Christians Opposed to the Trinity from Nicaea to the Present Day

Throughout Christian history, many Christian sects have rejected belief in the trinity, either in whole or in part. And, because of this, they have historically encountered severe repression in the form of exile, excommunication, burning at the stake, and torture unto death. However, such oppression has not succeeded in erasing them from the pages of history. Most of them remained loyal to their beliefs and never denied the fact that there is only One God. The Arians, which we looked at in some detail earlier, were the fore-runners of the numerous anti-trinitarian Christians. Many more groups then emerged in their wake.

The Anti-Trinitarians

One anti-trinitarian movement that appeared in the wake of Arius was the Celtic Church of Ireland. Although totally isolated from continental Europe, this Church was built and developed along Arian lines. Until 664, when the Catholic Church finally secured official dominion over the Celtic Church, belief in the trinity was foreign to Ireland.

One very important feature of the Irish Church ran parallel to Nazarean teachings: loyalty to Jewish sources. The Celtic Church believed that Prophet Jesus (pbuh) adhered scrupulously to Judaic rules, and thus attached great importance to the Old Testament.78So powerful was this tendency that it continued even after its church came under Roman dominion. In 754, several Catholic priests complained that Irish priests attached no importance to the Church's holy scriptures and rejected the writings and ignored the Council's decisions.79However, this resistance was soon broken. Over the course of a long campaign that began in the fourth century, the Catholic Church finally eliminated all of those had turned onto a false path. Yet these movements just described rejected the superstitious teachings that deified Prophet Jesus (pbuh) and instead, preached faith in God as the One and Only. As a result, the Catholic Church became western world's greatest religious authority.

Councils have  constituted turning points in Christian history. Like Nicaea, Constantinople, and Whitby, the 1870 Vatican Council, which lasted around a year, had a major role in Catholic thought assuming its present form.

Orthodox and Protestant Churches

The Catholic Church's control of the Christian world was rocked by an internal division in the ninth century. For a long time, the Eastern Churches, affiliated to the patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria, had disagreed with the Catholic Church. Finally, they broke away from Rome. This conflict, which was actually political in origin, had emerged following the division of the Roman Empire into eastern (Greek) and western (Latin) sections. The various disagreements between the two sides became a permanent schism when the Roman Church consecrated the Holy Roman Empire. The most distinguishing of the many differences between the two sides is that the Roman Church used Latin as its liturgical language, while the Eastern Churches used Greek.

After breaking with Rome, the Eastern churches, also known as the Orthodox churches, could not establish any internal hierarchy. The Patriarch of Constantinople was always regarded as senior, but the others were independent entities. Furthermore, new divisions gradually emerged and national Churches were formed, such as the Armenian, Greek, Bulgar, Serb, and Russian national churches.

Do you not know that the kingdom of the heavens and Earth belongs to God, and that, besides God, you have no protector and no helper? (Surat al-Baqara: 107)

The Catholic Church maintained its hegemony in Europe until the sixteenth century, when the German priest Martin Luther (d. 1546) shattered that hegemony by launching the Protestant movement. Developed first under the leadership of Luther and then of such priests as John Calvin (d. 1564) and Huldreich Zwingli (d. 1531), it sparked off a huge rebellion against the Church of Rome and papal authority. For over a century, Europe was the scene of endless bloody wars between Catholics and Protestants. Behind these wars, which were superficially religious, lay political calculations and conflicts of interest between European monarchs who wanted to be free of the papacy and its related taxes and those who sought to maintain the status quo. The bloodiest squaring of accounts between the two sides, the Thirty Years War (1618-48), caused the deaths of more than a third of the European population. The end result was a permanent mutual understanding that the new order, established under the Treaty of Westphalia and signed at the end of the Thirty Years War, was now the norm. And so it has remained, largely unchanged, ever since.

After rejecting papal authority, however, the Protestants were unable to replace it with another authority. Thus, Protestantism developed as a dispersed and liberal religion without a central hierarchical structure. Just about every country established its own national church, and many sects and movements emerged over time. As a result, today there are hundreds of forms of Protestantism and churches. Most of these are active in northern Europe and the United States.

The emergence of Protestantism was also important as regards anti-trinitarian movements. After their overthrow of papal authority, Christians  were now able to read and interpret the Good Book for themselves. The Catholic Church had never allowed this freedom to its members. As a result of this, some Protestants came to realize that there was no New Testament foundation for the trinity, which constituted the basis of Catholic belief. Indeed, it was evident that some passages rejected that belief. God is described as the One and Only in these passages, and belief in the Three in One had no place in the fundamental logic of the New Testament.

A very few Protestants therefore rejected the trinity. This gave rise to the Unitarian Church.

