A Study of the Trinity

God tells us all over the Bible there he is one, and that there are none like him. Trinitarians believe that somehow three make up one, yet God never ever tells us this. Why is it that God has no problem telling us he is one, but shies away from telling us he is three in one? Below are the verses where God tells us, without doubt, that he is one.

Clear Verses to the effect that God is a Unity

Deut 4: ³⁵Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.

Deut 4: ³⁹Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

Deut 6: ⁴Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

1 Sam 2:²There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

2 Sam 7:²²Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

1 Kings 8:⁶⁰That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.

1 Chron 17:²⁰O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Isa 45:⁵I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: ⁶That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

Isa 46: ⁹Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

Mark 12:²⁹And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Note: these are just a few of many.

The above verses leave no room for doubt. God is strong in telling us who he is. Next is the list of verses where Jesus (pbuh) also tells us clearly that he is God:

The above chart is complete. There are no verses where Jesus (pbuh) clearly tells us, "I am God" or anything to that effect. Next is the chart that supports a trinity. These are the verses that Trinitarians always use to support the trinity. On the left will be the verse, on the right a rebuttal.

Verses used by Trinitarians to support the trinity	Explanation and Rebuttal of the verse (From 'what did Jesus Really Say')
1Peter 1: ²Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.	If I say: "May the genius of Einstein, the philosophy of Descartes, and the strength of Schwarzenegger be with you all" does this require all three to be joined in a "Trinity"? Does it require that Einstein is Descartes (or a different "side" of Descartes)? Does it require that Descartes is Schwarzenegger (or a different "side" of Schwarzenegger)?
1John 5: ⁷For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.	universally recognized as being a later "insertion" of the Church and all recent versions of the Bible, such as the Revised Standard Version the New Revised Standard Version, the New American Standard Bible, the New English Bible, the Phillips Modern English Bible ...etc. have all unceremoniously expunged this verse from their pages. The scripture translator Benjamin Wilson: "This text concerning the heavenly witness is not contained in any Greek manuscript which was written earlier than the fifteenth century. It is not cited by any of the ecclesiastical writers; not by any of early Latin fathers even when the subjects upon which they treated would naturally have lead them to appeal to it's authority. It is therefore evidently spurious."
2Cor 13: ¹⁴The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.	If I say: "May the genius of Einstein, the philosophy of Descartes, and the strength of Schwarzenegger be with you all" does this require all three to be joined in a "Trinity"? Does it require that Einstein is Descartes (or a different "side" of Descartes)? Does it require that Descartes is Schwarzenegger (or a different "side" of Schwarzenegger)?
Matt 28: ¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:	If ex-President George Bush told General Norman Schwarzkopf to "Go ye therefore, and speak to the Iraqis, chastising them in the name of the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union," does this require that these three countries are one physical country? They may be one in purpose and in their goals but this does in no way require that they are the same physical entity.

So as can be seen, there are also no verses that clearly support a trinity. If one had never heard of the doctrine of the Trinity, they would never in a million years be able to figure it out using the Bible. The Bible simply does not teach this concept. The most common argument I hear is that "The Holy Ghost makes me feel and understand it." This explanation is ridicules for a few reasons. Among them are 1) a Trinitarian understands it because their parents, the churches, and other exposures made the concept known to them, and B) Everyone thinks the Holy Ghost is with them and makes them "feel" the truthfulness of their religion. For example, when I called the LDS church to get my free Book of Mormon for research purposes, the man on the phone said very sincerely, "I hope the Holy Ghost is within you as you read this, because this is the only truth..." or something along those lines. Also, Jehovah's witnesses are amongst the most devoted of Christians, and they also believe they have the Holy Ghost, yet they follow the teachings of man (Watchtower society). Catholics believe it, yet they pray to Marry, which is in direct violation to scripture, and the list goes on and on. Those are just a few reasons why those arguments are useless.

►The number of times the word "Trinity" appears in the bible? 0

►Genesis 6:³Then the Lord said, ‘My spirit shall not abide^* in mortals for ever, for they are flesh;

►2 Chron 6:¹⁸But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!

►1 Kings 8: ²⁷But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

►Jesus (pbuh) was called a God by others, but he never called himself such. Note: 2 Cor 4:⁴In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (god of this world, satan. notice also little 'g' in verse, indicating not God in heaven).

