History of Trinity !

• AD 50- About this time the Gospels recorded, "I ascend unto my Father and your Father and to my God and to your God."

• AD 57 - About this time Paul wrote, "There is no other God but One. To us there is but One God and Father and Son, Jesus Christ."

• AD 96 - About this time Clement wrote, "Christ was sent by God and the Apostles were sent by Christ."

• AD 120 - The Apostle's creed begins to be known to the Church. It says, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty."

• AD 150 - Justin Martyr about this time began with platonic philosophy to corrupt Christian simplicity.

• AD 170 - The word "Trias" first occurs in Christian literature.

• AD 200 - The word "Trinitas" is first used by Tertullian.

• AD 230 - Origen writes against prayers being offered to Christ.

• AD 260 - Sabellius taught that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three names for the same God.

• AD 300 - No Trinitarian form of prayer is yet known to the Church.

• AD 310 - Lactanius write that "Christ never called himself God!"

• AD 320 - Eusebius writes: "Christ teaches us to call his Father, the True God, and to worship Him."

• AD 325 - The Council of Nicea agrees to call Christ God of God, very God of very God. However two opposing groups, the Trinitarians and the Unitarians, came into existence.

• AD 350 - Great conflicts in the Church about the doctrine of Trinity.

• AD 370 - The doxology, "Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost" composed and objected to as a novelty.

• AD 381 - The Council of Constantinople gives the finishing touch to the doctrine of "three Persons in One God".

• AD 383 - The Emperor Theodosius threatened to punish all who would not believe in and worship the Trinity.

Therefore, the doctrine of the Trinity, imposed by imperial decree, did not become Christian dogma until nearly four centuries after the birth of Jesus. Orthodoxy was then established by force. This leads us to the conclusion that the concept of the Trinity was created basically to confuse a common person to the extent that he or she ends up in blind faith and gives up rational thinking. It blocks the thinking power of the human brain.


Trinity is neither SCRIPTURAL nor RATIONAL.Just think if it is scriptural then why great prophets like abraham isaac moses david isaiah jermiah did not know about trinity? they never preached it.

For Trinity Believers ? ☛ Here are some easy Questions

1. Then why is "God head of Christ just as Christ is head of man"?
☛ (1 Cor. 11:3)

2. Then why does Scripture consistently phrase Jesus as a separate person from God?
☛ (John 20:17; John 14:1; Mark 10:18; John 17:1-3; etc. Also in heaven, 1 Cor. 11:3; Luke 22:69; etc.)

3. Then how can Jesus have a God? Could Almighty God have a God?
☛ (Mic. 5:4; Ps. 45:6, 7; 89:26; John 20:17; Rom. 15:6; 2 Cor. 1:3; Eph 1:3; Col 1:3; Mark 15:34; John 17:1-3; Also in heaven, Rev. 1:6; 3:2, 12)

