Refutation of the Doctrine of Trinity and Answers to Frequently Used Trinitarian Arguments
Leonid, Ph.D.
e-mail: freejhk1734beer@mail.ru (There is no freebeer. You must remove it. Sorry!)
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This article represents an effort to refute the gross idolatry imbedded in the non-Biblical doctrine of Trinity and to affirm the true nature of the creator, the God of Israel so "that all the kingdoms of the Earth may know that Thou, Yahweh art God alone" 2Kings 19:19. American Standard Version. The article consists of two parts: in the first one we refute numerous arguments for the Trinity and in the second part
Historical Origins of the Doctrine of Trinity we show the pagan origin of the doctrine of Trinity and of the Deity of Jesus which was never accepted by the first century followers of Jesus.
Note: An ellipsis "…" is used when a portion of the text is skipped.
An important note. In order to understand the problems arising in translating Hebrew texts, one must understand that Hebrew does not have capital letters, it does not differentiate between animate and inanimate objects in the same way that English does. For example, it applies a noun "he" to both animate and inanimate objects.
Also, the original Hebrew Bible does not have punctuation and marks indicating vowels.
Does Isaiah 9:6 prove that Yeshua (the original Hebrew for Jesus) is God? (New King James Version—NKJV) "For unto us a Child is born… And His Name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Does word "one" in Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one" mean compound unity allowing room for a Trinity? Or it is an absolute singularity as the Jewish people believe?
In John 10:30 Jesus (Yeshua) says "I and the Father are one." Does it prove that Yeshua is God?
In John 10:33 Yeshua is accused of blasphemy and of making himself to be God. "For a good work we do not stone you but for blasphemy and for making yourself God." Did he actually claim to be God?
Does Mark 2:5-8 show that Yeshua claims to be God?
Colossians 1:15 says about Yeshua: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." See also similar verses in 1 Co 11:7, 2 Co. 4:4, etc. Does it prove the deity of Yeshua?
Col 2:9 says about Yeshua that "For in Him dwells the fullness of Godhead bodily." See also Col 1:19. Does it prove that Yeshua is God?
The trinitarian theology claims that Yeshua (Jesus) gave up a temporary earthly life as a god-man to return to his role in heaven, where, as part of the Trinity, he reigns as God. Does the Scripture support this claim?
If Yeshua was God how could he be tempted by Satan?
What are the scriptures in the N.T. contradicting the doctrine of Trinity?
Does 1 John 5:7-8 prove the Trinitarian doctrine?
Doesn't Psalms 110:1 show that the Messiah will not only be greater than David but must also be a divine being? Psalms 110:1 states (NKJV): "A Psalm concerning David. The LORD said to my Lord. Sit at my right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."
Isn't the doctrine of the Trinity supported by Genesis 19:24: "Then the Lord caused to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven"?
Does word "Elohim"—God in Hebrew, which has a plural masculine ending denote a plurality or compound unity of God?
If, as stated in item 14, above, God Almighty is not plural, then why does "Elohim" have a plural ending?
If God created the world alone why does He say "Let Us make man in Our image…"?
In Genesis 18:1-2 do three men who appeared to Abraham represent the Trinity?
Does Romans 9:5 state that Yeshua is God? The NKJV translates the Greek text as follows: "…Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God."
In John 8:58 Yeshua says "Before Abraham was I AM." Does this indicate that Yeshua claims to be the "Great I AM" i.e. God?
Does Hebrews 1:8 claims that Yeshua is God?
In Philippians 2:11 Paul states "that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Doesn't this show that he taught that Jesus and God are equal?
Does Micah 5:2 state that Yeshua is eternal?
Is Proverbs 8:22-31 a messianic passage and as such does it confirm the fact that Yeshua is a created being?
If Yeshua was not a Deity, then he should not be worshipped. Why did not he stop individuals who worshipped him?
Since Yeshua was a Son of God and since a son always has the same nature as his father, should not we conclude that he also was divine and has the same nature?
Since Yeshua has died for the sins of mankind, does not this unique sacrifice and great accomplishment deserve a worship? Should not such a great person be elevated to the highest possible level of godhood?
What about I Timothy 3:16? Does it prove the Trinity?
As we have seen in section 10 above, there are many N.T. verses which contradict the doctrine of Trinity. Are there also Hebrew Scriptures in the Bible (the Christian Old Testament) which make it impossible for Yeshua to be God?
Why was it impossible for a Jewish person living in the first century to even think that Yeshua was divine?
From the point of view of Judaism, a belief in God having a human form or in the messiah who is God, is an idolatry. If Paul believed in the deity of Yeshua, then why he, being accused of teaching not to respect the law of Moses, was not accused of a much more severe sin, that of idolatry?
Did Jesus ever explicitly deny being God?
Are there Scriptures which specifically state that only one person in the Christian Trinity is God, thus rejecting the entire doctrine of a triune God?
Does the verse in John 20:28 show that Thomas believed Yeshua (Jesus) was God?
Does John 1:1 support the doctrine of the deity of Jesus?
Is there a basis for the Holy Spirit to be considered a person and should it be called "He" rather than "it"?
Does Zohar's commentary on Deuteronomy 6:4 (the Shema) confirm the Christian doctrine of the Trinity?
Does Christian doctrine of the Deity of Yeshua (Jesus) contradict other Christian doctrines?
Historical Origins of the Doctrine of Trinity
Does Isaiah 9:6 prove that Yeshua (the original Hebrew for Jesus) is God? (New King James Version—NKJV) "For unto us a Child is born… And His Name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
The Trinitarian argument here is that this passage claims that the Child (Yeshua-Jesus) is God.
Let us look into the original Hebrew to answer this argument:
This passage, if transliterated, into English can be written as: "vaikra shmo pele yoetz el gibor avi- ad sar- shalom."
The confusion in translation results from the following facts to which we will refer repeatedly in other cases:
(*) Hebrew, like Russian and many other languages, does not use verb "is" as routinely as English does and it is only implied in most sentences.
(**) Also, Hebrew, as Russian, in many cases omits a preposition "of" which is implied by the construct form of plural masculine ending or by the context.
Secondly, often Hebrew names in the Bible are statements about the Heavenly Father (YHWH), rather than about the owner of the name: as in the name of Eliezer (my God is help). Also, king Hezekiah's name literally means "Mighty God".
