“Revelation no where declares that there are three persons of the same substance in the one only God; and it is universally acknowledged to be above reason” (Barton W. Stone, Address to the Christian Churches, 2nd Edition [1821])

From the early years of the church, the question of Jesus’ identity has been a difficult one for Christians. Heresies arose which contended that Jesus was not truly human or that “Christ” came upon Jesus at his baptism and left him before the cross. Others, seeing that some saw Jesus as being one with the Father, called their opponents “Father-killers,” saying that they would portray the Father as being nailed to the cross.

In modern times, men have more problems with the divinity of Jesus. Within the church, many have rejected the doctrine of the Trinity, refusing to see Jesus as God incarnate. The arguments presented tend to be:

• The Bible teaches that there is only one God; if Jesus is God, then there is more than one God.
• Jesus, while on earth, spoke of the Father as being superior. He presented himself as one who did what the Father told him to do.
• Jesus was tempted, while James tells us that God cannot be tempted.
• Jesus prayed to the Father while on earth. He spoke of the Father knowing things that he did not. He continually spoke of God in the third person.
• The Bible speaks of Jesus as being created or begotten, not as an eternal being.

I’ll try to present the other side in my next post. For now, I’d like to know if there are other arguments that I’ve missed. These are the main ones that I have heard. (If you didn’t read the previous post, please do so before commenting!)