Is there any substance to Watchtower claim that the doctrine of the Trinity is a pagan concept?

Question

I do not think so, what about you?

SA: I disagree with you because I know that the Triune character of God is throughout the Bible even though the word Trinity is not in the Bible.

It is critical to regocnize that the Babylonians and Assyrians believed in triads of gods who headed up a pantheon of many other gods.

But these triads constituted 3 separate gods ( polytheism), which is utterly different from the doctrine of the Trinity - which maintains that there is only one God ( monotheism ) with 3 Godheads

Morover, it has been pointed out that such a pagan ideas predate Christianity by some thousand years and were far removed from the part of the world where Christianity developed. From historical and geographical perspective, then, the suggestion that the Christianity borrowed the Trinitarian concept from pagans is quite infeasible.

The point is, simply because pagans spoke of a concept remotely resembling something found in Scripture does NOT mean that the concept was stolen from outside Christianity.

Answer 1

Nina, there is no point me answering you scripturally because others have done that. I will just say one thing, the JW's just don't get it, because their eyes are covered by the scales of the society. I didn't get the concept once, thought it was ridiculous, but I think the answer that likened us to the trinity by saying we are mind, body and spirit explains it really well. God the father is mind, Jesus is body, the Holy Spirit is, obviously spirit. I suppose for many of us spiritually weak humans the problem is that we find it difficult to expand our concepts outside what is humanly possible. Because we can't seperate all three aspects of ourselves (although some claim to be able to), we cannot grasp the idea that this wonderful, magical, all powerful creator can do ANYTHING he so desires. JW's will only spout the Watchtower literature, they are forbidden to research anything else lest it contaminate them and takes them away from Jehovah, very convenient. The scriptures that clearly point to the triune nature of God are never expanded on, just brushed off or 'reasoned on' until the truth is completely hidden.

Answer 2

I'm looking at the second cover page of an 1988 copy of the NKJV bible. It explains the triquetra under the words The Holy Bible on the first page as an ancient symbol for the trinity.

Wikipedia has this to say about this symbol:

Neopaganism
Modern Neopagans use the triquetra to symbolize a variety of personal and traditional beliefs. Germanic Neopagan and Heathen groups who use the triquetra to symbolize their faith generally believe it is originally of Norse and Germanic origins. Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans use the triquetra either to represent one of the various triplicities in their cosmology and theology (such as the tripartite division of the world into the realms of Land, Sea and Sky), or as a symbol of one of the specific triple Goddesses, most notably the Morrígan. It is also sometimes used by Wiccans and some New Agers to symbolize either the Wiccan triple goddess or the triplicities of mind, body, and soul.

I would consider this to be quite substantial in the claim that the origin of the trinity is pagan. Satan is probably laughing hysterically over the ease in which he has gotten so many to follow his doctrines.

Edit: To Cindy Sue, how can you reference Christ's body, when he gave that up on his accension to heaven.

To Christian Soldier, Gen 18:22 Says, " At this point the men turned from there and got on their way to Sodom; but as for Jehovah, he was still standing before Abraham." The three men were angels, now "who" takes "what" out of context.

Nina: The Romans were pagans, what are you talking about? Jesus was on the earth while his Father was in heaven, so how could it be a three headed god. And people were always filled with the holy spirit, how does a person fill a person? It's evidently a consummable.

Answer 3

God's Holy Spirit is pronounced many situations interior the old testomony. One place is Genesis a million. David additionally pleaded with God in considered one of his psalms, "do no longer take Your Holy Spirit from me." The old testomony additionally seems in direction of the arrival of the Messiah, and he truly would not sound like an insignificant guy.

Answer 4

Besides being blasphemous, the Trinity makes a mockery out of the special father/son relationship that exists between Jehovah and Jesus. According to the Bible Jehovah loves Jesus and Jesus loves Jehovah. According to the Trinity, God merely loves himself and showers himself with all sorts of blessings.

Now, though, it seems that even some segments of Christendom are coming to the same conclusion that Jehovah's Witnesses have; The trinity was not taught by Christ.

http://www.bibleed.com/bibleteachings/godandcreation/thetrinity.asp

Answer 5

No, they are not right on this. The word trinity is not used, that wasnt a word they used then. But, the description of the triune God is in the Bible, yes it is all just there. Doesnt even take much to find it all. Yes, that church of niadecia did bring this in and make it accepted, so ppl claim they made it up. NO, it was already there, but it had laid on the back burner for years, and this church only brought that truth back to light again. They didnt institute it, they only brought it back.
Lets say for years, we no longer have praise in church, and suddenly someone brings it back, does that mean that they made it up, or did they just bring it back as it always was to have been??? Same concept. The Trinity is very much real, and it couldnt work any other way. But, if ppl dont want to believe a truth, nothing we say will make a diffrence. I can show the scriptures to proove this is true, and for some its like wa la, I didnt see that before. But for some, even with the proof, they say, I DONT CARE I DONT BELIVE IT. SO, all we can do is live truth and speak it, We cant get another to see truth if they refuse to. Just pray and leave them to God.
Great to get this thought provker opened up again......

Answer 6

I do not think so............

"All those Catholic expounders of the divine Scriptures, both Old and New, whom I have been able to read, who have written before me concerning the Trinity, Who is God, have purposed to teach, according to the Scriptures, this doctrine, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit intimate a divine unity of one and the same substance in an indivisible equality; and therefore that they are not three Gods, but one God: although the Father hath begotten the Son, and so He who is the Father is not the Son; and the Son is begotten by the Father, and so He who is the Son is not the Father; and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but only the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, Himself also co-equal with the Father and the Son, and pertaining to the unity of the Trinity." - St. Augustine of Hippo ("On The Trinity" 4th century A.D.)