Therefore, a more correct translation in agreement with this tradition would be "And his name will be called: Wonderful Counselor IS Mighty God…", etc. Some Jewish Sources translate it with "of" instead of "is" as in "Wonderful Counselor OF Mighty God…".
Additionally, the word "El" does not necessarily mean "God Almighty" but may mean "power" and is an original name of a bovine Canaanite deity.
Thus, this verse does not in any way speak of the Deity of Yeshua, but rather ascribes to him, albeit indirectly, a quality of Wisdom, see the book of Proverbs.
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Does word "one" in Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one" mean compound unity allowing room for a Trinity? Or it is an absolute singularity as the Jewish people believe?
Genesis 2:24 (NKJV) "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." The trinitarian argument here is that the Hebrew word "echad" means a compound unity, and therefore, in the verse in Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one" the word "one" (echad) means a compound unity as well and this justifies the Christian belief in the Trinity.
This argument is based on a faulty text analysis and incorrect analogy. Indeed, the word "one" in Gen. 2:24 pertains to a family unit of two people—husband and wife, not to each person in this unit individually. On the other hand, in Christian Trinity the word "God" is applied to each member of the Trinity individually—to the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit AND to the Trinity itself as well.
To clarify this distinction, consider a room with one singular chair. This chair consists of molecules and thus is a compound unity. However, if we say that this is one chair, we mean that we have an absolute singularity—one chair and no more in this room. We have no "union" of chairs. Thus, the word "one" as applied to this chair is a singularity even though the chair is a compound unity of molecules. Each molecule is not called "a chair" and has a completely different nature and properties than the whole chair and than some other molecules.
Not so in the Christian concept of Trinity. There, the whole of Trinity is called "God" and each individual member of it is also called "God".
Thus, on one hand, we have a unity of objects constituting a new object which is completely different in nature and in quality from its parts. The one chair in the room is singular but consists of molecules, the family of Adam and Eve is singular but consists of husband and wife and each molecule is not called "chair" just as Adam or just Eve is not called "family".
On the other hand, in the trinitarian doctrine both the Trinity itself and its parts are thought of having the same Divine nature.
Thus, the analogy between a compound unity of objects forming a qualitatively new object and the Trinity is faulty. The word "one" in Genesis 2:24 refers to the new object—family and does not imply plurality of families. In the same vein, the word "one" (echad) in Deuteronomy 6:4 does not imply that God consists of parts each one being in turn also God. It also, as in Gen. 2:24 means singularity.
The only way the verse 6:4 in Deuteronomy could justify the trinitarian doctrine if the word "echad" applied to God there meant a compound unity of objects of the same nature i.e. would mean a conglomeration of personalities each of whom would be God himself. But such usage of the word "one" (echad) is not found anywhere in the Bible.
In fact, the verse 1 Corinthians 8:6 "yet for us there is only one God, the Father…" shows that the word "one" refers to the Father only and He is the only God.
Compare this with the verse in Ecclesiastes 4:8 "There is one alone (echad) without a companion…". Here the passage provides an insight into the meaning of the word "echad" - "one". This means without a companion, alone, singular, not plural.
To put the matter completely to rest, we mention Psalm 86:10 "…Thou art God alone". The word "alone" here is the Hebrew levadecha—"Thou alone". This is the word denoting aloneness, separateness, singularity in Hebrew. See also Ps. 83:18 "Whose name alone is YHWH", Ps. 148:13 "Let them praise the Name of YHWH: His name alone is exalted", etc., where the same word "levad" is used. This is to show that God is a singular, not a compound entity.
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In John 10:30 Jesus (Yeshua) says "I and the Father are one." Does it prove that Yeshua is God?
The English translation uses the same word "one" but the passage quoted is in Greek. "\'ee\'fe" in Greek is "one". However, John 17:11 says about believers: "…that they [believers] may be one as We are."
Also, John 17:21-23 says "that they all may be one, as you, Father are in Me, and I in you; that they also may be one in Us…" "that they may be one just as We are one: I in them and you in Me; that they may be made perfect in one…". These verses speak about believers, who are, obviously, can not claim the divinity ascribed to Yeshua (Jesus) by the trinitarians.
Therefore, John 10:30 provides us no greater proof of the deity of Yeshua than John 17:11, 21-23 is proving the deity of his disciples.
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In John 10:33 Yeshua is accused of blasphemy and of making himself to be God. "For a good work we do not stone you but for blasphemy and for making yourself God." Did he actually claim to be God?
This accusation follows Yeshua's statement in John 10:30 where he claimed to be one with God, see item 3 above. As we have seen already, this is not a claim to divinity. In John 10:34 Yeshua emphatically denies this accusation of claiming to be God by quoting Psalm 82:5 "I said you are gods and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes."
Here the power and anointing of people to whom the word of God came makes them "gods" i.e. powers but it does not make them the divine beings as the Almighty. Yeshua quoting this passage thus likens himself to the mortals mentioned in this scriptures, but does not claim to be God. In John 10:36 He claims to be the son of God as the men in Psalms 82:5.
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Does Mark 2:5-8 show that Yeshua claims to be God?
NKJV translates these verses as follows: "When Yeshua saw their faith He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" And immediately, when Yeshua perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?"
Clearly, in the last verse Yeshua rebukes these scribes for this faulty reasoning and does not agree with their conclusions. He, in fact, objects to their assumptions that he claims to be God.
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Colossians 1:15 says about Yeshua: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." See also similar verses in 1 Co 11:7, 2 Co. 4:4, etc. Does it prove the deity of Yeshua?
This verse, actually, shows that God is, indeed, invisible which can't be said about Yeshua. Moreover, according to 1 Corinthians 11:7 "he [man] is the image and Glory of God…". Thus, it speaks the same thing about any man. See also Genesis 1:26 ("Let us make man in our image…".
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Col 2:9 says about Yeshua that "For in Him dwells the fullness of Godhead bodily." See also Col 1:19. Does it prove that Yeshua is God?
No, it does not say this at all. It just tells us that the Spirit of God indwelled Yeshua in his body fully. In fact, in Ephesians 3:19 it is Paul's prayer that "you [believers] may be filled with the fullness of God." This prayer, if answered, would not make the recipients and readers of Paul's epistle divine, but would fill them to the same fullness of the Spirit that dwelled in Yeshua.
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The trinitarian theology claims that Yeshua (Jesus) gave up a temporary earthly life as a god-man to return to his role in heaven, where, as part of the Trinity, he reigns as God. Does the Scripture support this claim?
