Is the Trinity Logically Coherent In Light of Biblical Teachings?

By

Bassam Zawadi

Christian philosophers and apologists have spent a great deal of time trying to make sense out of the Trinity. Below are some of the several attempts that Christians have taken while tackling the issue of the Trinity's logical incoherence:


http://www.reasonablefaith.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5909
http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/trinity_brief.htm
http://www.dtl.org/trinity/article/contradiction.htm
http://www.bible.ca/trinity/trinity-false-dilemmas.htm
http://www.carm.org/islam/obj_trinity.htm


However, after reading all of the above mentioned articles you would realize that what these Christians are doing is redefining or putting forth the notion of Trinity in a way that could be possible for it to be logically comprehended. They don't come up with the concept of the Trinity in light of the Bible and then see if it is logically coherent. Rather, they do the exact opposite. They try to formulate the Trinity in a way that it is logical and then say that this is what the Bible teaches.

However, what we should be interested in knowing is whether the concept of Trinity is logically coherent in light of what the Bible teaches.

What do Christians mean when they say that they believe in one God? They will say that they believe that God is one being (not one person) and this one being is manifested in three different persons. They will say that God is one being with three centers of consciousness, souls, personhoods, etc.

So it can be understood as follows:

-God is one being.
-This one being is manifested in three different persons.
-So when we Christians say that God is one, we are not emphasizing his oneness of personhood, rather we are emphasizing his oneness of being.

Furthermore they will say:

-The Father is truly God.
-The Son is truly God.
-The Holy Spirit is truly God.
-These are not three Gods, but three different persons who share the essence of that one being who is God.


Do the above statements make any sense? What do they mean when they say that there is one being who is God, but three different persons who share that one being's essence?

That is as illogical as me saying:


-Ahmed is a human being.
-Khalid is a human being.
-Ayman is a human being.
-These are not three human beings, but three different persons who share ONE essence, which is human.

Obviously no one says that one essence "human" is being shared by seven billion people on Earth today. Rather, we say that there are seven billion human beings on Earth today.

Similarly, we can't say that there are three different persons sharing the one essence of God, but that there are three different Gods in light of what the Trinity teaches.

Now this argument probably won't convince Christians, since they would probably go on and reply back saying "Our logic is too limited to grasp the paradox of the Trinity".

Well, if philosophical objections won't work then let us try to pose a theological objection to the concept of Trinity by taking a look at what the Bible says.

(continued....)

[Jaysh]

(...continued)

According to Christians:

-The Father is truly God.
-The Son is truly God.
-The Holy Spirit is truly God.

There is nothing irrational about the above statement (if we were to assume that it teaches three different Gods). Similarly, the following statement is also logical:

-Ahmed is a human being.
-Khalid is a human being.
-Ayman is a human being.


However, an irrational statement would be:

-Ahmed is the only human being.
-Khalid is the only human being.
-Ayman is the only human being.

Now this is definitely irrational. How is it possible for Ahmed and Khalid at the same time to be the only human being? Anyone could clearly see that these two beliefs are mutually exclusive and it cannot logically be possible for both of them tobe true at the same time.

What does the Bible say about God the Father (first person in the Trinitarian God head)?

It says this:

John 17:3

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.


Notice how the Father is being referred to as THE ONLY TRUE GOD. Thus, we are required to restate the formulation of the Trinity as follows:


-The Father is the only true God.
-The Son is truly God.
-The Holy Spirit is truly God.


But just as we saw with the previous example, this is logically impossible. How is it possible for the Father to be the ONLY trueGod, while at the same time the Son and Holy Spirit are God as well? If the Son and Holy Spirit are God as well, then it is false to say that the Father is the ONLY trueGod. Similarly, if we say that the Father is the ONLY trueGod(how clearer can it get for someone to express Unitarianism?) then we can't say that anyone else (i.e. Son and Holy Spirit) is God as well.

It would also be ludicrous for someone to reformulate the Trinity as follows:

-The Father is the only true God.
-The Son is the only true God.
-The Holy Spirit is the only true God.


Since it would be necessary for atleast two of the above three statements to be false. It is not possible for any one of the persons (Father, Son or Holy Spirit) to be the ONLY trueGod at the same time when the other two are God as well.

Thus, in light of John 17:3 we see that the concept of Trinity is logically incoherent.

Sure, Christians can redefine the Trinity in a way that it could be make sense, but the problem with this would be that their understanding of the Trinity is not scripturally based. It would only be the product of their human thoughts. However, in light of the Bible (with it being authoritative to most Christians) we can safely say that the Trinity is logically incoherent. It is not simply a matter of it being beyond our logic, but AGAINST our logic. If it is AGAINST our logic then that means that it is a false belief.

Muslims, thank Allah Almighty that you are blessed to be following a rational religion.

[riad19]

dude, u need to get married. should i look for a nice western girl with eastern values for you.

[jinnzaman]

If you assume that god is an omnipotent being, the trinity isn't all that complicated.

Also, there are aspects of our aqeedah that are "mysterious" such as "Allah has a hand but its not like the hand of creation."