After years of frustrating arguments with Muslims who try to attack a misconception of what they believe the Holy Trinity is, I've finally worked out the most logical and straightforward method of explaining the TRUE Biblical concept of the Trinity to Muslims, who are often so confused about the issue that they pick on it to mock Christian theology. (I've often heard silly arguments like: "You believe in 3 Gods" or "You believe god has partners" - As their own Quran falsely sets them up to believe)
After this post, i dont think any Muslim would have the right to argue that
a) The concept is impossible
b) The concept is illogical
c) The concept is incomprehensible
And finally, I will reveal why in actual fact, their own concept of monotheism is alot more complicated than the Trinitarian concept of the One God.
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First of all, I personally find it hard to grasp that a Muslim, who agrees with many of the basic attributes of God i.e. All-powerful, All-knowing, infinite, eternal being, can some how then go along and try to accuse the Trinitarian doctrine as being illogical or incomprehensible to the limited human mind and use human rational thinking to make a conclusion on the nature of the Almighty God.
I mean there are many things about God that seem incomprehensible to the rational human mind, things that both Muslims and Christians acknowledge. For example God being an eternal being. To the human rational mind, everything has a point of beginning, no one can comprehend infinity or eternity, and the more you think about it the more mind boggling it becomes.
The following is not a proof of the trinity, rather a logical conclusion on justifying some of the incomprehensible aspects of the trinity, as well as looking at some Bible quotes concerning what God wants us to concern ourselves with.
Now the first way most Christians try to describe the trinity concept to a non-believer is via simple analogies. Now all analogies of the trinity will fall short and have some error, because we are trying to use natural revelation to describe an infinte being i.e. trying to use the creatION to describe the creatOR. Therefore they will only be sufficient to an extent, i.e. to show how One can exist as 3 and 1 simultaneously, and thus upon acknowledging the insufficency of analogies, the Muslim cannot try and break them down and get deep into it.
I want to go ahead and provide the best 2 that I can (regarding the Sun and Water) and further comment on the issue of trying to understand the trinity. Please let me emphasise when I say that the following analogies will only go to show the basic concepts of the trinity i.e. that One substance or being, can exist simultaneously in 3 different “forms”. Thus, trying to break down my analogies and getting into the specifics is not what I intend to get as a response because as I have already stressed all analogies will fall short because we are trying to use natural revelation (what we see in our world) to describe the creator of the world..
Analogy 1) When we look directly at the core of the sun, the star itself, we recognize the suns presence. When we walk out during the day, we can recognize the suns presence by feeling the heat that proceeds forth from it. When we are in a darkened room and open a window during the day, we recognize the daytime by the presence of the sun as the room lights up due to the light that also proceeds from the sun.
Now there is obviously only one sun, however this sun is revealed in three different forms. We cannot say that the sun is separate from its rays of light, or that the sun is separate from its heat rays, since these are an essential part of the sun, they are the sun they are all of one essence. Although these 3 are one sun, they are yet distinct. Although all 3 are one sun, the light is not the heat, nor the light the core, or the heat the core. The light proceeds from the core, to illuminate the darkness, and the heat proceeds from the core to warm the world.
Likewise, God, being one, exists as the Father, the Son (God's eternal word and/or wisdom), and the Holy Spirit (The spirit of God). All 3 are one God, yet they are distinct from each other. The Son proceeds from the father, as the light proceeds from the core of the sun, the Son himself is said to be the “light of the world” in the Bible. The spirit of the truth, the Holy Spirit, also proceeds from the Father, as the heat proceeds from the core. The Holy Spirit is the comforter, just as the warmth from the heat comforts us.
Analogy 2) Another analogy that describes the trinity is a physical phenomena known as triple point. The concept of triple point is based on the fact that Water (H20) can exist as solid, liquid, and gas, simultaneously. So there we have a scientific fact that Water can be existent simultaneously in 3 different forms, yet maintain its one nature. i.e. It becomes a tri-unity.
Now the point of this being said, is that if certain aspects of natural revelation – Gods creation can exist as a tri-unity, who are we to say that it is illogical for God to exist as a trinity. Furthermore who are we to apply any sort of limited human logic to the Creator of the universe – the most powerful and infinite being?
The thing of importance here is what do the scriptures say? And it is quite evident that the Bible confirms the trinity concept, because whilst stressing that there is only one God, it makes direct implications, and explicitly reveals that this God is eternally existent through the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
"The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law" (Deuteronomy 29:29).
Perhaps we spend too much time and effort trying to solve mysteries we were not intended to comprehend rather than focusing on what’s evidently revealed through the scriptures. (as indicated by Deut 29:29)
The verse emphasizes that we shouldn’t concern ourselves with trying to logically justify the nature of the infinite God, with a finite limited mind ("for the secret things belong unto the Lord"). Rather concern yourself with what he has revealed through the scriptures, because that is what "belongs to us and our children forever".
God defies human investigation, and any true believer would acknowledge this. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it." (Psalm 139:6)
"For MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, neither are your ways My ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)
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I'd like to conclude this lengthy post with my views on Islamic monotheism. Long Muslim theological debates prior to the 9th century were centred around the issue of whether the Quran (the word of God according to the Muslims) was created or uncreated (eternal). Now before i explain why such an issue is of such significance, i want to establish the fact that the classical orthodox Islamic view of the Quran is that it is uncreated - however since this complicates issues regarding islamic monotheism (and i'll explain why soon), the Mu'tazilites decided to take the easy way out and concede that the Quran (the word of God) was created. They were slaughtered for this, and considered heretics, and since then no modern Muslim theologian has ever taken the stance that the Quran is created.
Now why is this such a big issue? I'll tell you why. Lets look at the Christian view of monotheism: In Christianity the word of God was manifested through Jesus Christ (John 1:1-14). Christ is considered to be God's ETERNAL word/wisdom/logic. Now Christian theology dictates that God's eternal wisdom/word/logic is an essential part of God;s being, and that is why Christ is a "hypostasis" of the Godhead unity.
Now for the Muslim, he has a) Allah who is eternal, and b) the Quran which is eternal. The question is how can you have 2 eternally existent entities, and still have a strict concept of monotheism, when eternality is what defines God in the first place.
The Muslim must either concede to be a polytheist (i.e. there are 2 separate eternally existent divine entities), or if they follow the Christian logic and consider the Quran a "hypostasis" of Allah, in which case they must concede to be binatarian.
In short, Islamic "monotheism" is extremely complicated compared to the Christian concept. When Muslims say they believe in "one God", this is not the whole picture.
I would, of course, point out that this is not "mud". The classical exegetes spent miles of ink discussing this one. Read Tabari, read Ibn Kathir, read Razi, read al-Ghazzali. Read any classical commentator of either Sunni or Shi'i leaning. If any Muslim here thinks there is not a problem, then my answer to you is that you do not know your own tafsir tradition.
The Mu'tazilite answer is one answer. But they were branded heretics and classical Islam rejected that road. It also has pitfalls of its own.