Pretentious Theology and Doctrine of TRINITY
Pretentious Theology and Doctrine of TRINITY
Pretentious Theology and Doctrine of TRINITY
doctrine of TRINITY
by Adam Cirkic
God (Hebrew El) – is conceptual term and refers to supreme deity. Term for itself does not strictly
refers to plurality or singularity and it depends on context or interpretation. In Old Testament
(Hebrew) word El is always connected with context and it stays like prefix to whole word (Elohim,
El Shaddai).
Monotheistic – believing in God’s oneness. There is two basic views on oneness: as numerical -
ONE and as uniqueness - ONE. There are several types/definitions of monotheism.
Godhead - refers to God and His Divinity/Deity.
Both words (Godhead, God) are not strictly defined without explanation, context or interpretation
especially in theology. When theology wants to express Christian monotheistic view it is assumed
to say: One God, One Godhead, Triune God/Trinity.
Internal metaphysical “structure” - inner anatomy of Godhead = inner metaphysical anatomy of
Godhead = inner metaphysical structure of Godhead.
Trinity/Triune - is a term, idea, concept, theory which is related to metaphysical “structure”
(inner anatomy) of Godhead to confirm/defend monotheistic view of God. Triune/Trinity term is
“higher/deeper/advanced” understanding of God’s nature (involve metaphysical aspect).
Tritheism – is a term, idea, concept, theory which is used to defend monotheistic numerical
oneness.
Polytheistic context of living - we can say that people of the Old Testament lived in polytheistic
context because they believed in many characterically different distinct divine beings/persons
which is polytheism. Every nation had its own set of gods. Israel was in polytheistic error.
I believe in Three distinct Divine Beings/Persons: The Father, The Son and The
Holy Spirit as The One Godhead and I believe that we can find proof for this
believing (by applying ‘Sola Scriptura’ principle) in many Bible verses. I do not
believe in metaphysical ONE God or ONE God by mystery. I believe in
monotheistic oneness of Three as uniqueness ONE - which is Godhead, not in
numerical oneness ONE (metaphysical oneness of Three) which is
Trinity/Triune God. I do not believe in Modalistic, Trinitarian, Tritheistic,
Ditheistic oneness of Three Divine Beings/Persons. I believe in qualitative
(unique) oneness (the only/unique/just one of THREE) not in quantitative
(numerical) oneness (ONE Being or ONE somehow by mystery).
TRINITY variations:
In general, there are three main categories of how trinity or triunity is understood:
2. Modalistic trinity - The "trinity" is comprised of three modes or roles occupied by single
divine individual.
3. Tritheistic trinity - The "trinity" is comprised of three distinct beings who all have same character,
same nature, purpose, etc. Because they are in agreement in everything they do they are said to be
“one God,” not that all three make up a single being (Majority of Seventh-day Adventist trinitarians
would fall under this category). (Text from: http://www.asitreads.com/sda-trinity)
“The concept of the Trinity, namely the IDEA THAT THE THREE ARE ONE, IS NOT EXPLICITLY
STATED BUT ONLY ASSUMED.” — Fernando L. Canale, The Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist
Theology, Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopaedia, Volume 12, page 138, ‘Doctrine of God’
“The Bible's clear ALLUSIONS [not plainly stated] to the Trinity are enough for Adventists.” —
https://www.adventist.org/en/beliefs/god/trinity/article/go/-/the-trinity/
"The role of the trinity in a doctrine of God always raises questions. One reason is that the
word itself does not appear in the Bible, NOR IS THERE ANY CLEAR STATEMENT OF THE IDEA.