4. Then why does Scripture say he was born and is part of Creation?
☛ (Col. 1:15)

5. Then why does Rev. 3:14 say that Jesus is "the beginning of the creation of God"?
☛ (Rev. 3:14)

6. Then why is he subject to GOD, like we're subject to him?
☛ (1 Cor. 15:27, 28; Eph. 1:17)

7. Then why does Micah 5:2 say that Jesus' ORIGIN was “from early times”?

8. Then why does Jesus not know what God knows?
☛ (Matt. 24:36, Rev.1:1; Luke 8:45)

9. Then why is Jesus still subject to God when he is as high as he will ever be?
☛ (1 Cor. 15:27, 28)

10. Then why does Proverbs 8:22-31 show that the Messiah was CREATED / PRODUCED by God?

11. Then why is he not powerful enough to subject things to himself?
☛ (1 Cor. 15:27, Eph. 1:17, 22)

12. Then why would he have to be given any power and authority?
☛ (Mt. 28:18; 11:27; Jn. 5:22; 17:2; 3:35; 2 Pet. 1:17)

13. Then why did he have to learn anything?
☛ (Heb. 5:8; John 5:19; 8:28)

14. Then why is speaking against him not as bad as speaking against the Holy Spirit?
☛ (Mt. 12:31,32; Luke 12:10)

15. Then why did Jesus call the "Father...the only true God"?
☛ (John 17:3)

16. Then why did he need to be saved?
☛ (Heb. 5:7; John 12:27)

17. Then why did he have to be exalted to Leader and Savior?
☛ (Acts 5:31)

18. Then how could he be exalted and given a higher name than he had?
☛ (Phil. 2:9-11; Heb. 1:2-4)

19. Then why did he have to be given life in himself?
☛ (John 5:25,26)

20. Then how can the Father be greater than him?
☛ (John 14:28)

21. Then how could Jesus be tempted by Satan when God cannot be tempted with evil?
☛ (James 1:13)

22. Then why did he worship the Father?
☛ (John 4:22)

23. Then why can he not do anything on his own?
☛ (John 5:19; 6:38)

24. Then why would he pray to anybody?
☛ (Luke 22:44; John 17:1,2; Heb. 5:7)

25. Then why does John 1:18 say that Jesus is God's "only BEGOTTEN Son"? ASV

26. Then how can he be God's servant?
☛ (Acts 4:26,27,30)

27. Then how could he receive strength from an angel?
☛ (Luke 22:43)

28. Then how could he be a mediator between God and man?
☛ (1 Tim. 2:5)

29. Then how could he be with God (ho theos)?
☛ (John 1:1)

30. Then how can he be God's image?
☛ (Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3)

31. Then why is he called the agency (dia) of creation and not the Originator (ek)?
☛ (1 Cor. 8:6; John 1:1-3; Prov. 8:30; Heb. 2:10; Col. 1:15,16)

32. Then why did Jesus say GOD was "good" in a way that Jesus was not?
☛ (Mark 10:18)

33. Then why does he have an archangel's voice instead of God's voice?
☛ (1 Thess. 4:16)

34. Then why is the only "worship" given to him the same given to humans?
☛ (Heb. 1:6, cf. Mt. 18:26; Rev. 3:9 - "Proskuneo")

35. Then why do many who believe this rely on a few selected, so-called 'proof-texts' instead of the context of the consistent teaching of the entire Bible?

36. Then how could he get commanded to do anything?
☛ (John 12:49; Deut. 18:18)

37. Then why did Steven see two separate entities, GOD and Jesus, and not just one God or three persons?
☛ (Acts 7:55)

38. Then how could he be seen at GOD's right hand?
☛ (Luke 22:69; Acts 7:55; Rom. 8:34)

39. Then how could Jesus be exalted (not to become God Himself, but) to the position of the "right hand OF God"?
☛ (Acts 2:33)

40. Then why would he have to receive a revelation from God?
☛ (Rev.1:1)

41. Then why is he called God's "begotten" Son before he came to earth?
☛ (John 3:16; Gal. 4:4; 1 John 4:9)

42. Then how could he have a Father?
☛ (John 20:17)

43. Then how could he come in flesh?
☛ (1 Kings 8:27; Acts 17:24,25)

44. Then why did he not come in his own name?
☛ (John 5:41-44)

45. Then why did Jesus "come down from heaven to do" God's will and not his own will?
☛ (Luke 22:42; John 6:38; John 5:30; John 8:42)

46. Then how could he appear before GOD?
☛ (Heb. 9:24)

47. Then how could he die? Can God die? Can part of God die?
☛ (Rom. 5:10; Acts 5:30; 1 Cor. 15:3; Hab.1:12; cf. 1 Tim. 6:16; Num. 23:19; Ps. 90:2; Dan. 6:25-26)

48. Then why is it that God resurrected Jesus?
☛ (Acts 2:32)

49. Then why can we see him if "no man has seen God at any time"?
☛ (John 1:18)

50. Then why is there not one clear scripture where Jesus is called "God the Son," (equal to those declaring "God, the Father)?

HOW BIBLE EXPLAINS 3 = 1 !