They say: “God has a son.” Glory be to Him! No, everything in the heavens and Earth belongs to Him. Everything is obedient to Him. (Surat al-Baqara: 116)

Christians Who Support Monotheism

Like John Calvin (1509-64) and Huldreich Zwingli (1484-1531) , Martin Luther (1483-1546) also played an important part in the  emergence of Protestantism.

Following the Protestant Reformation, Christians began reading the New Testament independently of Catholic beliefs. The first modern anti-trinitarian Christian movement developed in Italy. Founded by Lelio Socinus (d. 1562) and his nephew Faustus Socinus (d. 1604), the movement took the name Socinianism, from the surnames of its two founders, and spread by means of secret meetings. The Catholic Encyclopedia summarizes their beliefs as follows:

[According to the Socinians] that there was no Trinity; that Christ was not consubstantial with the Father and holy spirit; that His Death and Passion were not undergone to bring about our redemption.80

The Socinians were oppressed, and Rome lost no time in excommunicating the two founders. Fausto Socianus said: "The holiness of Prophet Jesus' life, the revelation of God, will naturally be different to that of other people. He possessed divine vision and divine inspiration, but certainly was not a creator. He was equipped with a matchless authority and sent to humanity with a duty to discharge."81Socianus maintained that God had only one essence and that it was irrational to speak in terms of a trinity. Socinian teachings spread as far as England, a development that caused Rome great unease, an unease expressed by the Union of Norwegian Bishops:

Socinianism, turned from the true path by anti-Trinitarians and neo-Arianists who, it is feared, will destroy Christianity, is corrupting the thoughts of Christians."82

At the same time, Michael Servetus (d. 1553), a Spanish theologian and physician, who propagated similar ideas, was burned at the stake by Calvin because of his rejection of the trinity. As he was burned, his anti-trinity book was hung round his neck. Servetus maintained that Christianity has been corrupted at the Council of Nicaea, and wrote that it was necessary to return to pre-Council of Nicaea sources. Attacks aimed at the Socinians began in 1638. Their college in Rakow was closed, and many adherents were burned alive.

Not so! All who submit themselves completely to God and are good doers who will find their reward with their Lord. They will feel no fear and will know no sorrow. (Surat al-Baqara: 112)

The Unitarian movement, which assumed the mantle of the Socinians, was born in Transylvania towards the end of the sixteenth century, later spread all over Europe and particularly in Poland. Its emergence is described in the following terms on a Unitarian church website:

Early Christians held a variety of beliefs about Jesus, including the belief that he was not divine but Wayshower. However the doctrine of the Trinity – God as Father, Son and Holy Ghost – was enforced all those who believed differently were denounced as heretics. Sixteenth century, Christian humanists studied the Bible closely and could not find the Trinity in the scriptures. They affirmed – as did Jesus, according to the Gospels – the unity, or oneness, of God. Hence they acquired the name Unitarian. Unitarians preached and organized churches according to their own rational convictions in the face of overwhelming orthodox opposition and persecution. They reacted by advocating religious freedom for all. Since "faith is the gift of God," people should not be forced to adhere to a faith they did not choose.83

A document known as the Racovian Catechism, which was published by Polish Unitarian priests and laid special emphasis on the idea of the One God, became one of the movement's most important texts. Belief in the atonement of sins was rejected in the catechism, which also said:

The opinion of those who attribute divinity to Jesus Christ is not only repugnant to right reason but likewise to the Holy Scriptures, and they are in gross error who believe that not only Father but also the Son and the Holy Ghost are three persons in one deity… God is… absolutely One, and therefore it is a downright contradiction for one to generate another if they are three independent persons... Always till the times of the Nicene Council and some time later as appears by the writings of those who lived then, the Father... alone was acknowledged for the true God, and those who were of the contrary mind… were accounted heretics…84

One of the most infamous inquisitions, on account of its decisions and political and religious influence, was the Roman Inquisition established by Pope Paul III in 1542. For many years, this inquisition fought all proponents of non-Catholic views, especially Calvinists and Lutherans.