But the Bible does set the stage for its formulation, and the concept represents a development
of biblical claims and concepts. SO EVEN THOUGH THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY IS NOT PART
OF WHAT THE BIBLE ITSELF SAYS ABOUT GOD, IT IS PART OF WHAT THE CHURCH MUST SAY to
safeguard the biblical view of God." — Richard Rice, The Reign of God, An Introduction to
Christian Theology from a Seventh-day Adventist Perspective’, page 89, 'A constructive
proposal', 1985
"In contrast to the heathen of surrounding nations, ISRAEL BELIEVED THERE WAS ONLY ONE
GOD (Deut.4:35;6:4; Isa.45:5; Zech14:9). The New Testament makes the same emphasis on
the unity of God . . . This monotheistic emphasis does not contradict the Christian concept of
the triune God or Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit; rather it affirms that there is no
pantheon of various deities. Although the Old Testament DOES NOT EXPLICITLY TEACH THAT
GOD IS TRIUNE, IT ALLUDES TO A PLURALITY WITHIN THE GODHEAD . . . While the Godhead is
not one in person, God is one in purpose, mind and character. This oneness does not
obliterate the distinct personalities of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Nor does the
separateness of personalities within the Deity destroy the monotheistic thrust of Scripture,
that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God." Seventh-day Adventists Believe . . . A
Biblical Exposition of 27 Fundamental Doctrine, 1988. R & H, pp 22-23.
„The portion of the 1931 statement of “Fundamental Beliefs” referring to the Godhead and
person of Christ was reprinted unchanged in the Year Book until the 1980 General Conference
Session revision and expansion of Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Beliefs.“
„So what can we learn from the history of the development of the doctrine of the Trinity in the
Seventh-day Adventist church? First, we must acknowledge that the development of Adventist
biblical theology has usually been progressive and corrective. This is clearly illustrated in the
doctrine of the Trinity. The leading of the Holy Spirit is dynamic and not static. Other doctrinal
concepts, such as the time to begin the Sabbath (1855), the Great Controversy theme (1858),
and tithing (1878) developed in a similar manner. Second, the development of the Trinity
doctrine demonstrates that sometimes doctrinal changes require the passing of a previous
generation. For Seventh-day Adventists, it took over 50 years for the doctrine of the Trinity to
become normative. Finally, Adventist theology is always supremely dependant upon Scripture.
It is always necessary to engage in careful Bible study. Adventist doctrinal beliefs were built on
a biblical foundation during the Millerite movement, during the formative period of
Sabbatarian Adventism after 1844, and continuing down to the present.“
Merlin D. Burtteaches Church History at the S.D.A. Theological Seminary and is Di-rector of the Center for
Adventist Research and the Ellen G. White Estate Branch Office, Andrews University. He holds a Ph.D. in
Adventist Studies from Andrews [email protected]
2) Because SDA does not believe in Catholic definition of Trinity/Triune, we do not believe in
the original Catholic metaphysical Trinity/Triune concept of “One Being”.
3) Because SDA stands on reformation “Sola scriptura” and it cannot break this rule. If you
cannot prove something with the Bible by itself, you cannot make doctrine on it. You cannot
have doctrine based on “mystery” or “clear allusion” arguments. Of course, you are free to
believe in something with that sort of “arguments” but you have no right to build doctrine
on them.
252 The Church uses (I) the term "substance" (rendered also at times
by "essence" or "nature") to designate the divine being in its unity, (II)
the term "person" or "hypostasis" to designate the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit in the real distinction among them, and (III) the term
"relation" to designate the fact that their distinction lies in the
relationship of each to the others. (CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH)
“We are dealing here with the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. In this matter it is always
important to remember that there is only one God who is tri-personal Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. By saying that Jesus is "one in Being with the Father", the Church is asserting that
Jesus is fully God, just as the Father is. Both share in the one divine nature or substance.
Jesus proceeds from the Father but he retains the same being as the Father. Jesus is not a
separate being from the Father, as is the case among creatures when a man and a woman
generate a son. The son has the same specific nature as his parents, but he is a separate,
independent being. Not so in the divine inner life. The Son is and exists by the same identical
being as the Father does. This key idea was proclaimed by the first Council of Nicea and is
now found in the Nicene Creed which has been prayed by the Church since that time.”