✔ Father Quality 
No one knows, however, when that day or hour will come—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son; only the Father knows.(Mark 13: 32)


✔ Son Quality
My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all. (John 10: 29)

I can of my own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father who has sent me. (John 5: 30)


✔ Holy Ghost Quality
Anyone who says something against the Son of man can be forgiven, but whoever says something against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven- now or ever. (Matthew 12: 32)

Is this 3 in One nature ???
Taken From

History of Trinity Taken from wiki ... read and Judge yourself!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity#History

Pope Clement I prays to the Trinity, in a typical post-Renaissance depiction by Gianbattista Tiepolo.
Main article: Trinity of the Church Fathers

The first of the early church fathers recorded as using the word Trinity was Theophilus of Antioch writing in the late 2nd century. He defines the Trinity as God, His Word (Logos) and His Wisdom (Sophia)[66] in the context of a discussion of the first three days of creation. The first defence of the doctrine of the Trinity was in the early third century by the early church father Tertullian. He explicitly defined the Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and defended the Trinitarian theology against the "Praxean" heresy.[67]

Although there is much debate as to whether the beliefs of the Apostles were merely articulated and explained in the Trinitarian Creeds,[68] or were corrupted and replaced with new beliefs,[69][70] all scholars recognize that the Creeds themselves were created in reaction to disagreements over the nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These controversies, however, were great and many, and took some centuries to be resolved.

Of these controversies, the most significant developments were articulated in the first four centuries by the Church Fathers[68] in reaction to Adoptionism, Sabellianism, and Arianism. Adoptionism was the belief that Jesus was an ordinary man, born of Joseph and Mary, who became the Christ and Son of God at his baptism. In 269, the Synods of Antioch condemned Paul of Samosata for his Adoptionist theology, and also condemned the term "homoousios" in the sense he used it.[71]

Sabellianism taught that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are aspects of how humanity has interacted with or experienced God. In the role of the Father, God is the provider and creator of all. In the role of the Son, God is manifested in the flesh as a human to bring about the salvation of mankind. In the role of the Holy Spirit, God manifests himself from heaven through his actions on the earth and within the lives of Christians. This view was rejected as heresy by the Ecumenical Councils.[which?]

Arianism, which was coming into prominence during the 4th century along with Trinitarianism, taught that the Father came before the Son, and that the Son was a distinct being from the Holy Spirit. In 325, the Council of Nicaea adopted a term for the relationship between the Father and the Son that from then on was seen as the hallmark of orthodoxy; it declared that the Son is "of the same being" (ὁμοούσιος) as the Father. This was further developed into the formula "three persons, one being".

Saint Athanasius, who was a participant in the Council, stated that the bishops were forced to use this terminology, which is not found in Scripture, because the Biblical phrases that they would have preferred to use were claimed by the Arians to be capable of being interpreted in what the bishops considered to be a heretical sense.[72] They therefore "commandeered the non-scriptural[73] term homoousios ('of the same being') to safeguard the essential relation of the Son to the Father that had been denied by Arius."[74]

Moreover, the meanings of "ousia" and "hypostasis" overlapped then, so that the latter term for some meant essence and for others person. Athanasius of Alexandria (293–373) helped to clarify the terms.[75]

The Confession of the Council of Nicaea said little about the Holy Spirit.[76] The doctrine of the divinity and personality of the Holy Spirit was developed by Athanasius in the last decades of his life.[77] He defended and refined the Nicene formula.[76] By the end of the 4th century, under the leadership of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus (the Cappadocian Fathers), the doctrine had reached substantially its current form.[76]

The Ante-Nicene Fathers, although likely foreign to the specifics of Trinitarian theology because they were not defined until the 4th century, nevertheless affirmed Christ's deity and referenced "Father, Son and Holy Spirit". Trinitarians view these as elements of the codified doctrine.[78]

By the end of the 4th century, as a result of controversies concerning the proper sense in which to apply to God, Christ and the Holy Spirit terms such as "person", "nature", "essence", and "substance", the doctrine of the Trinity took the form that has since been maintained in all the historic confessions of Christianity.[20][18][79][80]

Click for detail  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity#History


Isn't this interesting human beings are deciding who is God and Adding their heresy into the belief ! and now preachers are preaching inserted heresies as God's word!!

