The following is a response to Akbarally's assertions on the Holy Trinity. Akbarally begins:

Response:

Akbarally's errors appear early since the Trinity has not been the fundamental doctrine of the Church for just over fifteen centuries, but right from its inception. The Trinity is an eternal truth since it is who God is and was revealed to man personally by God through his prophets and messengers. The testimony of the prophets and the apostles to the truth of the Trinity was written down and recorded for future generations until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This written testimony is the Holy Bible, the inspired Word of God.

Response:

The real question is not whether the Holy Bible presents the basis from which the doctrine of the Trinity was derived, since it certainly does, but whether Akbarally will accept the scriptural evidence for it.

Response:

Seemingly, what Akbarally is asking is to produce biblical references using the precise terminology of the Christian Creeds in defining the Trinity. The simple fact is that the terms used by the Councils such as homoousios are not found in the Holy Bible. The reason is that such language arose out of the need to try and define the biblical portrait of God. Hence, the creeds were attempts at safeguarding the clear biblical witness to the triunity of God from cults and heretics. The Councils did not create the Trinity, but defined and defended the clear biblical witness to it.

Response:

Akbarally's argument is rather poor since we do not find the term "monotheism" or "unity" in the Holy Bible either. Does this mean that the Holy Bible denies that there is only one true God since it does not use these precise terms? Of course not! The Holy Bible clearly teaches the concept underlying the meaning of these terms, namely that there is only one God. Hence, instead of seeking to find the word "Trinity" in the Holy Bible, one should try to find the concept underlying it. Since the Trinity teaches that there is one God who subsists as three Persons we should search the Holy Bible to see if this is in fact the picture it presents of God. Furthermore, just because there would be many congregates who would deny the truth of the Trinity is irrelevant since man is stubborn and refuses to embrace the truth of God. The real question, which we will shortly answer, is whether the Holy Bible teaches the Trinity. If it does it is then totally irrelevant what man has to say about it.

Response:

The problem is not with God being silent, but man's stubbornness in hearing what God has clearly stated in the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible just as clearly teaches that there are three Persons who are called God and are given the attributes of God as it does the unity of God. The problem is that Akbarally chooses to ignore these passages, implying that he is not really interested in hearing what God has to say in his holy Word.

Response:

The fact is that it is Akbarally who has decided to pit scripture against scripture, as opposed to taking all that scripture has to say about the nature of God. The only odds are those that Akbarally has created for himself by choosing to ignore the entire biblical witness to the truth of the Trinity.

Response:

Yes, we can prove that there are three Persons in God or the divine nature, as we will shortly demonstrate.

Response:

Akbarally misquotes Paul since Paul was not referring to God's nature when speaking on the issue of confusion. Rather, his comments were directed at the disorderly conduct of the Corinthian Christians and was expressing to them the fact that God "is not a God of disorder." (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:26-32)

Paul clearly taught that the nature of God is incomprehensible to man, and is beyond finding out:

The prophet Isaiah records:

It seems that Akbarally is subscribing to finite-Godism, that unless God can be figured out by man then he cannot be God. Hence, Akbarally's view of God would leave him with a God that is not infinite, omniscient, omnipotent or omnipresent since man is unable to comprehend such concepts.

Akbarally also makes man the standard of truth since he uses the argument that many individuals have left the Christian faith due to their inability to grasp the truth of the Trinity. Hence, since man is incapable of comprehending the truth of God as triune, then it must be false. This is implicit humanism, since you begin with man as the standard of truth, even God's truth. The fact is that God is the standard of truth, not man, and man is subject to the reality and truth of God not the other way around.

Response:

Akbarally employs what seems to be JW teaching on the Holy Spirit being a force. Let us briefly examine the biblical teaching on the person of the Holy Spirit in order to demonstrate that he is clearly not a force:

The Holy Spirit Speaks:

The Spirit is referred to in the masculine pronoun, he, and also speaks.

The Holy Spirit Has Emotions:

A force does not have emotions, intellect, will and cannot speak like the Holy Spirit does. Hence, the Spirit is far from being a force, but is a divine personality within the being of God.

Response:

Akbarally confuses two key aspects when dealing with the Trinity. He confuses the nature of the Trinity (ontological) with the works of the Trinity (economical or functional). Christians believe that the three Persons are co-equal in essence and nature, with all three being fully God. Yet, the three are not equal in position since the Son and the Spirit are subject to the Father. Hence, they are equal in nature but in position the Father is first, the Son is second, and the Holy Spirit is third. (cf. Matthew 28:18-19) In fact, the example Akbarally gives about an employee and an employer illustrates this point clearly. While the employer is greater in position and authority, he is not superior in nature since both he and his employee are fully human in nature. Hence, they are equal in nature but not in position.

Response:

Whereas loosing the mind part is not scriptural, losing one's salvation is since to deny the true nature of God is to deny God himself.

Response:

Jesus was not saying one must love God with his mind by completely understanding God's incomprehensible nature since this is impossible. Rather, Jesus' point is that a person must commit himself entirely to God, surrendering his entire being unconditionally to his Creator since anything less will not do.

Response:

If we are to love God completely we must both love and accept his truth completely as well. This entails believing in the entire revelation of God as recorded in his inspired Word, the Holy Bible. By so doing, one must then wholeheartedly embrace the doctrine of the Trinity since the foundation for this doctrine stems entirely from the Holy Bible. What we'd like to do now is to take the Athanasian Creed and break it down, providing biblical references supporting the statements outlined in the Creed itslef:

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance.

For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost.

But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one, the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost.

The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate.

The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible.

The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal.

See above.

And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible.

So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.

See above.

So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord.

For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be both God and Lord, So are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords.

See above.

The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten.

The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten.

The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

The river of the water of life which flows from both God and Christ is actually the Holy Spirit:

So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.

And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other; none is greater, or less than another; But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.

See above.

He therefore that will be saved is must think thus of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of his Mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.

Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead;

and inferior to the Father, as touching his manhood;

Who, although he be God and Man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh but by taking of the Manhood into God; One altogether; not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ;

Notice that it is the one person who was both born to Mary and Joseph and had come down from heaven.

The one person was both the author of Life (divine) and human at the same time since he was put to death in the flesh.

Again, the one person of Christ is the Lord of glory who had been crucified. This implies that although the attributes of one nature cannot be transferred to the other (i.e., his human consciousness was not omniscient, his omnipotence was true of his divine nature only), the fact is that when one nature is effected this is predicated to Christ without distinguishing between them. This is due to the fact that both natures are true of the one person.

It is the one person of the Son who both created all things and was raised from the dead for our redemption. These passages clearly teach that Christ is one person, having two natures.

Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead.

He ascended into heaven, he sitteth at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty,

from whence he will come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.

This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.

Amen. So be it. Come Lord Jesus!

Sam Shamoun

Responses to Akbarally Meherally
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