Different views

The most widespread view is that of the doctrine of the Trinity. However, this is not the only performance. Here are a few more ways to look at it:

• God is One: Unitarians represent the conception that is closest to the conceptions of Judaism and Islam. God is One, and this One God is only the Father for Unitarians. Jesus is only a man, but appointed by God as “son”.
• God is Two-in-One: Binitarians maintain a conception that historically can be seen as a precursor to Trinitarianism. In binitarianism, the Godhead consists of Father and Son, and a Holy Spirit does not exist as a separate person in the Godhead.
• God is Three-in-One: Trinitarians see God as the Triune God. Trinity is the idea that the one God consists of three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This last view has become established in the institutionalized churches.

Today, many Christians believe that Trinitarianism (the doctrine of the Trinity) is the best representation of God. But it’s not that simple. Other Christians over the centuries have dismissed this Trinitarian view as heresy. An overview of different views can be found on Wikipedia, for example: Antitrinitarians.

The right question is not: How many are there? Rather, it is a matter of giving appropriate space to the expression that God is One. Logically, questions have to be asked about Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Have ideas crept in that no longer agree with Scripture, or has it finally been discovered after centuries how it really is? This much should be anticipated here: The Bible does not speak of a two-one or three-one God at any point. There is no Bible passage on this that explains it. The idea was unknown to the writers of the New Testament. No one refers after that. These views are derived centuries later. The arguments, insofar as they come from Scripture, can of course be tested.

Who is God? That is the real question worth pondering. How we imagine God, however, has far-reaching consequences on the way we read the Bible, derive valuable things from it, and consequently shape our confidence in everyday life. Every performance has a consequence. This is another reason why it is important to think, because it does matter what we think.

The one God

God is One. God is not “three. The Bible is quite clear on this, both in the Tenach (e.g. Deut. 6:4) and in the New Testament(1 Cor. 8:6).

In clear contradiction with the biblical testimony is the doctrine of a two-ness or trinity, according to which God is somehow one, but in essence contains different “persons”: Father, Son (and Holy Spirit in the doctrine of the Trinity). It is astonishing that the Bible itself does not speak of the Trinity with a single word. Nor is a two-ness in the sense of “deity” an issue in Scripture. Neither this expression nor a similar one exists, nor is the principle explained elsewhere. Of course, this makes it difficult to make a direct statement. So the teachings are “derived” from Bible passages that do not directly say that. Such biblical passages require extra attention.

You can read a lot in the Bible about God the Father, about His Son, and also about God’s Spirit. None of these statements need be doubted. In my opinion, however, they do not establish a two-unity or even a three-unity anywhere.

Because the Bible does not speak of this teaching in a single word, it is not difficult for me to reject it. The Bible does not speak of a Trinity, so I see no need to believe in it. The doctrine of the Trinity emerged as an ecclesiastical dogma between the 4th and 7th centuries and was enforced against other insights in a series of councils. This was done so convincingly (or: so unconvincingly) that anyone who does not believe in this teaching should be excommunicated. To this day, many Christians are rock solidly convinced that the Trinity is taught in the Bible, and that anyone who rejects it must be a heretic. Nothing, however, is further from the truth.

The goal of the articles on this page is to look at typical Bible passages on the subject in their own light. I invite you to read along with curiosity and check for yourself what is true about the Bible passages. A critical discussion aims to support the formation of one’s own opinion. That’s what this is all about, too.

The Trinity is a dogma. As such, it is the result of a theological debate. Although a Trinity cannot be found back in the Bible, the dogma does provide an interesting insight into the theological controversy itself. The dogma is always a formulation of a certain knowledge, which has then prevailed over other knowledge. This was not just about theology alone, but also about power and supremacy, and about certain issues and currents that arose at the time. A dogma – as a human inference – need not per se be the voice of God and the truth. Dogmas are firmly embedded in the world of that time and speak of the disputes of the ancient church.

But what do we read about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? This can be traced with profit in the Bible. Personally, I am interested in only one question: Who is God? By that I don’t mean “which of the three” as if you had to choose between ideas and check off the “right view” in an unknown place. It is not a matter of choosing whether Unitarianism, Binitarianism or Trinitarianism. These are only insights of people condensed into teachings. Perhaps they are helpful to learn further, but none of these teachings “must” be believed. It seems much more interesting to me to ask how God makes himself recognizable in and through Scripture.