The Unitarians were particularly influential in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world. Unitarian churches were first established in England and then in the United States. These people, who believed that not only Christians but all people can achieve salvation if they believe in God, described themselves as Universalists. The Unitarian and Universalist churches, which developed separately, merged in 1961. The New Catholic Encyclopedia summarizes the common beliefs of the Unitarian Churches thus:

Jewish religious teacher, prophet, regarded by the Unitarians as an example to follow, a master of religious and ethical life in teaching and acting... The Bible is a collection of man-created writings, including teachings of Jewish and Christian teachers, historical accounting and literature. These works were inspired by God but we are not to forget that this inspiration was grasped by those who lived long-long time ago in a certain historical time and place. This is why each writing has the marks of a cultural trend from ancient times, with that characteristic world-view, containing precious intuitive insight but mistakes too. This is why the Unitarian theology follows and accepts the results of the scientific criticism of the Bible in adopting its ethics in life and philosophy.85

In short, Unitarians take Prophet Jesus (pbuh) for what he actually was: a Jewish prophet who as God's son only in a figurative sense. The bases of Unitarian belief are described in the following terms on one website:

The basic tenets of Unitarian belief consist of the oneness of God, love of God and human beings, and eternal life … They respect the memory of Prophet Jesus, but deny his divinity and do not regard him as infallible. They regard the Christian scriptures as a document of human experience, but maintain that since the authors were human they were capable of error … They agree that God has sent prophets at all times in order to show people the true path. They regard the Messiah Jesus as the greatest of these …86

Unitarians express their ideas about Prophet Jesus (pbuh) on their own sites as follows:

He was, and still is for many UU's, an exemplar... Among us, Jesus' very human life and teaching have been understood as a product of, and in line with, the great Jewish tradition of prophets and teachers. He neither broke with that tradition nor superceded it.87

Unitarians reject one part of traditional Christianity and base their own beliefs on proper moral values, reason, common sense, and the oneness of God. They describe their beliefs thus on their websites:

In the first place, we believe in the doctrine of God's UNITY, or that there is One God, and One only. To this truth we give infinite importance, and we feel ourselves bound to take heed, lest any man spoil us of it by vain philosophy. The proposition, that there is one God, seems to us exceedingly plain. We understand by it, that there is one being, one mind, one person, one intelligent agent, and one only, to whom underived and infinite perfection and dominion belong… We do… protest against the irrational and unscriptural doctrine of the Trinity...88

If God had desired to have a son He would have chosen whatever He wished from what He has created. Glory be to Him! He is God, the One, the All-Conquering. (Surat az-Zumar: 4)

However, some of the views now propounded under the name of Unitarianism contain elements that are incompatible with God and His revelation. Some Unitarians possess a humanist conception of religion, in which religious rules and worship are eliminated. Some do not believe in miracles, such as the virgin birth, or that Prophet Jesus (pbuh) actually performed miracles. This is another deviation away from Divine truth. Unitarians are not presented in this book as a community that represents true Christianity as it was at the time of Prophet Jesus (pbuh); the author merely cites their beliefs concerning the trinity and the atonement of sins. Other of their beliefs, however, conflict with what the Qur'an teaches.

Servetus: A Monotheistic Christian

Another theologian who met with great opposition was Michael Servetus (d. 1553), who stated many things taught by the Church for hundreds of years could not be found in the New Testament at all. While still in his 20s, he published two books, De Trinitatis erroribus libri vii (The Errors of the Trinity) and Dialogorum de Trinitate libri ii (Two Dialogues on the Trinity),  both of which elicited a powerful reaction in Europe. Until then, nobody had written such a courageous book. Servetus, who said that he was following the footsteps of the first disciples linked to the Antioch school, was subsequently hounded by Rome from country to country for many years. He changed his name, but never his ideas. For that reason, he was burned at the stake at Genoa on 26 January 1553.

Servetus had an affection for and interest in Islam. In his works, he devoted a great deal of space to the words of the Prophet Muhammed (may God bless him and grant him peace) and Islam's powerful monotheistic belief. In De Trinitatis erroribus libri vii, he emphasized that belief in the trinity was incompatible with reason:

How much this tradition of the Trinity has alas, alas! been the laughing stock of Muhammedans only God knows. The Jews also shrink from giving adherence to this fancy of ours, and laugh at our foolishness about the Trinity… And not only the Muhammedans and the Hebrews but the very beasts of the field, would make fun of us, did they grasp our fantastic notion, for all the workers of the Lord bless the One God..91

His writings and teachings led to his inhuman murder. However, today he is still regarded as the founder of modern monotheism by many Christians.

The Jehovah's Witnesses

The Jehovah's Witnesses also reject belief in the trinity. Although they agree with traditional Christianity in many areas, their rejection of the trinity has caused many Christians to view them as non-Christians, despite their obvious Judeo-Christian basis.

According to the Jehovah's Witnesses, belief in the trinity is a non-Biblical belief. They say that if people read the Bible without any preconceived notions, they will never encounter any such idea, for this idea was added long after Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) had been raised to God's presence. Although this sect resembles Judaism in terms of its conception of God, their beliefs concerning Prophet Jesus (pbuh) distinguish them from it. The Jehovah's Witnesses stress that they are the real Christians and that all others are all in error:

The teachings of the Bible about God and his purposes are clear, easy to understand, and reasonable. But the teachings of Christendom's churches are not. Worse, they contradict the Bible... Also, Christendom's Trinity doctrine portrays God as some mysterious three-in-one God. But that teaching is not found in the Bible either.90

According to Jehovah's Witness statistics for 2001, this sect has approximately 6 million members.