In Isaiah 53:12, God speaks of the suffering servant of the Lord, who, as a result of his selflessness, is willing to give up all that he possesses in the service of God.
Clearly, it is unreasonable to say that God-man Yeshua sacrificed himself for the redemption of mankind when, by his actions he gained more than he lost. Paul writes: "…Jesus Christ, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name…". (Philippians 2:5-11).
There is a gross misuse of the concept of "sacrifice" where one who is alleged to be divine knows that by giving up a flesh-and-blood existence, something essentially unimportant to him, he will receive in return a position of eternal exaltation and power.
This cannot be called sacrifice. On leaving his transitory human lifespan behind him, Yeshua returned to heaven to once more allegedly become part of the eternal Godhead.
Why should Yeshua be rewarded for his alleged sacrifice, for doing what he himself, as God, wanted done? There is no point for God, of whom Yeshua is allegedly a part, to say: "I will divide him a portion with the great" as an actual reward to Himself. Such reward can be properly given to one who is all human and not one who is at the same time divine. The suffering servant is promised "a portion with the great" and that "he shall divide the spoil with the mighty," but if Yeshua is God, who can be great enough to share the spoil with him? Is it conceivable that one who is God could possibly have only "a portion" comparable to that of mere earthly rulers, or that "he shall divide the spoil" with anyone? Even if this could be rationalized, it would then run counter to what is stated in Psalm 2, which refers to Yeshua.
In that psalm, God offers, to the person in question, the entire earth for a possession (verse 8), and all rulers are told to give homage to that person (verse 10-12).
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If Yeshua was God how could he be tempted by Satan?
God could not possibly sin because a notion of sinful God is a contradiction in terms. If Yeshua was not capable of sinning then any attempt by Satan to tempt him would be completely futile.
Mark simply states that Yeshua was tempted by Satan (1:13) but Matthew (4:1-11) and Luke (4:1-13) elaborate the story. It is written that during Yeshua's forty days' sojourn in the desert, following his baptism by John, Satan tempted him with promises of an earthly kingdom if Yeshua would only worship him.
If Yeshua is part of God, how could he possibly sin, and how could Satan possibly hope to tempt him? Satan's words would be absolutely meaningless. Surely, even the earthly Yeshua was incapable of committing as sinful an act as worshipping of Satan.
Indeed, unlike a mere mortal, it was decreed that Yeshua follow exactly the life outlined for his earthly existence by the very godhead of which he was an integral part.
In assuming a human body, Yeshua knew what God's purpose for the future of mankind was and what was expected of him in order to bring this about. Did Yeshua, the perfect god-man, have free will to sin while on earth? Obviously not!
Had he failed to carry out God's plan, the entire timetable would have been eternally disrupted. Lacking free will to do as he pleased, Yeshua could not truly have been tempted.
Neither could Satan, as one of God's creations, promise Yeshua, who was already divine and in potential control of the universe, a mere kingdom as a reward for worshipping him. Yeshua was not one who would accept worthless promises.
If Yeshua was a divine being, Satan's offer would not in the least have been a temptation to him. However, it was said of Yeshua that "For because he himself has suffered and has been tempted, he is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted" (Hebrews 2:18).
But if he was God as well as man at the time of his temptation by Satan, how is this verse, and indeed the entire temptation episode, to be reconciled with the belief expressed by the author of James? He states: "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"(James 1:13).
If according to James "God cannot be tempted by evil," then Yeshua who trinitarians claim is God could not have been tempted by Satan. The entire Gospel episode of Satan's temptation of Yeshua therefore contradicts the trinitarian doctrine.
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What are the scriptures in the N.T. contradicting the doctrine of Trinity?
An examination of the words of Yeshua, as recorded in the Gospels, clearly shows that he never said he was God or a part of God. Yeshua spoke of his Father in heaven as his God (John 20:17), to whom he attributed superior authority, knowledge, and greatness (Matthew 20:23, Mark 13:32, John 14:28).
Yeshua certainly was not equal to God, for he admitted freely that there were things that neither he nor the angels knew, but only God knew: "But of that day or the hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father" (Mark 13:32).
Furthermore, when experiencing difficulty, he displayed submission to God and prayed for help: "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet not my will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42).
Are these quotations from the Gospels consistent with the trinitarian claim that Yeshua is in fact one in substance and power with God? These verses are not random samplings. They are representative of the Gospels' teaching concerning Yeshua's relationship with God. Let us look at other Gospel verses which contain the words of Yeshua.
In Matthew 12:31-32 it is stated: "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And any who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in that to come."
Hence, we may reasonably presume that Yeshua, if he is to be equated with the "Son of Man" (John 8:28), is not of equal status with the Holy Spirit (supposedly the third member of the triune god).
In Matthew 20:20-23, the mother of the sons of Zebedee requests of Jesus that her sons be given prominent positions to the right and left of him in his kingdom. Yeshua explains to her that such decisions are not made by him, but by the Father: "…this is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." Does this statement illustrate equality within the Trinity?
In Matthew 24:35-36 (see also Mark 13:32) it is declared: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father."
Do various parts of the Trinity keep secrets from each other? How can the Father and Son be of one essence if the Father knows things of which the Son is ignorant? Similarly, when asked if he would "at this time" restore the kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6) Yeshua replied: "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has placed in His own jurisdiction" (Acts 1:7).
Are we to conclude that the "equal" partners of the triune godhead have powers and knowledge which they do not share with each other?
Luke 2:52 says: "And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in physical growth, and in favor with God and men." Do the members of the Trinity have likes and dislikes about each other? Did Yeshua, the perfect god-man, need to increase in favor with God, or shall we say two-thirds of God?
In the Gospel of John, Yeshua acknowledges: "I can do nothing on my own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but will of Him who sent me" (John 5:30; see also John 6:38). Are some members of the coequal Trinity subservient, and less than equal, to other members?
Even though they have different wills ("I do not seek my own will"), do they obey without question the others' commands ("the will of Him who sent me")? Yeshua admits to subordinating his own distinct will, yet according to the trinitarian doctrine they should all have the same will. Should one of the triune partners have to forgo his own will in favor of the will of another member of the Trinity? Should not they all have the exact same will?
In John 8:28-29 Yeshua says: "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me; He has not left me alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." Do the members of the Trinity have varying knowledge, which they dispense to their other parts when the latter behave properly?