SDA does not accept “One Being” as explanation on question: ”How Three distinct Persons
can be One?”. SDA believes that this is mystery how God is One Triune God (according to
Fernando L. Canale and my private email conversation on this subject stored on 64 pages of
.pdf ). Fernando L. Canale believes in singleness of God's being (numerical ONE being)
because of Bible declaration of the One God. He does not believe in metaphysical ONE
BEING (Catholic interpretation) because he claims that Bible declaration of ONE God is a
mystery to us.
“The ―oneness of God refers to the singleness of His being. In other words, the ―oneness of God
refers to the fact that according to the Bible there is only one God, as opposed to more than
one.” (Handbook of SDA/Doctrine of God, Fernando L. Canale).
„Singleness of God's being“ refers to inner structure of Godhead and numerical oneness and
F.Canale using Triune and Trinity terms in whole his writings. This declaration is not so far from
Catholic except denying literal BEING. F. Canle's single being is just declarative being - and this
singleness is mystery accepted by faith.
The same statement according my research could be better expressed like: In other
words, the ―oneness of Godhead refers to the fact that according to the Bible there is
only one Godhead, as opposed to more than one. Thus formed statement does not step
over holly place (Godhead inner structure), where the silence is gold.
"However, the unity of the Godhead can not be reduced on the notion of community life or redemptive
action in history.
Formula Trinity apparently clearly expressed in Jesus' great missionary
order: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations! Baptizing them in the name of the Father and Son
and the Holy Spirit "(Mt 28:19) direct mention of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit clearly indicates
Trinitarian plurality of divine Persons, and list them as "name" of God (singular) clear
shows the unity of the Divine Being. Both expressed a clear formula of the Trinity, in which the trinity and
uniqueness belong together being of God.
Let's just say in conclusion that the New Testament does not pay great attention to the doctrine of the Trinity
as
theological subject. On the other side there is abundant evidence that Trinity formula of the One
Christian God is a biblical teaching. In the Scriptures, God has revealed his transcendent nature as
Trinity, that is, as three distinct divine Persons act directly and always in history and make
triune divine Being." (Fernando L. Canale, Doctrine Of God)
Fernando L. Canale/SDA obviously using similar terminology like Catholics but his explanation is:
„The problem of the trinity comes when we say that God as three existent persons is ONE Existent God. To
reason that is self contradictory. So through reason we try to accommodate and explain how God can be
numerically three existent persons and numerically one existent God. Traditionally Adventists affirm the 3 self
existent co eternal persons seeming from Ellen White’s concept of the Godhead. That is the Heavenly Trio. The
Trinity comes into view when we affirm the oneness of God. Adventist in general agree that the oneness of God
There is no evidence of One Triune God in the Bible, nor in some other source. The irony is
that many SDA theologians (on lower level understanding of this subject) do not know this
fact, they publish a books about Trinity but no one clearly says that SDA answer on this
question is: MYSTERY, only what we can do is - believe in MYSTERY of ONE/TRIUNE GOD by
faith. The truth is: there is no clear Bible evidence for TRINITY/TRIUNE believing and there
is no Bible support for understanding Godhead's internal state on metaphysical level, ‘Sola
Scriptura’ is not applicable to term Trinity/Triune. Catholics have explanation, SDA does
not have (mystery is not 'Sola Scriptura' explanation) but SDA accepted term Trinity by
clear allusion on - mystery. I do not have a word to express how tricky is this. SDA s in
Trinity/Triune/ONE BEING by faith in mystery and states 'clear allusion', Catholics have
definition Trinity/Triune/ONE BEING (metaphysically) and they both use the same
terminology - oneness, being.
