QUICK FACTS: 38 TRINITY CONTRADICTIONS
PART ONE — WHO IS THE ONE TRUE GOD?
Research by Simon Brown
The doctrine of the Trinity traditionally teaches that there is one God in three distinct persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—and that the three are coequal and coeternal. That is a fair description of historic Trinitarian belief, not something invented for this article. (Orthodox Church in America)
In this series, we are going to do something very simple:
THE TRINITY CLAIM
versus
THE WORD OF GOD
For each point, we will ask:
What does Trinitarian doctrine teach?
What does Scripture actually say?
And do the two teachings agree—or contradict one another?
These are the first five of the 38 Trinity Contradictions in my original study.
TRINITY CONTRADICTION NO. 1
GOD SAYS THERE IS NO OTHER GOD BESIDES HIM
WHAT THE TRINITY TEACHES
Traditional Trinitarian doctrine teaches that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three distinct persons, while each is fully divine and together they are the one God. (Orthodox Church in America)
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES
Throughout Scripture, Yahweh repeatedly speaks of Himself using unmistakably singular language:
“Now therefore, Yahweh our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are Yahweh, even you only.”
— Isaiah 37:20
Again:
“I am Yahweh, and there is none else. Besides me, there is no God.”
— Isaiah 45:5
And:
“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me.”
— Isaiah 46:9
And perhaps most strikingly:
“See now that I, even I, am he. There is no god with me.”
— Deuteronomy 32:39
This same pattern appears repeatedly throughout Isaiah and the other prophets in the passages collected in my original study.
WHERE IS THE CONTRADICTION?
God does not say:
“We are God, and there is nobody besides Us.”
Instead, the biblical language repeatedly says:
I AM GOD
BESIDES ME THERE IS NO GOD
THERE IS NO GOD WITH ME
The question for the Trinitarian interpretation is therefore:
If the one God consists of three distinct coequal divine persons, why does God repeatedly identify Himself using this strongly singular “I” and “Me” language?
These passages are foundational to the biblical understanding of God and deserve to be allowed to speak for themselves.
TRINITY CONTRADICTION NO. 2
GOD IS ONE — THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT
WHAT THE TRINITY TEACHES
Trinitarian theology agrees that there is only one God, but defines that one God as existing in three distinct divine persons. (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES
God gave Israel this fundamental commandment:
“Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.”
— Deuteronomy 6:4
Centuries later, Jesus was asked which commandment was foremost.
Jesus answered:
“The foremost is, ‘Hear this O Israel: The Lord our God is One Lord.’”
— Mark 12:29, BLB
Jesus therefore reaffirmed the declaration given to Israel.
GOD IS ONE.
WHERE IS THE CONTRADICTION?
The important point is not that the Hebrew word for “one” literally means “one person”—it does not by itself establish that.
The much stronger question is this:
Did Jesus ever redefine Israel's confession by saying that the one God consists of three coequal persons?
When specifically asked for the foremost commandment, Jesus simply reaffirmed:
“THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD.”
Your original article identifies this as one of the central problems with the Trinitarian interpretation.
If believing that God is three persons were essential to understanding God's identity, why did Jesus not say so when explicitly stating the foremost commandment concerning God?
That is a serious question.
TRINITY CONTRADICTION NO. 3
PAUL SAYS: “ONE GOD, THE FATHER”
WHAT THE TRINITY TEACHES
Traditional Trinitarian Christianity identifies the Father as God, the Son as God, and the Holy Spirit as God, while maintaining that there are not three Gods but one God. (RCA)
WHAT PAUL TEACHES
Paul writes:
“Yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things and we for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ…”
— 1 Corinthians 8:6, BLB
Look carefully at Paul's identification:
ONE GOD — THE FATHER
Then Paul distinguishes Jesus:
ONE LORD — JESUS CHRIST
Paul makes another remarkable distinction:
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
— 1 Timothy 2:5, BLB
Again we have two clearly distinguished parties:
ONE GOD
and
THE MAN CHRIST JESUS — THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND HUMANITY
Paul also writes:
“…God is one.”
