Is there any mention of the trinity before Christianity came around?

Question

or did the christians come up with it on their own.

Answer 1

It isn't even mentioned in the New Testament. It was a concept invented in the 4th century.

Answer 2

Yes, as others have said, in non-christian religions (pagan religions from the "Christian" point of view) there were trinities before Christendom.

As you are probably aware there is no mention of the word Trinity or the actual doctrine in the bible. The doctrine was not officially accepted by the 'church' until 325CE at the council of Nicaea presided over by Constantine.

The dogma proclaims that the three god-heads are actually (somehow) one "god" (father/son/holy spirit). The three are co-equal and co-eternal. As the word Trinity does not appear in the bible, neither does the doctrine.

Jesus himself was VERY clear on the subject, in fact I would venture to say his words were so clear, they can not be spun in any other way: Here's Jesus own words:

John 14:28 YOU heard that I said to YOU, I am going away and I am coming [back] to YOU. If YOU loved me, YOU would rejoice that I am going my way to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.

So, anyone offering the idea of the trinity, that Jesus is equal to the father, is going against Jesus' own plain words on the subject! Look them up yourself :-)

Answer 3

The Trinity is as old as human religion, and formed an integral part of Indo-European religion. To that other guy, how can you "steal" a religious dogma? Do Hindus still believe in a Trinity? Then how could that dogma have been "stolen"? And no, it wasn't invented to draw in polytheists (?!). Most of the Roman world was decidedly monotheist centuries before the doctrine of the Trinity was codified at Nicea.

Answer 4

The triune nature of God is there right at the beginning of the Bible in the book of Genesis, when God is portrayed as having a conversation with Himself. "Let US make man in OUR image". The writer of Genesis wrote this even though he did not understand at the time how a single God could talk as though in the plural. This also shows that the writer wrote exactly what he was inspired by God to write even though it appeared to make no sense at that time.
The Hebrew religon is older than the Hindu religion, it stems from the first humans Adam and Eve, so it is impossible for the idea of the plurality of one God to have come from Hinduism. The Hindu religion and all pagan religions were simply corruptions of the one true religion that had been preserved by Noah and his family, as the only survivors of the the worldwide flood. Noah was not a Hindu or a pagan, he believed in the God of the Bible. So the Hebrew religion (and its fulfilment in the coming of Christ as the second person of the Holy Trinity) pre-dates all other religions.

Answer 5

There are vague referrences in the Old Testament.
You might like this link:
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2005/0501coff.asp

We can not FULLY understand the Trinity, but the scripures are pretty plain that God IS Trinity:

Jesus tells his apostles to baptize "in the name [notice, singular, not plural] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19). This is a proof-text: three distinct Persons united in the one divine name. In 2 Corinthians 13:14, Paul writes, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." We see this same unity of divine Persons in 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, Ephesians 4:4–6, and 1 Peter 1:2–3.

The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is God (cf. John 8:58, 10:38, 14:10; Col. 2:9). It also clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit is God (cf. Acts 5:3–4, 28:25–28; 1 Cor. 2:10–13). Everyone agrees the Father is God. Yet there is only one God (Mark 12:29, 1 Cor. 8:4–6, Jas. 2:19). How can we hold all four truths except to say all three are One God?

And yes, Jesus DID say he was God. In John 8:58, when quizzed about how he has special knowledge of Abraham, Jesus replies, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am"—invoking and applying to himself the personal name of God—"I Am" (Ex. 3:14). His audience understood exactly what he was claiming about himself. "So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple" (John 8:59).

Also significant are passages that apply the title "the First and the Last" to Jesus. This is one of the Old Testament titles of Yahweh: "Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of armies: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; besides me there is no god’" (Is. 44:6; cf. 41:4, 48:12).

Answer 6

There is no mention of the trinity in the Bible. I think it is a way for people to try to explain the relationship between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Answer 7

After many years of bible study I finally found a trinity in the bible.

Harper’s Bible Dictionary

Baal / Bel ,

“Baal translates into English is Lord”
(Do you worship the Lord?)

Baal is the offspring (son) of El, (Hebrew for God)”
(Do you worship the Son of God?)

Baal is worshiped as a triad / trinity.”
(Do you worship a trinity of Gods?)

(Do you worship Baal?)


Where did I hear this teaching recently?

Sounds like a teaching of Satan, What do you think?

Who is fulfilling this prophecy?

(Jeremiah 23:27) 27 They are thinking of making my people forget my name by means of their dreams that they keep relating each one to the other, just as their fathers forgot my name by means of Ba´al.

(Psalm 83:18) 18 That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the Most High over all the earth.


Even if ‘Sam’ is a Grandfather, Father, and Son, Sam still has only one will, unless he is mentally disturbed or Sam is three different individuals. Sam Sr., Sam Jr., & Sam III.

It is by God’s will we have salvation.

Answer 8

Lots of pagan religions have trinities. Some even have triads of trinities.


Hannah J Paul

Answer 9

It goes all the back to Nimrod, Beltis (his wife), and the "son of Nimrod" Tammuz.

It's a purely pagan belief that came from sun-worship. Since Constantine was a sun worshipper until the day he died, it became a part of Catholicism and infected the Messianic belief.

There is ONE God...not 3.

Answer 10

Yes, the Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu trinity of Hinduism.