Some Facts Regarding Christianity one should know.

The Christmas Experience
The perfect Christmas tree is bought. Adorned with ornaments and glittering with tinsel, it stands by the window. The stores are crammed with shoppers hunting for presents and the little ones anxiously waiting for Santa.

Busy with Christmas fever, wonder did you ever, did the Bible or Jesus made any injunction on Christmas ever?
Ponder upon the following analysis on Christmas, and the Truth will become clearer and clearer.

Does Christmas have Biblical Evidence?

The word 'Christmas' does not exist in the Bible. The Bible has closed lips on the entire feast of Christmas, with one exception, the decoration of a tree. The Bible itself criticizes the decoration of the (Christmas) trees:

"The customs of the people are worthless, they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel, they adore it with silver and gold, they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter" (Jeremiah 10-3,4).

European Pre-Christian pagans superstitiously believed that the green trees had special protective powers. In fact the use of the Christmas tree began only in the 17th century in Strasbourg, France and from there it spread to Germany, Britain and then to the U.S. "Tree worship was a common feature of religion among the Teutonic and Scandinavian peoples of northern Europe before their conversion to Christianity…German settlers brought the Christmas tree custom to the American colonies in the 17th century. By the 19th century its use was quite widespread". (Compton's Encyclopedia, 1998 Edition)


Was Jesus born on Dec. 25?
Neither the date 25th Dec. nor any other date on Jesus' birth is mentioned in the Bible. It was not until the year 530 C.E. that a monk, Dionysus Exigus, fixed the date of Jesus' birth on Dec. 25th. . "He wrongly dated the birth of Christ according to the Roman system (i.e., 754 years after the founding of Rome) as Dec. 25, 753". (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1998 ed.) This date was chosen in keeping with the holidays already indoctrinated into pagans beliefs.

Roman pagans celebrated Dec. 25th as the birth of their 'god' of light, Mithra.

"In the 2nd century A..D., it (Mithraism) was more general in the Roman Empire than Christianity, to which it bore many similarities" (The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia, 1995 ed.

Other pagan 'gods' born on Dec. 25th are: Hercules the son of Zeus (Greeks); Bacchus, 'god' of wine (Romans); Adonis, 'god' of Greeks, and 'god' Freyr of Greek-Roman pagans.


What about Santa Claus?
If aliens descended on earth during the Christmas season, they would undoubtedly believe Christmas as being Santa's birthday. The words 'Santa Claus', appear nowhere in the Bible.

However, Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) was a real person, a bishop, who was born 300 years after Jesus. According to legend, he was extremely kind and set out at night to bring presents to the needy. After his death on 6th of Dec., school boys in Europe began celebrating a feast day each year.

Queen Victoria later changed the celebration date from Dec. 6th to Dec. 24th eve.



Did Jesus or his Companions Celebrate Christmas?
If Jesus meant his followers to celebrate Christmas, he would have practiced it himself and enjoined it on his followers. There is no mention in the entire Bible that any of his followers ever celebrated Jesus' birthday like Christians do today.

"The church did not observe a festival for the celebration of the event of Christmas until the 4th century" (Grolier's Encyclopedia)

Thus we see that neither the Bible nor Jesus and his companions say anything about the celebration of Christmas which currently involves fanfare, commercialization, and extravagent spending, devoid of any spiritual relevance.

We'll now analyze the real person of Jesus (peace be upon him), in the light of the Bible and Islam.


What did Jesus Say about Himself? 
In many places in the Bible, Jesus, referring to himself as a Prophet said:

"A Prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house" (Matthew 13:57),

"Nevertheless I must walk today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a Prophet persists out of Jerusalem". (Luke 13:33).

Jesus Received God's Revelation

Similarly, Jesus Christ too, as a Prophet, received revelations from God: "But now you seek to kill me, a man that had told you the truth, which I heard of God" (John 8:40)

Jesus Prayed to God  (Not to himself)

"And when he (Jesus) had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray" (Matthew 14:23)

Obvious question: If Jesus was God, who was he praying to?

