Trinitarianism, or the Trinity, is the belief that God exists as three persons (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) seperate, but co-equal.
This view is labelled as a heresy by some denominations and orthodoxy by others. What are common Biblical and theological arguments against trinitarianism?
I can't argue from my own personal conviction, so these might not be the strongest arguments unitarians would assert. As much as it pains me not to offer the counterarguments, I will give them their say.
Critics of trinitarianism will point to there being almost no mention of any "persons of the Godhead" in the Old Testament (exceptions: Ge 1:26, Ge 11:7), and many instances of there being only one God. They will describe the three "persons" of the Trinity as being three separate gods because they are not a single, identical individual.
From the New Testament, they point to passages that suggest a fundamantal disunity between Jesus and God.
John 17:3
"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."Mark 13:32 (NASB)
"But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."1 Timothy 2:5 (NASB)
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ...1 Corinthians 8:6 (NASB)
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.Ephesians 4:5-6 (NASB)
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Some will also point to statements of Jesus submitting to the Father as proof of disunity.
Some will argue that the word "trinity" is not used in the New Testament, and that the Trinity is not equated with God in the same way that Jesus is.
Some will assert that the idea was not present in the early church.
Some will assert that because every mention (or some sort of numerical majority) of God does not simultaneously mention Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the Biblical authors cannot be asserting trinity.
Some will argue that it just doesn't make sense (1+1+1=1?) and that God is not a god of confusion, and so since the idea of the Trinity is less emphatically asserted in the text (compared to Jesus' divinity, the need for Salvation, etc.), it is not an idea that ought to be embraced.
Some will argue that any time the Father knows something that Jesus doesn't, it makes no sense for Jesus to be God. Similarly, any time Jesus <verb> to the Father, such verbs are not reflexive and thus a trinitarian interpretation doesn't make sense.
There are two primary reasons for believing that God is an individual person. First, the Old Testament is unabashedly monotheistic. Monotheism was something which set the Jews apart from their neighboring nations.
Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
Consequently, Christians are also monotheists. Not only do they typically, like Jesus, believe the Old Testament to be true, but monotheism is also confirmed in the New Testament.
Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.
The second reason for believing that God is an individual person is because we, as humans, are each an individual person, and we are made in the image and likeness of God.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
We are given logical minds so that we can think and understand both our universe and its creator. On the face of it, the doctrine of the Trinity seems illogical. How can Jesus be God's Son and also God at the same time? How can he be fully human and fully God at the same time? How can three equal one? (Obviously Trinitarians have explanations for these things.)
As such, logically speaking, the burden of proof lies on the Trinitarians to adequately prove that the doctrine of the Trinity is true. In the absence of a convincing argument in support of the Trinity, a single person in the Godhead is the natural default doctrine. If there is no good reason to believe that the Father and the Son are one God, it is logical to assume that they are separate beings (just as it is logical to assume that Moses only had two arms, unless there is a good reason to believe that he had three).
Therefore, unitarian (in the lower-case, non-trinitarian sense of the word) arguments usually revolve around Trinitarian proof-texts. The aim of their arguments is to show that passages such as John 1:1 do not need to be interpreted in the Trinitarian way. From their perspective, if they can show that there are reasonable non-trinitarian interpretations for all of the Trinitarian proof-texts, then their cause is won. For that reason, most Unity vs. Trinity debate is focused on passages which would typically be more favorable to the doctrine of the Trinity.
Finding verses that directly teach the doctrine of Unity is problematic because there is very little agreement, among non-trinitarians in some key areas. For instance, someone who believes that Jesus was the first creature created in God's creation will point to different verses to support their doctrine than someone who believes that Jesus did not exist until his birth.
So far, I have described two categories of scripture which are used in Unity vs. Trinity debates:
However, there is a third category of verses on which most unitarians would typically agree in their interpretation:
#3. Verses which can be interpreted to contradict various doctrines of the Trinity
This third category of verses does nothing, per se, to prove the doctrine of unity, but it does provide more doubt, which helps to bolster the unitarian's position that their interpretation of the first category of verses should be taken more seriously. Compiling a comprehensive list of all of the verses in this third category of scripture is daunting, if not impossible. However, I will attempt to provide you with a list of some examples which show the various angles of attack which can be made.
Jesus Is Inferior to the Father
Orthodox Trinitarian doctrine teaches that the three persons of the Trinity are equal. They each have different roles and positions, but they all share the same authority and worth. There are several ways in which Jesus' inferiority to the Father may be argued. One way in which this is argued is to show that the Father is Jesus' God.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort
See also Eph 1:3 and 1 Pet 1:3.
But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.”
In human terms, you can't get much more superior to someone than by being their God. It logically follows, then, that if Jesus has a God, he must be inferior to Him.
Another way to show Jesus' inferiority is with verses like the following, which show that God only gave partial authority to His Son:
For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.
Non-trinitarians would argue that this verse clearly contradicts the Trinity. How could Jesus be God if this verse is going out of it's way to say that Jesus is subject to God, and God is not subject to Jesus, so that "God may be all in all". This sentiment is repeated in other passages, for instance:
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Similarly, there are verses which show that, what authority Jesus did have, was given to him by the Father, for instance:
Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.
And:
Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.
See also Luke 1:32.
Another way to show that Jesus is inferior is with verses, such as the following, which show that Jesus was the servant of God. In any normal understanding of the word, a servant is inferior to his master.
while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.
And:
But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
God Gave Jesus His Position
There are some verses which describe how, after Jesus accomplished His mission, God exalted Jesus, glorified Him, and gave Him a new title and position.
For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.
which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
If Jesus were God, why would the Father need to assign these things to Him?
Jesus' Will Is Different Than That of the Father
Traditional Trinitarian belief is that all three persons of the Godhead share the same nature, purpose, and will. However, in His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus admitted that his will was different than his Father's will.
And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Jesus said similar things in passages such as John 5:30 and John 6:38.
It could be said that any time Jesus is petitioning God for something, in any of His prayers, it is a demonstration of his separate will.
In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.
See also John 11:40-41 and John 17.
Jesus Is Not Omniscient
If Jesus is God, then he should be all-knowing, because God is all-knowing. However, Jesus said that he does not know when he will return. He said that only the Father knows that information.
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
Jesus Died and Became Sin
The Bible is clear that God is holy. He is far from sin. However, when Jesus died, the Bible tells us that he took the sin of the world upon himself.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Even most Trinitarians concede that, due to sin, Jesus became separated from God on the cross. Most agree that that is why Jesus cried out "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?". However, if Jesus really did become sin for us, how is it that we still have a God who is truly holy? Similarly, how can Jesus suffer death and separation from God, when He is, himself, God? After all, God is immortal, yet Jesus clearly died.
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Jesus Was Tempted
Since God is holy, we know that He cannot be tempted to sin.
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
However, Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. We are told in the book of Hebrews that, at least in part, the purpose of His temptation was so that He, as our mediator and priest to God, can sympathize with our temptations.
For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
If Jesus was tempted to sin, in all things, as we are, how can he be the Holy God?
Jesus Was Chosen by the Father
Of course, the very title of Messiah, or Christ means "The Anointed One", but there are also verses which speak of God choosing Jesus or appointing Jesus to His positions.
And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.
In these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
It would seem odd that God would appoint Himself to a position that he already occupied and that he would anoint Himself for representing Himself to the world. At the very least, it's a strange way to put it, if the goal is to be clear and to avoid misleading people.
Jesus Was Begotten
Everyone knows the following familiar verse:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
That is not the only verse which says that Jesus is begotten, however. For instance:
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You”
Non-trinitarians will commonly link these verses ones which call Jesus the firstborn.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren
See also Rev 1:4-6.
The words "begotten" and "firstborn" clearly have connotations that Jesus was created and had a beginning. The fact that He was the "only" begotten certainly means that His beginning was very different from the rest of us, but to deny that He had a beginning certainly requires some mincing of words.
No One Has Seen God
Clearly, there were many witnesses who met, knew, and touched Jesus, but the Bible is clear that no one has ever seen God. It would be a strange claim to make if Jesus was indeed God.
I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
See also 1 John 4:12.
Similarly, there are verses, such as 1 Tim 1:17 which say that God is invisible, further cementing the concept.
Jesus is Our Mediator
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus is our mediator. He is our High Priest who intercedes on our behalf.
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.
who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
If Jesus is God, how can he be a mediator between God and men? How can he intercede God on our behalf if he is, himself, God?
There are certainly other verses which add support to all of those various lines of reasoning. I'm also sure that there are other scriptural arguments which can be made against the doctrine of the Trinity. This is not an exhaustive list. It would take volumes to describe all of the various ways in which this doctrine has been debated over the millenia. I hope, however, that this sampling gives you a good enough idea of some of the key points and verses that can and have been used in the debate.
I am in no way implying that Trinitarians do not have good answers to all of these points. They do have answers to all of these questions that I raised. There are several other pages on this site where those kinds of questions have already been answered from the orthodox perspective.
One common verse cited against it is Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!"
The problem against this view is the use of the Hebrew word for "one." That same word is used in Genesis 2:24 where Adam and Eve are said to "become one flesh." It is a compound unity, that in this case means one composed of two persons.
It is used again in the same compound sense in Numbers 13:23, where the spies carried "a branch with one cluster of grapes." Here, it is one composed of many.
Through other scriptures we find that the "one" in Deut. 6:4 is one composed of three persons in the godhead.
This is a scripture used against the trinity concept, but it's a poor use.
Within scriptures the verses, concepts, and contexts to disprove the theory of the trinity are many. Through my extensive study of the subject of the godhead I have been able to collect dozens and dozens of verses relating to the godhead and which disprove the theory of the trinity. In fact, the evidence is so massive that not only have I decided to write a book on the subject, but have also found three distinctive points which definitively disprove the trinity, which trinitarians have absolutely no way of refuting, and which I have fondly come to refer to as “Trinitarian Kryptonite”. These kryptonite points will not be discussed in this post, but will rather only be included in my book. For the duration of this post I will be pointing out other definitive, though not as strong as the kryptonite, points/verses and will try to expound on as much as I can.
DISCLAIMER: The subject of the godhead and the various concepts that exist of the godhead are vast. I do not have time to fully exhaust all points/aspects nor do you as the reader have time to read such. As always, please continue to study for yourself and also keep an eye out for my future upcoming book.
Now…………………..to get started.
For the purposes of this post I will be using the actual names of both God and Jesus, which are Yahuweh and Yahushua respectively, which come from the original Hebrew. I will also be using the title “Elohim”, which comes from the Hebew as well, and is generally translated as god or gods depending on the context.
Also, unless otherwise indicated, the translation I will be using is called “The Scriptures” from “The Institute for Scripture Research” (http://www.isr-messianic.org/) and has by far been the most accurately translated/transliterated set of scriptures that I have come across.
The theory of the trinity states that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are God and God is the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three are one and the one is three. So if Jesus is God then there would be no distinction between Jesus and God. There would be distinction between Jesus and the Father as the theory states that the “persons” are different, but since the theory postulates that Jesus IS God, then there shouldn’t be any distinctions between Jesus and God. However, scripture presents clear distinctions between Yahuweh and Yahushua.
John 14:1 ESV "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe ALSO in me. [emphasis mine]
In the above verse, we see the Messiah drawing a clear distinction between God and Himself. He clearly says “Believe in God; believe also in me”: in other words “Believe in the One, believe also in the other”. He did NOT say “Believe in God which is the same as believing in me.” or even “Believe in God, who I am”. No, Messiah is speaking of two distinct and separate entities here: God and Himself. Now, if the theory of the trinity were true, He could not have truthfully said this. Otherwise He would have been deceiving people and the Messiah who saves us from sin is not a deceiver.
Observe also another clear distinction from the Messiah:
John 17:3 ESV And this is eternal life, that they know you [the Father] the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. [emphasis mine]
Again, we have the Messiah Himself drawing a clear and undeniable distinction between God and Himself and also clearly stating who the one true God is: the Father. Notice He didn’t say “that they know you the only true God who I also am”. Rather He’s clearly stating that the Father is the only true God and that He, in contrast, is the Christ/Messiah. This is supported by the clear statements of both Peter and Paul:
Matthew 16:15-17 ESV He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" (16) Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (17) And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
1 Corinthians 8:6 ESV yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. [emphasis mine]
Notice here in the Matthew passage when Messiah asks Peter who He is, that Peter responds that He is the Messiah. Trinitarians today would answer “You are God”, but scripture (i.e. Peter) doesn’t do so. This was revealed to Peter by the Father Himself. Now, if scripture taught that Jesus IS God and that it was important that we know that Jesus is God, then this would have read differently. Peter would have answered “You are God”, but he didn’t. Notice also in the passage from first Corinthians that Paul is completely supporting and re-affirming the statement of our Messiah that the one God is the Father. Here is another place that would be critical in showing that Jesus is God, but Paul doesn’t do that. He restates what the Messiah said previously in saying that the one true living God is the Father.
Deuteronomy 6:4 The Scriptures 1998+ (4) Hear, O Yisra’el: יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one!
