Rejecting the Trinity and Embracing Doubleism

Short Introduction

In my previous blog post, I gave a little background information on my personal faith-journey regarding the Trinity Doctrine and the belief that Jesus is Yahweh, and how I came to reject that doctrine after 12 years of strongly defending it.

In this post, I will be giving a summary of my new, much more truthful and accurate Bible-based views on Jesus Christ and God the Father, which I have named "Doubleism" or "Double Theology," in reference to my belief in two Gods, the Invisible & Unbegotten Father and the Visible Begotten Son.

Before I delve into my beliefs on this, let me say that I still think the Trinity Doctrine and the belief that Jesus is Yahweh, are beautiful and logical man-made attempts to harmonize and make sense of seemingly contradictory Bible passages while giving honor and glory to God and His Son. I have nothing but love and respect for my Trinitarian brothers and sisters, and they are just as saved as I am. These doctrines are not a salvation issue. All Christians should read Romans chapter 14 before condemning or judging any Christian who doesn't agree with your interpretation of the Bible.

The Doctrine of "Doubleism" versus Trinitarianism

The Trinitarian Argument:

1. The Bible says there is only one true divine God by nature, and Yahweh is the one and only true God.
2. The Bible declares that both the Father and the Son are "God."
3. Therefore, either Jesus is Yahweh the one true God (along with the Father) or Jesus is a false god.

Trinitarians use Isaiah chapters 40-46 to support their doctrine, as well as John 10:30, 8:58, 1:1, 20:28, Hebrews 1:6-10, and many other passages.

Below I will be briefly examining many of these arguments, and showing how weak and shaky they truly are. (I myself used to be convinced of how "strong" these arguments are, but now I see that I was wrong)

Trinitarian Argument #1:
"At John 10:30, Jesus declared 'I and the Father are one,' then the Pharisees tried to stone Him to death for claiming to be God. This proves that Jesus and His Father are 'one' God."

My Refutation to Argument #1:
At John 17:22-23, Jesus explains what He means when He says that He and His Father are "one." He says it means they are in "complete unity" or "agreement." It has nothing to do with their divine nature, essence, or being. That was not being discussed anywhere in the context. In John 10:30-32, the Pharisees were mistaken about what Jesus was claiming, and were jumping at any reason to try to murder Him.

Another thing to keep in mind, at John 1:18, Jesus is shown to be one God, and the Father is shown to be another God. Jesus Himself said that One (The Father) plus One (The Son) equals TWO (John 8:17-18).

Trinitarian Argument #2:
"The Jewish Shema, the greatest command according to Jesus, declares that there is only one God, Yahweh, and having any more gods in addition would be blasphemy. Therefore Jesus must be the same God as Yahweh, or else Jesus is a false god."

My Refutation to Argument #2:
At John 10:34-35, Jesus Himself declares that Jewish judges who represented Yahweh were indeed called "gods" by Yahweh Himself in the Bible (Psalm 82). Jesus is using this to prove that there can be multiple lower gods who serve and represent Yahweh, without committing blasphemy or violating the Shema. At John 10:36 Jesus puts Himself in this category of "gods," but in a much higher position than those judges were.

In addition, Psalm 8:5 (in the Hebrew text) says that the holy angels are "gods" and Moses was a "god" also (Exodus 7:1). Surely Trinitarians do not claim that Moses and the holy angels committed blasphemy by being referred to as gods?

(This refutation also works for Trinitarian arguments for John 20:28, John 1:18, Romans 9:5, 2 Peter 1:1, Hebrews 1:8, etc.)

Trinitarian Argument #3:
"Isaiah 44:24 says Yahweh alone, by Himself, created heaven and earth and that no one was with Him. John 1:1-3 says Jesus was with God and created all things. Therefore, either Jesus is Yahweh, or Yahweh lied in Isaiah!"

My Refutation to Argument #3:
I admit that, to me, this used to be the strongest and best argument for the Trinity and the belief that Jesus is Yahweh. But upon further study, it is not actually a strong case.

The context of Isaiah 44 shows that Yahweh is comparing Himself to the lifeless idols, the false god statues people were worshiping. Angels and heavenly beings were not being discussed anywhere in this context. The words "alone, by Myself," and "No one was with Me," do not exclude angelic sons of God from being with Yahweh when He created earth, since Job 38:7 says the angelic sons of God applauded with joy when Yahweh created earth!