Jesus put himself Equal to other Humans
Jesus put himself equal to other humans in the eyes of God.

"My father and your father, my God and your God" (John 20:17)

God does not have a God, But Jesus had a God! Moreover, the gospel writers referred to Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) as the 'son of man' about 85 times in the Gospels, and never once did he explicitly called himself 'God', or 'God the Son', or 'The Begotton Son of God'.

Jesus Preached God's Oneness

Jesus Christ, as a true Prophet of God, taught monotheism. When asked, 'What is the first of all commandments', Jesus replied:

"...The first of all the Commandments is, Hear O Israel; the Lord our God is One Lord" (Mark 12:29)

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent" (John 17:3)


Prophets of God 
God, by his mercy, sent numerous Prophets throughout history to all nations as guides and role models. Some of the prophets were Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Jesus and the Last Prophet Muhammad (peace be on all of them). They all came with the same basic message, which is the Oneness of God, without any partners, sons or daughters.

This Oneness of God in its complete essence, preached by all prophets, was later distorted by some segments of humanity and naming these 'distortions' as 'religions', they left the worship of one true God and replaced it with worshiping humans, cows and fire. To purify humanity, God sent His last Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a guide for all mankind and through him revealed in His last Messge, The Quran:

"They have adopted their scholars and monks as lords besides God and (also) Christ, the son of Mary, although they have been ordered to serve only God alone. There is no god but Him. Glory be to Him ! He is beyond what they associate (with Him)...." (Quran 9:31)

This utmost obedience and worship to one God, in its truest sense forms the basis of Islam. The entire Quran has been committed to memory by millions of Muslims around the world and preserved by God Himself from any interpolations, unlike previous scriptures, to provide guidance for all ages.



What Does Islam Teach?

Islam calls humanity to the service of the One, Omnipotent Creator ('Allah' in Arabic). Islam teaches the oneness of mankind in the eyes of God regardless of superficial differences such as race & nationality. In Islam there is no superiority of whites over blacks or vice versa. Anything that disrupts society's harmony and deviates humans from worshiping one true God is disliked in Islam. Thus Islam recognizes the evils of alcohol, drugs, premarital sex, gambling etc. and advises humans to stay sway from these Satan's handiwork. Islam further provides detailed instruction about a person's relationship with God, with his family and the society. Thus no aspect of a person's life is outside of the guidance provided by God.

Born Sinless! 
Islam teaches that every child is born sinless with a pure heart and an inner instinct to realize the oneness of God. It is the parents or the environment that deviates this child to associate partners with God (in the form of multiple gods) or to reject God altogether.

No Mediator
There is no mediator between God and man. There is no need of one, for God, the All knowing, can listen and answer our sincere prayers regardless of our state and place.

Salvation comes through submitting to the pure belief in One God and following His guidance as revealed in the Quran, and not through the vicarious sacrifice (murder) of an innocent human being. Thus Islam is a rational religion based on justice and self accountability, and not on unjust and mysterious doctrines formulated by humans. Islam provides solutions to all the ills plaguing humanity. An example of Islam's stand on racial justice is provided below.

Islam Dispels Racism
One person's superiority over another is not based on his race, economic status or nationality but on his God-Consciousness and purity of character. God proclaims in the Quran:

`"O mankind ! We have created you from a single (pair) of a male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other and not that you may despise each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is the most righteous..." (49:13).

Likewise Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) proclaimed: "No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over a black man, or the black man any superiority over the white man. You are all the children of Adam, and Adam was created from clay."

After studying Islam, Malcolm X, became a true Muslim. He remarks:

"...America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem..."

The Quran was revealed in the Arabic language, but translations of its meaning are available in English and other languages for non-Arabs. Likewise Islam is not restricted to people of the east or Arabs, it is a universal religion revealed for all of mankind.