John 14:28 quotes Yeshua as saying: "…I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am." Is this coequality within the Trinity? In John 14:31 Yeshua says: "As the Father gave me command, even so I do." Are we to presume that the Son has no authority without the consent of the Father?
In John 20:17, Yeshua recognizes that he is not the equal second partner of a triune god when he says to Mary Magdalene: "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God."
Other New Testament passages also indicate that Yeshua and God are not equal members of a triune god. According to Hebrews 5:8, the perfect god-man "learned obedience from the things which he suffered."
Paul states: "Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:3). "You belong to Christ," Paul says, but he goes on to say that "Christ belongs to God" (1 Corinthians 3:23). As man is subservient to Christ, and woman to man, so Christ is subservient to God.
The one who is subservient to another cannot be equal to that individual. All indications are that the doctrine of the Trinity is not taught in the New Testament.
Additionally, the New Testament claims that no one has seen God at any time, see John 1:18, I John 4:12. This, obviously, does not describe Yeshua in any way. Therefore, Yeshua does not have a status of a divinity.
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Does 1 John 5:7-8 prove the Trinitarian doctrine?
It depends on which translation of the New Testament we are using. Many modern translations do not include this supposed proof of a trinitarian godhead.
As rendered in the King James Version of the Bible, it reads: "For there are three that bear record in heaven the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."
However, these verses do not occur in any reliable Greek manuscript. There is an interesting footnote to the above to be found in the Catholic Jerusalem Bible (1966), which does not have the added words in the main text.
It states: Vulg[ate] vv.7-8 read as follows: "There are three witnesses in Heaven: the Father the Word and the Spirit, and these three are one; there are three witnesses on earth: the Spirit the water and the blood."
These words (not in any of the early Greek MSS, or any of the early translations, or in the best MSS of the Vulgate itself) are probably a gloss that has crept into the text.
These spurious words may have been the work of an overzealous copyist, who inserted this statement so as to lend credence to the doctrine of the Trinity. Whatever its source, the crucial passage is of much later origin than the original authorship of 1 John.
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Doesn't Psalms 110:1 show that the Messiah will not only be greater than David but must also be a divine being? Psalms 110:1 states (NKJV): "A Psalm concerning David. The LORD said to my Lord. Sit at my right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."
Let us look at the Hebrew text quoted in the book of Mark in Greek (Mark 12:36). The first "LORD" in the original Hebrew is the Divine Name "the Tetragrammaton" (YHWH) and the second word also translated as "Lord" (but in a slightly different capitalization) is Hebrew word "Adoni" (my master).
David is accepting that the Messiah will be greater than he is. However, there is nothing in this verse to show that David is referring to the Messiah when he writes "adoni"—my master, or "my lord" as a divine being.
In Mark 12:35 Yeshua is quoted as saying: "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself said by the Holy Spirit; "The Lord—[kurios] said to my Lord [kurio mou], 'Sit at My right hand, until I put your enemies beneath your feet.' David himself calls him 'Lord,' how is he then his son? (Mark 12:35-37).
The Greek text of Mark uses the Greek word "kurios", "lord," twice in the sentence, and the translations into English capitalize the initial letter of the word to read "Lord" in both instances. In the original Hebrew the two words are completely different, one meaning YHWH—the divine name of God and the other, referring to the Messiah is Adoni, meaning "master".
Since both words are translated into Greek as "Kurios", they are also translated as the same word "Lord" into English. This double translation of Psalm 110 from Hebrew into Greek and then into English might have created an impression that the two words mean the same thing in the original and the Messiah is called by the same title as God. As we have seen, this is not the case.
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Isn't the doctrine of the Trinity supported by Genesis 19:24: "Then the Lord caused to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven"?
It has been alleged by some trinitarian theologians that there are two divine personalities mentioned in this verse, one on earth, conversing with Abraham, and the other in heaven. The one on earth, it is claimed, rained down fire upon the two cities from the one in heaven.
There is, however, no grammatical basis for such an inference. In accordance with the construction of the Hebrew language, we find that in the first half of the verse the reader is informed about who caused the brimstone and fire to fall upon the two cities. In the second half of the verse he is told for emphasis, not only from whom it came but also from where. The verse emphasizes that it is "from the Lord," in order to leave no doubt as to who is in command of events.
An individual will often speak of himself in the third person instead of using the first person. Examples of this may be seen in the following:
Lamech said, "Hear my voice you wives of Lamech" (Genesis 4:23), not "my wives"; similarly David said, "Take with you the servants of your lord" (1 Kings 1:33), and not "my servants"; and Ahasuerus said, "…in the name of the king" (Esther 8:8), not "in my name." They are all referring to themselves in the third person not to another personality.
Likewise, when God speaks of Himself in the third person He is also not speaking of another personality. God uses the technique of speaking in the third person about Himself in a number of scriptural contexts.
It is a common feature of the Scriptures, when "the Lord" (YHWH) speaks, for the text to repeat the noun rather than make use of a pronoun (e.g. Genesis 18:19; Exodus 3:12, 24:1; Numbers 19:1-2; Zechariah 1:17).
As we can see, the use of "from the Lord" rather than "from Him," in the verse under discussion, conforms with the biblical usage. There is no scriptural reason to assume that two divine personalities are mentioned.
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Does word "Elohim"—God in Hebrew, which has a plural masculine ending denote a plurality or compound unity of God?
Let us consider Genesis 1:1 where the word "Elohim" is first mentioned. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the Earth." The word for "created" in Hebrew is "Bara" which is past tense singular masculine. If, indeed, the scripture referred to God as a plural being it would have said "Baru" which is a plural past tense form of the verb. Thus, because the verb "created" in Hebrew text is singular, the word "Elohim" here does not denote plurality.
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If, as stated in item 14, above, God Almighty is not plural, then why does "Elohim" have a plural ending?
In many instances in the Bible the Hebrew text uses majestic plurality to indicate a high office or a dignity of a person. For example, Abraham and David are called "Adonai" (literally "my lords") not just "my lord" which is "Adoni" in Hebrew, see Gen. 24:9 where the genitive case of the word "Adonai" is used in reference to Abraham, see also Gen. 24:10 and II Kings 5:1, etc.
The claims by some Christians that Hebrew does not have majestic plurality is false.
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If God created the world alone why does He say "Let Us make man in Our image…"?