— Galatians 3:20, BLB
These were central passages in Contradiction No. 3 of my original study.
WHERE IS THE CONTRADICTION?
If Paul believed that the one God should be identified equally as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, why does he instead write:
“ONE GOD, THE FATHER”?
And if Jesus is Himself that same one God, why does Paul distinguish:
the one God
from
the mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus?
Paul certainly gives Jesus an extraordinarily exalted position.
But his wording still distinguishes God from Jesus Christ.
That distinction should not be ignored.
TRINITY CONTRADICTION NO. 4
JESUS IS THE WAY TO GOD
WHAT THE TRINITY TEACHES
The Trinity teaches that Jesus is fully divine and shares the same divine being as the Father.
WHAT JESUS TEACHES
Jesus said:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, if not by Me.”
— John 14:6, BLB
Notice the direction Jesus gives us:
THROUGH JESUS → TO THE FATHER
Jesus does not present Himself as the final person to whom He is bringing us.
He presents Himself as the way through whom we come to the Father.
This was the argument presented in Contradiction No. 4 of my original article.
WHERE IS THE CONTRADICTION?
If Jesus is Himself the same one true God to whom humanity is being reconciled, why does He consistently present Himself as the way to the Father?
This fits perfectly with Paul's words:
ONE GOD
and
ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN
The mediator is:
“THE MAN CHRIST JESUS.”
— 1 Timothy 2:5
The biblical picture therefore presents Jesus as our unique mediator and way to God.
TRINITY CONTRADICTION NO. 5
JESUS CALLED HIMSELF “A MAN”
WHAT THE TRINITY TEACHES
Historic Trinitarian Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. The Athanasian Creed explicitly describes Christ as God and man, so we must represent the Trinitarian position accurately here. (RCA)
Therefore, the fact that Jesus is called a man does not, by itself, refute Trinitarian doctrine.
But there is something else in Jesus' statement that deserves attention.
WHAT JESUS ACTUALLY SAID
Jesus told His opponents:
“But now you seek to kill Me, a man who has spoken to you the truth that I heard from God.”
— John 8:40, BLB
Notice the complete statement.
Jesus identifies Himself as:
“A MAN”
and then says that the truth He proclaimed was something:
“I HEARD FROM GOD.”
Your original article specifically contrasts Jesus' description of Himself as a man with the Trinitarian identification of Jesus as God.
WHERE IS THE CONTRADICTION?
The strongest question is not simply:
“Why is Jesus called a man?”
Trinitarians already believe Jesus became genuinely human.
The more important question is:
Why does Jesus distinguish Himself from God in the very same sentence?
He says:
“ME, A MAN”
who heard:
“FROM GOD.”
The natural reading presents the man Jesus receiving truth from God.
So we must ask:
Who is the God from whom Jesus heard this truth?
And why does Jesus speak of God as someone distinct from Himself?
PART ONE — CONCLUSION
We have examined only the first five of the 38 claimed Trinity contradictions, but already a consistent biblical pattern begins to emerge.
God says:
“BESIDES ME, THERE IS NO GOD.”
Jesus says:
“THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD.”
Paul says:
“ONE GOD, THE FATHER.”
Jesus says we come:
TO THE FATHER THROUGH HIM.
And Jesus describes Himself as:
“A MAN” WHO HEARD THE TRUTH “FROM GOD.”
The purpose of this series is not to tell you what you must believe.
It is to put the Trinity claim beside the Word of God and allow you to examine the evidence.
Ask yourself:
Do these statements naturally teach one God who is three coequal persons?
Or do they consistently distinguish the one God, the Father, from His Son and Messiah, Jesus Christ?
Jesus Himself prayed:
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent.”
— John 17:3, BLB
There are still 33 claimed contradictions to examine.
And some of the strongest are yet to come.