Islam strengthened the Unitarian Church

When we look at how the Unitarian Church gained strength, we encounter a most interesting connection: the influence of the Ottoman Empire. In Transylvania, which was part of the Ottoman territories in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, monotheistic beliefs grew very powerful. In a sermon entitled "Islam, the US, and Yeats' Dilemma," Jack Donovan, a priest in the Florida Unitarian Church, emphasizes this development:

In Poland, Hungary, and Transylvania, some Reform Protestant Christians began asserting as a matter of faith, "God is one. There is no god but God." Dangerous heresy in Christendom in those days. Where did dead-defying statement come from?... In 1520s and '30s, when Protestantism was still very new and trinitarian, the Islamic Ottoman Empire conquered Croatia, Hungary, and Transylvania.91

As expressed by many historians and Unitarian clergy, the reason why this monotheistic sect located in Ottoman territories gained in strength was because Islam brought a climate of tolerance. Susan Ritchie of the North Unitarian Universalist Church emphasizes this fact in a sermon entitled The Promise of Postmodernism for Unitarian Universalist Theology:

Most moderate international historians accept not only that the political protection of the Ottomans allowed for the development of progressive Protestantisms, but also that the infamous permissiveness of Ottoman administrative practice regarding local customs and religions must have had some influence with regards to the issue of toleration.92

Islam's powerful monotheism was an enormous guarantee for anti-trinitarian Christians, for within the Ottoman Empire they could express their opinions freely, enjoy official tolerance, establish their own churches, and reinforce the Christian monotheistic tradition.

The links between Islam and the Unitarian Church have attracted the interest of researchers for hundreds of years. For example, in his The Hungarian Protestant Reformation in the Sixteenth Century under the Ottoman Impact, Alexander Sándor Unghváry concentrates on the importance attached to Islam by Servetus, an earlier proponent of monotheism.93In his work, based on the relationship between Socianism and Islam, Mathurin Veyssiére de la Croze claims that the Unitarians of Transylvania accepted the similarity between the oneness of God as taught by Unitarianism and that taught in the Qur'an.94

Unitarian clergyman Jack Donovan also draws attention to these matters in a sermon:

Two Islamic teachings would have become common knowledge and would have been much noted. One, the words of the daily call to prayer sung from the minarets to the general public: "God is One. There is no god but God. There is no god but God." And two, the explicit requirement of the Quran, emphasized by Muhammad, that respect and tolerance be given to all religions because each is a response to God. When those teachings are applied to the gospel of Jesus, you get 16th century Unitarianism. It is my hypothesis that our tradition has a 450 year old debt to Islam for a center we share in common.95

Mark D. Morrison-Reed of the Toronto Unitarian Church also describes Islam in a sermon entitled The Islamic Connection:

Houston Smith writes that Islam's "innovation was to remove idols from the religious scene and focus the divine on a single invisible God for everyone."[p. 236- Houston Smith, The World's Religions] Unlike Christianity Islam is unmistakably monotheistic, and unlike Judaism was not confined to one people. We might begin any effort to connect with Islam with this: acknowledge that we share common historical ground in this intuition about and understand of God's singularity. In the Middle Ages it was Islam tolerance that allowed a cultural bridge between Christianity and Islam to develop. This Spanish Renaissance influenced a person we claim as our intellectual forebear, Michael Servetus. Servetus was born in 1511 in northern Spain and while we know some of the details and influence upon his life, we don't know exactly how his ideas developed or what precipitated the publishing in 1531 of his book On the Errors of the Trinity… While Islam had created the political and intellectual conditions that contributed to the emerging of Servetus' ideas in the West, it was also responsible for the political conditions that allowed Unitarianism to germinate, blossom and spread in eastern Europe… In a sense we are indebted to Islam. For me that suggest that we need to stop viewing Islam as something foreign and incomprehensible. Instead, it is time to recognize that not only are we historically connected but that we share some common values, as well.96

These statements of different Uniterian clergymen reveal the climate of tolerance in Ottoman territories and the common values shared by these two revealed religions.

