DID THE CHURCH INVENT THE IDEA OF THE TRINITY?

Did the Church invent the Trinity? Did they borrow this concept from paganism? These are charges that we increasingly hear.

Therefore, I just want to look at the evidence from the Hebrew Scriptures. Although this OT evidence is not as substantial as what we find in the NT, it is still weighty and demonstrates the continuity between the two sets of our Scriptures:

GOD REFERS TO HIMSELF THROUGH PLURAL PRONOUNS

• Genesis 1:26-27 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

• Genesis 3:22  And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

• Genesis 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

• Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

OTHER PLURAL NOUNS REFERRING TO GOD

• Eccles. 12:6  Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

• Psalm 149:2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

DISTINCTION OF PERSONS IN THE GODHEAD

• Genesis 19:24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;

• Psalm 110:1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

• 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.

• 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.

• Isaiah 48:12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

• Isaiah 49:7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

• 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.

• Exodus 33:2 And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
• Exodus 33:14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

• 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.

DEITY OF THE SON

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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. 6In 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.

• Jeremiah 33:15-16 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 16In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.

• 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.

• Malachi 3:1-3 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. 2But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' sope: 3And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

• 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?

THE DIVINE SPIRIT

• Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

• Zech. 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

• Ezekiel 2:2-3 Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. 3And He said to me: "Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.

• Ezekiel 11:5 Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me, "Speak! 'Thus says the Lord: "Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.

THE NEW PAGANISM

We are all interconnected. The priestess’ sermon communicated this point very clearly. She had vacationed on an island off the coast of Maine, which had eliminated its mosquito problem by draining the cranberry bogs. However, along with the mosquitoes, they also eliminated the cranberries, birds, night sounds, and an assortment of fish.

From this she reasoned that by changing one thing, all is changed. One action flows everywhere like water. Likewise, we are not merely a single drop of water, but a drop that impacts all other drops. What we say and do will impact those around us, and they will impact those around them.

This principle is undeniable, but what do we do with it? We ritualize it. The church gave water to each person. They were instructed to pour their water into a common trough to symbolize our connectedness. Then, this new batch was combined with last year’s water to symbolize our continuity with the past.

This principle also pertains to our beliefs. When we change one belief, we also change every other belief. When we eliminate God from our thinking, we are compelled to fill this faith-void with substitutes. Clearly, this is exactly what this church has done. It has invented new rituals, accompanied by meditation and an assortment of radical causes.

If meaning, love, validation, and forgiveness are no longer the product of a relationship with God, then alternatives must be found. Instead, we are taught to forgive ourselves and to validate ourselves through our activism. And, we can derive meaning and dignity from knowing that we are like a drop of water that flows everywhere, right?

However, will this awareness truly ennoble us? Will it cause us to respect and cherish every other drop of water? Will it enable us to honor others more?

Another way to envision these questions is to think about the water in a toilet bowl. Even though we might understand that this water will flow into the great oceans of this world and will be gathered up in clouds to water the earth, it fails to give us the honor and dignity that we so need as human beings.

Instead, this is an honor that can only come from the Creator who has created us in His image and has called us to represent Him, endowing us with a value and a purpose far in excess of every other created thing.

It is because of our special status that we are constrained to honor and love all other people.

·       Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10)

This is something that we cannot do for every drop on the planet. To love everything is to love nothing.

Besides, it is because I know that God loves, forgives, and cherishes me that I can pass it on to others, however imperfectly. It is because He accepts me that I can accept others. In contrast, we use water for very menial purposes. However, humans are not to be used but to be served.

At the end of the service, we sang, “There is a river flowing in my soul…telling me I’m somebody.”

It cannot be a literal flow of water that tells me I’m somebody, but rather the fact that God has created me and loved me so much that He has died for me. I need to know that I am more than an interactive part of the universe. Instead, I need to know that I am part of God’s family, and that this is something that will never change.

I was disturbed by the sight of this new paganism. I wanted to scream, but I also must love.

THE APPEAL OF POLYTHEISM/PAGANISM

Apologist Douglas Groothuis writes that polytheism had been discredited in the modern world:

·       "Polytheism had been suppressed and then presumed dead in the modern world." (Christian Research Journal)

However, it has revived in the last few decades. Why? The late Margot Adler, a self-proclaimed pagan, explained:

·       “They had become Pagans because they could be themselves and act as they chose, without what they felt were medieval notions of sin and guilt. Others wanted to participate in rituals rather than observe themselves.” (Drawing Down the Moon)

Pagans/polytheists find a single monotheistic God too imperialistic or coercive. Such a God, a Creator, requires us to live by His requirements. Hence, the sin and guilt when we refuse.