In addition, if we interpret the same way, and apply the same logic, to verses about Moses, as the Trinitarians do, we end up with the doctrine that Moses is Yahweh! Let me show you:

• Deuteronomy 32:12 declares that "Yahweh alone" led Israel out of Egypt.
• Exodus 15:22 declares that it was Moses who led Israel out of Egypt.
• Exodus 7:1 calls Moses "god."
• Therefore, Moses must be the God who led Israel out of Egypt, Yahweh Himself!

See what happens when we apply the exact same Trinitarian logic to other parts of Scripture? We end up with Moses being Yahweh God Almighty, and I doubt any Trinitarian is willing to accept that claim.

Trinitarian Argument #4:
"John 1:1 says the Logos/Word was with God and the Logos/Word was God, therefore, the Logos (pre-human Jesus) must be the same God with His Father."

My Refutation to Argument #4:
If you research what the Greek experts are saying about John 1:1, you will find that many are agreeing that this verse actually says "The Logos had the nature of God," or "The Logos had divine nature." It is not saying that the Logos is the same God as the Father is. It is saying that the Logos is the same TYPE of being as God the Father is.

Trinitarian Argument #5:
"Colossians 2:9 declares that all of the fullness of the divine nature dwells in Jesus bodily, therefore, that is absolute proof that Jesus is Yahweh God Almighty, since only Yahweh has this divine nature."

My Refutation to Argument #5:
Please see my refutation to argument #4 directly above, and also, examine 2 Peter 1:4, which says that Christians will also have the "divine nature." If Christians also have divine nature, then the possession of divine nature can no longer be used as proof that someone is Yahweh, unless you are going to claim that all Christians are also Yahweh.

Colossians 2:9 does indeed say that only Jesus has "all the fullness of the divine nature bodily," but that still doesn't equate to being proof that He is Yahweh, after looking at 2 Peter 1:4, unless you want to say that all Christians are "little Yahwehs" or "partly Yahweh."

Trinitarian Argument #6:
"Isaiah 42:8 says that Yahweh will never share His glory with another, but God the Father shares His glory with Jesus, therefore, Jesus and God the Father must be Yahweh, or else Yahweh lied in Isaiah 42:8."

My Refutation to Argument #6:
On the surface, this appears to be a strong argument. However, when you look deeper, you discover otherwise. First of all, the context of Isaiah 42 is Yahweh comparing Himself to lifeless idols, statues of false gods which could not hear, see, think, or act. Yahweh is declaring that He would never share His glory with these stupid little statues. Yahweh was NOT comparing Himself here to holy angels or godly humans.

But the biggest and best refutation of this argument is found in the words of Jesus Christ Himself:

"Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son...glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was....The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one." -- John 17:1, 5, 22 (NASB)

Jesus gave His disciples the very same glory that God the Father had given Him! So if the Trinitarians' argument is correct that possessing this glory makes a person Yahweh, then that means all of Christ's disciples are Yahweh also.

Trinitarian Argument #7:

"At Isaiah 43:11 Yahweh declares that He alone is the only Savior, and besides Him there exist no saviors. The Bible repeatedly says that Jesus is our Savior, therefore, this means Jesus is Yahweh, or else Yahweh lied in Isaiah 43:11."

My Refutation to Argument #7:

This argument is very easily refuted by pointing out that (a) the immediate context and surrounding chapters of Isaiah have God comparing Himself to lifeless little statues that people are forming and calling "savior" and "god" (Isaiah 43:10), and (b) the Bible refers to people sent by Yahweh as "saviors" of His people. (Judges 3:9, 3:15; Nehemiah 9:27)

Conclusion: If being called a "savior" in the Bible means you are Yahweh, then the Judges of Israel and people sent by God were also Yahweh.

Trinitarian Argument #8:
"At John 8:24, Jesus refers to Himself by the Divine Name 'I AM,' and then says that anyone refusing to accept Him as the I AM will die without having their sins forgiven. Therefore, Jesus is the Great I AM, Yahweh."

My Refutation of Argument #8:
In the Greek, John 9:9 is worded the same way as John 8:24, yet John 9:9 was spoken by a regular human being. So, if saying "I AM" (ego eimi in Greek) means that a person is Yahweh, then the person in John 9:9 is also Yahweh.

Given the immediate context of John 8:22-23, Jesus is simply saying "Unless you believe that I am the One who came down from above from God the Father, then you will die without your sins being forgiven." Even the Trinitarian NIV and NLT translations have interpreted and translated this verse as "Unless you believe that I am the One that I claim to be..."

Even if Jesus did refer to Himself by the Divine Name, remember that John 17:11-12 says God the Father gave His Name to Jesus, and Hebrews 1:4 says that Jesus permanently inherited that Divine Name after His death and resurrection (Compare Philippians 2:9-11).

