The Pagan Gods and the Catholic Trinity
Did the doctrine of the Trinity originate with Jesus Christ and His apostles—or did it develop later?
For many centuries, the majority of Christianity has accepted the doctrine of the Trinity as the foundation of the Christian faith. Many churches teach that unless a person believes Jesus is God Himself, they cannot truly be saved.
For example, John MacArthur writes:
"You need to believe that Jesus is God."(Assurance of Victory—1 John 5, Moody Press, p.12).
Likewise, many Trinitarian teachers argue that unless Jesus is Almighty God, His death could not provide salvation for mankind.
This raises an important question:
Who should we believe—God Almighty, or later church tradition?
What did Jesus teach?
When Jesus was asked the greatest commandment, His answer was simple and unmistakable:
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one."(Mark 12:29)
Jesus did not teach that God is three persons.
He did not say the Father, Son and Holy Spirit together are the one God.
Instead, Jesus affirmed the same truth that God had revealed throughout the Old Testament—that the God of Israel is one.
Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly describes Himself as one and incomparable.
"I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me."(Isaiah 46:9)
This raises another question.
If God declares there is no one like Him, why does the doctrine of the Trinity describe God in a way never explicitly stated anywhere in Scripture?
Did the Trinity come from the Bible?
The word "Trinity" never appears in the Bible.
Neither do the expressions:
- One God in three persons
- God the Son
- God the Holy Spirit
- Three co-equal persons
- Three co-eternal persons
These expressions developed centuries after the New Testament period and were formally defined in the Nicene and Constantinopolitan creeds.
The Similarity with Ancient Pagan Triads
Long before Christianity, many ancient civilizations worshipped groups of three deities or divine triads.
Examples include Babylon, Egypt, Rome, India, and other ancient religions.
Although these pagan triads were not identical to the later Christian doctrine of the Trinity, they demonstrate that the concept of a threefold divine grouping existed long before the Council of Nicaea.
This naturally raises an important historical question:
Why did the earliest Christians worship one God—the Father—while centuries later the official church defined God as three distinct persons?
God's Warning
God repeatedly warned Israel not to adopt the religious beliefs of the surrounding nations.
"It is the LORD your God you shall fear... You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you..."(Deuteronomy 6:13–15)
God's people were commanded to worship Him alone and to reject every form of false worship.
The Real Question
The issue is not whether pagan religions had groups of three gods.
The real question is this:
Did Jesus and His apostles ever teach that the one true God is three persons?
If not, where did this doctrine originate?
That is the question this article will examine using Scripture, history, and the earliest available evidence.
DID THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CREATE THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY?
Quick Facts
- The word "Trinity" does not appear anywhere in the Bible.
- Neither Jesus nor His apostles ever taught that God is three persons.
- The doctrine developed gradually after the apostolic age.
- It was formally defined during the fourth century through church councils.
- History shows that the Roman Catholic Church played the central role in defining and promoting the doctrine that later became orthodox Christianity.
Introduction
One of the most important questions every Christian should ask is:
Did Jesus Christ and His apostles teach the doctrine of the Trinity, or did it develop later in church history?
The answer should not be based upon church tradition, denominational loyalty, or theological opinion.
Instead, we should examine the evidence found in Scripture and compare it with the historical record.
As Jesus said:
"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth."(John 17:17)
Three Questions
This article examines three straightforward questions.
1. Was there a doctrine of the Trinity during the lifetime of Jesus and His apostles?
2. When was the doctrine formally defined?
3. What role did the Catholic Church play in establishing and defending it?
1. Was the Trinity taught by Jesus?
According to historical scholarship, the answer is no.
Even standard Christian reference works acknowledge that the doctrine was not fully formulated during the apostolic period.
Wikipedia summarizes the historical consensus:
"The doctrine did not take its definitive shape until late in the fourth century."
It also states:
"Scripture contains neither the word Trinity nor an expressly formulated doctrine of the Trinity."
Likewise, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church explains that the doctrine was formulated during the fourth century and continued to be developed afterwards.
These statements do not come from anti-Trinitarian writers.
They come from mainstream historical and theological sources.
Therefore, history itself acknowledges that Jesus and His apostles did not leave behind a fully formulated doctrine of the Trinity.
2. When Was the Trinity Defined?
History records that the doctrine gradually developed during the third and fourth centuries.
The First Council of Nicaea met in A.D. 325.
The Council of Constantinople followed in A.D. 381.
These councils produced the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which became the official statement of Trinitarian belief for the Catholic Church and later for much of Christianity.
This demonstrates an important historical fact.
If the doctrine required centuries of debate, councils, and official creeds before being defined, then it was not presented by Jesus or His apostles in its later form.
