Expect Persecution

CHAPTER 4

I grew up in the Roman Catholic faith and early in life I joined the convent to be a nun. I no longer belong to the Catholic Church. I left the Catholic faith in my mid-20s. As one who grew up in the Catholic faith, I adhered to its teachings and especially the trinity dogma.

With the use of social media such as Facebook, I ignored those who came against the doctrine of the trinity. To me, they were heretics and to be avoided. However, within the past few years, I began to defend the doctrine. I used the same standard scriptures (that trinitarians normally do) to try to prove the trinity teaching. I would just spout off the verses I had learned and leave it at that.
When I started using the social media Facebook, over time, I made some friends and visited some in person. All was well, so I thought. It was not until one friend on Facebook started posing against the trinity that it began to spark my enthusiasm to defend the teaching. In the meantime, I had watched a Youtube video where someone was defending the trinity. In the remark section, I saw where people were disagreeing and saying it was wrong. Of course, as a good trinitarian, I responded in my usual fashion. Little did I know, the person whom I was conversing with was the friend who was posing against the trinity on Facebook! (He was under a different name for the video).

There was a post one day on Facebook where he asked for anyone to define the word “Godhead” without going to a dictionary. I kept to myself and read his posts and the responses he was getting with amusement.

As time passed, I noticed how people were treating him badly. They were calling him unkind names and very arrogant towards him. They let him know he was a heretic and on his way to hell. However, I understood the reason for their anger, attitude, and remarks, because he would ask those people common sense questions, which were mostly ignored, in response to the scriptures they were quoting. I sat back silently, which was probably a good thing for me because it gave me time to reflect on what he was saying rather than being caught up in the middle of all the opinions and name calling that were flying at him. His common sense questions actually made me decide to examine what I believed. Therefore, I began to question this doctrine and search the scriptures. I knew I had to put my bias aside and approach the scriptures with intellectual honesty.

By the way, the term “Godhead” is taken from Col. 2:9 (as well as from Acts 17:29 and Rom. 1:20):

For in him [Jesus] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

“Godhead” means divinity, deity, divine nature or essence. It is not only applied to the one true God of the Bible, but also to heathen deities. However, never in the Bible is the word used as a synonym for the trinity. This has nothing to do with the trinitarian definition of Godhead that tries to make Jesus God Almighty, one in three, three in one. If one wants to make the argument that it does, then we are all God because Paul prays that all believers, “may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19). Peter goes on to say that we “may participate in the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4), which is automatically assumed as the very essence of God rather than His moral character (as the context reveals). This is not to mention that if the verse is telling us Jesus is God, then pray tell, how can the fullness of God dwell in him if God already has His own fullness? Moreover, if we participate in the “divine nature” (the very essence of God) then this would mean that we may become God.

That particular passage in Col. 2:9 has to do with the risen Christ in his glorified state and God now dwells in him bodily. One day we will have all the fullness of God that Paul prays for the believers. This does not mean that we become God.

If I had to pick only one scripture passage that got me to change my mind, it would be John 17:3. I have read this verse so many times that the truth did not hit me because I was so steeped in the trinity doctrine that I could not see it. On the night before the crucifixion, when Jesus is praying to the Father, he says:

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Jesus called his Father the ONLY TRUE GOD. This plainly told me right there that Jesus is not God!

One would think that this would make me upset to find out that I had to concede or to admit that Jesus is not God. Just the opposite happened. When I read Peter’s response to Jesus’ question in Matt.16:16, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” it actually brought me to tears. Not tears of sadness, but of joy! The light got brighter and brighter as I read passages like:

Stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to MY FATHER and YOUR FATHER, and MY GOD and YOUR GOD.’ (John 20:17)

He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. (Rev. 3:12)

So many times over the years I have read these verses but was blind to them as long as I refused to listen.

I wrote to my friend and told him I had renounced the trinity doctrine. He was thrilled that I took the time to study and how I had reached the point of understanding the truth. He even confessed that he had given up on me. If there is anything to learn, do not give up, you never know whom you might reach. You may not see the fruit of your labors, but even if we can reach one person in our lifetime, it is worth it! James tells us 5:19-20:

My friends, if any followers have wandered away from the truth, you should try to lead them back. If you turn sinners from the wrong way, you will save them from death, and many of their sins will be forgiven.

Truth Cannot Be Dismissed By Fear

Now, the sad part was that I knew I would lose some of my trinitarian friends over this. Nevertheless, I could not let the fear of losing friends keep me in silence. I tried to share with them what I had learned so far. I was blocked by some of my friends on Facebook and some unfriended me. I was told I have been deceived, that I was not really a Christian and on my way to hell. I started getting the same treatment my friend had received. My close friends were no longer my friends.

