The doctrine of “the trinity” is unquestionably the single greatest doctrine or “test” of ones faith among Christians. The word trinity is derived from the Latin word trinitas, which came from the Platonic term trias meaning three. The word trinity was introduced by Tertullian (160-225 AD) who was a pagan turned Catholic theologian and one of the early church fathers who wrote in the early third century to define the teaching concerning the doctrine of God. His conclusion was that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were one substance, but not one in person. The Roman Catholic Church claims the trinity is the “central doctrine” upon which all of its other doctrines are built, and in order to become a member of the World Council of Churches (ecumenism) you must accept the trinity and its “common calling” that unites all of the Protestant churches and Catholics together as “one”.
“The Trinity doctrine is the central doctrine of Catholic faith. Upon it are based all the other teachings of the Church.” Handbook for Todays Catholics p 12
“The Trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion — the truth that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from another. Thus, in the words of the Athanasian Creed: “the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God.” In this Trinity of Persons the Son is begotten of the Father by an eternal generation, and the Holy Spirit proceeds by an eternal procession from the Father and the Son. Yet, notwithstanding this difference as to origin, the Persons are co-eternal and co-equal: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent. This, the Church teaches, is the revelation regarding God’s nature which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came upon earth to deliver to the world: and which she proposes to man as the foundation of her whole dogmatic system.” The Dogma of the Trinity, Catholic Encyclopedia
“The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures and therefore seek to fulfill together their common calling to the glory of one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” So much in Common, (co-authored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the World Council of Churches), p 33
Yes, even the Seventh-day Adventist Corporation believes in the trinity!
“There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three coeternal Persons.”
Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief, The Trinity
But they aren’t the only “nominal Adventists” claiming such!
“These three persons, God (the Father), Jesus Christ (the Son), and the Holy Spirit are the Godhead.”
Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement, This We Believe
“The true and living God, the first person of the Godhead, is our heavenly Father… Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead… The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead…” (Matt. 28:18-19; John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7-15; Rom. 8:1-10; Eph. 4:30.)
International Association of Free Seventh-day Adventists, Fundamental Beliefs
“That the Godhead, or Trinity, consists of the Eternal Father, a personal, spiritual Being, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, infinite in wisdom and love; the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, through whom all things were created and through whom the salvation of the redeemed hosts will be accomplished; the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, the great regenerating power in the work of redemption. Matt. 28:19.”
Fundamental Beliefs of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists
“The eternal Godhead consists of Three Living Persons– the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit or Ghost. These three beings are eternal. It is in the name of God- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit– that those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these three separate powers will cooperate in changing the character of the obedient subjects to reflect their own. (Gen. 1:26; Isa. 48:16; Matt. 1:23; 3:16, 17; 28:19; John 8:58; 18:5, 6; 14:26; 15:26; Acts 5:3, 4; 10:38; 17:22-29; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6; Heb. 9:14; 1 Peter 1:2).”
Seventh Day Remnant Church, Statement of Faith
But is the “central doctrine” of nearly all Christendom even Biblical?
The doctrine of “the trinity” (a word not found in the Bible) or “godhead” (godhead means “divinity” not a numerical value) as taught by most denominations and churches states that there are three co-equal (equal in every respect), co-eternal (same exact age), omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful) gods, who are not three gods, but one god. By the words of the Athanasian Creed it is, “the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three gods but one God” and that’s the Trinity! Are you confused by all of this yet? You’re certainly not alone! It is maintained by trinitarians that this “mystery of the trinity” constitutes the “one God” (Deut 6:4) of monotheism but 1+1+1 always equals 3 (polytheism) every single time I try to figure this Roman Catholic “mystery” out! I did find something in the Bible called the “mystery of iniquity” (2Th 2:7) and it happens to lead to the exact place the pope of Rome sits. (Rev 13:2) Coincidence? The simple reality is that if there are three co-equal and co-eternal “persons” that constitutes three persons or “gods”, not one. Just go ask any 5 year old! That’s actually called “tritheism” or the belief in three separate almighty gods which is something I used to believe in. However, the “common core” math problem of 1+1+1=1 insults our intelligence while the 1+1+1=3 completely destroys monotheism! The simple reality is that for many a “philosophical idol” stands in the place of Jehovah.