In contrast, paganism allows us to pick-and-choose among many different God's or spirits. It also gives us the freedom to believe what we want. This puts us in the driver's seat:

·       “Polytheism is…characterized by plurality…and is eternally in unresolvable conflict with social monotheism, which in its worst form is fascism and in its less destructive forms is imperialism, capitalism, feudalism and monarchy.”

Monotheism deprives us of our autonomy. Therefore, it defies the spirit of our age where everything is permissible. This is the world of moral relativism, in which polytheism exerts its appeal. But is it true? Truth is also imperialistic and has little appeal in such a world:

·       "It seems like a contradiction to say that I have a certain subjective truth; I have experienced the Goddess, and this is my total reality. And yet I do not believe that I have the one, true, right, and only way. Many people cannot understand how I find Her a part of my reality and accept the fact that your reality might be something else. But for me, this is in no way a contradiction, because I am aware that my reality and my conclusions are a result of my unique genetic structure, my life experience and my subjective feelings…This recognition that everyone has different experiences is a fundamental keystone to Paganism; it’s the fundamental premise that whatever is going on out there is infinitely more complex than I can ever understand. And that makes me feel very good.” (Adler affirmatively quoting a pagan priestess)

Why should this perplexing world make her "feel very good?" Well, in this truth-less pagan world, no one can tell her that she's wrong. No place for guilt or sin.

But won't this lead to social chaos and disintegration? Can a world where everyone has their own "truth" lead to community and punitive sanctions against crime? Absolutely not!

Polytheism is now alive and well, but the West is disintegrating and polarizing. A shared truth had been the glue, but it is now dissolving. God help us!

OBSERVING CHRIST’S BIRTH – IS IT WRONG?

Can I take my wife out on Valentine’s Day? For her birthday? For our anniversary? More to the point of the season, can we celebrate Christ’s birth?

Against the celebration of Christ’s birth, some Christians have argued:

1. It has accrued the trappings of both paganism (12/25 observance) and Catholicism (ChristMASS).

2. It is not mandated by Scripture. Instead, it is a human tradition.

Let’s first address number 1. There are many things that we have received from other religions – language, script, mathematics, and even our church buildings, some of which had previously been used for illicit purposes or by other religions. Certainly, using these is not defiling. Therefore, the fact that the observance of Christmas on December 25 is borrowed from paganism to give pagans an alternative to pagan worship is not anti-Scriptural, although it is non-Scriptural.

But is there room for the non-Scriptural in our lives? Of course! There are many things that we do that are non-Scriptural, like driving in cars and using air-conditioners, ball-point pens, pianos, or even wearing three-piece suits and baseball caps.  

However, a problem arises when we take our practices or traditions and raise them to the level of Scripture, thereby making them authoritative. The Jews of Jesus’ day had many traditions, like wiping the dust off their feet in disapproval. The Jews of the Old Testament also had their traditions like first marrying off their oldest daughter or giving the bulk of their inheritance to their firstborn son. In themselves, these practices weren’t criticized by Scripture. Why not? Because they weren’t wrong in themselves and didn’t compete with Scripture.

In contrast to this, the Pharisees had elevated their human traditions to the level of Scripture. Therefore, Jesus castigated them:

• Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?...  You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:  "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" (Matthew 15:3-9)

If I were to “break the command of God for the sake of [the] tradition” of celebrating the birth of Jesus,” I would be at fault. Also, if I were to make this tradition mandatory, I would be illegitimately raising it to the level of Scripture, something we must not do! However, we can celebrate the birth of our Lord without doing this.

Number 2. Scripture even commends certain human traditions. God had told his Prophet Jeremiah to go the Recabite clan to offer them wine – something allowable under the law. However, they refused to drink it.

• But they replied, "We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: 'Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.' We have obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab commanded us. (Jeremiah 35:6-10)

Did the Lord castigate this clan for obeying extra-biblical traditions? Not at all!

• Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Recabites, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.' Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve me.'" (Jeremiah 35:18-19)

Do we do wrong to honor the coming of the Son of God into this world to save us from our sins, even though this is not mandated by Scripture? Certainly not! Instead, narratives our Savior’s birth are highlighted by two of the Gospels and many Old Testament passages (Isaiah, 7:14; 9:6-7; 11:1-10; Micah 5:2).

The shepherds in the field had come to celebrate the birth of the Christ. They had even been directed to do so by an angel. The Magis were led by the appearance of a strange star to come and celebrate the birth of the Savior. It certainly is evident that the Lord had directed them to come to celebrate our Savior's birth. Why not also us?

Although the church can be censured for the way that we celebrate Christmas, it is entirely unbiblical to censure the observance of Christmas.