I'll quote from various sources why the doctrine of the Trinity does not really support a monotheistic God.Originally posted by ZoneChaos
Why do you think the Trinitarian doctrine does not support a monotheistic God?
Furthermore, this doctrine really is using various scriptures to create what really is an originally man-made doctrine from men not filled with the Holy Spirit who crucified and persecuted many who would not accept their tritheistic God. It was used to amalgamate "barbarians" and others of polytheistic religious backgrounds to conform to their new religious/political system in order to gain control of the masses of people.
David K. Bernard J.D. has observed these issues in regards to Trinitarian terminology.
Orthodox trinitarians deny tritheism, which is the belief in three gods. However, when asked to explain how there can be three distinct persons and yet only one God, they ultimately explain that the trinity is a mystery our finite human minds cannot comprehend fully.
This reluctance to use terms that sharply divide God is commendable; however, person is itself such a word. Webster defines person as "an individual human being" and "the individual personality of a human being."
This is not just a mere quibble over terminology; for throughout the history of trinitarianism, many trinitarians have interpreted the concept of person practically, and even theologically, to mean three beings. For example, the three Cappadocians of the fourth century (Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzus, and Basil of Caesarea) emphasized the threeness of the trinity to the point that they had three personalities. Boethius (c. 480 - c. 524) defined person as an "individual substance with a rational nature." From medieval times to the present trinitarians have often represented the trinity by a picture of three men, or by a picture of an old man, a young man, and a dove.
These are quotes from some famous and some respected Trinitarians explaining persons in the Godhead.
Finis Dake (from the famous Dakes bible) explains the mysterious trinity this way, What we mean by Divine Trinity is that there are three separate and distinct persons in the Godhead, each one having His own personal spirit body, personal soul, and personal spirit in the same sense each human being, angel or any other being has his own body, soul, and spirit Thus there are three separate persons in divine individuality and divine plurality The word God is used either as a singular or a plural word, like sheep."
Jimmy Swaggart in 1981 explained it this way, "Thus there are three separate persons in divine individuality and divine plurality Individually each is called God; collectively they can be spoken of as one God because of their perfect unity Everything that could pertain to God collectively could also apply equally to each member of the Godhead as individuals. However there are some particulars which relate to each individual person of the deity as to position, office, and work that could not be attributed to either of the other members of the Godhead."
Carl Brumback, uses the definition of person in Websters dictionary and does not hesitate to use it either. He tries giving his own definition of, A person is one who has intellect, sensibility, and will." He explains it this way, "Thus there are three separate persons in divine individuality and divine plurality Individually each is called God; collectively they can be spoken of as one God because of their perfect unity Everything that could pertain to God collectively could also apply equally to each member of the Godhead as individuals. However there are some particulars which relate to each individual person of the deity as to position, office, and work that could not be attributed to either of the other members of the Godhead."
Looking at what many respected and renown Trinitarians explain, it is obvious that they mean three separate and different beings, with three personalities, three wills, or even three different bodies in the Godhead. They speak of the indivisible one God in threeness terms and then conclude it is a mystery unexplainable. In reality, the bible doesnt speak at all of a mystery of the indivisible One God. It speaks of other mysteries, but not about the Godhead.
This is assessment of trinitarians explanation: They reduce the concept of God's oneness to a unity of plural persons. By their definition, they convert monotheism into a form of polytheism, differing from pagan polytheism only in that there is perfect agreement and unity among the gods. Regardless of trinitarian denials, this is polytheism - tritheism to be exact - and not the monotheism taught by the Bible and upheld by Judaism. David Bernard J.D.
Today, for the most part, Trinitarians deny any subordination of any of the three, yet they still say God the Father is the head of the trinity (3). Contradiction?
Originally, during the many years that it took to formulate and agreed upon popular doctrine of the trinity, subordination and the non-eternality of the Trinity was taught. Trinitarian Carl Brumback admits that Tertullian, one of the many fathers of the doctrine of the trinity, taught that the Son was subordinate to the Father and that the trinity is not eternal. Origen, another father of the trinity doctrine, saw the Son as subordinate to the Father in existence and maintained that prayer should be addressed to the Father alone (which Otto Heick, noted in A History of Christian Thought).
Bernard notes, Both men meant the deity of Christ when they used the term Son. It can, therefore, be said that trinitarianism began as a doctrine that subordinated Jesus to God. In modern trinitarian circles, there is a form of subordinationism when trinitarians use the human limitations of Christ to prove a distinction between God the Father and "God the Son" instead of simply a distinction between Christ's divine nature (Father) and His human nature (Son). For example, note their use of Christ's prayers, lack of knowledge, and lack of power to prove "God the Son" is different from God the Father. Even while asserting the co-equality of the Son and the Father, they often deny it in a practical way and confess they do not understand what it really means.
... continued in next post...