We invite all sincere humans to study Islam with an unbiased mind. Don't blindly follow the whims and paganistic influences of the environment around us. God bestowed upon us this superb mind to seek and live the truth; for we all will be accountable on the Day of Judgment for our beliefs and deeds. Don't delay your salvation.

How The ‘Gospel of Barnabas’ Survived?

How The ‘Gospel of Barnabas’ Survived?

The Gospel of Jesus’ according to Barnabas, though banned by the Paulian Christians (Trinitarians) since 325 C.E, still survives and is considered by the scholars and historians as the most authentic Gospel available today. [The references form the Gospel according to Barnabas are being mentioned here just for the information of reader to arrive at their own unbiased judgment. However the pragmatic discussion on doctrines of Christianity in this book are primarily based upon the canonized Bible].It contains most of the teachings of Jesus Christ. The brief history of survival of ‘Gospel of Barnabas’ is enumerated below:-

The ‘Gospel of Jesus According to Barnabas’ was accepted as a Canonical Gospel in the Churches of Alexandria till 325 C.E.

Iranaeus (130-200 C.E.) wrote in support of pure monotheism and opposed Paul for injecting into Christianity doctrines of the pagan Roman religion and Platonic philosophy. He had quoted extensively from the Gospel of Barnabas in support of his views. This shows that the Gospel of Barnabas was in circulation in the first and second centuries of Christianity.
In 325 C.E, the Nicene Council was held, where it was ordered that all original Gospels in Hebrew script should be destroyed. An Edict was issued that anyone in possession of these Gospels will be put to death.

In 383 C.E, the Pope secured a copy of the Gospel of Barnabas and kept it in his private library.

In the fourth year of Emperor Zeno (478 C.E.), the remains of Barnabas were discovered and his own hand written copy of the Gospel of Barnabas was found on his breast. (Acia Sanctorum Boland Junii Tom II, Pages 422 and 450. Antwerp 1698). The famous ‘Vulgate Bible’ appears to be based on this Gospel.

Pope Sixtus (1585-90 C.E) had a friend, Fra Marino. He found the Gospel of Barnabas in the private library of the Pope. Fra Marino was interested because he had read the writings of Iranaeus where Barnabas had been profusely quoted. The Italian manuscript passed through different hands till it reached “a person of great name and authority” in Amsterdam, “who during his life time was often heard to put a high value to this piece”. After his death it came in the possession of J. E. Cramer, a Councillor of the King of Prussia.

In 1713 C.E Cramer presented this manuscript to the famous connoisseur of books, Prince Eugene of Savoy. In 1738 C.E along with the library of the Prince it found its way into Hofbibliothek in Vienna. There it now rests.

Toland, in his “Miscellaneous Works” (published posthumously in 1747 C.E), in Vol. I, page 380, mention that the Gospel of Barnabas was still extant. In Chapter XV he refers to the Glasian Decree of 496 C.E where “Evangelium Barnabe” is included in the list of forbidden books. Prior to that it had been forbidden by Pope Innocent in 465 C.E and by the Decree of the Western Churches in 382 C.E.

Barnabas is also mentioned in the Stichometry of Nice-phorus Serial No. 3, Epistle of Barnabas . . . Lines 1, 300. Then again in the list of Sixty Books Serial No. 17: Travels and teaching of the Apostles, Serial No. 18: Epistle of Barnabas, Serial No. 24: Gospel According to Barnabas.

10. A Greek version of the Gospel of Barnabas is also found in a solitary fragment. The rest is burnt.

11. The Latin text was translated into English by Mr. and Mrs. Ragg and was printed at the Clarendon Press in Oxford. It was published by the Oxford University Press in 1907. This English translation mysteriously disappeared from the market. Two copies of this translation are known to exist, one in the British Museum and the other in the Library of the Congress, Washington, which forms the source of most of authentic copies available in the market.

