Al-Kadhi starts with the claim:
The third verse which Christians claim validates the doctrine of the trinity is the verse of John 10:30 "I and my father are one."
Unfortunately this is a strawman since Trinitarians do not use this verse to prove the Trinity, but rather to prove the deity of Jesus Christ.
His argument continues with:
This verse, however is quoted out of context. The complete passage, starting with John 10:23, reads as follows:
"And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." John 10:23-30
In divinity? In a holy "Trinity"? No! They are one in PURPOSE. Just as no one shall pluck them out of Jesus' hand, so too shall no one pluck them out of God's hand.
Al-Kadhi presumes that the word for one, hen, can only mean one in purpose as opposed to one in essence and nature. The word means different things in different contexts. We will see that hen here means that the Father and the Son are one in all things, not just in purpose. For example, Jesus claims to be able to do what God alone can do:
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I GIVE THEM ETERNAL LIFE, AND THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH.; NO ONE CAN SNATCH THEM OUT OF MY HAND. My Father , who has given them to me, is greater than all; NO ONE CAN SNATCH THEM OUT OF MY FATHER'S HAND. I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE." John 10:27-30
Jesus is one with the Father in essence and nature since Christ grants eternal life and has the power to preserve his believers from perishing. Yet, for Christ to be able to both preserve life and grant eternal life makes him God since only God can do these things:
"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I PUT TO DEATH AND I BRING TO LIFE, I HAVE WOUNDED AND I WILL HEL, AND NO ONE CAN DELIVER OUT OF MY HAND." Deuteronomy 32:39
"The LORD brings death AND MAKES ALIVE; he brings down to the grave and raises up."
1 Samuel 2:6According to the New Testament, it is Jesus Christ who raises the dead from their graves:
"I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead willl hear THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD AND THOSE WHO HEAR WILL LIVE... Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming WHEN ALL WHO ARE IN THEIR GRAVES WILL HEAR HIS VOICE AND COME OUT-those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." John 5:25, 28-29
For Jesus to be able to what only God can do implies that Jesus is God. Furthermore, for Christ to be able to do what the Father does implies that the Father and the Son are both the one true God. They are not one and the same person, but rather they are one in nature and power.
Al-Kadhi:
Need more proof? Then read:
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one I in them, and thou in me, ..." John 17:20-23
Is all of mankind also part of the "Trinity"? When we read the Bible as a literary whole rather as fragmentary verses we begin to see the truth and we begin to see that far from preaching the "Trinity" of the Church, Jesus (pbuh) only preached that which God told us in the noble Qur'an that he preached, namely, the strict and uncompromising Oneness (monotheism) of God alone.
Again, Al-Kadhi presupposes certain things and forces the Bible to fit in with his presuppositions. First, he again presupposes that the term "one" has only one meaning, whereas it has several possible meanings. In this context, oneness means being one in mind and purpose, not one in essence. Yet, this oneness can only be derived from a relationship with Christ as the Son of God, not just a prophet. To deny the Son of God is to deny the Father, and therefore oneness can never be attained:
"Who is the liar? It is the man that denies Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist- he denies the Father and THE SON. No one who denies the Son has the Father, whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. See that what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does remain in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us- even eternal life." 1 John 2:22-25
Hence, to deny the sonship of Christ is to lose union with the Father, as well as a lose of eternal life.
Al-Kadhi suggests:
Such terminology can be found in many other places, read for example:
"Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit," 1 Corinthians 6:15-17
Again, this unity can only come from embracing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Apart from Christ, unity is non-existent.
And
"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:4
Al-Kadhi does not quote the context of 2 Peter to derive what Peter meant by being partakers of the divine nature:
"His divine power has giving us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and prescious promises, so that through them you may particpate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perservance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from past sins." 2 Peter 1:3-11
Being partakers of the divine nature is to reflect the perfect and righteous moral character of God in our lives, fleeing from sin and wickedness which is contrary to the divine nature. It has nothing to do with being divine, nor does it even remotely come close to paralleing Jesus' words in John 10:27-30.
And also
"One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Ephesians 4:6
And
"For as the (human) body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many." 1 Corinthians 12:12-14
Once we read the above verses and understand what the message was that Paul was trying to get across, then we can begin to understand his words in such places as
This passage again affirms that to become one body one must be immersed by the Holy Spirit into Christ Jesus. And this can only occur when one embraces Jesus as Lord, i.e. Yahweh, not just some great prophet:
"Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus be cursed,' and no one can say 'Jesus is Lord.' except by the Holy Spirit." 1 Corinthians 12:3
For one to have God's Spirit there must be a belief in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ since one of the Spirit's functions is to draw men to the realization that Jesus is Lord over all.
"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Ephesians 4:4
This passage affirms both the unity of the Christian faith as well as the plurality of Persons within the one true God. Just as there are many members which make up the unity of the Church body and who adhere to the one faith, there are also three distinct Persons that makeup the unity of the Godhead.
Furthermore, although Spirit is used as a proper name for the third Peron of the Godhead, both the Father and the Son are also spiritual in regard to their nature, with the only difference being that the Son continues to retain a glorified material body while now in heaven:
"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24
"So it is written: 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam (Jesus), a life-giving spirit." 1 Corinthians 15:45
Even though Lord is viewed as a title of the Son, both the Father and the Holy Spirit are Lord as well:
"At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, and revealed them to little chldren." Luke 10:21
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17
Even though the term "God" is viewed as a common proper name of the Father, both the Son and the Holy Spirit are fully God in nature:
"while wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." Titus 2:13
"To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as prescious as ours." 2 Peter 1:1
"Then Peter said, 'Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit... you have not lied to men but to God." Acts 5:3-4
Hence, the Bible couldn't be more Trinitarian in its affirmation then what we have just read.
Al-Kadhi concludes:
"St. Paul" was speaking about Christian unity, not about a plurality of gods merged into one body. As we shall soon see, he was completely ignorant of where his teachings would later lead, and how decades later, they would be the foundations which would spawn the "Trinity" doctrine.
We agree with Al-Kadhi, since both Paul and Trinitarians do not believe that there are three gods meshed into one body; this is a strawman of Kadhi's imagination. Rather, Paul laid the foundation for the absolute unity of God and that this one God exists as three distinct, yet inseparable Persons: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Rebuttal to "What Did Jesus Really Say?"
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