The Betrayal of Tradition

It’s interesting to learn that the words tradition and treason both come from the same Latin word. “Traddutore” is the root word from which we get words like treason, traitor and betrayal. How fitting! This understanding helps bring into focus how easily human traditions can betray of the intent and will of God. “Traduttore” in the words of one writer “refers to the idea that translation is always a betrayal of the true meaning of the original.” This simply refers to the difficulty of accurately translating thoughts and ideas from one language to another. It seems especially apt when you consider how man’s traditions are so often a betrayal of the true intent of God. History shows that translating God’s will into religious traditions often distorts and betrays God’s true intention. Is it possible that this insight is relevant to the tradition of the trinity?

Man’s Misguided Love of Religious Traditions

There aren’t many things Jesus condemned more fiercely than the traditions of men. He looked Israel’s leaders in the eye and declared “it is written” before going on to condemn their traditions. Jesus knew full well that man’s misguided love of religious traditions would ultimately lead to His own torture and crucifixion. The rulers of Israel hated Him for pointing out that their love of tradition was actually treason against God! Could it be that devotion to the trinity is an example of people loving tradition to the point of treason? The sad truth is that it’s all too easy to put more faith in tradition than in scripture.

People Kill to Protect Their Traditions

People kill to protect their traditions and then claim they are doing it for God. Jesus said the traditions of Israel violated God’s will and portrayed its leaders as a band of traitors! Calling them vipers, ravening wolves and hypocrites was hardly the way to make friends. History shows that challenging religious traditions can get you killed…. and that is exactly what happened to Jesus.

The Tragically Violent History of Christianity

The tragically violent history of Christianity reveals that anyone who dares to challenge well-established church traditions (i.e the trinity, infant baptism, meaning of communion, etc.) stands a very good chance of getting killed. Over the centuries, multiplied thousands of Christians have been tortured and slaughtered by those who claimed to kill them for God’s sake. Simply disagreeing about things like the trinity or baptism (or even owning the wrong books) has gotten more than a few believers burned at the stake. Unbelievers see these things all too clearly. Is it any wonder so many of them want nothing to do with Christianity? Jesus meant it when said “By this will all men know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.”

Is the Trinity Theological Treason?

There is nothing more entrenched or fiercely defended in Christianity than the doctrine of of the trinity. History reveals it actually took threats of death, torture and banishment to establish the trinity as orthodoxy. On the other hand, we are of the opinion that God can take care of the truth Himself. He doesn’t ask His people to resort to violence on His behalf. Jesus never killed anyone and neither did His Apostles. The tradition of the trinity, on the other hand, would never have been established or come to dominate Christendom without violence. We suggest that the trinity is much less a divine truth than an unfortunate mis-translation of God’s revelation that has hardened into an unquestioned tradition. That’s why we wonder… Is the trinity theological treason?

God is Not a Man

“God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent.” (Numbers 23:19). Here’s a case where scripture actually contradicts an important dogma concerning the trinity! (The church fathers insist that Jesus is God.) It contains a heretical thought and we wonder how trinitarian scholars have managed to ignore it for so long. What was the LORD thinking when He inspired these words? If God was a man this is exactly the kind of talk that would have gotten Him excommunicated! It seems to us God knew full well this verse wouldn’t harmonize with the doctrine of the trinity… but He included it in the scripture anyway.

Jesus Said “I Am a Man”

Jesus claimed to be a man. “I am a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God, but now you want to kill me.” (John 8:40) He told the truth when He said He was a man and He told the truth when He declared that His accusers wanted to kill Him. Jesus was born into the world like all men, but God is eternal and was never born. Christ was tempted like all men, but God cannot be tempted. Finally, Jesus died like all men but God cannot die. It’s clear in the scripture that Jesus claimed to be the Christ, the Son of God, but He never claimed to be God Himself. The question we ask is this: Was Jesus God or was He a man?

By One Man’s Obedience

The Apostle Peter preached on the day of Pentecost and called Jesus “a man approved of God among you.” (Acts 2:22) The Apostle Paul declared “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:5) In another place the Bible declares “By one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19) It isn’t controversial to say that Jesus was a man, it is simply Biblical. What is truly controversial and unbiblical is the claim that Jesus was God! The overwhelming testimony of scripture is that Jesus was a man. He was one of us. The fact that Christ spoke and acted as only God could speak and act is easily explained by the doctrine of Biblical Agency. (See our post “Biblical Agency… What’s That?”)

