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Today, the understanding of God as a Trinity is under assault from many different directions including atheists, Muslims, liberal Christians, and even Mormons.

Many like Atheist Richard Dawkins reject the doctrine as "sophistry", and incoherent at best. The problem is that many of these critics do not take the time to view all of the historical evidence and propositions written on the subject.

Here’s an excellent article by Peter S. Williams, presenting the philosophical case for the Trinity:

“Understanding The Trinity”

Unfortunately it is not ‘Trinity 101’ in 500 words or less but a very cogent and well documented advanced presentation. Well worth the time and effort to digest.

Here’s the conclusion for a taste:

Conclusion

Critics accuse the Christian idea of God as Trinity of incoherence, but as Peter Kreeft argues:

The doctrine of the Trinity does not say there is one God and three Gods, or that God is one Person and three Persons, or that God has one nature and three natures. Those would indeed be self-contradictory ideas. But the doctrine of the Trinity says that there is only one God and only one divine nature but that this one God exists in three Persons. That is a great mystery, but it is not a logical self-contradiction.[70]

Whatever the merits of the particular trinitarian model propounded herein, to believe in the Trinity is to believe in three co-eternal divine persons who together essentially constitute one divine personal being, and this doctrine is not logically incoherent.

Far from being the liability to Christianity that critics assume, the doctrine of God as Trinity is supported by a posteriori and a priori arguments that demonstrate the shortcomings of Unitarian theologies and which lend weight to the conclusion that Christian theism is the best worldview available to us. As theologians Pinnock and Brow state: "Loving is what characterizes God essentially… God is not a solitary monarch but a tripersonal mystery of love."[71]

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Related Posts?:

1. -A Quick Summary: The Biblical Basis for The Trinity

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There are many differences that separate the two largest world religions- Islam and Christianity.

Some of the greatest disparity revolves around their very different understandings about the character of God (or Allah in the case of Islam) and how one can have a relationship with God the Father and receive eternal salvation.

The Following is a short summary.

1.  The Character of God

Christianity teaches that God loves the world and all mankind: *

     ”…God is love.” – I John 4:8;  “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son…” -I John 4:10;  “I have Loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” -Jer. 31:3;  ”For God so loved the world, that he gave his one only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  -John 3:16

Islam teaches that the love of Allah is conditional- he only loves those who believe and do good works:

     -Sura 19:96  Lo! those who believe and do good works, the Beneficient will appoint for them love.

Christianity teaches that God is righteous and treats all of his creatures with perfect justice.

“For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice” -Psalm 11:7; “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.” -Psalm 89:14; “He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” -Psalm 98:9; ”I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism.” -Acts 10:34

In Islam, Allah does as he pleases. Guiding some men to go the right way and tricking others to go astray.

“If we so willed, we could have brought every soul its true guidance, but the word from me will come true: ”I will fill hell with the jinn and mankind together” “. -Sura 32:13

2. Human Relationship with God

Christianity teaches that God loves humanity and that believers can have an actual relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ His Son. God the Father sends His Holy Spirit to live and abide with Believers to help them live and become adopted members of His family.

”But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” -John 1:12-13

In Islam, It is a one way relationship. No one can be certain that they have found favor with Allah. Muslims are called upon to love and respect Allah and be obedient to his laws without any expectation of any kind of response.

3. Eternal Destiny

Christianity teaches that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ can be certain of their  salvation -that Heaven is their eternal destiny.

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” -1 John 5:13

 
In Islam, Muslims can never be certain that they have done enough to secure the favor of Allah and be received into Paradise following their death.

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Here’s a quick summary of the Biblical basis for the Trinity by Ken Samples:

The Trinity’s Biblical Basis

Ken provides six simple statements that quickly show how this doctrine is derived from the Bible.

He also links a detailed source with more than 1,000 biblical references for the doctrine of the Trinity.            *Top

Related Posts?:

1. -What Does the Bible Teach About Satan?

A continuation of the Evangelical/Mormon dialogue started with the book “How Wide The Divide” by Craig Blomberg and Stephen Robinson and continued in “Bridging The Divide” by Robert L Millet and Gregory C.V. Johnson.

Dr. Robert L. Millet is professor of religious education at BYU and Dr. Gerald R. McDemott is professor of religion and philosophy at Roanoke College and teaching pastor at St/ John Lutheran Church.  <<Read my review>>        *Top

One of my major concerns in this issue is that the two religions have major differences in their theological definitions of God. Using the Islamic name would not bring clarification but rather confusion from my perspective. Many Christian teachers question whether we are even talking about the same God when Muslims refer to Allah and Christians to the God of the Bible.

The Arabic name ‘Allah’ started out as a designation for the ‘Moon god’ before Muhammad appropriated it and used it in the Koran. While it is true that Muslims claim that it is a designation for the God of creation portrayed in the Bible, Allah of the Koran seems to have many characteristics which are different than God in the Bible, and vastly different than the Triune God of Christianity.

While missionaries working among Arabic speaking or Islamic populations may need to use ‘Allah’ when refering to God and even in Bible translations; that does not mean that the name ‘Allah’ should be used world wide as a substitute for the God of the Bible. Christians should be particularly careful in this regard, to avoid a syncretistic definition of God.

Here is a link to an article where Dr. Albert Mohler is quoted on this issue. He has similar concerns and makes several good points.                 *Top

While Christians believe that God The Father is a Spiritual Being that transcends our universe and has universal presence.  Mormons teach that God the Father has a more physical presence. A ‘spiritual body’ similar to what Jesus received at the resurrection. A presence that can be seen and even touched.   Bruce McConkie states it this way:

God the Father is a glorified and perfected Man.  A Personage of flesh and bones (D.& C. 130:22), in which tangible body an eternal spirit is housed.  It is in this sense that God is a Spirit.” (Mormon Doctrine, pg 318-19)

Evangelical Christians believe what Jesus taught in John 4:21-24, that God the Father is a Spirit that is not limited to any particular location.  Mormons counter that the passage was not ‘translated’ correctly and changes were probably made to the text.

Some LDS point to Joseph Smith’s own ‘translation’ of the Bible (though not an official LDS church book) which reads substantially different (See: Inspired Version, John 4:25-26).  However, a study of Smith’s work clearly shows that he did no real ‘translating’ but merely made changes in his copy of the King James Version, crossing out words that he disagreed with, and adding new words and passages that agree with his own teaching and understanding.  To be fair, Mormons believe that he was ‘inspired’ by God to make the changes.

For a good understanding of the Evangelical Christian view, see: Grudem, Systematic Theology pgs 186-190

Click here and see: ‘Sources‘ -For a bibliography of the references in this article.

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