“It is as easy to make an idol of false doctrines and theories as to fashion an idol of wood or stone. Satan leads men to conceive of God in a false character, as having attributes which he does not possess. A philosophical idol is enthroned in the place of Jehovah; while the true God, as he is revealed in his word, in Christ, and in the works of creation, is worshiped by but few. Thousands deify nature, while they deny the God of nature. Though in a different form, idolatry exists in the Christian world today as verily as it existed among ancient Israel in the days of Elijah. The God of many professedly wise men, of philosophers, poets, politicians, journalists,—the God of polished fashionable circles, of many colleges and universities, even of some theological institutions,—is little better than Baal, the sun-God of Phenicia.” Spirit of Prophecy Volume 4 p 399.1
“Most of the founders of Seventh-day Adventism would not be able to join the church today if they had to subscribe to the denomination’s Fundamental Beliefs. More specifically, most would not be able to agree to belief number 2, which deals with the doctrine of the trinity. In like manner, most of the founders of Seventh-day Adventism would have trouble with fundamental belief number 4, which holds that Jesus is both eternal and truly God. For J. N. Andrews “the Son of God … had God for His Father, and did, at some point in the eternity of the past, have beginning of days.” And E. J. Waggoner, of Minneapolis 1888 fame, penned in 1890 that “there was a time when Christ proceeded forth and came from God,… but that time was so far back in the days of eternity that to finite comprehension it is practically without beginning.” George R. Knight–professor of church history at the Theological Seminary, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan; Ministry, October, 1993, p. 10
“The way spiritualizers have disposed of or denied the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ is first using the old unscriptural Trinitarian creed, viz., that Jesus Christ is the eternal God, though they have not one passage to support it, while we have plain scripture testimony in abundance that he is the Son of the eternal God.” James White, The Day Star, January 24, 1846
While it’s true there are many false doctrines and theories that have been fashioned into idols none are more offensive than the doctrine that turns the one true God of the Bible (Exo 20:3, Rev 14:6, 1 Cor 8:6, 1 Jn 5:12, Jn 17:3) into a mystery beyond reason and logic! A trio of gods, two of which are “role-playing” or lying about being a real Father and Son (Pro 8:22-30, Jn 3:16, 1Jn 2:22), and the third a co-equal (he was actually cheated out of a body! Shhh…) co-eternal (same age) “disembodied spirit” (floaty thing) that is somehow still “alive” even though “he” doesn’t have “a body”. (Jas 2:26) Thousands have in fact “deified nature” by way of “god the holy spirit” (a phrase never found in the Bible) who isn’t confined to “a body” and therefore “he” is an essence that pervades all time and space, and fills all nature. Worse yet this doctrine completely destroys the personality of God and his Son! Ever heard of the “alpha apostasy” in Adventism? Or a teaching called pantheism?
“Suppose now we have a boot before us–not an ordinary boot, but a living boot, and as we look at it, we see little boots crowding out at the seams, pushing out at the toes, dropping off at the heels, and leaping out at the top–scores, hundreds, thousands of boots, a swarm of boots continually issuing from our living boot–would we not be compelled to say, “There is a shoemaker in the boot”? So there is present in the tree a power which creates and maintains it, a tree-maker in the tree”. John Harvey Kellogg, The Living Temple, p. 29
“I had a long conversation with him [Kellogg] about the book. He then told me that . . . some days before coming to the council, he had been thinking the matter over, and began to see that he had made a slight mistake in expressing his views. He felt sure that he believed just what the Testimonies teach, and what Dr. Waggoner and Elder Jones have taught for years; but he had come to believe that none had expressed the matter in correct form. He then stated that his former views regarding the trinity had stood in his way of making a clear and absolutely correct statement; but that within a short time he had come to believe in the trinity, and could now see pretty well where all the difficulty was, and believed that he could clear the matter up satisfactorily. He told me that he now believed in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost; and his view was that it was God the Holy Ghost, and not God the Father, that filled all space. and every living thing.” Letter, A.G. Daniells to W.C. White, 29/10/03.
Did you catch that? Kelloggs “former views” that reflected the denominations Biblical monotheism (check out # 1 & 2) “stood in the way” of him expressing his pantheistic ideas. You see Dr Kellogg started teaching that God the Father did NOT have a body or form and therefore was a spirit without a body, or an “essence that fills all space and every living thing”, but when he received such censure from Ellen White (whose writings along with the Bible he used to support his pantheistic ideas) and others he “revised” his understanding to reflect the trinitarian god with “three persons” so that “god the holy spirit” could be the “person” that fills all space and every living thing.
“As far as I can fathom, the difficulty which is found in the Living Temple, the whole thing may be simmered down to this question: is the Holy Ghost a person. You say no. I had supposed the Bible said this for the reason that the personal pronoun he is used in speaking of the Holy Ghost. Sister White uses the pronoun he and has said in as many words that the Holy Ghost is the third person of the Godhead. How the Holy Ghost can be the third person and not be a person at all is difficult for me to see”. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg wrote to G. I Butler on Oct 28th 1903 concerning ‘The Living Temple’
Do you know anyone using the Bible and writings of Ellen White to prove the “three persons” of “the trinity” or “godhead”?