Pauline Theology

Description: The teachings of Paul in contrast with those of Jesus, and the statements of Christian scholars on this subject. By Laurence B. Brown, MD

In the midst of the growing 19th and 20th century awareness of the differences between Trinitarian doctrine and the period of origins, a person might be surprised to find one group who claim to be followers of Christ Jesus reading the following in the Holy Quran: “O People of the Book!  Commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of God anything but the truth.  Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a Messenger of God, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in God and His Messengers.  Do not say “Trinity”: desist: it will be better for you: for God is One God: glory be to Him: (far Exalted is He) above having a son.  To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth.  And enough is God as a Disposer of affairs” (Quran 4:171) And warning: “O People of the Book!  Exceed not in your religion the bounds (of what is proper), trespassing beyond the truth, nor follow the vain desires of people who went wrong in times gone by – who misled many, and strayed (themselves) from the even Way.” (Quran 5:77) One may wonder what, from the New Testament, separates these two groups by such a vast expanse of understanding.  No doubt the key difference which divides Trinitarians from Unitarians, and Christians from Muslims, is Pauline theology.  For centuries the argument has been put forth that Trinitarian Christians largely follow Pauline theology more than that of Jesus.  This charge is difficult to deny, for Jesus taught the Law of the Old Testament, whereas Paul preached mysteries of faith, in denial of the Law which the prophets had suffered and struggled to convey.  In disrespect to thousands of years of revelation conveyed through a long chain of esteemed prophets, and contrary to the teachings of the rabbi Jesus himself, Paul focused not on the life and teachings of Jesus, but upon his death.  As Lehmann put it: “The only thing which Paul considers important is the Jew Jesus’ death, which destroyed all hopes of liberation by a Messiah.  He makes the victorious Christ out of the failed Jewish Messiah, the living out of the dead, the son of God out of the son of man.”[1] More than a few scholars consider Paul the main corrupter of Apostolic Christianity and of the teachings of Jesus: “What Paul proclaimed as ‘Christianity’ was sheer heresy which could not be based on the Jewish or Essene faith, or on the teaching of Rabbi Jesus.  But, as Schonfield says, ‘The Pauline heresy became the foundation of Christian orthodoxy and the legitimate church was disowned as heretical.’”[2] Lehmann continues: “Paul did something that Rabbi Jesus never did and refused to do.  He extended God’s promise of salvation to the Gentiles; he abolished the law of Moses, and he prevented direct access to God by introducing an intermediary.”[3] Others elevate Paul to sainthood.  Joel Carmichael, who commented as follows, very clearly is not one of them: “We are a universe away from Jesus.  If Jesus came “only to fulfill” the Law and the Prophets; If he thought that “not an iota, not a dot” would “pass from the Law,” that the cardinal commandment was “Hear, O Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is one,” and that “no one was good but God”….What would he have thought of Paul’s handiwork!  Paul’s triumph meant the final obliteration of the historic Jesus; he comes to us embalmed in Christianity like a fly in amber.”[4] Many authors have pointed out the disparity in the teachings of Paul and Jesus; the best of them have avoided opinionated commentary and concentrated on simply exposing the elements of difference.  Dr. Wrede comments: “In Paul the central point is a divine act, in history but transcending history, or a complex of such acts, which impart to all mankind a ready-made salvation.  Whoever believes in these divine acts – the incarnation, death, and resurrection of a celestial being, receives salvation. “And this, which to Paul is the sum of religion – the skeleton of the fabric of his piety, without which it would collapse – can this be a continuation or a remoulding of the gospel of Jesus?  Where, in all this, is that gospel to be found, which Paul is said to have understood? “Of that which is to Paul all and everything, how much does Jesus know?  Nothing whatever.”[5] And Dr. Johannes Weiss contributes: “Hence the faith in Christ as held by the primitive churches and by Paul was something new in comparison with the preaching of Jesus; it was a new type of religion.”[6] Which theology won the day, and why, and how, are questions left to the analyses of the above authors.  Should a person come to recognize that the teachings of Paul and those of Jesus oppose one another, consideration should be given to the question: “If I had to choose between the two, to whom should I give priority -- Jesus or Paul?”  