“One Being” is Catholic mystical interpretation of God’s internal structure and SDA does not
support this definition (some misinformed SDA theologians claim that Catholic dogma do not
teach One Being) however, SDA declared believes that God has revealed Himself as Trinity-
Triune God. SDA actually claim that revelation ‘One God’ refers to Godhead’s “internal
structure” which is assumption. SDA does not have strong Bible-based arguments for Trinity
except “mystery” factor. So, why the SDA has taken over the Trinity term? Probably under
pressure, because SDA was finally accepted by The World Council of Churches (WCC) as a
Christian church (it was assumed for SDA to be a cult).
https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/107/
http://www.asitreads.com/trinity-in-adventist-history
That was a condition, accepting the term Trinity which unites all Christians in The One Body.
The Trinity
There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three coeternal Persons. God is
immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, above all, and ever present. He is infinite and beyond
human comprehension, yet known through His self-revelation. God, who is love, is forever
worthy of worship, adoration, and service by the whole creation.
(Gen. 1:26; Deut. 6:4; Isa. 6:8; Matt. 28:19; John 3:16 2 Cor. 1:21, 22; 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6; 1
Peter 1:2.)
The definition is not clear, “unity” is not “Triune” but “one God was put in context of
Triune/Trinity without strong explanation. It is not cold, it is not hot...it is lukewarm. It is
obvious that doctrine just borrowed term Trinity but does not support it by definition. Also,
there is no explicit statement that God is One Triune God by mystery in doctrine definition
so doctrine definition (in 28 fundamental beliefs) is unclear and incomplete.
If 'the same substance' is not metaphysical Being we do not talk about original Trinity/Triune
concept, we are talking about Godhead and divine nature (substance, essence). Original
Trinity/Triune God definition is One real Being and Three real Persons at the same time, all
other definitions are false Trinity. The majority of theologians believe that (theoretically
speaking) without one of the three divine persons God cannot be God. This means that 'the
same substance' is not just 'the same divine nature', it means much more, it presupposes
Being on metaphysical level which means that Being is real Being. In this case Triune God is
real One - literally One divine Being and Three distinct divine Persons at the same time.
This is original Trinity concept, all other explanations which do not accept real Being as an
answer on ‘How One God?’ lead us to Godhead, not to Triune God. I read a lot of SDA
explanations and almost all of them are basically Godhead concept, not real Triune God, but
they are presented to us as Triune God – Trinity. Metaphysical ‘One Being’ concept was not
revealed in Bible, it is human assumption or ‘clear allusion’. All those who claim that Bible
gives us proof of Trinity - brake a ‘Sola Scriptura’ principle. The best proofs what were
theologians “found in the Bible about Trinity” are not biblical proofs, instead they are just
“clear allusion” or I would say pure philosophical assumption.
The Christian Doctrine of God, One Being Three Persons, By Thomas F. Torrance
What does it (One Being and Three Persons) mean? On human level each person is being
at the same time, theologians teach us that on the divine level distinct Person is not
distinct Being. They teach us that on the divine level there is just One BEING. Three
Persons do not share the Being, they are One Being according to being and Three Persons
according to personality. Three Persons are not manifestations of Being, they are true
unique distinct coequal divine Persons who are at the same time literal One Being which
means One God. Each divine Person is God itself but they are not Three Gods, They are
One God because They are One Being. This is the Trinity – Triune God.
Considering on question: “How Three Divine Beings/Persons can be ONE” SDA doctrine is
declaratively the same as Catholic (accept Triune concept) but in its explanation/description
– it is not the same. Why then Catholics consider that SDA Trinity is the same as their
Trinity? “Seventh-day Adventists agree with many Catholic doctrines, including the Trinity”
(https://www.catholic.com/tract/seventh-day-adventism)
Maybe it is official Catholic statement, but not all Catholic theologians claim that they are
the same, there is a lot of objections from not SDA theologians on SDA Trinity version. The
second question is why then so many SDA theologians claim that our doctrine is compliant
with all Catholic creeds and yet many of them claim that our doctrine is totally different than
Catholic (we are focused just on THREE/ONE questions). There is no consensus in SDA (out of
We can say that people of the Old Testament lived in polytheistic context because they
believed in many characteristically different distinct divine persons which is polytheism.