There can be several explanations not involving pagan doctrine of plurality of God. The traditional Jewish sources state that God is speaking to angels. A believer in the Messiah may suggest that Yeshua is spoken to. However, the majestic plurality as explained in item 13 above is a sufficient explanation.
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In Genesis 18:1-2 do three men who appeared to Abraham represent the Trinity?
The Bible verses state: "And the Lord (YHWH) appeared unto him [Abraham] by the terebinths of Mamre, as he sat in the door of the tent in the heat of the day. And he lifted up his eyes and looked and, lo, three men stood over against him, and when he saw them he ran to meet them from the door of the tent and bowed down to earth, and said: My Lord (or my lords)—"Adonai" if now I have found favor in thy sight pass not away I pray thee from thy servant." Also, in verses 18:13-15 the conversation switched from being carried between Abraham and three men (angels or messengers)to that between God—YHWH and Abraham. Does this indicate that the three men represent God?
We know from John 1:18 that "no one has seen God at any time." Therefore, these angels or men are not God Himself. These angels were present while Abraham conversed with God but nowhere the scripture indicate that they actually were God Himself. In Biblical prophecies, a speech frequently and abruptly switches from the prophet to God or from God speaking in the first person to Him speaking in the third person, see item 9 above for scriptural references.
The reason God sent three men to Abraham was to do three tasks (usually each angel conveys only one message or task in the scripture). The first one to tell Abraham about Isaac future conception and birth, the second one to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and the third one to rescue Lot. Nowhere plurality of God is asserted here.
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Does Romans 9:5 state that Yeshua is God? The NKJV translates the Greek text as follows: "…Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God."
However, the interlinear version translates "…the Christ according to the flesh, He being over all, God blessed to the ages." The end of this sentence being just a blessing toward God not an assertion of Yeshua's divinity.
The more precise NAS version also agrees with the latter translation.
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In John 8:58 Yeshua says "Before Abraham was I AM." Does this indicate that Yeshua claims to be the "Great I AM" i.e. God?
First of all, we note that the capitalization of " I AM" is not in the Greek text, where all letters in these two words are in lower case and it could be just as well translated as "I am".
Secondly, the allusion to the "Great I AM" came from the mistranslation of the verse in Exodus 3:14. The NKJV translates it as "And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM" and He said, "Thus you should say to the children of Israel, "I AM" has sent me to you."
Needless to say, neither capitalization nor the verb "AM" are present in the original Hebrew. Hebrew language does not use capital letters at all, neither does it have word "AM" i.e. verb "to be" does not exist in the first person singular present tense in Hebrew.
The Jewish translation of the Bible, The Jerusalem Bible, Koren Publishers, Jerusalem, 1983 renders its translation of the name as "I will ever be what I now am" and the Hebrew text plainly has future tense verbs—"I will be what I will be"—"ehie asher ehie" the first word "ehie"—"I will be" is the same as the third and the middle "asher" meaning "what" or "which".
So the literal translation of the name can only be "I will be what (or which) I will be". Perhaps, trinitarians have deliberately mistranslated the name here to fit an erroneous interpretation of John 8:58.
This shows that any attempt to tie John 8:58 to Exodus 3:14 is misguided. Nowhere Yeshua claims to be God and "The Great I AM" title is not in the Bible but is a fiction of trinitarian mistranslation.
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Does Hebrews 1:8 claims that Yeshua is God?
The NKJV translates this passage taken from the original Hebrew in Psalms 45:5-6 as follows: "But to the Son He says: Thy throne O, God, is forever and ever…"
The Hebrew text in Psalms 45:5-6 quoted here in Greek, as well as the Greek version do not have exclamation "O, God". Neither does the Original Hebrew text in Psalm 45:5-6. The Interlinear Bible as well as the Greek text translate this phrase as "of God". So does NAS version as well as the Hebrew Jerusalem Bible translation of Psalm 45:5-6.
Therefore, this passage does not claim the divinity of Yeshua.
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In Philippians 2:11 Paul states "that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Doesn't this show that he taught that Jesus and God are equal?
Not at all. In Philippians 2:5-11, we have another Pauline statement of Jesus' subservient position to God: "The attitude you should have is the one Christ had: Although he existed in the form of God he did not think that by force he should try to become equal with God. Instead, he emptied himself and took the form of a slave and came to be in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient until death, even on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name." The statement that Jesus had the "form of God" could not mean that he was God or even one-third of God. Paul's Jesus is not equal to God but is a being considered to have been raised to an exalted position by God. That which is not equal to God cannot be God.
Furthermore, Jesus is proclaimed Lord, but Paul does not use "Lord" and "God" here as synonymous terms. Paul considers Jesus to be a highly honored being, but does not make him equal with God.
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Does Micah 5:2 state that Yeshua is eternal?
The NKJV translates this verse as: "But for you, Bethlehem Ephrata, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet of you shall come forth to Me the One to be ruler of Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Does this expression "from everlasting" show the eternity of the Messiah?
The original Hebrew text for the underlined words says:—"mikedem miimei olam" which literally means "from early times from the days of old". The Jerusalem Bible (Koren Publishers) translates this passage as " from ancient time, from days of old". (There are two existing translations called "Jerusalem Bible". One is Jewish, by Koren Publishers and another is Catholic translated from French.)
To be assured that "miimei olam" can't be translated as "from everlasting" we refer to the passage in the same book, Micah 7:14: "let them [flocks] feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old." The last words here are "kimei olam" ("kimei" means "as in the days") as in the passage in Micah 5:2. Since here "imei olam" is applied to flocks which are herds of mortal animals, it can not be translated as "everlasting". Also, expression "days of everlasting" would have very little sense.
Therefore, the translation of Jerusalem Bible (Koren Publishers) should be accepted over that of the NKJV. Being "of old" is not the same as being eternal.
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Is Proverbs 8:22-31 a messianic passage and as such does it confirm the fact that Yeshua is a created being?
Yes, it does. The early messianic believers in Yeshua historically believed that the Wisdom of the book of Proverbs is a representation of Messiah. The Jerusalem Bible (Koren Publishers) translates this scripture as follows:
"The LORD (YHWH) created me as the beginning of his way, the first of his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, (miolam=of old) from the beginning, before ever the earth was." "… then I was by him (God) as a nurseling: and I was daily his delight, playing always before him; playing with the universe, his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men."