►Jesus (pbuh) cannot be God eternal when he was created (Rev 3:14, Prov 8:22,23)

Christ, according to the faith, is the second person in the Trinity, the Father being the first and the Holy Ghost third. Each of these persons is God. Christ is his own father and his own son. The Holy Ghost is neither father nor son, but both. The son was begotten by the father, but existed before he was begotten--just the same before as after. Christ is just as old as his father, and the father is just as young as his son. The Holy Ghost proceeded from the Father and Son, but was equal to the Father and Son before he proceeded, that is to say, before he existed, but he is of the same age as the other two. So it is declared that the Father is God, and the Son and the Holy Ghost God, and these three Gods make one God. According to the celestial multiplication table, once one is three, and three time one is one, and according to heavenly subtraction if we take two from three, three are left. The addition is equally peculiar: if we add two to one we have but one. Each one equal to himself and to the other two. Nothing ever was, nothing ever can be more perfectly idiotic and absurd than the dogma of the Trinity." (Ingersoll's Works, Vol. 4, p. 266-67).

The "Fully Man, Fully God" Phenomenon

This can also be called "the great escape". It is the only way a Trinitarian can make the concept of the Trinity and the divinity of Christ work. While it makes no logical sense, it is their strongest argument. They will tell you that Jesus (pbuh) was fully man in every sense, but also fully God in every sense. This, to a logical person, makes no sense. How can something be 100% of two different things? He's either fully man, or he's fully God, or maybe a combination of both, but how 100% of both? Their excuse? "It's another of God's mysteries that we can't possibly comprehend." This would seemingly contradict the following Bible verse:

1 Cor 14:33 "For God is not the author of confusion"

So why do they hang on to such theories that are not backed by scripture in the least? Because if not, they must choose between the lions and the wolves. If Jesus is fully man, then that would cause many contradictions, such as:

Isaiah 43:³For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

Isaiah 43:¹¹I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

Psalms 3: ⁸Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

So If Jesus (pbuh) is not divine, then he would be no more than the other of God's prophets, and his death could not have been the atonement for the sins of mankind. Now if Jesus (pbuh) was fully God, then other problems arise, such as:

Exodus 33: ²⁰And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

John 5: ³⁷And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

Matthew 19: ¹⁷And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God

John 14:..for my Father is greater than I.

John 7: ¹⁶Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

So, using the FMFG phenomenon is the only hope for reconciling such problems. Trinitarians will freely choose at what points Jesus (pbuh) is fully man (ex., "Oh, well the father is greater cause Jesus (pbuh) is fully man and not God") or when he is fully God (Well, Jesus (pbuh) is perfect and is able to die for our sins cause he's fully God"). Does the Trinity Jesus (pbuh) have a switch which can help him alternate between fully God and fully man? While on the cross, was he fully man (which would be impossible, cause the bible says God is the only savior. and because man cannot be perfect (Rom 3:23)) or was he fully God, in which case, God would have died and laid in a tomb for 3 days, which would mean he is not eternal. Also, Jesus (pbuh) words on the cross "Father forgive them..." wouldn't make sense if he were fully God, unless there were more than two Gods.

Trinity belief is that God is unity, subsisting in three persons: The father, the Son, the Holy Ghost. All three are on, equal in power and equal in glory.

As illogical, and irrational as this concept is, and although it has no foundation in scripture, billions of people believe this. This is a doctrine that is blindly accepted by many. Thomas Jefferson explains it thus:

"No historical fact is better established, than that of the doctrine of one God, pure and uncompounded, was that of the early ages of Christianity;.... The hocus-pocus phantasm of a God like another Cerberus, with one body and three heads, had its birth and growth in the blood of thousand and thousands of martyrs.... In fact, the Athanasian paradox that one is three, and three but one, is so incomprehensible to the human mind, that no candid man can say he has any idea of it, and how can he believe what presents no idea? He who thinks he does, only deceives himself. He proves, also, that man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most montrous,... With such persons, gullability, which they call faith, takes the helm from the hand of reason, and the mind becomes a wreck." (Jefferson's Works, Vol. 7, p. 269-70 by H.A. Washington).

Trinitarians are willing to invest their eternal life on a man made belief. As Thomas Paine puts it: