Page 151 - Prophet Jesus (Pbuh): A Prophet Not A Son, Of God

rinitarianism has been the cause of considerable debate
from the time of its appearance right up to the present
day. In fact, these arguments have spread to ever wider areas since the
eighteenth century. Biblical researchers of that time first asked why belief
in the trinity was not openly expressed in the Gospels, and then ques-
tioned under what conditions it appeared. Today, many theologians, scien-
tists, researchers, writers, and independent Christian movements reject many
traditional beliefs, particularly the trinity and the belief in the atonement for
sins. Some of them, examples of which we shall consider in due course,

adopt an Arianist understanding instead of trinitarian belief based upon
the Bible and research into surviving works by the earliest Christians.
Following the decisions taken at the Councils of Nicaea (325) and
Chalcedon (451), belief in the trinity became Christianity's foundation
stone, and refusal to accept it made one a heretic. Those who said that
such an idea contradicted faith in a monotheistic God, who maintained
that the trinity did not appear in the Gospels or who had reservations on the sub-
ject, were either silenced or pressured into acceptance. In his Articles of the

Apostolic Creed, Theodore Zahn says that "the article of faith up until
about 250 AD was, 'I believe in God, the Almighty'. Between 180 and 210
AD the word 'Father' was added 'the Almighty'. This was bitterly con-
tested by a number of the leaders of the Church … since they regarded it
an unthinkable sacrilege to add or subtract any word to the Scriptures." 46
Duncan Heaster, known for his Biblical research, set out his views in
a debate on the trinity in 1988:
I would suggest to you that the Trinity is a conception of God which is im-
possible to understand and which completely contradicts the clear
teaching of the word of God. Can you understand a God who is one