The word "kanani"—"created me" is translated in NKJV as "possessed". But this does not make any sense in this context. It would make sense if it were a possession by an evil spirit, not by the Almighty. The word "kanah" in the Hebrew dictionary can be translated as "to create" or "to possess".
Which of the two translations is correct? Verse 8:23 says "I was set up…" meaning there was a time of appearing, i.e. the beginning of Messiah existed. Hence the former translation "to create" is more correct. Moreover, the word "beginning"—" breishit" always refers to creation, see Gen. 1:1, where the same word is used in the verse "In the beginning God created…".
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If Yeshua was not a Deity, then he should not be worshipped. Why did not he stop individuals who worshipped him?
Let us look first at the scripture in I Samuel 25:23-24 (NKJV):
"Now when Abigail saw David, she hastened to dismount him from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground. So she fell at his feet and said: 'On me, my lord, [the capitalization in the word "lord" is entirely arbitrary in the NKJV since in the original Hebrew all letters have the same case], on me, let this iniquity be.' …"
David did not stop such an ostentatious display of servile obeisance and Abigail, obviously, did not believe that David is God Almighty to be worshipped. This was just an ancient way of paying homage to an important person whose favor one seeks.
The words which are translated in the NKJV as "worship", "worshipped", etc., are simply Greek words for genuflection. In fact, Mark 5:5-6 is translated in the NASB (New American Standard Bible) as "And seeing Jesus from a distance he ran up and bowed down before Him;". The Interlinear Bible translates the same passage using the words "bowed the knee" while the NKJV uses the word "worshipped".
The Greek word "prosekunesen" in the Greek text means "bowed the knee" which may or may not signify an intent to worship Deity. In any case, no conclusion can be made that Yeshua was worshipped as Deity based on the Greek words denoting a bowing of the knee. This was just a form of honor customary in the Biblical times.
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Since Yeshua was a Son of God and since a son always has the same nature as his father, should not we conclude that he also was divine and has the same nature?
The second part of the previous statement is of purely speculative nature and not based on the Scriptures. Indeed, mammals have the same nature as their parents, but to apply such analogy to God verges on blasphemy. In the same category is the trinitarian "argument" "explaining" the Trinity by comparing it to a fruit having seed, core and pulp.
In John 1:12 all believers in Yeshua are designated as "sons of God". Since that title does not make them divine, neither does it elevate Yeshua to the status of a Deity.
Was not Yeshua a Son of God in a very different way by a virtue of Mary's birth through the Holy Spirit?
If such a birth could elevate Yeshua to a divinity status, then he would only become God after his birth or conception by Mary and was not God before that event when he existed before Abraham's time according to John 8:58. This would allow a preposterous situation making it possible for one who is not God to become one later. This also directly contradicts the Scripture in Malachi 3:6: "I am the Lord (YHWH), I change not."
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Since Yeshua has died for the sins of mankind, does not this unique sacrifice and great accomplishment deserve a worship? Should not such a great person be elevated to the highest possible level of godhood?
Surprisingly, this argument, although entirely absurd, is very popular among the trinitarians and as such, should be answered.
Yeshua's sacrifice was to bring righteousness into the world. What this argument calls for is to "reward" him by violating the commandment quoted by Yeshua himself as the most important. Mark 12:28-29 describes a dialog of Yeshua with one of the scribes: "…asked him, which is the first commandment of all? Jesus andwered him, 'Hear O, Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.'" Mark 12:28-29.
See also Mathew 4:10 which quotes Yeshua himself as saying: "You shall worship the LORD (YHWH) your God, and Him only you shall serve". This shows that only the LORD—YHWH can be worshipped and not Yeshua.
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What about I Timothy 3:16? Does it prove the Trinity?
The latter part of the verse mentioned is not in a more reliable Bible translations such as the New American Standard Bible (NAS). In I Timothy
3:16, the NAS Bible verse simply says: "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training inrighteousness." The NKJV, however includes an addition which may sound trinitarian.
To find out about an unreliable trinitarian insertion which is not present in more scholarly translations of a Bible, see a book by Louis Trenchard More, "Isaac Newton: A Biography" (New York, 1934), pp. 634-637. Newton's tract, An Historical Account of two Notable Corruptions of Scripture, a treatise concerning the discovery of the trinitarian alteration of 1 Tim 3:16.
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As we have seen in section 10 above, there are many N.T. verses which contradict the doctrine of Trinity. Are there also Hebrew Scriptures in the Bible (the Christian Old Testament) which make it impossible for Yeshua to be God?
Deuteronomy 4:15-4:20 gives a warning to Israelites: "Take, therefore good heed to yourselves: for you saw no manner of form on the day LORD spoke to you in Horev out of the midst of the fire: lest you become corrupt and make a carved idol, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female…".
Here God warns Israelites not to make and worship idols and He gives them possible idolatry temptations as the reason for not appearing to them as a figure of male or female. Did this reason stop to exist a few centuries later when Yeshua appeared supposedly as a human incarnation of God? The plethora of statues, icons and pictures of Jesus being prayed to and worshipped all over the world proves otherwise.
This shows that the reasons given in the Scriptures for God not manifesting Himself as an image of a man or animal still hold. God does not manifest Himself as a male or female.
Another set of pertinent Biblical verses is found in Deuteronomy 6:14-15. "You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people who are round about you: (for the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be inflamed against thee, and he destroy thee from the face of the earth." Since Jesus is recognized and worshipped as God in almost all countries of the world, these verses directly prohibit any worship of him or recognition of him as a deity. This, however, does not necessarily cast aspersion on his messianic claims.
See also Deuteronomy 13:7-10: "If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, who is at thy own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; of the gods of the peoples who are round about you, either near to thee, or far from thee, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth; thou shalt not consent to him, nor hearken to him; nor shall thy eye pity him, nor shalt thou spare, nor shalt thou conceal him: but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people."
Certainly, most of the Jewish people today or at any time in history, as well as their fathers, were not worshippers of Jesus and thus have not known him as a god. Therefore, this Scripture applies to them and directly prohibits such a worship or belief in his deity.
We find another Scripture supporting nontrinitarian exegesis in Zechariah 14:9: "And the LORD [in the original Hebrew YHWH] shall be king over all the earth. In that day the LORD shall be one and his name one." This shows that in the latter days to which this verses refers, the name of God will be YHWH only, which would not be the case if Yeshua were a deity.
Perhaps the strongest argument for a Jewish person would be a simple proclamation of Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear O Israel: the LORD our God; the LORD is one", in which, as we have seen in section 2, the word "one"—"echad" connotes singularity rather than plurality.
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Why was it impossible for a Jewish person living in the first century to even think that Yeshua was divine?
The concept of the messiah was firmly established in the minds of the Jewish people of that period. The messiah (the Hebrew mashiach) means the annointed one. This term traditionally was applied to the kings of Israel. However, the messiah who was expected to come and was waited impatiently in some circles of the Jewish people, was not supposed to be divine. He was expected to be a human being sent by God, not a god.
Yeshua never redefined this concept of the messiah. He just claimed to be one without ever explaining that in his mind messiah does not mean to be a created human, but God himself. He assumed that the word messiah is self-explanatory and does not need any qualification.
If Yeshua ever claimed to be divine he would have told his disciples and listeners that in his mind the messiah is not what they used to think and would redefine the concept. Such redefinition is not found anywhere in the New Testament, therefore Yeshua only claimed to be the messiah in the accepted sense—a human being, created by God.
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From the point of view of Judaism, a belief in God having a human form or in the messiah who is God, is an idolatry. If Paul believed in the deity of Yeshua, then why he, being accused of teaching not to respect the law of Moses, was not accused of a much more severe sin, that of idolatry?
This is a good question. The lack of accusations in idolatry against Paul can only be explained by the fact that he never believed or taught the doctrine of the deity of Yeshua. Otherwise, the accusations against him by the pharisees would have been much more severe and would contain the expressed charges of idolatry.
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Did Jesus ever explicitly deny being God?
There is an episode recorded in Luke 18:18-19 which shows an outright denial of his divinity by Jesus himself: "Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, 'Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' So Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is God.'"
Some trinitarians claim that Jesus by these words challenged the ruler to proclaim him, i.e. Jesus to be God. However, such claim is not supported by any of the Scriptures. Neither the ruler confessed his belief in the deity of Jesus, nor Jesus himself made any claims to be God. See also Mathew 19:17 and Mark 10:17-21 for similar renditions of the same episode.
Thus, outright direct denial of his own deity was made by Jesus himself.
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Are there Scriptures which specifically state that only one person in the Christian Trinity is God, thus rejecting the entire doctrine of a triune God?
I CORINTHIANS 8:4-6 …We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. (NKJV)
EPHESIANS 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (NKJV)
I TIMOTHY 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, (NKJV)
These verses specifically state that only Father is God not the Son and not the Holy Spirit.
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Does the verse in John 20:28 show that Thomas believed Yeshua (Jesus) was God?
In the passage before this verse, Thomas doubts Jesus' resurrection. John 20:25 "…But he [Thomas] said to them, 'Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.'"
After that, Thomas sees Jesus resurrected and the following dialogue takes place, John 20:27-28: "Then He [Jesus] said to Thomas: 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.' And Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!'" (NKJV).
Would Thomas by virtue of simply ascertaining for himself that Jesus has indeed resurrected, make a confession that the latter is deity? The majority of the Jews in Judea (with the exception of Sadducees) believed in resurrection of all the House of Israel.
In fact, Ezekiel 37, written centuries before the event is described in John 20, devotes the whole chapter to the description of resurrection. One does not have to be "Lord and God" ("YHWH and Elohim" in Hebrew) to be resurrected. Jesus Himself repeatedly predicted his own resurrection (Luke 9:22, 18:33)and taught on resurrection of others, and the even scribes who frequently opposed him, approved (Luke 20:27-39).
Therefore, nothing in the John 20:25-28 episode offers a basis for Thomas' supposed sudden theological "insight" into the nature of Jesus. Thomas was simply overcome by astonishment at the supernatural event of resurrection. His exclamation "My Lord and my God!" was simply an expression of surprise and, possibly, gratitude to God, not a "confession" of deity of Yeshua.
How many people have exclaimed "Oh my God!" when surprised, frightened or overcome with other emotions? Should we take it as a confession of faith in the deity of the person who happened to be next to them at the time? Obviously, John 20:28 belongs to the same category of exclamations and does not lend any ground to trinitarian beliefs.
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Does John 1:1 support the doctrine of the deity of Jesus?
Let us look at the text: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehed it." (John 1:1-5).
Also, John 1:14 states: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (NKJV)
This text parallels verses in Genesis 1:1-4: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said: 'Let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness."
In the latter passage and later, in Genesis 1, the process of creation is described. The creation was through the spoken word of God. The word was spoken and then materialized as planets, animals, etc. Similarly, Genesis 1:26 describes the creation of man: "Then God said, 'Let us make man in Our image, according to our likeness;…' So God created man in His own image; …"
The spoken word of God was an instrument of creation and when it was spoken, the creation came into existence. Thus, the man Adam, created by God, as well as other creatures, were a materialized word, the word which became flesh.
In the light of these passages in Genesis 1, let us now look at the quoted verses in John 1. The phrase "in the beginning" (Hebrew "Bereishit") always connotes the creation. Thus, John simply restates the story of creation by means of God's word or Word, (the capitalization of "word" is not in the Greek text but whether it is or not is unimportant to our discussion).
John 1:14 states that Jesus is the Word (logos) which has become flesh just like other creatures of God were the word which materialized as flesh. Nowhere John suggests that the word was Jesus before he became flesh. Jesus came in the flesh before his birth of Mary and at ancient times his "delight was with the sons of men" as stated in Proverbs 8:31.
Thus, John 1 relates the story of creation which parallels Genesis 1, however the emphasis is on Yeshua (Jesus) used as an instrument of creation. Nowhere is he actually called "logos" or "God" or "god" in any way. Yeshua is the "Word which became flesh".
It can be said of some other God's creatures and inanimate objects created by God that they were created by a word becoming them, see the quoted passages in Genesis 1. The only substance from which God created the light, fish of the sea, etc. was his word.
As we can see, Yeshua is not called "God" in the quoted passage, but rather "Word" which "became flesh", but not the Word itself. As we saw in Proverbs 8 earlier, Yeshua was the first creation of God through God's Word and an instrument of God's creation, but not the Word itself or "God".
There is a significant controversy between Jehovah's Witnesses and the Fundamentalist Christians on whether the translation of John 1:1 should use capital or lower case "g" in the word God.
However, it is clear from the discussion above, that it has no bearing on the question of the deity of Yeshua. In either translation, Yeshua is not shown as a deity, as "God" or as "god", since the Greek word "Theos" applies to the Word only, not to the Word which "became flesh" as other creatures of God did.