No Man Has Seen God at Any Time

“No man has seen God at any time” (I John 4:12). “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels…” (Hebrews 2:9) In Jesus we see “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” (Colossians 1:15) Jesus is the image of the invisible God but He is not God, He is the Son of God and men have seen Him. Wise men saw Him in Bethlehem’s manger. Doctors of the Law saw Him in Jerusalem’s temple and the people of Israel saw Him on Calvary’s cross. The Apostle John saw Jesus seated upon a throne at the right hand of God. Someday everyone will see Him and “every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11)

PS: We confess that Jesus is the visibly human son of the invisible God. He was crucified, resurrected and glorified and now sits at the right hand of God. He is exalted above all creation and has a name above every name… yet for all that Jesus is a man and He is not God. This dear friend is the message of the Bible.

The Voice of Jesus

The world bombards us with so much information and distraction that sometimes it’s hard to hear the voice of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could actually hear His voice and separate it from the torrent of media noise coming our way? The sound of Jesus’ voice often seems faint compared to all the news we hear about wars and pandemics, inflation and economic collapse, crimes, natural disasters and political crises. All these things are coming at us through an almost endless variety of technologies and it seems like we are awash in an ocean of news, entertainment and information. It would do most of us a lot of good if we learned how to hear the voice of Jesus instead of all the noise and distraction the world sends our way.

Theological Noise

There’s another kind of noise that also makes it hard to hear the sound of Jesus’ voice. It’s helpful to think of the ancient dogmas coming our way from the church fathers as a kind of “theological noise” that can also drown out Jesus’ voice. I like to watch nature shows on TV and am amazed by the way a mother seal or penguin finds her own offspring in a noisy colony full of hungry shrieking babies. Somehow or another she hears the sound of her own baby and that baby hears and recognizes her voice! It’s just a miracle… and it’s a miracle too that we can even hear the voice of Jesus over the all the theological noise that surrounds us.

Scripture is the Sound of Jesus’ Voice

Jesus meant it when He said, “My sheep hear my voice…” (John 10:27) Above the noise of the world and church traditions there remains the sound of Jesus’ voice and it’s still possible to hear it if you dare. His voice continues to echo through the centuries and hallways of history and His sheep still hear it today. Scripture is the sound of Jesus’ voice and His sheep delight to hear Him. His words cut through the proud religious traditions of men now just like they did when He walked in Israel. His words also cut through all the philosophical nonsense that forms the heart of trinitarian dogma.

The Voice of Tradition is Not the Voice of Jesus

Our most sacred tradition (the trinity) declares that God is three co-equal persons who share the same divine substance. This is the united voice of the church fathers and councils and it still shouts loudly in Christendom today. Modern theologians and scholars simply echo the ancient thoughts and words of the church fathers and for the most part their voices are the only voices allowed in our churches. It is fair to say that their voice is the voice of tradition, but the voice of tradition is not the voice of Jesus.

The Voice of Jesus Never Said God is Three Persons

The voice of Jesus never said God is three persons or anything remotely like it. His words are simple, straightforward and clear. He taught that the most important thing, the first and greatest commandment of all is this: “Hear O Israel! The LORD our God is One LORD.” (Mark 12:29) This is the main thing! Don’t ever forget it…. no matter what you hear from creeds, councils, church fathers, traditions or the denominations that want you to listen to their voice. “The LORD our God is One LORD.” “For us (Christians) there is one God, the Father and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:5)

Whose Voice Should We Listen To?

“There are, it may be, so many voices in the world and none of them is without significance.” (I Corinthians 14:10) All we have to do is figure out which voice we should listen to. Should we listen to the voice of the church fathers in the triune creeds they imposed on the Body of Christ? Or should we listen to the voice of Jesus Christ as recorded in scripture? Whose voice we should listen to? To us it just makes sense to listen to Jesus and ignore all the noise of human traditions.

PS: It took this old retired pastor almost 50 years of study and searching to find a clear and Biblical alternative to the trinity. I confess to being a little slow. Ultimately I arrived at the immensely satisfying and solidly Biblical understanding of God and Christ we speak of on this website and that some call Biblical Unitarianism. I hope it doesn’t take you that long! If this teaching brings you peace and blessing please spread the word and share a link to www.wonderfultheology.com with someone else soon! (they might not have 50 years left). God Bless.

Consider the Lilies

God’s Creations Are Beautiful and Perfect

Consider what God creates and you’ll see that, “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). When the world was created “God saw everything He had made and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). “Consider the lilies of the field… even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:29). We are surrounded by an incredible amount of beauty that was bestowed upon us by the marvelous hand of God. We are blessed with sunrises and sunsets, blue skies and rainbows, birdsong and butterfly. The scents and colors of flowers, still waters in the moonlight and a night sky ablaze with stars… these things all belong to us! We look around us at God’s creation and see perfection. Incredibly beautiful and amazing perfection… because that’s how God does things.

Man’s Creations Are Flawed

When you consider what man creates it’s a different story altogether. We build concrete cities and highways lined with billboards. Instead of “dressing and keeping” this garden earth we have polluted and scarred it. Most of man’s creations are flawed, deeply flawed. We make weapons of war and have created a world marked by violence and crime, pollution, corruption, wars and greed. God knows we cause a lot of trouble! Our fallen natures are the cause of untold misery and suffering. Look around at what mankind has created and you’ll see far more ugliness than beauty. Sadly though, that’s just how humanity does things.

