Recently I was asked if I was Unitarian or Trinitarian. It’s a good question and I’ll post my answer here in case any other readers are wondering!
First of all what do these terms mean?
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches that three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit make up one Godhead.
Unitarian doctrine teaches the single personality of God.
At first one might wonder what the difference really is. In some ways not much – but at another level these two doctrines are at odds with each other.
The Unitarian belief holds to a strict monotheistic view which says that there is only one God and therefore there can’t be more than one God. From this position Jesus can’t be God. The Holy Spirit can’t be God either.
As far as I know Unitarians believe that Jesus was not God himself. This is where the difference lies with Trinitarians.
Trinitarians hold to the idea that Jesus was God, the Holy Spirit is God and of course the Father is God.
So there is my quick explanation of those terms as I understand them.
Now – do I have to pick one or the other? As it turns out there are other options.
The Pentecostal idea of Oneness is just one other that I will mention in this article. Apparently it holds that Jesus was the One God in human form. So there is a way to believe in Jesus being God and still believe in one God. It seems that Oneness believes that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are simply manifestations of the One God.
Now a word about these and all other systems of belief:
With any belief system there are limitations. It is simply a function of systems. If you try to define an unlimited God with a limited belief system you will always have little pieces here and there that just don’t add up.
My mini course focuses on some of the limiting ideas we hold about God. You can sign up here if you haven’t already done so -> Communicating with God.
All these doctrines attempt to define God – to put God in a box really. It’s a mechanism to help physical human beings understand something we really don’t understand.
If we look at them in this way and accept them for what they are then there’s no issue.
If on the other hand we grab onto one particular doctrine, decide it’s right and all others are wrong then we have the potential to create all kinds of problems for ourselves.
In case you can’t tell, I’m not a big fan of systems – particularly the ones that offer to define and explain God.
Now back to the initial question.
I’m not in alignment with Trinity doctrine because it seems to be an attempt to define a spiritual God from a physical perspective. Apparently it’s history can be traced back to 325 AD and the Council of Nicea. Anytime a group of people get together to decide what should be believed about God – run away!!!!
Unitarian philosophy rejects the divinity of Christ which is a limit on God that I’m not comfortable with.
Oneness seems a little too fundamental and literal in their interpretation which is also very limiting.
I’m most in alignment with how I see the words of Jesus in John 17.
In that chapter Jesus was praying and asking that all who believed on him would be one with him as he was with the Father.
I believe that oneness is reality – it’s a reality of spirit. Within the realm of the physical there is much separation. That is the illusion provided by our ego and physical senses.
When we try to understand God from the physical side of illusion and separation we run into a lot of difficulties that even the best belief systems cannot perfectly resolve. This leaves a lot of room for argument – which a lot of folks enjoy – so it works pretty well for them.
Leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection…. as it states in Hebrews chapter 6.
The discussions of the foundation principles that first helped us understand Christ could go on forever. That’s not life or salvation however. To grow into oneness with God requires leaving that behind. That doesn’t mean rejecting it. Those principles are part of our foundation. If we revel in and rally around the foundation there will never be a building – and what good is a foundation with nothing on it?
So, for me I see God as One and you and I a part of that One. Jesus is part of that One.
That’s what Jesus came to show us and in that revelation is salvation.