3. What Role Did the Catholic Church Play?
Historical records show that the Roman Catholic Church became the principal institution responsible for defining, defending, and promoting the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity.
Wikipedia notes:
- The Council of Nicaea condemned Arianism.
- Trinitarian belief became official doctrine.
- The bishops of Rome defended and promoted this teaching.
- The Edict of Thessalonica (A.D. 380) established Nicene Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.
These events marked a turning point in church history.
From this period onward, belief in the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity became the defining mark of Catholic orthodoxy.
Athanasius
One of the greatest defenders of the Nicene doctrine was Athanasius of Alexandria.
History remembers him as the leading defender of Trinitarian theology.
The Catholic Encyclopedia even refers to him as:
"The Father of Orthodoxy."
His influence on later Christian theology cannot be overstated.
The Athanasian Creed, although probably not written by Athanasius himself, bears his name and became one of the strongest historical statements supporting Trinitarian belief.
Sir Isaac Newton's Opinion
Sir Isaac Newton is remembered as one of history's greatest scientists.
Few people realise that he devoted more time to studying the Bible than to science.
According to historian Karl Giberson, Newton became convinced that the doctrine of the Trinity was not part of original Christianity but was introduced centuries later.
Newton believed that Scripture had been altered in places and that early Christianity had gradually departed from the faith taught by Jesus and His apostles.
Whether one agrees with Newton or not, his conclusions demonstrate that serious biblical scholars have questioned the historical development of the Trinity for centuries.
The Biblical Question
The real issue is not whether church councils defined the doctrine.
The real question is this:
Where did Jesus ever teach that God is three persons?
Where did Peter teach it?
Where did Paul teach it?
Where does the Bible define the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as one God consisting of three co-equal, co-eternal persons?
The answer is nowhere.
Conclusion
History records how the doctrine of the Trinity was gradually developed, debated, defined, and defended during the fourth century.
The Roman Catholic Church played the central role in that process.
The remaining question is not historical but biblical.
Did Jesus and His apostles teach the doctrine that later became known as the Trinity?
That is the evidence every Christian should examine carefully.
"Test all things; hold fast what is good."1 Thessalonians 5:21
John Fullerton MacArthur Jr. is an American pastor and author known for his internationally syndicated Christian teaching radio program Grace to You, SAYS: American pastor SAYS:
According to Trinitarian teachers, THEY SAY: Unless Jesus is GOD, He is NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO DIE FOR OUR SINS.
And that divine truth always was, that He is ONE person, who is THE ONLY ONE who is, THE TRUE GOD.
However, the MAIN doctrine of the Catholic church teach on the contrary and teach the ONE TRUE GOD is a TRINITY,
which means the ONE TRUE GOD, IS NOT THE ONE TRUE GOD or a single person, as GOD and His Son has always declared but according to that Catholic doctrine, GOD IS THREE persons who is a “tritheism” (three Gods).
Just as we see in the Catholic diagram below.
More SHOCKING is how MOST of the Christian population, in MOST churches today have adopted and made the MAIN doctrine of the Catholic church, the foundations of their own faith, which teaches the ONE TRUE GOD is NOT the ONE TRUE GOD, if He is THREE called the TRINITY.
And yet there is not a single word in the Bible teaching the ONE TRUE GOD equals THREE persons.
Or the ONE TRUE GOD is THREE persons.
GOD declared hundreds of times, there is none like me, and He is NOT THREE persons, but ONE.
Was GOD wrong when He said: there is none like me. Isaiah 46:9.
If the Catholic church are correct, and GOD is a “tritheism” (three Gods) called the TRINITY, then the Catholic church would prove GOD Almighty was wrong.
Because what we find is the IDENTICAL SAME TRINITY God, as the concept of the “tritheism” (three Gods), goes right back to Babylon and Egypt and other PAGANS and the pagan god is the SAME and is the IDENTICAL concept of the Catholic TRINITY.
Is the ONE TRUE GOD, the same as the PAGANS gods from Babylon and Egypt.
How is it possible that the ONE TRUE GOD is the same as the PAGAN gods from Babylon and Egypt, when GOD said: I am God, and there is none like me. Isaiah 46:9.
The shocking truth is the concept of the TRINITY (one god as three) was worshiped by PAGANS from Babylon and Egypt and other PAGANS which was CONDEMNED, prohibited and forbidden, by THE ONE TRUE GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The shocking truth is, what God CONDEMNED and prohibited which was and still is the worship of any gods, including the concept of the Babylon TRINITY (one god as three) by PAGANS from Babylon and Egypt is NOW believed and taught as the MAIN foundation of most Christians today.
WHY have MOST of the CHRISTIAN population replaced, The ONE TRUE GOD with the Catholic TRINITY PAGAN THREE gods from Babylon and Egypt?
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