Fortunately for the purposes of our discussion, the verse of the translation above is a word for word and in the same order as that of the original Hebrew. This was pretty much the creed of the faithful and the creed that our Messiah Yahushua re-iterated in Mark 12:29. The above is extremely important due to the grammatical construction of the sentence in Hebrew. For those of you who don't know, in order to express something as singular in Hebrew, you place the numerical designation after the noun. But in order to express something as plural, you place the numerical designation before the noun. In English we always place the numerical designation before the noun so it's not as obvious to us when we read it. But in Hebrew if you wanted to say "3 o'clock" you would say "hour three". It's the third hour, but it's still a singular hour. However, if you wanted to say "three hours" then you would simply say "three hours" to indicate plurality.
This brings us back to the verse above. Here we clearly see that the numerical designation is AFTER Yahuweh (aka God). Take a look at the original Hebrew for further verification. We can clearly see how the Hebrews, then the Jews, and then the Christians (at least up until the Catholic councils) would view Yahuweh (aka God) as one as opposed to seeing Yahuweh (aka God) as three as is stated in the theory of the trinity. The theory of the trinity states that Yahuweh (aka God) is three, but scriptures states that Yahuweh (aka God) is ONE (Deuteronomy 6:4, et al)
Here are some common sense points, that I’ll go through real quick, that most people don’t even think about:
God can’t die (Deuteronomy 23:40, Psalm 90:2, Psalm 102:27) , but Jesus did die
1 Peter 3:18 The Scriptures 1998+ (18) Because even Messiah once suffered for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to Elohim, having been put to death indeed in flesh but made alive in the Spirit,
Revelation 1:18 The Scriptures 1998+ (18) and the living One. And I became dead, and see, I am living forever and ever. Amein. And I possess the keys of the grave and of death.
Yahuweh (aka God) does not sleep nor slumber, but Yahushua (aka Jesus) did
Psalms 121:3-4 The Scriptures 1998+ (3) He does not allow your foot to be moved; He who watches over you does not slumber. (4) See, He who is guarding Yisra’el Neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Mark 4:38 The Scriptures 1998+ (38) And He [Yahushua (aka Jesus)] was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. And they woke Him up and said to Him, “Teacher, is it no concern to You that we perish?”
Scripture clearly indicates that Jesus has a God. Now the theory of the trinity states that Jesus IS God. So if the theory of the trinity is true AND scripture is true, then there is more than one God because Jesus has a God and the logic of the theory of the trinity would conclude that God has a God.
John 20:17 ESV Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
Revelation 3:12 ESV The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.
The mere meaning of words in language is also detrimental to the theory of the trinity. The term “father” in ANY language denotes a male who has children, but does not indicate anyone coming before this person. The term “son” in ANY language denotes a male who has come AFTER either a father (male) and/or mother (female). All languages, in reference to a father and son relationship, indicate that the “son” comes FROM the “father” and that the “father” existed BEFORE the “son”. However, this simple common sense does not jive with the theory of the trinity.
Scripture states that Jesus is the Son of God. This is clearly stated many times in scripture and is undisputed by those of the faith. It is also stated that God is the father of Jesus which only goes to reason seeing as how Jesus is the Son of God. This is also stated in scripture as “God the Father” (John 6:27, Colossians 3:17, 2 John 1:3, et al). Now here’s where the trinitarian contradiction comes into play. Trinitarians do not say that Jesus came from the Father and most do not say that Jesus came FROM God, but rather that Jesus IS God.
Herein is the contradiction: As we see above, words have meaning. We also see that scripture clearly indicates that God is the Father, the Father is God, and the only one indicated (by Paul and even by the Messiah Himself) as being the only true God is the Father. So the statements “Jesus came from the Father” and “Jesus came from God” are the exact same statements. However, the theory of the trinity would disagree with this and contradict this. The theory of the trinity would state that Jesus is the “Son of God” while at the same time being “God the Son”. Not only is this incestuous, but is also a paradoxical contradiction. One cannot be the son of himself. A father comes before a son, a son comes from a father, and a son comes after a father. One cannot come before themself, come from themself, and come after themself all at the same time or even sequentially. So if, as according to the theory of the trinity, Jesus IS God AND Jesus is the Son of God, then, according to trinitarianism, Jesus is the Son of Himself. He is His own Son.
For further information please continue your own studies and feel free to have a look at some of the notes I took during my study of the godhead. http://dukeofmarshall.blogspot.com/p/trinity-notes.html
Dt 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Is 45:5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.
1 Cor 8:4-6 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
i don't understand everything about God and about God's interaction with human beings on Earth in history and in present times. i really believe this passage in 1st Corinthians and equating God of the Universe and the historical Jesus of Nazareth remains mysterious. there is plenty of room for mystery.
