Nontrinitarianism Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Nontrinitarianism or antitrinitarianism is the doctrinal description applied to rejection of the Trinitarian doctrine that God subsists as three distinct persons in the Holy Trinity. As the notion of the Holy Trinity is not of particular importance to nontrinitarians, persons and groups espousing this position generally do not refer to themselves affirmatively by that term, although some nontrinitarian groups such as the Unitarians have adopted a name that bespeaks of their belief in God as subsisting in a theological or cosmic unity. While modern nontrinitarian groups differ from one another in their views of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, they remain alike in their rejection of the Trinity.
Origins and basis for Nontrinitarianism
Nontrinitarians claim the roots of their position go back further than those of their counterpart trinitarians. Some ancient sects, such as the Ebionites, said that Jesus was not a "Son of God" but rather an ordinary man who was a prophet, a view of Jesus shared by Islam. The biblical basis for each side of the issue is debated chiefly on the question of the divinity of Jesus. Nontrinitarians note that in deference to God, Jesus rejected even being called "good", that he disavowed omniscience as the Son, and that he referred to ascending unto "my Father, and to your Father; and to my God, and to your God." Trinitarians, on the other hand, find plurality in Old Testament details like the term, "Elohim", and argue for example that Jesus accepted worship, forgave sins, claimed oneness with the Father, and used the expression "I am" as an echo of the divine name given to Moses on Mount Sinai. As in similar theological disputes, few are persuaded to convert and most tend as a rule to cling to the convictions they received within their own upbringings.
Alleging a pagan basis for Trinitarianism
Nontrinitarians have long contended that the doctrine of the Trinity is a prime example of Christianity borrowing from pagan sources. According to them, very early in the Church's history a simpler idea of God was lost and the incomprehensible doctrine of the Trinity took its place due to the Church's accommodation of pagan ideas. In support of this, they often compare the doctrine of the Trinity with notions of a divine triad found in ancient pagan religions and even in modern Hinduism.
Nontrinitarians note that as far back as Babylonia, the worship of pagan gods grouped in threes, or triads, was common, and that this influence was also prevalent in Egypt, Greece, and Rome in the centuries before, during, and after Jesus. Nontrinitarians allege that after the death of the apostles these pagan beliefs began to invade Christian doctrine. Some nontrinitarians find a direct link, for example, between the doctrine of the Trinity and the Egyptian theologians of Alexandria, suggesting that Alexandrian theology with its strong emphasis on the deity of Jesus served to infuse Egypt's pagan religious heritage into Christianity. They charge the Church with adopting these Egyptian tenets after adapting them to Christian thinking by means of Greek philosophy. As evidence of this, they point to the widely acknowledged synthesis of Christianity with platonic philosophy evident in trinitarian formulas appearing by the end of the third century. Hence, beginning with the Constantinian period, they allege, these pagan ideas were forcibly imposed on the churches as Catholic doctrine rooted firmly in the soil of Hellenism.
While first and second century Christian writings do reflect a certain belief that Jesus was one with God the Father, nontrinitarians contend that after that point in time the nature of that oneness evolved in the Church's hands from a pervasive coexistence into a complete identity.
Debate over Nontrinitarianism's Christian status
Although most nontrinitarians identify themselves as Christian, their status as Christians is disputed by many trinitarians who believe that the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity is so central to the Christian faith that to deny it is to reject Christianity entirely. The nature of the dispute tends to revolve chiefly over the issues of the divinity of Jesus and whether belief in a non-divine Jesus is sufficient to confer salvation. The divinity of Christ is asserted in the Nicene creed.
Many Islamic theologians deny the divinity of Jesus, describing him as a prophet like Mohammed, for reasons rather similar to those of the Nontrinitarians.
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