Why is there such a reaction when renouncing the trinity? Because we are taught the doctrine of the trinity is important, for there is no gift of salvation without it. It is commonly taught that our salvation is “bound up with the doctrine of the trinity.” All this does is build up unnecessary fear in people of something that is based on a myth. Imagine fearing something that is not actual, that affects our thinking, our decision-making, and our actions! This is what the trinity doctrine does, and some of its advocates try to bully others into believing it. They try to instill unnecessary fear that prevents a person from growing and learning the truth.

Now, on the other hand, some may sincerely think they are trying to save their friends from eternal damnation by trying to get them to turn from their heretical ways, which is loving in their minds. I can appreciate that. What they do not realize is that, for all those who are former trinitarians, we have come to recognize the deception of this teaching and can never return to embrace it again. We, as former trinitarians, were deceived and tried to convince others to believe what we thought was the truth just as trinitarian believers do now. This doctrine is not truth nor is it so crucial that our salvation depends upon believing it.

The Protestant world follows the Roman Catholic Church where it concerns the trinity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of Christian life…It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the hierarchy of the truth s of faith. ⁽⁴⁾

These same people, whether pastors, Sunday school teachers, or friends, will admit the doctrine of the trinity is incomprehensible! To say that our salvation is in danger by rejecting this doctrine, or rejecting that it is the most fundamental and essential teaching of our faith, and at the same time say that is incomprehensible, is ludicrous.

The majority of people rely on unbiblical creeds or the Catechism of the Catholic Church for their truth instead of scripture. However, the fear tactics do not work anymore when a person decides to read, study, and stand on biblical truth. As Greg Deuble says in his book, They Never Taught Me This In Church, “Truth has nothing to fear from an honest search under God’s light.”

I happen to come upon a video the other day by Tovia Singer. I understand he is a Rabbi. I was watching the video and he was telling how the teaching that Jesus is God was a very late invention and is not in the New Testament, nor in the Old for that matter. He pointed out in the following scenario what will most likely happen in just about any church one might attend:

For instance, if you tell your pastor that you do not know if you believe in God, you will not be thrown out of the church. The pastor will spend a great deal of time with you, with a smile, and explain why you should believe in God. BUT, if you tell the pastor that you believe in God but you do not believe in Jesus, or worse, you believe in Jesus but do not believe the trinity, you will be thrown out.

I agree with him. If you visit a church, you are greeted with many smiling faces and given a warm welcome, but once they discover you are not ignorant of scriptures and you begin to challenge their teachings, they are not so friendly anymore. The smiles are replaced with contempt and you are now regarded as unworthy or inferior.

When I began to question doctrines I had learned most of my life, my friends became my enemies. Some got very angry with me. Some even accused me of trying to undermine the pastor’s teaching and authority.

There was one Baptist church where I began to question my pastor about certain teachings of his that seem to conflict with scripture. His answers did not make sense to me. I guess he had come to the point where he had enough and sent me a letter telling me that he hopes I find a good church. I was not even thinking of leaving! That was his way of saying, “Get out!”

I settled in another Baptist here in Florida and even became a Sunday school teacher for the younger children. Again, at Sunday and Wednesday services, I was hearing the same teachings all over again and started questioning them. I had conversations with the pastor, but it was only through emails did he seem to have the time to communicate. I asked him questions about things he taught that clearly contradicted the scriptures I was reading. At the time he was teaching on Original Sin and said sin was in our DNA. As time went on, he began to get frustrated with me and totally ignored my common sense questions, and his emails took more of an angry tone. Then he came to the point of ending our communication with the implication that I should just trust him because he has the education and I am just a homemaker.

I know a story of a man I am acquainted with and will call him Jim. He used to meet with his nondenominational pastor whom he liked very much. The pastor was frustrated with Jim’s logic, and the pastor’s final answer was, “Six thousand years of church history can’t be wrong!” Umm, actually it can! However, the bible is not wrong.

I have a friend, Priscilla, who started to attend a series of classes at her church. She was recording her classes rather than taking notes to compare what she believed and what was taught in the class. She was no stranger to the trinitarian teaching. In fact, she wrote a book titled, The Tyranny of the Trinity: The Orthodox Coverup. She tried to address the teacher when she noticed the contradictions between what he was teaching and what scriptures actually say, and to share her thoughts. She was ridiculed in front of the whole class and was not allowed to finish her sentences. You can listen to the video I made of what transpired in that class.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07M9SQK6qPM

My friend was also no stranger to the “pastor’s office” because there were people who felt she was combative when trying to question this doctrine and asking sensible questions that were met with resistance. In fact, at one session in the pastor’s office, the pastor was of the impression that because she took displeasure with the teachings of the trinitarian doctrine, and challenged it in her classes, that it had to be an indication of a deep emotional wound. At one point, he stated: “I think there is something in you, that you feel victimized. There is some anger in there that feels the need to push something and I am not sure if it is the results of theology or if it is the results of a deep wound in you from something else. And I see that in you, and I am not sure what it is.”