Prophet Jesus (pbuh): A Prophet, Not A Son Of God

The misinterpretation of expressions and metaphorical explanations that are open to interpretation

One of the subjects most concentrated on by Biblical scholars is the need to interpret gospel expressions in a figurative sense. Looked at from this point of view, it appears that the expressions in question bear very different meanings. The Qur'an also uses many terms that are open to interpretation. Indeed, many Christian researchers are seeking to establish a relationship between Qur'anic expressions and certain New Testament terms as they make their interpretations. In the book Three Gods or One? The Trinity in Monotheism, Carlos Madrigal comments:

In describing Himself, God employs symbolic expressions that will be easily understandable to human beings. These are called terms of "human resemblance" (anthropomorphic). Physical attributes such as the face, hands etc. are used to refer to God in both the Holy Book and in the Qur'an. The expression "Nothing is like Him" (Surat ash-Shura, 11) expresses a truth. Yet we must not confuse this with analogies employed by God Himself in order for us to understand. Terms such as "the hand of God," "the palm of God," "the face of God," and "the eyes of God" can be found in the Qur'an… Nobody has any difficulty in interpreting these metaphorically. Won't we interpret the expression "the Father" or "the Son" metaphorically? Terms peculiar to human beings that are ascribed to God present us not with a true depiction, but only with hints and suggestions. These are not therefore depictive analogies, but associative ones. No one has the right to compare God to something by giving a physical meaning. (That would be paganism)… He, however, can compare Himself to any symbol He considers appropriate. God has created everything with love. He is the source of everything. "Father" is an excellent description to express that everything was created with His love.66

This is important with regard to the Gospels' metaphorical expressions employed. Our Lord reveals the following regarding the Qur'an: "We have sent down the Book to you making all things clear, and as guidance, mercy, and good news for the Muslims" (Surat an-Nahl: 89) and "We have not omitted anything from the Book – then they will be gathered to their Lord." (Surat an-Nahl: 38) Everything in the Qur'an is explained in the most perfect, wise, and compact way. In some verses, our Lord guides us according to such figurative terms:

God's hand

Those who pledge their allegiance to you pledge allegiance to God. God's hand is over their hands. He who breaks his pledge only breaks it against himself. (Surat al-Fath: 10)

Say: "All favor is in God's hand, and He gives it to whoever He wills. God is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing." (Surah Al 'Imran: 73)

The Jews say: "God's hand is chained." Their hands are chained, and they are cursed for what they say! No! Both His hands are open wide, and He gives however He wills. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 64)

… so that the People of the Book may know that they have no power at all over any of God's favor and that all favor is in the Hand of God. He gives it to anyone He wills. God's favor is indeed immense. (Surat al-Hadid: 29)

God's palm

They do not measure God with His true measure. The whole Earth will be a mere handful for Him on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be folded up in His right hand. Glory be to Him! He is exalted above the partners they ascribe! (Surat az-Zumar: 67)

God's face

Do not call on any other deity besides God. There is no deity but Him. All things are passing except His Face. Judgment belongs to Him. You will be returned to Him. (Surat al-Qasas: 88)

Everyone on it will pass away; but the Face of your Lord will remain, the Master of Majesty and Generosity. (Surat ar-Rahman: 26-27)

Both East and West belong to God, so wherever you turn, the Face of God is there.God is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. (Surat al- Baqara: 115)

The Qur'an also reveals:

You did not kill them, but it was God Who killed them. And you did not throw, when you threw, but it was God Who threw, so He might test the believers with this excellent trial from Him. God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. (Surat al-Anfal: 17)

In this verse, God states that as the Lord of infinite might and power, only He can bring all events and actions into existence. A human being has no power to do anything unless God wills it, for everything that he or she does, says, and thinks belongs to God. No human being can possess any strength or will independently of our Lord. In the Qur'an God reveals, "But you will not will, unless God wills" (Surat al-Insan: 30).

Each expression in the above verses tells of His infinite might and power in the finest possible terms. People who meditate on these verses will find beautiful and wise advice in them.

Yukarıdaki ayetlerde geçen ifadelerin her biri insanlara Allah'ın sonsuz güç ve kudretini en güzel örneklerle haber veren ayetlerdir. Müteşabih ifadeler içeren bu ayetlerde derin düşünen insanlara çok güzel ve hikmetli öğütler bulunmaktadır.

They may have been used to emphasize Prophet Jesus' (pbuh)  superior servitude and closeness to God

The Disciples and the first Christians witnessed Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) devotion to God, his sincerity, deep faith, patience, courage, determination to implement God's revelation, the miracles he performed through God's will, and his superior moral values. His entire life was full of miracles: his conception and birth, his speaking from the cradle, his healing the sick, raising the dead, and ascending to God's presence all clearly reveal his extraordinary position. Such information is provided in detail in both the New Testament and the Qur'an. Our Lord emphasizes that Prophet Jesus (pbuh), his mother Mary, and the family of Imran were all chosen individuals.