The question is so relevant that Michael Hart had the following to say in his scholastic tome, in which he ranks the 100 most influential men of history: “Although Jesus was responsible for the main ethical and moral precepts of Christianity (insofar as these differed from Judaism), St. Paul was the main developer of Christian theology, its principal proselytizer, and the author of a large portion of the New Testament.”[7] With regard to Paul’s perspective: “He does not ask what led to Jesus’ death, he only sees what it means to him personally.  He turns a man who summoned people to reconciliation with God into the savior.  He turns an orthodox Jewish movement into a universal religion which ultimately clashed with Judaism.”[8] The three main points where Pauline theology conflicts with that of Jesus are critical -- elements so crucial that deviation from the truth threatens a person’s salvation.  In order of importance they rank: 1)    The divinity of Jesus alleged by Pauline theology versus the oneness of God taught by Christ Jesus; 2)    Justification by faith, as proposed by Paul, versus Old Testament law, as endorsed by Christ Jesus; 3)    Jesus having been a universal prophet, as per Paul, versus an ethnic prophet, as per the teachings of Christ Jesus.[9]  Interestingly enough, these three points constitute the greatest doctrinal differences separating Christianity not only from Judaism, but also from Islam.  Running a theological finger down the backbone of revealed monotheism, Trinitarian Christianity seems to stand out of joint. To address the first of these points, Jesus is recorded as having taught the oneness of God, as in Mark 12:29: “Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”  Jesus reportedly continued with “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength,” finishing with emphasis upon the initial claim, “This is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:30).  Not only did Jesus stress importance by sandwiching his statement between the repeated and emphatic “This is the first commandment,” but the importance of this teaching is equally stressed in Matthew 22:37 and Luke 10:27, and further complemented by the first commandment as recorded in Exodus 20:3 -- “You shall have no other gods before Me.”  Jesus conveyed the above teaching from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (as acknowledged in all reputable Biblical commentaries), yet Pauline theology somehow arrived at concepts which have been extrapolated to support what is now known as the Trinity.  One wonders how.  Jesus referred to the Old Testament -- what did the Pauline theologians refer to?  Significantly absent from the above teaching of Jesus is the association of himself with God.  There never was a better time or place, throughout the New Testament, for Jesus to have claimed partnership in divinity, were it true.  But he didn’t.  He didn’t say, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one -- but it’s not quite that simple, so let me explain…” Copyright © 2007 Laurence B. Brown; used by permission. The above excerpt is taken from Dr. Brown’s forthcoming book, MisGod’ed, which is expected to be published along with its sequel, God’ed.  Both books can be viewed on Dr. Brown’s website, www.LevelTruth.com.  Dr. Brown can be contacted at BrownL38@yahoo.com Footnotes: [1] Lehmann, Johannes.  pp. 125-6. [2] Lehmann, Johannes.  p. 128. [3] Lehmann, Johannes.  p. 134. [4] Carmichael, Joel.  p. 270. [5] Wrede, William.  1962.  Paul.  Translated by Edward Lummis.  Lexington, Kentucky: American Theological Library Association Committee on Reprinting.  p. 163. [6] Weiss, Johannes.  1909.  Paul and Jesus.  (Translated by Rev. H. J. Chaytor).  London and New York: Harper and Brothers.  p. 130. [7] Hart, Michael H.  The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History.  p. 39  of the 1978 edition by Hart Publishing Co.; p. 9 of the 1998 edition my Citadel Press.  Go figure. [8] Lehmann, Johannes.  p. 137. [9] Christ Jesus was one more prophet in the long line of prophets sent to guide the astray Israelites.  As Christ Jesus so clearly affirmed, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  (Matthew 15:24)  When Jesus sent the disciples out in the path of God, he instructed them in such a manner as to leave no uncertainty in this regard, for he told them, “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  (Matthew 10:5-6)  Throughout his ministry, Jesus was never recorded as having converted a single Gentile, and in fact is recorded as having initially rebuked a Gentile for seeking his favors, likening her to a dog (Matthew 15:22-28 and Mark 7:25-30).  One wonders, what does that mean now, for those who have taken Jesus to be their ‘personal savior’ and presume to speak in his name http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/564/