So if one disagrees with the trinity teaching and has biblical knowledge enough to dispute what is false, it must mean a person has a deep-seated issue of feeling victimized?

Imagine, if you would, the scene in Matthew 23 where Jesus shows his annoyance to the Scribes and Pharisees and says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Woe to you, blind guides!...You blind fools!...You blind men!... You serpents, you brood of vipers!” Now imagine if Jesus were living here on earth in our time. Would Jesus be called to the pastor’s office? Can we envision Jesus being counseled by the pastor that he possibly could have some anger issues, that he is combative, that maybe there is possibly something in him that makes him feel victimized? Maybe the pastor would tell Jesus that he is setting himself up to be victimized. Alternatively, perhaps Jesus feels the need to push something -- we cannot be sure though-- but his problems may be the result of some deep wound or something? Do you think if we could get Jesus to open up that we could find something that would go deeper than theology?

Dear reader, take note that if you turn away from the ungodly and unbiblical teaching of the trinity, expect from the majority that you would be considered mentally unstable, and worse yet, a heretic! All of a sudden people become psychologists and use their trickology to try to convince you that you are suffering from some deep-seated wound that manifests itself with the need to feel and play the victim and therefore must dig deeper into your psyche for answers. In other words, they want you to believe that YOU have mental and emotional problems. This is a clever tactical attempt on their part to get you to doubt what you believe and bully you into silence, leaving you to lick your so-called deep-seated wound that is causing your so-called instability and behavioral problems.

The road of scorn and ridicule should be expected for those who do not embrace the trinity doctrine because one cannot get away with lighting the fire to burn us heretics, as we are called, as they did in ages past. Therefore, they must resort to verbal assaults, humiliation, sly tactics to try to disqualify a person by using strategies such as slander, slurs, accusing one of mental instability, and whatever other lies they can make up. As my friend, Priscilla Jervey has stated so well:

I find it deplorable that so many Christians have absolutely no idea of the origin of the Trinity or the purpose for its inception, and sadly, out of their ignorance on this issue, they have taken liberties in judging both unjustly and harshly their non-Trinitarian brethren. I and those of like-mind who have been vilified, demonized, scorned, ostracize, refused communion and referred to as heretics, cultists, unsaved, anti-Christ, and non-Christian. Trinitarians have blindly placed their faith in a “mystery” dogma sanctioned by creeds and edicts that were implemented over the centuries through established councils beginning in 325 A.D. The doctrine of the Trinity has been an ongoing unresolved issue for 1700 years, and has been adroitly swept under the carpet with as much circumvention as possible while the clergy have chosen to turn a deaf ear and blind eye to, what is an obvious absurdity, and not in keeping with God’s word. Unfortunately, most Trinitarian Christians are unaware of this fact.⁽⁵⁾

One is not taught how to think but what to think. Control is the name of the game. If they cannot control what you think and believe, then they do not want you to come back. So do not be surprised if the door hits you in the back on your way out.

I know for sure if Jesus were to visit any of the churches today that teach the trinity, he would be given the boot for rejecting the teaching, because he was strictly a Jewish biblical monotheist. When a person adheres to strict biblical monotheism (the belief that there is only one God - Deut. 6:4; Mark 12:29), he will be asked to leave the church or they will find ways to make you leave. You will be accused of believing in "doctrines of demons,” and often times accused of being a Jehovah’s Witness, or a member of a religious cult.

The doctrine of the trinity is not true and it is not a mystery. It is a mass of confusion, a myth. The trinity teaching is nothing more than polytheism. Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one god. We could say that polytheism (trinity teaching) is THE test as to who is a Christian in the trinitarian world, which certainly goes against sound biblical teaching.

If we really want to know what matters about salvation, listen to what Jesus said:

And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus the Messiah. (John 17:3)

What is eternal life? Eternal life is to know the “only true God.” “Only” means single, solitary, unique, one of a kind. It excludes all others, including Jesus the Messiah. “True” means real, fact or reality. The Father is “the one who alone is truly God.” And we must believe Jesus, the Messiah, whom God sent.

God is not hard to get to know and understand. The LORD God tells us:

Rather, let the one who boasts, boast in this: that he UNDERSTANDS and KNOWS ME, for I am the LORD who acts with gracious love, justice, and righteousness in the land. I delight in these things," declares the LORD. (Jer. 9:24)

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⁽⁴⁾ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1,2,234
⁽⁵⁾ P.R. Lackey, The Tyranny of The Trinity: The Orthodox Cover-Up, p. 2