In Mark 12:29, Jesus was an observant Jewish Man, not a Trinitarian - Anthony Buzzard

Frequently Asked Questions

1.How were the Triadic or 'Trinity-like' Pagan Gods presented?

Ancient triadic deities in the Roman Empire were depicted in art and monuments as a single, unified figure featuring three distinct faces or heads to illustrate their triune nature.

2.Does the Christian Trinity come from pagan Triadic dieties?

Yes, the core teachings of modern Trinitarian Christian churches do not come from Jesus, but were pagan three-in-one concepts that existed long before his arrival and were later adopted by Christians to make their doctrine highly appealing to idol-worshipping masses.

3.Why is the Trinity so difficult to understand?

The Trinity is a complex theological doctrine because it describes God as existing as three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are co-equal and co-eternal, yet remain one single, unified divine Being. It requires balancing the concepts of strict monotheism with the distinct actions and relationships of the three divine Persons as revealed across the New Testament text.

4.How did the Christian Trinity come about?

The New Testament gospels show Jesus selecting twelve apostles to lead his immediate followers, but he did not lay down a detailed blueprint for a complex institutional priesthood or administrative hierarchy. The elaborate structures, clerical offices, and distinct liturgical traditions seen in modern churches developed gradually over centuries as the movement adapted to Roman institutional frameworks.

The concept of a dual human and divine nature in the person of Jesus is known as the Hypostatic Union, an essential component of modern Trinitarianism.

Yet it was not until the Council of Chalcedon that we see the emergence of an official doctrine of the Trinity in a form that is recognisable with what Christian Trinitarians believe in today. This took place in the fifth century, over 400 years after Jesus!

The evangelical theologian and Professor Wayne A. Grudem sums this up as follows: 'A precise understanding of how full deity and full humanity' argues Grudem, 'could be combined together in one person was formulated only gradually in the church and did not reach the final form until the Chalcedonian Definition in 451 AD.

5.Does the Bible support the Trinity (3-in-1) God concept?

Mainstream biblical scholars and historians state that the doctrine of the Trinity is never explicitly laid out as a formal dogma anywhere in the text of the Old or New Testaments. While the New Testament contains early triadic formulas (such as the baptismal command in Matthew 28:19 and apostolic blessings in 2 Corinthians 13:14), the actual systemic theology of a three-in-one God was developed later by early church fathers over centuries. Christian theologians argue that the doctrine is implicitly woven throughout the scriptures, while critics and Islamic scholars point to the lack of clear, direct scriptural definitions to argue it was a later modification of strict biblical monotheism.

6.Does the Old Testament teach the Christian Trinity?

Mainstream biblical scholars and historians agree that the Old Testament does not explicitly teach the doctrine of the Trinity, nor did ancient Jewish communities possess a concept of a triune Godhead. There is no historical evidence in pre-Christian Jewish literature including the Hebrew text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, or ancient commentaries of a belief in a plurality of divine Persons. While Christian theologians retrospectively interpret certain plural expressions (such as 'Let us make man' in Genesis 1:26) as hints of the Trinity, ancient Judaism strictly maintained a unitarian monotheistic understanding of God.

7.What is the Christian Trinity?

Orthodox Christian theologians define the doctrine of the Trinity as the belief that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, existing eternally as three distinct Persons within one single, undivided divine Being. These three Persons are considered entirely co-equal in power and co-eternal in time, with the Son being understood as 'eternally begotten' of the Father and existing simultaneously as 100% God and 100% man. The platform notes that many modern Christians mistakenly believe they are practicing Trinitarianism simply by acknowledging the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, without understanding the complex historical and philosophical mechanics required by the formal church dogma.

8.What do Christian 'Trinity' scholars say about the Old Testament?

Many theologians, including this analysis of Trinity dogma, note that the Old Testament does not explicitly contain the Trinity, which they believe was only fully revealed later.

The distinguished Trinitarian scholar Bertrand de Margerie in his book The Christian Trinity in History writes:

'Contemporary exegetes [Bible teachers] affirm unanimously that the Old Testament did not bring to the Jewish people a clear and distinct Revelation of the existence of a plurality of persons in God. In this they agree with the clear and frequent affirmation of Fathers such as Irenaeus, Hilary, and Gregory of Nazianzus: that the doctrine of the Trinity is revealed only in the New Testament.'

So any person who lived before Jesus' ministry did not have to believe in the Trinity to be saved because the Trinity is not mentioned in the Old Testament.

9.What do Christian scholars say about the Trinity?

Mainstream scholars acknowledge that the Trinity is not explicitly defined in the New Testament but was formulated later by combining various verses and theological concepts.

Scholars freely admit that the Trinity is never presented as a complete doctrine in the New Testament, but rather is built from scattered Bible verses.

