The truth is that neither the word “Trinity” nor the doctrine of the trinity even exists in the bible. There are several verses in the bible that are used by Christian apologists in an attempt to prove the existence of the doctrine of the trinity in the bible, but all of these verses have been proven to be spurious. The principal verses that are used to prove the mysterious and impossible-to-understand and illogical doctrine of the trinity, defended by the trinitarian Christians, are Matthew 28:19, 1 John 5:7, 1 Timothy 3:16 and Acts 20:28.
Matthew 28:19 — Father, Son and holy Ghost
Eusebius of Caesurae, known as the Father of church history, inherited a gospel from Pamphilus written by Matthew himself which was known as the gospel of the Hebrews or the gospel of Matthew (not to be confused with the conical gospel according to St Matthew). The gospel of the Hebrews, which was extant at the time of Eusebius was the most ancient gospel that was referred to by all church fathers at the time. Eusebius, quotes Mat 28:19 thus:
“Go ye and make disciples of all nations in my name, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I commanded you”.”
The trinitarians modified it to read:
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost“
Found in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics is the following:
“The facts are, in summary, that Eusebius quotes Matthew 28:19 twenty one times, either omitting everything between ‘nations’ ‘and teaching’, or in the form ‘make disciples of all nations in my name’, the later form being the more frequent”
Obviously, the manuscripts that Eusebius received from Pamphilus, at Caesurae in Palestine, contained the original passages in which there were none of the phrases about “baptism” or “of Father, Son and Holy Ghost”. These were later additions by the Athanasians and/or the orthodox church. According to Sir William Whiston, the orthodox church which was responsible for all the interpolations and corruptions:
“We certainly know of a greater number of interpolations and corruptions brought into the Scriptures by the Athanasians, and relating to the Doctrine of the Trinity, than in any other case whatsoever. While we have not, that I know of, any such interpolation or corruption made in any one of them by either the Eusebians or Arians.
The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics declares Matthew 28:19 doctrinal corruption where it reads: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”.
In The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics it is also written:
“It is the central piece of evidence for the traditional view. If it were undisputed, this would, of course, be decisive, but its trustworthiness is impugned on the grounds of textual criticism, literary criticism and historical criticism”.
It is evident then, that in an attempt to prove the doctrine of the Trinity, the Church inserted the spurious words into the text.
1 John 5:7 — Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: interpolation
About the question of the validity of 1 John 5:7 in the The Adam Clarke Commentary is written:
“But it is likely this verse is not genuine. It is wanting in every manuscript of this letter written before the invention of printing, one excepted, the Codex Montfortii, in Trinity College, Dublin: the others which omit this verse amount to one hundred and twelve. It is missing in both the Syriac, all the Arabic, Aethiopic, the Coptic, Sahidic, Armenian, Slavonian, etc., in a word, in all the ancient versions but the Vulgate; and even of this version many of the most ancient and correct MSS. have it not. It is wanting also in all the ancient Greek fathers; and in most even of the Latin”.
The King James Version:
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (1Jn 5:7)
The following is the original text:
And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. (1Jn 5:8)
See how they modified it to make it read like the trinity godhead is in the Bible? Neither the word Trinity nor even the concept of the Trinity was in older manuscripts. The New International Version, published in 1973, with the modified version to reflect the more accurate translation is thus:
For there are three that testify:
the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. (1Jn 5:7-8)
The reference to the Trinity with the expressions of Father, Son and Holy Spirit are absent in older Greek manuscripts and neither are they quoted by many of the early church fathers. These words appeared in the Latin texts of the New Testament as late as the Middle Ages. 1 Timothy 3:16 — God manifest in the flesh The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary says:
“The New Testament teaching upon this subject is not given in the way of formal statement… Reliance, it is held by many competent critics, is not to be placed upon the passages in Acts 20:28 and 1 Tim. 3:16.
The King James Version reads:
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory”. (1 Tim. 3:16)
The phrase “God was manifest in the flesh” causes one to believe that Jesus was actually God. But, in more accurate translations, such as the New International Version, this verse reads:
“Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory”.
Here is just another example of where the church of the trinitarians have altered the original texts to make a god-man out of Jesus. Acts 20:28 — God’s own blood The famous King James Version of the bible:
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Act 20:28)
According to the proponents of the trinitarian doctrine, since he that purchased the church with his blood was God, therefore Jesus was God. However, in his writings, “Against Heresies” around 180-185 A.D, Irenaeus quotes the earliest version of this verse:
“Take heed, therefore, both to yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops, to rule the Church of the Lord, which He has acquired for Himself through His own blood.” (Book III, 14).
Whether this was just an accidental mistranslation by a scribe or whether intentional, the fact remains that the “proof” of the trinitarians is crushed that Jesus was God and that the doctrine of the trinity is supported by the Bible.
From the overwhelming evidence that reveals that the orthodox church has corrupted the scriptures by incorporating the doctrine of the Trinity into them is sufficient motive not only to not believe this false doctrine, but also to reject and doubt any other scripture that leads one in this direction.
From what the church fathers have said, and the most recent discoveries of manuscripts about the very first believers in Jesus was that they didn’t believe Jesus was God nor did there occur a so-called miraculous virgin birth, let alone the trinity that they had never even heard of. It was their position that the gospels were being corrupted by the Roman church and they fought to conserve its purity despite persecution.
Many modern day scholars have found substantial amounts of evidence that confirms what the early Jewish believers had been saying. Even as early as the first and second centuries the gospels were being corrupted to fit the doctrines of the new developing church of Rome.
Next: Who Was Jesus Part 3 | Because Jesus is Not God