Jesus himself teaches the concept of the Trinity very clearly in the baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
I don't think what Christ teaches is paganism.

Answer 7

Here is a list of triune Gods. Most of them predate Christ.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_deities#List_of_triple_deities
Triads of gods appear very early, at the primitive level. The archaic triads in the religions of antiquity and of the East are too numerous to be mentioned here. Arrangement in triads is an archetype in the history of religion, which in all probability formed the basis of the Christian Trinity.
– C G Jung, A Psychological Approach to the Dogma of the Trinity
There is more substance that mas "christians" are willing to admit.

Answer 8

"The Egyptians believed in a resurrection and future life, as well as in a state of rewards and punishments dependent on our conduct in this world. The judge of the dead was Osiris, who had been slain by Set, the representative of evil, and afterwards restored to life. His death was avenged by his son Horus, whom the Egyptians invoked as their "Redeemer." Osiris and Horus, along with Isis, formed a trinity, who were regarded as representing the sun-God under different forms." – Easton’s Bible Dictionary, Thomas Nelson Publ.



The book The Symbolism of Hindu Gods and Rituals admits, regarding the ancient Hindu trinity that was taught centuries before the first Christians:

"Siva is one of the GODS of the Trinity. He is said to be the GOD of destruction. The other two GODS are Brahma, the GOD of creation and Vishnu, the GOD of maintenance.... To indicate that these three processes are one and the same the three gods are combined in one form." - Published by A. Parthasarathy, Bombay. (As quoted in ti-E, p. 12.)



Aristotle said (over 300 years before Christ):

"All things are three, and thrice is all: and let us use this number in the worship of THE GODS. For as the Pythagoreans say, everything and all things are bound by threes, for the end, the middle, and the beginning have this number in everything, and these compose the number of the trinity." - Aristotle, as quoted in PAGANISM IN OUR CHRISTIANITY, Arthur Weigall, p. 198, Putnam, NY. (Weigall is quoting from On the Heavens, Bk I, ch. i., by Aristotle who died 322 B.C.)

Answer 9

You might want to note that the concept of trinity was only formally approved at the Council of Nicea which was chaired by the Roman Emperor Constantine more than 300 years after Christ. A number of Historians have noted that there have been differences between the concept of Trinity and Unity between the earlier Christians. After the Trinity concept was endorsed by the council, all other beliefs with regards to this was considered heretical and early Christians who believe in Unity instead of Trinity were persecuted. There are a good number of historical books to refer to, for eg, "Misquoting Jesus" by Bart Ehrman, etc. You might want to do some research by other notable historians for your personal knowledge.

Answer 10

Yes, there are historical pagan trinities but the faithful (and even the unfaithful) Israelites never had such.

In fact there isn't even a Binity (the Son and the Father equally God).

Did those who knew him during his lifetime understand Jesus to be God?

"Father, ... This is eternal life: to know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." - John 17:1,3, Revised English Bible.

There are a number of places in scripture where those who actually knew Jesus let us know by their words and actions if they thought he was God (or even if they believed that he taught that he was God). Let's look at a few of them (remember it means everlasting life to know God and Jesus).

1. Nowhere in the synoptic Gospels (the first Gospels to be written: Matthew, Mark, and Luke) do the family, friends, disciples (or enemies) of Jesus say anything even hinting that they thought he was God (or that he was teaching that he was God). That such essential new information (if true) should be ignored completely is impossible to believe. Compare all the times Jesus is called the Christ or Messiah. Since these were written many years before the fourth Gospel, they should show the most important news about Jesus: information which is essential for his followers to know.

2. Those Jewish leaders who wanted Jesus dead could have merely said that he claimed to be God (an automatic death sentence). But, although they condemned him to death because he claimed to be the Messiah, they never accused him of being God in the Synoptic Gospels. They even hired false witnesses to lie about him, but even they did not accuse Jesus of claiming to be God. - Matthew 26:59 -63.

The one place in John's later Gospel where many trinitarian Bibles render the Greek to read as though the Jews accused Jesus of 'making himself God' is clearly a mistranslation (as the New English Bible indicates) because of context and NT Greek grammar. - (See "My God" and "Theon" files.)

3. What did those who knew him best and were taught privately by him have to say about who he was? After being told that the people believed Jesus was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the [other] prophets, Jesus asked his disciples: "But who do you say that I am?" The answer was "the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Matthew 16:13-20. Neither the people nor the disciples themselves considered Jesus to be God!

4. Look at the teachings of Jesus in the temple. (Matt.21:23-24:1) If any of the priests, officials, etc. thought Jesus had ever even implied that he was God, he would have been killed on the spot. And, for certain, he would never have been allowed to teach in the temple! But, if by some miracle, he was allowed to teach there (and there was any doubt whatsoever that he may have ever claimed that he was God or that any of his followers believed that he was God), every question to him would have been about that most important subject of all! But, no, he is never asked about such a thing!

5. When Jesus was dying, the rulers of the Jews spoke about him. Did they say, "If he is really God, let Him save himself!"? If they thought he claimed to be God, surely they would have said that instead of what they actually said: "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God." - Luke 23:25, NAB.