“It will be said that Living Temple has been revised. But the Lord has shown me that the writer has not changed, and that there can be no unity between him and the ministers of the gospel while he continues to cherish his present sentiments. I am bidden to lift my voice in warning to our people, saying, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7).” 1SM 199.3
“In the controversy that arose among our brethren regarding the teachings of this book, those in favor of giving it a wide circulation declared: “It contains the very sentiments that Sister White has been teaching.” This assertion struck right to my heart. I felt heartbroken; for I knew that this representation of the matter was not true.” 1SM 203.1
” Living Temple contains the alpha of these theories. I knew that the omega would follow in a little while; and I trembled for our people. I knew that I must warn our brethren and sisters not to enter into controversy over the presence and personality of God. The statements made in Living Temple in regard to this point are incorrect. The scripture used to substantiate the doctrine there set forth, is scripture misapplied.” 1SM 203.2
“I am compelled to speak in denial of the claim that the teachings of Living Temple can be sustained by statements from my writings. There may be in this book expressions and sentiments that are in harmony with my writings. And there may be in my writings many statements which, taken from their connection, and interpreted according to the mind of the writer of Living Temple, would seem to be in harmony with the teachings of this book. This may give apparent support to the assertion that the sentiments in Living Temple are in harmony with my writings. But God forbid that this sentiment should prevail.” 1SM 203.3
“Few can discern the result of entertaining the sophistries advocated by some at this time. But the Lord has lifted the curtain, and has shown me the result that would follow. The spiritualistic theories regarding the personality of God, followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away the whole Christian economy. They estimate as nothing the light that Christ came from heaven to give John to give to His people. They teach that the scenes just before us are not of sufficient importance to be given special attention. They make of no effect the truth of heavenly origin, and rob the people of God of their past experience, giving them instead a false science.” 1SM 203.4
The personality and presence of God
Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
“You are not definitely clear on the personality of God, which is everything to us as a people. You have virtually destroyed the Lord God Himself.” (Ellen White to John Harvey Kellogg, Letter 300 1903.)
The “alpha apostasy” involves Kelloggs teachings regarding “the personality and presence of God”, and he was using the Bible and writings of Ellen White to establish these ideas which he believed was further supported by his conversion to trinitarianism. All of a sudden “god the holy spirit” made perfect sense to him. Do I need to repeat that? Yes, a mysterious “person” with no body, no name, and no throne except in the “mind” of the trinitarian, and all the rest of space and matter too! That’s pantheism beloved. Let’s not forget, his “former views” (monotheism) “stood in the way” of him best expressing these “spiritualistic” ideas that destroy God as a personal being. Think about it. Take away God the Fathers “mind” (his spirit) and what do you have left? A dead body! (Jas 2:26) Many Adventists have speculated that the “alpha and omega” has to do with the “new theology” or teaching that you are saved in your sins, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s this spiritualistic trinitarian heresy!
“The way spiritualizers have disposed of or denied the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ is first using the old unscriptural Trinitarian creed, viz., that Jesus Christ is the eternal God, though they have not one passage to support it, while we have plain scripture testimony in abundance that he is the Son of the eternal God.” James White, The Day Star, January 24, 1846
Personality of God – Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Assoc.: tract – James White, 1868
“We here add the testimony of Christ. “And the Father himself which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.” John v,37. See also Phil.ii,6. To say that the Father has not a personal shape, seems the most pointed contradiction of plain scripture terms.”
OBJECTION. – “God is a Spirit.” John iv,24.
ANSWER. – Angels are also spirits [Ps.civ,4], yet those that visited Abram and Lot, lay down, ate, and took hold of Lot’s hand. They were spirit beings. So is God a Spirit being.
OBJECTION – God is everywhere. Proof. Ps.cxxxix,1-8. He is as much in every place as in any one place.
ANSWER – 1. God is everywhere by virtue of his omniscience, as will be seen by the very words of David referred to above. Verses 1-6. “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high; I cannot attain unto it.
We invite all to compare the Testimonies with the Bible not the other way around!
“We invite all to compare the testimonies of the Holy Spirit through Mrs. White, with the word of God. And in this we do not invite you to compare them with your creed. That is quite another thing. The trinitarian may compare them with his creed, and because they do not agree with it, condemn them. The observer of Sunday, or the man who holds eternal torment an important truth, and the minister that sprinkles infants, may each condemn the testimonies’ of Mrs. White because they do not agree with their peculiar views. And a hundred more, each holding different views, may come to the same conclusion. But their genuineness can never be tested in this way.” James White, Review and Herald, June 13, 1871
To the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word…
“How can the Lord bless those who manifest a spirit of “I don’t care,” a spirit which leads them to walk contrary to the light which the Lord has given them. But I do not ask you to take my words. Lay Sister White to one side. Do not quote my works again as long as you live until you can obey the Bible. When you make the Bible your food, your meat and your drink, when you make its principles the elements of your character, you will know better how to receive counsel from God. I exalt the precious word before you today. Do not repeat what I have said, saying, “Sister White said this,” and, “Sister White said that.” Find out what the Lord God of Israel says, and then do what He commands.—Manuscript 43, 1901, 10. (E. G. White talk in college library, April 1, 1901.)” 5MR 141.1
“But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority,—not one or all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain “Thus saith the Lord” in its support.” Spirit of Prophecy Volume 4, p 413.2
Monotheism or Polytheism: Your Choice
“For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” [1Corinthians 8:5-6 KJV]
For those who insist this is a “side issue” will the prayer of Jesus persuade you?
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” [John 17:3 KJV]