The first Christians' enthusiastic tone when referring to Prophet Jesus (pbuh) has been noted by many Christian theologians. In his work Jesus in His Lifetime, New Testament expert John Marsh emphasizes that: "The earliest followers of Prophet Jesus (pbuh) used the term 'the son of God' to describe how he had been chosen by God for a very special task and therefore had a very special bond with God."67Sanders states: "Jesus is a special 'Son of God', living in a nation of 'Sons of God'."68

Say: “Call on those you make claims for apart from Him. They possess no power to remove any harm from you or to change anything.” (Surat al-Isra’: 56)

In his work No Other Name , Paul Knitter writes:

In talking about Jesus, the New Testament authors use the language not of analytic philosophers but of enthusiastic believers, not of scientists but lovers. It is, as Krister Stendahl urges, "religious language"—that is, "love language, caressing language." In describing Jesus as "the only," Christians were not trying to elaborate a metaphysical principle but a personal relationship and a commitment that defined what it meant to belong to this community… Christian dogmatic definitions, in the way they have been understood and used, have perhaps done just that to the love language of the early church. The languages of the heart and the head are not necessarily contradictory, but they are different. And their differences must be respected.

The many texts that presents Jesus as "the Son of God," even "the only begotten Son" (John 1:14), will also be heard differently. Their primary intent will… urge all hearers to take this Jesus seriously, as authoritative. The point these texts are making… Jesus is a reliable revelation of God. In translating the Greek, Uios tou Theou ("son of God"), therefore, we must not insist on the definite article "the"; it does not appear in the original Greek and the phrase could as well be translated "a son of God." And the descriptive qualifier "only begotten" could perhaps be better rendered according to the Hebrew usage as "first-born" or "beloved". It could then be understood not to affirm the exclusivity but the reliability, the urgency, of Jesus' role as God's instrument.69

Behind this persistent defense of belief in the trinity probably lies a concern that Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) position might be overshadowed. However, even without belief in the trinity it is still possible to make this same emphasis. Indeed, the Qur'an reveals the miraculous aspects of Prophet Jesus (pbuh) and his ascension in detail, as well as the fact that he and his family have been made superior to the worlds:

When the angels said: "Mary, your Lord gives you good news of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, of high esteem in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near." (Surah Al 'Imran: 45)

They may have been used to accelerate Christianity's spread

Prophet Jesus (pbuh) faced great opposition when he began to disseminate religious moral values. Jewish society at that time consisted of many sects, such as the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the Zealots, and the Essenes, all of which interpreted their religion in different ways. The first three in particular had fallen into grave error by distancing themselves from the divine religion brought by Prophet Moses (pbuh), and their superstitious traditions and distorted beliefs continued to multiply. In addition, pagan Hellenic culture had also spread among them, causing some Jews to compromise their monotheistic belief by adopting pagan beliefs.

Leaving all of these superstitious ideas behind, Prophet Jesus (pbuh) called on the Jews of his time to adopt a pure and sincere faith. All religious figures intent on maintaining the status quo were made very uneasy by his message, for he told people to fear, respect, and love God, and to abandon all of the superstitious laws and fanatical practices that had no basis in the message brought by Prophet Moses (pbuh).

After Prophet Jesus (pbuh) had been raised to God's presence, the first Christians used all of the methods at their disposal to spread his message. Christians traveled widely, displaying great patience when faced with opposition and poverty, telling people of His existence and that Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was His messenger. Christianity spread widely and quickly. Despite Roman persecution and torture, people flocked to Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) true message. However, some converts could not fully free themselves from established pagan beliefs. As a result, the son of God acquired a pagan, as opposed to a traditional Jewish, meaning.

In The Historical Figure of Jesus, Sanders interprets the methods employed by the first Christians to spread the message of Prophet Jesus (pbuh):

In trying to convince others, they sometimes told stories of things that Jesus had said and done. In the early years this material was probably not written, but was simply passed on orally. When the disciples used incidents from Jesus' life, they wanted to illustrate points, points that were important at the time… Besides wining new adherents, the disciples also instructed one another and their growing number of converts by recalling incidents from Jesus' life. Sometimes they debated with Jewish teachers who rejected Jesus; these disputes provided a third context in which material from and about Jesus was employed.70

Just as during Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) own lifetime, many groups and individuals strongly opposed Christianity after his time. Thanks to the disciples' efforts after Prophet Jesus (pbuh) had been raised into the sight of God, its spread caused them great concern, and perhaps caused them to make groundless claims or take other measures to prevent its rise. In his book, Paul Knitter concentrates on the conditions under which the early Christians lived. He emphasizes that they developed a different style in order to survive and preserve their communities:

Another aspect of the historical context of the early church was its minority status within the larger Jewish community and especially within the vast, threatening Roman Empire. Cultural and religious pluralism was experienced otherwise than it is today … [T]he community of Christians faced the danger either of being stomped out by larger groups for whom it was a threat or a nuisance, or of being absorbed by an all-consuming syncretism. To defend itself against these dangers, the community needed to arm itself with clear identity and total commitment. It did this especially through its beliefs, particularly its christological beliefs. Such doctrinal language, therefore, can be called "survival language"; it was necessary for the survival of the community. By defining Jesus Christ in absolute terms, by announcing him as the one and the only savior, the early Christians cut out for themselves an identity different from that of all their opponents or competitors. Such language also evoked a total commitment that would steel them in the face of persecution or ridicule… This language was more moral than metaphysical. Its purpose was more to define identity and membership within the community than to define the person of Jesus for all time.71

Say: “ I am only a human being like yourselves. It is revealed to me that your god is One God. So let one who hopes to meet his (her) Lord act rightly and not associate anyone in the worship of his (her) Lord.” (Surat al-Kahf: 110)

The influence of the existing political- cultural climate

Researchers who study trinitarianism also study the cultural and political environment of those times. As we emphasized earlier, Jewish society at the time of Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was under the influence of both Jewish and Greek culture. Most of the land bordering on the Mediterranean Sea was ruled by Rome, due to its military conquests and power. Rome was experiencing one of its most powerful periods, both in terms of its culture and its military strength. It had inherited the cultural legacy of ancient and classical Greece and carried it forward with its own additions. This trend, known as Hellenism, pervaded many areas of life, including religion. The Romans regarded themselves as far superior to other societies and sought to spread their own lifestyles into their new territories.

As with the other Mediterranean societies, Roman religion was polytheistic. The mythological Greek deities entered Roman mythology under different names. Their greatest deity (Jupiter) and many deities, which were symbolized by statues, were worshipped. Some Roman emperors even had laws passed including themselves in this pantheon. Statues of these mythological Greek deities, such as Zeus, Hermes, and Venus, were found throughout the empire, most often in the public squares of large cities. Every city and district, as well as every home, featured various statues, pictures, and special shrines to these deities. Roman administrators used these polytheistic religions as a way to spread their own rule, and thus did not interfere in anyone's religion as long as they did not threaten Roman rule. In fact, it encouraged paganism by building temples, altars, and statues. For them, religion was a way to encourage the loyalty of and regulating communities, and belonged to an abstract sphere that had no direct relationship with this world.

Whenever the Romans encountered another culture, they looked for the equivalents of their own deities and thus sought to establish a parallel that would ensure their superiority. Particularly in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes IV (d. 163 bce), they aberrantly sought to make Jews who believed in the One and Only God accept their head god Zeus, although this led to major struggles among them. Devout Jews refused these Roman deities that spiritually polluted the holy land and strongly resisted the Romans' attempts to spread their pagan beliefs. Even so, Greek culture still had a profound influence on Jewish society.

The Temple, which was reconstructed and enlarged by Herod, is described in the New Testament as one of the places where Prophet Jesus (pbuh) spread his message. This temple is also regarded as where someone resembling Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was crucified in his place.

Prophet Jesus (pbuh) preached to this Jewish society that was under Hellenistic influence. The Disciples and the first Christians grew up in the same society, and their lives and Hellenistic culture were intimately entwined. In his article "Jesus in Historical Context," Sanvders examines Hellenism's influence on Galilee, where Prophet Jesus (pbuh) lived. He cites the views of many academics and makes the following comment:

Galilee was urbanized, cosmopolitan, and prosperous. In the view of one scholar [Burton Mack] "Galilee was in fact an epitome of Hellenistic culture"… The villagers could see and hear Greek plays and philosophers by nipping into one of the nearby cities. For holidays, they could go to larger cities in Syria, where they could soak up still more Greek culture. Rome, finally, is very important in this view. Roman soldiers abounded in Galilee; there were Roman officials and administrators; … Not only was there a theatre, there was a pagan temple in Sepphoris "dedicated to Augustus and to Rome"; farmers raised pigs for Roman appetites and sacrifices…72

It is accepted that pagan Greek culture, and especially Plato, had an important influence on the emergence of trinitarian belief. Plato and Aristotle can be seen in Raphael's The School of Athens (1509-1510), in the Vatican.

