Trinity and Islam: My Response to Islam

My Response to a Muslim Woman Challenging the Notion of Trinity:

Thanks you for this challenge! I think that it’s important for us to have these kinds of discussions, and so I’m glad that you are open to them.

There are many New Testament verses that prove that Jesus is God. And I should cite these because even your Koran regards the Gospels as fully the Word of God:

• “Proclaim what is revealed to you in the Book of your Lord. None can change His words..” (The Cave 27)

• “…and you shall find they remain unchanged…” (Jonah 64; Cattle 34, 115)

• “Falsehood cannot reach it from before or behind.” (Revelations Well Expounded 42)

• “After those prophets We sent forth Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming the torah already revealed, and gave him the Gospel, in which there is guidance and light, corroborating that which was revealed before it in the torah, a guide and an admonition to the righteous.” (The Table 46)

• [Surah 3.3] He has revealed to you the Book with truth, verifying that which is before it, and He revealed the Tavrat [Torah] and the Injeel [The Gospels] aforetime, a guidance for the people, and He sent the Furqan.

·        [5.44] Surely We revealed the Taurat in which was guidance and light; with it the prophets who submitted themselves (to Allah) judged (matters) for those who were Jews, and the masters of Divine knowledge and the doctors, because they were required to guard (part) of the Book of Allah, and they were witnesses thereof; therefore fear not the people and fear Me, and do not take a small price for My communications; and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unbelievers…[5.46] And We sent after them in their footsteps Isa, son of Marium, verifying what was before him of the Taurat and We gave him the Injeel in which was guidance and light, and verifying what was before it of Taurat and a guidance and an admonition for those who guard (against evil).

However, I will not cite the many proofs from the Gospels, because since the 11^th century, your scholars have claimed that the Gospels have been changed. So let’s just look at the evidence from the Old Testament. (And the Jews certainly would not have allowed their books to have been changed to prove that Jesus is the Messiah!) I’ll list the evidences according to category:

1. DISTINCTION OF PERSONS IN THE GODHEAD

• Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD [Yahweh] rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD [Yahweh]out of heaven;  (There is more than one “Yahweh” here!)

• Psalm 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. (King David had only one “Lord” or master. The Jews widely believed that the second “Lord” is a reference to the Messiah.)

• Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. (Once again – two “Yahwehs}

• Isaiah 48:16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. (A portrait of three Persons as God)

• Isaiah 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. (“The Angel of His Presence” redeemed Israel)

• Hosea 1:7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.

• Zech. 2:10-11 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. 11And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee

• Zech. 12:10  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

2. DEITY OF THE SON, THE MESSIAH JESUS:

• Psalm 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee…Psalm 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. (We are only to put our trust in God. Therefore, this “Son” must be God!)

• Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (“Immanuel” means “God with us!”)

• Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (In Hebrew culture the names described the person. Therefore this child is “The mighty God!”)

• Jeremiah 23:5-6 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. (This Messianic child is called “Yahweh”)

• Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (This Messianic child always existed. He is therefore God!)

• Proverbs 30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell? (God has a Son!)

3. EARTHLY PHYSICAL APPEARANCES OF GOD:

• Yahweh appears to Abraham (Gen. 18)
• Abraham encounters God on Mt. Moriah (Gen. 22)
• God wrestles with Jacob (Gen. 32)
• Moses encounters and sees God in the burning bush (Exodus 3-4)
• Moses sees God on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 32, 34)
• Joshua sees and worships God (Joshua 5)

If God is truly God, what is to prevent Him from appearing? What is to prevent Him from being born to a woman? If He is truly so glorious – greater than His creation – why should we insist that we must understand everything about Him? Why then should we reject the idea of Trinity, simply because it transcends our understanding? Clearly, He has revealed Himself in this manner.