Page 207 - Prophet Jesus (Pbuh): A Prophet Not A Son, Of God

hroughout Christian history, many Christian sects
have rejected belief in the trinity, either in whole or in
part. And, because of this, they have historically encoun-
tered severe repression in the form of exile, excommunication, burning at
the stake, and torture unto death. However, such oppression has not suc-

ceeded in erasing them from the pages of history. Most of them remained
loyal to their beliefs and never denied the fact that there is only One God.
The Arians, which we looked at in some detail earlier, were the fore-run-
ners of the numerous anti-trinitarian Christians. Many more groups then
emerged in their wake.

The Anti-Trinitarians

One anti-trinitarian movement that appeared in the wake of Arius
was the Celtic Church of Ireland. Although totally isolated from conti-
nental Europe, this Church was built and developed along Arian lines.
Until 664, when the Catholic Church finally secured official dominion

over the Celtic Church, belief in the trinity was foreign to Ireland.
One very important feature of the Irish Church ran parallel to
Nazarean teachings: loyalty to Jewish sources. The Celtic Church be-
lieved that Prophet Jesus (pbuh) adhered scrupulously to Judaic rules,
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and thus attached great importance to the Old Testament. So powerful
was this tendency that it continued even after its church came under
Roman dominion. In 754, several Catholic priests complained that Irish
priests attached no importance to the Church's holy scriptures and re-

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jected the writings and ignored the Council's decisions. However, this
resistance was soon broken. Over the course of a long campaign that