Greek culture and religion was based on pagan mythology. Its adherents often used figurative expressions and mythological terms in their speech and references. It was as if mythology and real life had become mixed together. Biblical scholars examining the term the son of God used to refer to Prophet Jesus (pbuh) also draw attention to the influence of Greek culture in establishing this term. Greek mythology depicted its deities as entities that established friendships with human beings and eventually produced new generations. For example, Alexander the Great (d. 323 bce) was regarded as the son of Zeus. Sanders states that Greek traditions were widespread throughout the Empire at that time and that the use of the son of God (Surely God is beyond that!) for Prophet Jesus (pbuh) spread still further.75 In fact, researchers highlight parallels between the pagan Greek trinity of Zeus-Hera-Apollo and belief in the trinity. Greek culture especially contained a large number of so-called father god and son gods. Plato (d. 347 bce) formulated this threesome into various trinities and maintained that these deities had a son (logos) and a daughter (sophos). According to Plato, the so-called god, the logos and the sophos constituted a trinity. Christianity adopted this pagan concept of a trinity, as well as many other beliefs and practices that it still retains today from the Greek culture or other pagan cultures. For that reason, it moved away from the pure monotheistic religion brought by Prophet Jesus (pbuh), which was the basis of the Mosaic Law.

Paula Fredriksen, author of From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament, Images of Jesus, makes the following comment after emphasizing that the Gospels and the societies in which the Gospels were written were Greek ones:

In brief, the milieu of Christianity, and thus its interpretive context is the world of Hellenism. They [the writers] do so partly in language that would have been familiar, whether from pagan tradition or from the LXX, to their Hellenistic audiences: Jesus is "Lord," "Savior," "Son of God," and God's "Logos." But other, unfamiliar language also appears… even predominates—"Son of David," "Son of Man," "Kingdom of God," "messiah". This language, variously interpreted and deployed by these New Testament writers, is an inheritance from the earliest years of the Jesus movement in Palestine.74

Dr. Paul R. Eddy writes in an article entitled "Was Early Christianity Corrupted by Hellenism?":

Throughout the ancient world, as far back as Babylonia, the worship of pagan gods grouped in threes or triads, was common. That influence was also prevalent in Egypt, Greece and Rome in the centuries before, during, and after Christ. After the death of the apostles, such pagan beliefs began to invade Christianity… While [Plato] did not teach the Trinity in its present form, his philosophies paved the way for it.75

The Column of Trajan in front of the Colosseum, with the Arch of Constantine behind. Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Roman Cappricio.

In his important work The Christianity of the New Testament, Oscar Cullmann examines how the Son of God was used in the East and in the Hellenistic culture when the Gospels were written. He states that Egyptian, Babylonian, and Assyrian kings and their people regarded themselves as holy beings and had themselves referred to as the son of God.  He also notes that in Greek religions, everyone believed to possess sacred powers was referred to as the son of God.76The miracles performed by Prophet Jesus (pbuh) were enough for him to acquire this title. Varner says that the Gentiles who heard Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) message shaped their opinion of him within the framework of these ideas and adds: (Surely God is beyond the expressions that follow)

Their idea of a son of God was rooted deeply in polytheistic thought and was, therefore, difficult to transform into the monotheistic message of Jesus and His apostles. Whereas kings and other holy men in Oriental and Hellenistic thought claimed to be sons of God, Jesus claimed and was proclaimed to be the Son of God.77

The tendency towards the so-called deification of human beings in pagan beliefs

One fundamental characteristic of the paganism found in the Roman Empire is the so-called concept of the man-god. Mythological Roman and Greek deities, such as Zeus and Hermes, Venus and Jupiter, were depicted in human form via statues erected in temples or public squares of large cities. Pagans considered their deities to be touchable and visible, and so regarded their depictions and appearances to them in human form as quite natural.

This man-god concept was so open to interpretation that people claiming to possess the power of working miracles and preaching on religious matters could easily claim to be such a being. Interesting examples of this are reported in the New Testament's Acts of the Apostles.  Paul and Barnabas cured a sick man in the city of Lystra (near present-day Konya in Turkey), whereupon the astonished public imagined them to be gods:

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language: "The gods have come down to us in human form!" Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. (Acts, 14:11-13)

A similar incident took place on Malta. When pagans speaking with Paul saw him bitten by a snake they believed to be poisonous, but that he did not die, they again resorted to the man-god idea:

The people expected him [Paul] to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. (Acts, 28:6)

The early Christians, who addressed to people with such a mentality, spoke to them of a Messiah who performed miracles, healed the sick, and brought the dead back to life. And so these pagans saw this messenger, who was blessed with all these miracles by God, as a divine being like Zeus or Hermes. (Surely God is beyond that!)

In the Qur'an, God reveals that those who defend the trinity saying that the Messiah is the son of God, are "copying the words of those before them who did not believe" (Surat at-Tawba: 30). In other words, the Christians inherited this concept from earlier pagan societies.