Every nation had its own set of gods.
Theological ego forced theory that expression ‘The One God’ (in most verses of the Bible) is
related to internal divine ‘structure’ rather than simple revelation as ‘The One God’ in Israel
polytheistic context of living. ‘The One’ is just revelation as One God in Israel polytheistic
context of living. God did not try to explain His internal-metaphysical ‘structure’ between
Three divine distinct Persons. God just tried to save people from polytheistic error. The
expression ‘The One God’ is equal to The One Godhead and He revealed Himself to people as
One True God/Godhead. Even more, revelation as ‘The One God’ in Old Testament did not
intend to distinguish the supreme between one of the Three divine Beings/Persons. Even in
New Testament when Jesus said Father and I - we are The One, we cannot claim that this
Bible verse intended to explain internal (metaphysical) structure of Godhead. Interesting,
but Holy Spirit (Third Person) was not mentioned in this important moment when Jesus
reveals relationship and the same divine nature with His heavenly Father - why? Because the
main reason is that verse does not reveal internal structure of Three Divine Beings/Persons.
Another often used verse as a proof by SDA laity is: “For there are three that bear record in
heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” (1. John 5:7) is
not even considered by theologians as an authentic canonized verse… but let say if it is,
again this verse is still just One Godhead description, plurality of divine persons as the One
Godhead, not Trinity.
http://www.cultorchristian.com/
Does the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and their prophetess Ellen G. White, teach the
Biblical, orthodox doctrine of the Trinity? As we will see, the answer to that question is,
"No"--despite the fact that the SDA Church now uses the term "Trinity." (As for Ellen G.
White, she was careful never to use the term in all of her published writings--a remarkable
feat, considering her extensive plagiarism.) The reality is that Seventh-day Adventism is
actually anti-Trinitarian and teaches Tritheism (three gods), just like the Mormons do.
"In Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is one being who exists,
simultaneously and eternally, as a mutual indwelling of three persons: the Father, the Son
(incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit. Since the 4th century, in both Eastern
and Western Christianity, this doctrine has been stated as 'three persons in one God,' all
three of whom, as distinct and co-eternal persons, are of one indivisible Divine essence, a
simple being. [...]" (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trinity&oldid=148650755)
The Biblical, orthodox doctrine of the Trinity teaches that there is only one God (which is
affirmed throughout the Old and New Testaments). In other words, there is only one living
Being that is God. As the Nicene Creed affirms, Jesus Christ is "of one Being with the Father."
God is one spirit, not three spirits. He is one being, not three beings. Otherwise, we would
have three gods.*
So while they now, officially, use the term "Trinity," in reality they deny the Trinity and
actually teach Tritheism, just like the Mormons do. The Mormons will also use the term
Trinity, as does modalist preacher T.D. Jakes. But that does not make any of them Trinitarian,
any more than the Jehovah's Witnessess using the terms "Jesus Christ" or "Son of God"
means that they believe in the real Jesus of the Bible. They have simply redefined Christian
terms--and so have the Mormons, T.D. Jakes, and the Seventh-day Adventists, with regard to
the term "Trinity." In fact, as we will see later on, even the SDA Church's own
theologians/scholars admit that Adventism teaches a different "Trinity" doctrine than the
historical, orthodox Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Now, let us explore what Adventism
teaches about this essential point of doctrine.
As mentioned above, the SDA Church uses the word "Trinity" (once--as the title of belief #2)
in their current official statement of 28 "Fundamental Beliefs" (although in some instances,
the statement of beliefs is published with the word "Godhead" substituted for the word
"Trinity"). Here is belief number 2, as found at the official SDA website (adventist.org):
"2. Trinity:
There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons. God is
immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, above all, and ever present. He is infinite and beyond
human comprehension, yet known through His self-revelation. He is forever worthy of
worship, adoration, and service by the whole creation. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14;
Eph. 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 14:7.)"
