Monday, May 28, 2007 Speak out: Dialogue on the Holy Trinity By Marcos C. Jaca Cebu City
I HAVE read and re-read a work by Dr. Hazan M. Baagil, a notable Muslim medical practitioner who also delves into the study of religions, his book being titled “Christian Muslim Dialogue” with publication date of January 1984. In a portion discussing the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity, we read the following:
“M. (for Muslim): Do you still believe in the Trinity?
C. (for Christian): Sure, it is written in the First Epistle of John (3:7 and 8): For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. X X X.
M. Oh, that is in the King James Version, authorized in 1611, x x x. But now this part, x x x has been expunged in the Revised Standard Version of 1952 and 1971 and in many other Bibles, as it was a gloss that had encroached on the Greek text. x x x.
The Trinity is not Biblical. The word Trinity is not even in the Bible or Bible dictionaries. It was never taught by Jesus and was never mentioned by him. There is no basis or proof in the Bible whatsoever for the acceptance of the Trinity.
C. But in Matthew 28:19 we still find: “...baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” This part is not removed yet, is this not proof of the Trinity?
M. No. If you mention three persons are sitting or eating together, does it mean that they are forming one person? No. x x x...”
(Intervention by this reader) But in Acts 2:3, 4 it is stated thus: “3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. 4 and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit x x x.” There were plenty tongues of fire, would we say there are plenty of Holy Spirit?
And moreover, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God are both attributes of the Father, powers that cannot be excluded from Him. Human consideration cannot be applied to Godly circumstances. For the Father’s purpose, the Holy Spirit is identified by the apostles and early Christian evangelists as a separate entity and consciousness who is capable of manifesting to mankind in a visible form (Lk 3:22) or as an invisible force as he wills (Mk 3:11). His function in the universe is to perform the tasks whatever the Father wills for His purposes.