The passage in John 1, clearly shows that Yeshua is a created being, the instrument of creation and not "God" or "god".
A caution is in order on the use of Greek word "Theos" for God. Before the advent of Christianity, the Greek gods to whom this word "Theos" was applied were described in Greek mythology as carnal, anthropomorphic beings, overcome with all sorts of nefarious passions: greed, envy, hate, etc. They killed, committed adultery, stole and cheated; they were devoid of many noble traits common even to mere mortal men. When Hebrew texts were presented for translation and Hebrew based ideas of the New Testament were to be expressed in Greek, the problem of representing Hebrew "Elohim" as Greek "Theos" has become evident.
Clearly, the invisible Hebrew "Elohim", whose ways are so much higher than the ways of men (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9) who is mysterious, unknowable and does not need food or drink, is not the same as "Theos" of Greek mythology. Apparently, the Christian idea of a man—god Jesus is a sort of compromise between Hebrew concept of God and pagan concepts of the Greeks.
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Is there a basis for the Holy Spirit to be considered a person and should it be called "He" rather than "it"?
The third person of the Christian Trinity is an artificial creation to satisfy the urge for imitating pagan trinities in other religions. In II Kings 2:9 Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah's spirit: "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me." Obviously, he did not ask for a human spirit, but for a spirit of miracles and prophecies which Elijah had. How can there be a double portion of a person?
As for a distinction between "he" or "it", this is a problem endemic to English only, since Hebrew and Greek use same personal pronouns for animate and inanimate objects, making the question moot.
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Does Zohar's commentary on Deuteronomy 6:4 (the Shema) confirm the Christian doctrine of the Trinity?
This is a Trinitarian fraud, published by a Christian convert Itshak Leib Jaszovics, alias "Rabbi Leopold Cohn". The claim that the Zohar's commentary on Deuteronomy 6:4 confirms the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is based on a spurious passage attributed to that volume.
It appears in Cohn's tract, "Do Christians Worship Three Gods?" (pp. 4-5), published by the Chosen People Ministries. On the basis of his forgery, Cohn concluded that according to the Zohar the Messiah is not only called Jehovah but is a very part of the triune Jehovah" (p. 5).
This forgery is also perpetuated in the literature of the Jews for Jesus missionary organization. Using Cohn's spurious passage, Arnold Fruchtenbaum, a born-Jewish Christian missionary, writes:
The Zohar, the great book of Jewish mysticism, recognized the concept of plurality in the Shema and commented as follows: Why is there need of mentioning the name of God three times in the verse? The first is the Father above. The second is the stem of Jesse, the Messiah who is to come from the family of Jesse through David. And the third one is the one which is below(meaning the Holy Spirit who shows us the way) and these three are one.
(Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Jewishness and the Trinity, San Francisco: Jews for Jesus, 1978, p. 8.
This article was first published in the Jews for Jesus publication Issues: A Jewish Christian Perspective, 1:8, 197
Fruchtenbaum quotes faithfully Cohn's fraudulent passage. However, a simple examination of the relevant Zohar commentary on the Shema reveals that no such text exists in the Zohar. Many other missionary organizations have quoted Cohn's forgery in their literature. (Some information in this passage was quoted from www.jewsforjudaism.org)
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Does Christian doctrine of the Deity of Yeshua (Jesus) contradict other Christian doctrines?
If Yeshua is an example for believers to follow, how can he be God? Who can imitate the Deity? And what virtue is in the sacrifice and an exemplary conduct of a person endowed with abilities far greater than a regular human? Should we admire an athlete because he can outrun a lame and could see farther than a blind? Should we admire a dolphin for swimming faster than a man? Neither is Yeshua to be praised and followed if he is by nature greater and more capable than a regular person. Thus, the propensity of heathen minds of the early Greek Christians to idolize and deify anything, has created a contradiction with the doctrines of the early Jewish followers of Yeshua.
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Historical Origins of the Doctrine of Trinity
The doctrine of the deity of Yeshua has not taken root until the second century with a pagan Gentile influx into Christianity. The doctrine of the trinity was formulated in the third century in imitation of pagan trinities of Babylon, Egypt and India.
The idolatry of the doctrine repulsed the Jewish believers in Yeshua and created a rift officially consolidated by the Council of Nicea of 325 C.E. and the Constantine's establishment of the state Church.
Constantine, a Roman Emperor who murdered his son and his wife, has established the State Church for political reasons and has presided over the Church Council of Nicea which deeply enmeshed early beliefs of the followers of Yeshua with indigenous Greek and Roman pagan practices. The doctrine of Trinity was adopted, a celebration of Passover was replaced by Easter (derived from the name of a Babylonian goddess "Ishtar") and Hanukah was replaced by Christmas (to conform with December 25th annual Roman Bachus festival existing centuries before Yeshua). At that time, a brutal persecution of original believers was started by the so called "Church Fathers".
The clash between Jewish concepts of the original faith in Yeshua and the pagan doctrines of the Church gave rise to the Church sponsored Anti-Semitism later continued by Martin Luther and the Nazis. The writings of Martin Luther, a firm Trinitarian, were admiringly quoted in Hitler's "Mein Kampf", a Nazi Manifesto. The Holocaust, during which 6 million Jews were killed, is, to a great extent, due to the Church prepared fertile ground of Anti-Semitism largely based on the the Jewish rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity and the Deity of Jesus. The deicide accusations against the Jews would not have been made, had not there been a pagan belief in God—Man Jesus whom generations of Christians worshipped just as of old their cultural ancestors worshipped pagan Greek and Roman gods. Such a belief obliterates the very teachings of the real person—Yeshua of Nazareth.
In his book "Judaism", J. Moore asserts that "in the early part of the third century the deification of Jesus had, at least in some localities, considerable foothold among Gentile Christians, though it was rejected by all Jewish ones, and was treated by many Gentiles as a dangerous innovation." Therefore, as we have seen, the doctrines of Trinity and the deity of Yeshua are the grossest violations of the first commandment and of the teachings of Yeshua himself. They are the product of a heathen mind and would be entirely alien to the Jewish followers of Yeshua, while finding a fertile ground for support in the pagan yearnings of the Constantinian Church.
http://www.hatikva.org/
This links you to another nontrinitarian website.
Introduction
Index of Trinitarian Arguments
Historical Origins of the Doctrine of Trinity
