At the end of the day, either God is logical or He is not, and either we are created in His image or we are not.
“Shield of the Trinity”, used to try to explain the trinity doctrine
[This is an update from the former wiki site and from Helium]
Consider “the Trinity”. If you believe in it, can you prove it from your own Bible? Here are some questions to consider.
Q: Is God Logical?
The doctrine of the trinity is often called a “mystery”. Did God expect us to understand Him? Why be created in His image if not so we can better understand Him?
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord…
God expects to be able to reason with us! God is very logical!
Q: Did God Somehow Forget to Tell Us About the Trinity?
If you think that the trinity is logical and biblical, consider what a Muslim wrote about it:
Also see Luke 19:30-38 which has a similar detailed description of this occurrence. On the other hand, the Bible is completely free of any description of the “Trinity” which is supposedly a description of the very nature of the one who rode this ass, who is claimed to be the only son of God, and who allegedly died for the sins of all of mankind. I found myself asking the question: If every aspect of Christian faith is described in such detail such that even the description of this ass is so vividly depicted for us, then why is the same not true for the description of the “Trinity”? Sadly, however, it is a question for which there is no logical answer.
~ “The Lie of 1 John 5:7”, http://www.answering-christianity.com/1john5_7.htm
Does God Have a Split Personality?
This is a serious question. Whenever a person in one body has multiple personalities, we consider it abnormal, after all.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…
~ Ge 1:26a
What do you call a person who has multiple “persons” but one body? Well, I would say they have a split personality! Apparently, it is a pretty bad case of split personality if God talks to Himself.
Q: Did Jesus Hide Information From Himself?
32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
~ Mk 13:32
Obviously, Jesus forgot to tell Himself when it was. Or maybe God does have a split personality — or, more likely, maybe the trinity is just bad theology.
Q: Were We Created in the Image of God? What Does That Mean?
Simply put, we are created in a manner that reflects God somehow. The Bible lists some obvious differences. We are mortal, but God has no beginning or ending. We are limited in our knowledge, but His ways are above our ways. We hunger, but God does not require food. Yet, in spite of these things, we are described as being in the image or similitude of God.
We are called His children. Adam had a child that was “after his image” (Ge 5:3)! Jesus said if you see Him, you have seen the Father. If Jesus was God’s Son, then He will reflect a similarity to the Father, just as Adam’s son reflected a similarity to his father. If we are children of God, we will reflect those attributes in both a physical and spiritual sense.
If God is a trinity, then we would also be three persons in one, or else we are not in His image. Instead, what we see is that God created “man”, “God created he him; male and female created he them.” God created male and female who were to become “one flesh”. The man and the woman were to be so close physically and emotionally as to be united. God is a unity as well, of God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son.
Q: Can We Deduce Attributes of God From Nature?
Proponents of the trinity doctrine use a lot of smoke and mirrors to make their case, and most of all they claim that God is so far above His creation as to be understandable, i.e., “it is a mystery”. Is that what the Bible says, though? Or does the Bible instead say that the physical world is a way in which we can understand the spiritual?
We see the invisible attributes of God from the visible. Indeed, God has setup patterns throughout His creation to show His will, such as the weekly cycle of work and the Sabbath, the Holy Days, etc., which are a “shadow of things to come” (Col 2:17-18) because they point to a much greater spiritual truth.
What do we see in nature? Two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, two sexes, etc. We may see singular items that have no counterpart, but most organisms have a symmetry about them. Symmetry is always dual, never triple.
Q: Did Jesus Sit Down on the Right Hand of Himself?
19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
So, if Jesus is God but a personality within one being, and if God the Father is but a personality within one being, then how does one personality sit down on the right side of another personality of the same being?
Q: Is Jesus Greater Than Himself?
Even more than the last, this is one of the hardest to understand yet most dogmatic principles of the trinity doctrine. It all rests upon each being “co-equal” in the Godhead, even though the Bible says something very different.
28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
Q: How Can Jesus Be “Between” Himself and Man?
By definition, in order to be a mediator, you have to be in-between two parties. Furthermore, in order to be in-between two things, one must be on one side, and the other must be on the other side. How can a person be on a side of himself? That’s nonsense and violates the very definitions of words.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
So, God is between man and Himself? Just how does that work?
Q: Did God Really Die On the Cross?
One of the main problems of the trinity doctrine is that it makes a mockery of the crucifixion.
If the Father and the Son are the same being, then who or what died on the cross? If Christ and God the Father are the same, then who raised Christ? And, if God was still alive to raise Jesus, then how could Jesus be dead?
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead [He raised Himself, while He was dead?], even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
~ Ac 4:10
If Jesus died and God the Father raised Him up as stated, they cannot be the same being! Otherwise, both would be dead!
Q: So, Does “the Trinity” Still Make Sense To You?
I’m still looking for Scriptural proof, myself.