(http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html)
Before looking at further SDA sources, let's first look a little bit closer at this statement itself.
Notice that it does not say that there is one God in three persons, but that the "one God" is
"a unity of three co-eternal Persons" (capital 'P'). Here is a hint of their teaching that "God"
is a group/"trio" of three "divine Beings," which we will see more of later. At first glance, the
Fundamental Belief statement may appear to at least be compatible with orthodoxy. But in
fact, what it says is not very orthodox at all, and their statement is actually heretical in itself.
It states, "There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons."
Notice how their "one God" is defined as "a unity of three co-eternal Persons." As Christians,
we don't worship "a unity of three"--we worship one living God (one indivisible simple Being
who exists as three persons). They define "one God" as a "unity [group] of three" Persons. So
even what their official statement is saying is that there is a "united group" or "family" of
three "Persons"--and this group is called "God" and there is only "one" group. In fact, in
some ways their current statement of Fundamental Beliefs is less orthodox than the pre-
1980 statement of beliefs, even though that statement did not say Jesus is eternal.
Interestingly, in 1980 they deleted their previous (1931) wording about Jesus, where they
had said that he was "of the same nature and essence as the Eternal Father." (Although,
even that was deceptively stated--even back then they didn't mean the same thing orthodox
Christianity means, that God is one Being!) Also, since they define "God" as a group of three,
then they are actually lying in this Fundamental Belief statement when they say that they
believe that "God" is "ever present," considering the fact that they deny that Jesus Christ is
omnipresent (click here to jump down to the section "Denial of Christ's Omnipresence"). In
other words, since they redefine and (mis)use the word "God" as a collective (group) noun,
then "God" would have to include all three in the "group/trio," and yet they deny that Jesus
is omnipresent. Looking at this Fundamental Belief statement further, notice that it also
does not say that "God" (the "Trinity") is the Creator. Under belief number 3, they say that
the Father "is the Creator, Source, Sustainer, and Sovereign of all creation." Under belief
number 4, regarding the Son, they will only admit that, "Through Him all things were
created..."; and under belief number 5 they say that the Holy Spirit was only "active with the
Father and the Son in Creation." This is in direct contradiction to God's Word which says that
Jesus is the Creator and Source and Sustainer of all creation. According to God's Word, Jesus
is the Sovereign God of the universe. The Biblical truth is that there is only one Being, only
one God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--who is the Creator, Source, Sustainer and Sovereign
The wording of these "Fundamental Beliefs" regarding God was adopted in 1980 at the SDA
Church's General Conference Session. To get some background on the SDA's statements
about God, let's take a look at the following excerpts from the "Session proceedings" of the
"Seventh business meeting" of the "Fifty-third General Conference session" (April 21, 1980,
3:15 P.M.), as published in the April 23, 1980 edition of the Adventist Review (the SDA
Church's official "flagship" magazine), starting on page 11 [Note: Neal C. Wilson was the
president of the SDA Church at the time]:
"NEAL C. WILSON: Here are several lines packed with a lot of meaning. Who has some help
for us on this or some question with regard to the Godhead or Trinity?
[...]
"LEIF HANSEN: In this discussion of the Trinity, which is always a difficult matter to discuss,
I wonder if a certain misunderstanding could be eliminated by saying 'a unity in purpose' so
that the matter of physical unity may be eliminated.
"NEAL C. WILSON: I see your point there. Maybe we ought to make it a unity in purpose
rather than a physical unity.
"J. G. BENNETT: The statement about the Godhead and the Trinity goes on to use the
pronoun He. Later as the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost are discussed, we use the same
pronoun He. I do recognize and accept the Trinity as a collective unity, but I would have a
[...]
