Muslim: There is only one God
Christian: There is only one God but in 3 "persons"
Do the Qur'an & the Bible actually agree...??
What Is The Trinity?
The doctrine and concept of "The Trinity" has divided Muslims, Christians and Jews for centuries.
God, Jesus and Holy Spirit are identified by Muslims and Christians alike.
Do Christians really believe in 3 gods ?!?
Where Did This Doctrine Come From?
During the Council of Nicea:
Arius, a priest from Egypt, taught that Christ, because He was the "Son of God", must have had a beginning and therefore was a special creation of God.
- This implies that the Father and the Son are not one in the same.
Opposing the teachings of Arius was Athanasius. His view was an early form of Trinitarianism.
- He believed that Father, Son and Holy Spirit were the same but at the same time "distinct" from each other.
“When the bishops gathered at Nicaea on May 20, 325, to resolve the crisis, very few would have shared Athanasius’s view of Christ."
- Most held a position midway between Athanasius and Arius.” (A History of God; by Karen Armstrong)
- Some historians argue Emperor Constantine pushed the trinity to appease the majority pagans as he was struggling to institute "Christianity" as the primary "religion" of the empire.
Regardless of which side you favor...can we agree that the humans making these interpretations are flawed and therefore subject to error?
- Is there a possibility that BOTH of these man-made interpretations regarding the nature of God are flawed?
What does the Qur'an say?
Do these Qur'an verses reject how Christians view the Trinity?
- Qur'an 5:116 God said, Jesus son of Mary did you say to people. 'worship me and my mother'as gods instead of God'?
- Qur'an 4:171 So believe in God and His messengers and do no say 'three' (Gods).
- Qur'an 5:73 Those who say God is the third of three are denying the truth, because there is only one God.
In the 7th century, some sects of Christianity had a fascination with Mary and the Qur'an was correcting this heresy.
- But to this day, the catholic church honors the virgin Mary as a very important part of their faith as does the Qur'an with an entire book titled "Mary", dedicated to her."
"God, Jesus and Mary" is NOT how Christians view the doctrine of the trinity.
COMMON GROUND: The Qur'an acknowledges and highly honors:
- Jesus The Messiah
- The Holy Spirit or Spirit of God
- The One God, creator of all things.
What does the Bible say?
Respectfully, the term “ trinity ” does not appear in the Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic Bible.
- The specific Christian doctrine of “One God, Three Persons” may have been adopted after the first Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.
Two New Testament verses come close to describing “Trinity”
- Matthew 28:19 - “...baptize them in the name of the Father, & the Son, & of the Holy Spirit.”
Was the “Son & Holy Spirit” added later? Some scholars argue it was not the earliest Greek or Aramaic manuscripts. The original may be closer to Luke 24:47
- 1 John 5:7 - “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, & these three are one.”
- This verse refers to three "bearing witness in heaven" and refers to the "Word" in place of "son". Actual rendering in the Aramaic Peshitta text: “The Spirit bears witness to the Spirit of truth.”
- This verse does not appear to be in the earliest Greek manuscripts of Aleph, A, B, and the Vulgate, nor is it in the Aramaic Peshitta text).
God Speaks Of Himself As "We" In The Bible & The Qur'an?
- Verses throughout the Qur’an (And Torah at times), where God is speaking in the first person are written in the plural & often translated into English as “We.”
- This is a Semitic way of honoring God, no Jew or Muslim views God as being literally a plurality.
- His many attributes are of such great importance that His very nature can only be described in plural terms.
- Even kings and rulers of the ancient East spoke in plural and is know as the "royal we".
So One God Or Three?