Trinitarian Argument #9:
"Jesus claimed to be equal to God at John 5:19-23 and John 10:30."

My Refutation to Argument #9:
Jesus did say that He now deserves equal worship and honor with God, however, Jesus (while on earth) denied being in an equal position to God the Father. (Mark 10:18; John 14:28; Philippians 2:6-8) Jesus cannot be equal and non-equal to God at the same time. That is a logical absurdity.

Explaining Doubleism: my views on God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son

Now we come to the part you've been waiting for, where I explain my own nuanced views on the topic. Well, here we go:

1. The Logos / Son (Pre-Human Jesus) existed in the beginning with Yahweh the Father, and created all things together with Yahweh (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-18; Hebrews 1:3; John 17:5)
2. The Pre-Human Jesus was the Only-Begotten Son of God, which made Him the Only-Begotten God. Either Jesus was "brought forth" into existence at a certain time in the past, OR He has been eternally begotten, always being produced or brought forth from inside of Yahweh's nature. (John 1:18; Hebrews 1:3; Proverbs 8:22-24; John 8:58)
3. Colossians 1:15 does appear to place Jesus within the category of "creation," saying that He is the "greatest of all creation" or the "Firstborn of all creation." If that is the case, it does indeed appear that Jesus was created at some point by Yahweh, OR this verse could be referring to the human body of Jesus being a creation of Yahweh. (Hebrews 10:5) In addition, Revelation 3:14 may be saying that Jesus was the first thing created by Yahweh.
4. Jesus was a 2nd God. Yahweh is the unseen, unbegotten God, whereas Jesus is the visible, begotten God. (John 1:18; Colossians 1:15; Philippians 2:6-8)
5. Jesus was "a god" in the same sense that angels are "gods" (Psalm 8:5), Moses was "god" (Exodus 7:1), and the Hebrew judges were "gods" (Psalm 82:1-6). This type of "god" is a "mighty one" who represents Yahweh and carries out His decrees. (John 10:34-35)
6. Jesus was exactly like Yahweh and perfectly represented Him (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15; Philippians 2:6)
7. I believe Jesus was the "Angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament, whom Yahweh granted the authority to use His Name and to speak as if He were Yahweh. (Exodus 23:21; 1 Corinthians 10:3-4; Jude 1:5; Galatians 4:14; Hebrews 1:4)
8. Right from the beginning, Yahweh appointed Jesus to be the "Heir" who would inherit all things, and all things were created for Jesus. (Hebrews 1:2-3; Colossians 1:15-18)
9. Jesus was appointed by God to be "Lord" and "High Priest" at a heavenly ceremony in Psalm 110. Prior to that, Jesus did not hold the position of "Lord." (Acts 2:34-36)
10. Jesus did NOT have an equal position with God until after He came to earth, suffered, died, and was raised up. (Philippians 2:6-11; John 14:28; Hebrews 1:4)
11. When Jesus came to earth, Yahweh gave His Son the Divine Name of "Yahweh" (John 17:11-12) and it became His permanent inheritance after His resurrection. (Hebrews 1:4; Philippians 2:9-11; Ephesians 1:20-22)
12. Ever since Jesus came to earth as "The Son of Man" (or "New Adam"), He deserves equal worship, honor, and praise together with God the Father (John 5:21-27; Revelation Chapter 5; Philippians 2:9-11)
13. While on earth, and ever since then, God granted Jesus the authority to listen to, and answer, prayer (John 14:13-14; Acts 7:59-60), the authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:10), the authority to judge people (John 5:21-23) and to grant eternal life to whomever He pleases (John 5:26-27).
14. Yahweh gave Jesus Almighty power and authority after His resurrection. (Matthew 28:18; Revelation 22:12-16)
15. One day, Jesus will hand the Kingdom back over to Yahweh, His Father, so that Yahweh will receive all the praise as the ultimate God. (1 Corinthians 15:24-28)
16. You can never give "too much" worship to Jesus, however, there is the danger of EXCLUDING God the Father in our worship and focusing only on Jesus. (Philippians 2:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; John 4:23-24)
17. There is no where in the Bible that says believing Jesus is Yahweh/God, or accepting the Trinity Doctrine is required for salvation.

My views on the Holy Spirit will be a separate blog post. For now, I will simply say that at certain times, "Holy Spirit" refers to the Father, certain times to the Son, certain times to their power or energy, and then certain times to a mysterious third person.

I welcome any and all comments, suggestions, criticism, debate, and refutation to my beliefs and statements. My e-mail address is DanielPHarder@gmail.com and my Twitter account is @AnnotatedBible

Thank you and God bless you!