"RICHARD HAMMILL: There are several comments I would like to make. Regarding this last
suggestion, I think it is rather difficult to use the verb consist with God. I think we ought to
be very careful in using terms that the Bible does not use of Him. When we framed this
statement we tried to use Biblical phrases as much as we could.
[...]
"W. G. C. MURDOCH: I would suggest that we use the expression 'The Godhead or Trinity'
rather than 'Trinity.'
"J. J. BATTISTONE: There was a reference to the pronoun He. We are talking about the
Godhead, so the antecedent of the pronoun is God, not the three persons. In the reference
to His self-revelation in Scripture, I prefer that reading.
"PAUL C. CHIMA: I would suggest that when this goes back to the committee, Sister
White's writings be studied to see what term she used to describe God the Father and the
Holy Spirit. Let us use a lot of her terminology to define this. Whatever decisions are made
and expressions found, let us be content with them.
"W. R. LESHER: I am concerned about words and phrases that would seem to limit God or
to change the view of God that is given to us in Scripture. One of these is the suggestion that
PAGE 2
there is a unity of purpose in the Godhead. Still, God is a mystery. And we do not know in
what ways that unity might exist other than in purpose. There are some ways in which we
can seem to say that God is not a unity. But even then we are not sure what we are talking
about. The idea of three Beings that are One is a mystery, and it seems to me that we should
not try to remove all of that mystery from the statement.
"N. C. WILSON: I would like now to appoint a committee to do some editing for us with
these suggestions in mind. I would like to suggest that Dr. Richard Hammill serve as
chairman and that the following serve as members:
"It might be well to add R. H. Brown also, since we are dealing with some areas of
science." (http://www.adventistarchives.org/docs/RH/RH1980-20/index.djvu)
From the above excerpts, we can see very clearly that these SDA leaders who helped adopt
the official Fundamental Belief statement about the Trinity at the 1980 General Conference
Session were, in fact, not Trinitarians, but instead tritheistic in their beliefs, even using the
phrase "three Beings" in reference to the "three Persons" mentioned in the belief statement.
Also notice, as we will continue to see repeatedly, that in Adventism, the "mystery" about
God is how "three Beings" can be "one." This is the exact opposite of Trinitarianism. For the
Trinitarian, it is not God's oneness that is the mystery about God (how three "gods" can be
"one," as in Adventism), but instead the mystery is how the one living God/Divine Being can
be three distinct, but not separate, persons.*
Also, click here to open a new page and see that, even by their own admission, the SDAs
worded their official statements of "Fundamental Beliefs" quite deceitfully.
In a special edition of the Adventist Review in 1981 (No. 31), they published brief
explanations of each of their "Fundamental Beliefs." On page 2, under the heading "About
This Issue," they said: "This special issue of the ADVENTIST REVIEW offers a brief but
"Although other religions include a 'trinity' in their pantheon, only Christianity is marked
by a general belief in one triune God—one true and living God (Deut. 6:4) existing in a unity
of three distinct coeternal Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The divine Persons in this
triune Godhead are immortal, all-powerful, and all-knowing.
"The Godhead is infinite and beyond human comprehension, yet known to the extent that
They have chosen to reveal Themselves. The members of the Godhead have revealed
Themselves through the works of Their hands in nature, through providential workings, and
in the written Word—the Bible, and in the living Word—Jesus Christ.
[...]
"The three persons of the Godhead are portrayed in the Bible as interrelating to one
another in the way expected among persons. They use personal pronouns when speaking of
one another (see Matt. 17:5; John 16:13, 28; 17:1). They love and glorify one another (see
John 3:35; 15:10; 16:14). The Father sends the Son (Matt. 10:40), the Son prays to the Father
(John 17:18), and the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit as Their agent (John 14:26;
16:7). The persons in the Godhead are so distinct that They can address each other, love
each other, and act in relationship to each other. Each of Them also has a particular work to
perform even when They are cooperating together in such activities as creation and
redemption." (http://www.adventistarchives.org/docs/RH/RH1981-
31/index.djvu?djvuopts&page=4)
In the above quotes, we see that they refer to "the Godhead" as a group or club--since they
use the words "They" and "Themselves" to refer to "the Godhead" (using it as a collective
noun). According to the Bible, "the Godhead" (KJV) or "Deity," is a He--a single living Being--
not a "They"! In Adventism, however (much like in Mormonism), "the Godhead" is only the
title of a divine "membership club," in which there are three divine beings (gods), or
"members." Also, that last sentence of the above quotation makes it sound like the three
"members" don't even always have to cooperate together!