- Jesus & Moses: "This is the most important: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord (Aramaic: Master Yah) God is the Lord (Master Yah) is One. Mark 12:29 & Deuteronomy 6:4
- Paul: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2 3-5·
- Samuel: “Wherefore you are great, O LORD (YHWH) God; for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee…” 2 Samuel 7:22·
- David: “For who is God except the LORD (YHWH)…? Psalm 18:31·
- Qur'an: 2:163 "Your God is one God. There is no God but Him, The Merciful-to-all, the Mercy Giver"
Several other verses reflect God is “alone”, and “one” by James, John, Sosthenes, Joel, Isaiah, Zachariah, Hosea, Nehemiah, et al
What Difference Does It Make?!
History has shown that BOTH sides are willing to kill over these differences:
- Muslims think that Christians are blasphemous for believing in 3 gods.
- Christians think that "Jesus is God" and therefore Muslims do not worship the same God.
- Have we made a mistake? 'A Deadly Misunderstanding'...?
- 1 - God
- 2 - Jesus
- 3 - Holy Spirit
- 4 - Other
- GOD the Father? - Jesus demonstrated a personal relationship with God who is compassionate and merciful (rahman and rahheem), full of grace and forgives our sins. As a result of this closeness, he called Him "Father". Christians then follow calling God "Father" as a desire for this spiritual bond that has nothing to do with biology.
- The Qur’an - mentions God as Allah and Muslims ascribes as many as 99 different names or sifat (divine attributes) to Allah: Allah’s word, power, life, love, peace,mercy, compassion, knowledge, & so on.
- The Bible - Mentions God as Eloha in the Hebrew Old Testament and Alaha in the Aramaic New Testament which includes 46 attributes to God & 24 specific names (e.g., El-Shaddai or “God who provides all,” Jehovah-Tsidkenu or “God our provider,” Jehovah-Rohi or “The Lord our shepherd.,” Elohim, El-Elyon, etc).
- SON (Jesus) - See more in the “Jesus, Son of God” lesson. (Not a sexually conceived son)
- Referred to over 100 times in the Qur'an as Messiah and supernaturally conceived by the breathe of God through a virgin named Mary and much more.
- Both the Qur'an and the Bible describe a supernaturally conceived "Son" of God; spoken into being by God simply speaking a Word "Be and it is."
- HOLY SPIRIT (spirit of God) - The Holy Spirit is mentioned 24 times in the Qur’an.
- Both the Qur'an and the Bible describe the Spirit of or from God.
- Jesus said "God is Spirit" John 4:24
- God does not poses a physical form but a spirit form.
- We are given a spirit that wants to communicate with God, that is why Jesus said we must worship God in spirit and in truth.
The "Word" of God:
- "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
- The Semitic word used for "God" means anything considered "divine," including God.
- “The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, is the Messenger of God and His Word conveyed to Mary and a Spirit from Him.” Qur'an 4:171
- Is the Word of God a divine attribute or more?
The Qur’an identifies & authenticates:
Jesus, & Holy Spirit as two unique expressions/attributes of Allah:
- But there is no promotion of the term trinity.
- What is more important; believing in a doctrine or believing that there is a God, a Spirit and a Messiah Jesus?
- Does the Bible promote this doctrine or does it simply authenticate the existence and uniqueness of God, Spirit and Jesus?
- Is this doctrine worth fighting over, or can we actually agree?
The Qur'an is simply confirming that there is only one God...the same way that Jesus did when he said:
- Jesus replied, "This is the most important: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord God is the Lord is One. Mark 12:29
ONE GOD...NOT THREE:
- The incorrect assumptions interpreting the "trinity" to mean "3 gods" is a deadly misunderstanding.
- Muslims, Christians and Jews believe in one God; the God of Abraham.
- The Qur'an defines the Trinity as: "God, Jesus and Mary;" but this is not how Christians think of it.
Man-Made Doctrines:
- Are we as humans capable of knowing and understanding the complete nature of the creator?
- Does the doctrine of the trinity come from the Bible?
- Does our human idea of the trinity accurately define God?
- Does it make sense to argue about what is ultimately a "mystery" that insights conflict and fuels radicalization?
Pray together with new friends, asking for God to personally reveal His nature to each of you.
