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Why is Trinitarianism considered a violation of monotheism by some?

LuisDantas

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
I have been told that some Christians and nearly all Muslims find the idea of the Trinity a violation of monotheism.

Supposedly, if God has three aspects, then it must follow that he is not truly One.

I am not sure why that would be a problem. There seems to be no theological reason why the God of Abraham would not or could not have as many aspects and roles as necessary. As a matter of fact, it appears that Islam specifically has a tradition of listing 99 distinct descriptors of God. Other traditions that reject Trinitarianism do not appear at first glance to conceive of God as particularly limited in his roles, either.

Maybe there is some párticular reason why the Trinitarian descriptors of God as Father, Son and Holy Ghost challenge monotheism while other lists of divine attributes and roles do not, but it is not evident to me why it would be so.

Clarifications and comments would be welcome.
 
paarsurrey

paarsurrey

Veteran Member
Why is Trinitarianism considered a violation of monotheism?

Quran is very clear about Oneness of G-d:
[112:1]In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
[112:2]Say, ‘He is Allah, the One;
[112:3]‘Allah, the Independent and Besought of all.
[112:4]‘He begets not, nor is He begotten;
[112:5]‘And there is none like unto Him.’
http://www.alislam.org/quran/search2/showChapter.php?ch=112​

There is no ambiguity in it.
Regards
 
Taylor Seraphim

Taylor Seraphim

Angel of Reason
LuisDantas said:
I have been told that some Christians and nearly all Muslims find the idea of the Trinity a violation of monotheism.

Supposedly, if God has three aspects, then it must follow that he is not truly One.

I am not sure why that would be a problem. There seems to be no theological reason why the God of Abraham would not or could not have as many aspects and roles as necessary. As a matter of fact, it appears that Islam specifically has a tradition of listing 99 distinct descriptors of God. Other traditions that reject Trinitarianism do not appear at first glance to conceive of God as particularly limited in his roles, either.

Maybe there is some párticular reason why the Trinitarian descriptors of God as Father, Son and Holy Ghost challenge monotheism while other lists of divine attributes and roles do not, but it is not evident to me why it would be so.

Clarifications and comments would be welcome.
Click to expand...

Technically I would consider it a from of monotheism as many religions before it have done the same thing.
 
Sultan Of Swing

Sultan Of Swing

Well-Known Member
LuisDantas said:
I have been told that some Christians and nearly all Muslims find the idea of the Trinity a violation of monotheism.

Supposedly, if God has three aspects, then it must follow that he is not truly One.

I am not sure why that would be a problem. There seems to be no theological reason why the God of Abraham would not or could not have as many aspects and roles as necessary. As a matter of fact, it appears that Islam specifically has a tradition of listing 99 distinct descriptors of God. Other traditions that reject Trinitarianism do not appear at first glance to conceive of God as particularly limited in his roles, either.

Maybe there is some párticular reason why the Trinitarian descriptors of God as Father, Son and Holy Ghost challenge monotheism while other lists of divine attributes and roles do not, but it is not evident to me why it would be so.

Clarifications and comments would be welcome.
Click to expand...
Well Trinitarianism is quite paradoxical because God is Three Persons in One.

What you described sounds more like modalism, a non-Trinitarian belief that says the Father Son and Holy Spirit are three different modes or aspects of God, or that God is simply doing different roles and these different roles have names. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabellianism)

The Trinitarian belief is that God is three distinct Persons, Father Son and Holy Spirit. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. However, the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, etc. So one God, three Persons. It is an apparent contradiction, and is not supposed to be something that can be easily rationalised, it is treated as a mystery of the faith and beyond our comprehension.
 
Tomorrows_Child

Tomorrows_Child

Active Member
LuisDantas said:
I have been told that some Christians and nearly all Muslims find the idea of the Trinity a violation of monotheism.

Supposedly, if God has three aspects, then it must follow that he is not truly One.

I am not sure why that would be a problem. There seems to be no theological reason why the God of Abraham would not or could not have as many aspects and roles as necessary. As a matter of fact, it appears that Islam specifically has a tradition of listing 99 distinct descriptors of God. Other traditions that reject Trinitarianism do not appear at first glance to conceive of God as particularly limited in his roles, either.

Maybe there is some párticular reason why the Trinitarian descriptors of God as Father, Son and Holy Ghost challenge monotheism while other lists of divine attributes and roles do not, but it is not evident to me why it would be so.

Clarifications and comments would be welcome.
Click to expand...

The trinity does not show 3 attributes of God or 3 qualities of God. The 99 "names" of Allah are are attributes, i.e. the merciful or the sustainer, they are not 99 separate physical representations.

Now, going back to the trinity, we are told God is the father, the son AND the holy spirit. I have had some Christians explain this by saying that a man can have three different roles. An example is that he can be a husband, a father and a son. I completely agree with that and it does not mean, that man with 3 different roles, is 3 different people.

However, in the Bible, Jesus is asked about the coming times and the day of judgement, of which he himself states that no one but the father in heaven, has any knowledge of that. Now, going along with the Christian idea of 1 person but 3 different roles, a man who is father/husband/son, if he is told a secret by his wife (the husband), he himself as the son and the father would also know the secret. They are physically the one and the same.

That does not correlate with the Bible and this idea that somehow the son (Jesus) did not know of the coming of the hour but he claims the father (in heaven) does. So are they they one and the same or 3 separate entities?

Also, just on a basic historic level, the trinity was not a concept in Christianity for almost the first 300 years. So that is something to dwell on.
 
arthra

arthra

Baha'i
Trinity of course has been variously defined... I like one definition that I came across today..

"...there are necessarily three things:

The Giver of Grace, and the Grace, and the Recipient of the Grace;

the Source of the Effulgence, and the Effulgence, and the Recipient of the Effulgence;

the Illuminator, and the Illumination, and Illuminated."

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p. 115)
 
jeager106

jeager106

Learning more about Jehovah.
Premium Member
Many believers in the trinity cite a verse that quotes Jesus as saying
" I and the Father are one" but the verse was never intended to say that
the Father and I are one and the same person but one in the same in purpose.
Another example of taking one verse totally out of context with the theme.
"Spare the rod ad spoil the child" does NOT mean to beat your children.
The "rod" was often used in place of and with the same meaning of
"the word of God".
Spare the word of God and spoil the child. It does not mean to beat kids with
a stick!
From Psalms: "Thy rod and they staff they comfort me" does not mean God's
literal beating is comforting.
Cheesh!
 
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