“One in essence, three in person” is the most concise definition of the doctrine of the Trinity.
The Christian faith is not polytheistic, confessing many individual gods, each with its own
peculiar divine nature. The Christian faith is not unitarian, confessing that the one divine
We do not have a logical contradiction here because God is both one and three at the same
time, but He is not one and three in the same sense. The three divine persons are distinct in
terms of their personal relationships to one another, but not in their essence. All of them are
the being of God. They do not have an independent existence—you could not take away any
of the three persons and still have God. Rather, the three persons subsist within the one
divine nature, coequal in terms of their shared essence.
Trinity has never had given whole Being/Person of The Son on the cross because Trinitarian
‘One Being’ cannot be split. Trinitarians claim that divine Person Son of God could not die on
the cross, they claim that just Christ’s human nature died on the cross. Bible says:
“By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is of God and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming,
and is now already in the world. (1 John 4:2,3)
What John actually saying in these Bible verses? He says that divine Son of God (after
incarnation) has two blended indivisible natures, divine and human at the same time - in
Being/Person of Jesus Christ.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
Trinitarians usually do not confess that the divine Being/Person can die on the cross. They
split divine and human in Jesus Christ and this is spiritualism or spirit of antichrist. Who is the
one that reduces the value of God’s greatest gift? Satan himself! Why is he doing this?
Because he knows if he reduces the value of that One who died on the cross this will impact
disciple’s hearts to be underwhelmed. God said that He has given His divine Son from the
heaven, Trinitarians say: “this divine Son from heaven cannot die on the cross, just human
part can die.” The second horrific Trinitarian teaching is that God cannot be limited on family
level of existence so divine persons are not true Father and true Son. Theologians say that
they are three coequal three divine without uniqueness, Father can be Son or Holy Spirit and
vice versa, actually it does not matter who is who on that divine level. They believe that
Three co-equal agreed who will be Father, Son, Holy Spirit just because of the plan of
salvation. This view destroys what Bible reveals about God Father, His Son and Their Holy
Spirit. They think that God used our model of family to explain His love, but they forget that
we are made on Their image, not vice versa. The Family model is God’s reality before our
creation and has become our reality after our creation.
Another horrific Trinitarian twisting the Bible truth is that Son of God did not take a man
fallen nature, Trinitarians mostly believe that Son of God did take Adam’s sinless human
nature. Again, this is Satan’s plan to degrade God’s love, sacrifice and risk.
Conclusion
If God reveals Himself as One True God in Israel polytheistic context of living, it is enough for
us. We do not need a pretentious ‘internal metaphysical structure’ definition as a doctrine.
We do not have to borrow label “Trinity” from Roman Catholic church to proof that we are
Christian church and not some cult. The most of us is against usage of the word Trinity in our
SDA doctrine and that is the point of this script and so called “anti-Trinitarianism”. The most
a-T members want from SDA to change the doctrine name to more suitable to our SDA
interpretation of God’s nature. We do not have problem with The Holy Spirit, we have a
problem with the “Trinity” label in our doctrine and persecution-disfellowship because of
our God’s given freedom of thinking.
Recommended articles/sites:
http://theprophetstillspeaks.co.uk/Subwhoorwhatdied.htm
http://www.asitreads.com/sda-trinity
If you have some ideas how to defend yourself or other thoughts, please send me email.
https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/seventh-day-adventist-godhead-petition