Scripture is Beautiful

When it comes to spiritual things we see the same pattern. God conveys beautiful truths in the revelation we call the Bible. Scripture speaks of God poetically and in strikingly powerful language. We know God as the Ancient of Days and the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity. Our Father is the Alpha and Omega, The Creator, A Man of War and our Shepherd, Redeemer and Judge. He is Yahweh, the God of Israel and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ is our Messiah and Savior. The revelation of God and His Son in scripture is a work of divine artistry… beautiful, eternal and perfect! Scripture is beautiful because that’s how God does things.

Creeds Are Ugly

If you consider the “official” creeds of the church it’s easy to see just how ugly these man-breathed writings are in comparison to the lofty beauty of scripture. The heavens (and scripture) declare the glory of God and fill us with hope. Creeds are as dry and lifeless as a software manual and are filled to the brim with human pride and threat. (The Athanasian Creed is a great example of this.) Part of the ugliness of creeds is all the violence and division they have caused within the Body of Christ.

Filthy Rags of Human Pride

Please remember this, “All our righteousness is as filthy rags.” The things men create (creeds) that pretend to be as authoritative as God’s Word are just filthy rags too and they will not save you. Reciting the creeds faithfully every Sunday won’t do you any good. People who heard Jesus speak said “No man ever spake like this man!” His words are Spirit and they are Life and only His words can give us beauty for ashes. All you will get from the trinitarian dogma of the creeds is ashes in exchange for the filthy rags of human pride and philosophy.

Let Beauty Be Your Inheritance

Let beauty be your inheritance and choose scripture instead of creeds. We know and believe that “God has made everything beautiful in its time” and someday He will “beautify the meek with salvation.” (Psalms 149:4) There is coming a time when everything will be made new and beautiful and when that happens we don’t think there will be a creed in sight.

Sola Scriptura…. Really?

The phrase “sola scriptura” is tossed around a lot these days. I hear it in conversations with believers who are defending their beliefs and see it frequently on church home pages. It’s a well known Latin phrase that simply means “scripture alone” and it does have a nice ring to it. Many Christians like to boast that “the Bible is my only authority!” We wish that were true, but sometimes we wonder. How about you? Do you believe in sola scriptura…. really?

Is the Trinity Sola Scriptura?

Let’s take a look at what is arguably the single most important doctrine in modern Christendom and see if it passes the “sola scriptura” test or not. It’s a teaching from our creeds about the nature of God and it’s widely used as a litmus test for orthodoxy. If you question or object to its dogma you’ll likely be written off as a heretic, a wing nut, or at the very least, someone way out on the fringe. Yes, you guessed it! I’m talking about the trinity, our beloved and venerable Holy Trinity. In this article we ask if the trinity is really consistent with the principle of sola scriptura… or is it simply a Christian sacred cow with no real basis in scripture?

Find These Words in Scripture!

If the trinity is scriptural you should be able to find it in the Bible pretty easily by finding the words “three persons”, “triune” or “trinity” in the scriptures. The trinity is built on words and ideas like co-equal, co-eternal, persons, substance, essence, hypostasis, and homoousious. A good concordance could help you find these words in scripture without much effort and prove the trinity is consistent with sola scriptura. All you have to do is find these words in scripture! If the words and ideas that men have used to build the trinity are really consistent with sola scriptura they must be in God’s Word somewhere! But they are not. None of them. None at all. Not even one. Why not? Could it be because the trinity has a lot do to with our creeds but has little or nothing to do with scripture?

Choose Sola Scriptura or Choose the Trinity

The lack of scriptural references to support the trinity creates a problem doesn’t it? Some try to minimize the problem and say, “So what! What’s the big deal?” Well, it is a big deal and here’s the issue. Do you believe in the creeds or do you believe in scripture alone? The dilemma you face is that you can’t have it both ways. You can’t have your doctrinal cake and eat it too. Choose sola scriptura or choose the trinity of the creeds but you can’t honestly have both. Either throw out the archaic creeds that gave us the trinity or throw out the whole idea of sola scriptura.

Choose You This Day Whom You Will Serve

I’m reminded of the time when Joshua confronted Israel with these words: “Choose you this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) The man chosen to lead Israel didn’t leave them much room for waffling around. The edges of the decision were sharp and the choice before them was stark. Choose your old and familiar religion or serve YHWH in sincerity. Perhaps God has brought all of us to the kingdom for such a time as this and now insists that we too make a choice. Choose scripture or choose an old and familiar man-breathed creed. As for me and a growing number of believers, I think we’ll go with sola scriptura. Why not join us? You’ll be glad you did.