In the New Testament there is no explicit statement of the doctrine
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (p. 1112)

It is not a Biblical doctrine in the sense that any formulation of it can be found in the Bible
New Bible Dictionary (p.1221)

The New Testament does not present a systematic presentation of the Trinity. The scattered segments from various writers that appear throughout the New Testament reflect a seemingly accepted understanding that exists without a full-length discussion.
Holman Bible Dictionary (p.1372)

Theologians admit the New Testament does not define the Trinity. Furthermore, there is no clear teaching that salvation depends on the belief in the Trinity.

10.How did the Early Jewish-Christians practise their religion?

The earliest Jewish-Christians strictly followed traditional Hebrew practices, including daily prayers, circumcision, rituals for purity, fasting, dietary laws, and temple, according to the source material.

11.Did Jesus claim to be 'King of the Jews'?

A political placard accusing Jesus of making this claim was nailed to his cross, and this historical artifact can be found today at the Church of Santa Croce in Rome.

12.How was Jesus Jewish?

Jesus fully observed the laws of the Torah, maintained kosher dietary regulations, and never asked his followers to abandon Judaism, as they continued to meet at the Temple and practice circumcision rather than establishing a separate religion or attending a church.

13.What did early Jewish-Christians think of Apostle Paul?

Between 55 and 66 CE, early Jewish-Christian leaders in Jerusalem rejected Paul's teachings and challenged his authority, leading to a significant decline in his popularity.

14.Were the early Christians Jews?

Yes, Jesus and early followers were entirely Jewish, strictly observing traditional laws and customs.

15.Did Saul kill the early Jewish-Christians?

Before his conversion, Saul actively sought to imprison and execute early Jewish-Christians. Saul believed that he was serving God by finding Christians, throwing them into prison, and even executing them.

16.How did the Jews view Apostle Paul?

Faithful Jews viewed Paul's salvation theory as blatant blasphemy because his theological teachings explicitly ridiculed all previous revelations from God, including the sacred Torah, while teaching a doctrine that went against the absolute oneness of God.

17.According to Apostle Paul, why did God give Jews the Torah?

Paul viewed the Torah as a temporary guide, claiming it was given to the Jews until they could be saved through faith in Jesus Christ.

18.How did Apostle Paul differ with the Jewish Rabbis?

The Jewish Rabbis preached a person was saved so long as their intention was to remain within the covenant, and one truly repented and seek forgiveness for their sins.

Paul preached that every person was 'damned' until they was offered salvation. Mans problem was that he was 'in the flesh' in bondage to the Law, sold under Sin, enslaved by the fundamental spirits of the universe (ie. dead).

Paul preached the only cure was liberation from slavery and death by union with Christ, who had conquered death and sin.

19.How did the early Jewish-Christians view Jesus' resurrection?

The earliest Jewish-Christians did not believe that the resurrection meant Jesus was God, but rather that he was a righteous man approved by God through miracles, wonders, and signs. Based on texts like Acts 2:22-24, they maintained the theological view that Jesus had been raised by God, not that he was the Creator himself.

20.Who seperated Christianity from Judaism?

It was Apostle Paul's dramatic conversion and subsequent teachings that directly resulted in the permanent theological separation of Christianity from Judaism. Within mere months of Jesus' departure, the original human-centric and law-abiding message was fundamentally altered into an independent religious system.

21.Why Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah?

The Bible claims the Messiah will accomplish certain signs:

1. Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).

2. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).

3. Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: 'Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore.' (Isaiah 2:4)

4. Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: 'God will be King over all the world—on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One' (Zechariah 14:9).

The historical fact is that Jesus fulfilled none of these messianic prophecies.

Christians counter that Jesus will fulfill these in the Second Coming, but Jewish sources show that the Messiah will fulfill the prophecies outright, and no concept of a second coming exists.

22.What does the Quran say about Jews and Christians?

The Quran recognizes Jews and Christians as 'People of the Book' (Ahl al-Kitab), acknowledging that they were given previous divine revelations through prophets like Moses and Jesus. While it praises the righteous among them, it also critiques their theological developments, specifically rejecting the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and the divine sonship of Jesus.

23.How was Apostle Paul viewed by the Jews?

Paul was widely viewed by mainstream Jewish communities as a radical apostate and religious heretic because he preached that observance of the Mosaic Torah was no longer required for salvation. This fierce theological conflict frequently resulted in severe public opposition, legal charges before Roman authorities, and physical riots during his travel throughout ancient Mediterranean cities.

24.Does the Quran tell Jews and Christians to refer to their Scriptures (Torah and Bible)?

Yes, the Quran references previous scriptures in passages like Surah Al-Ma'idah (5:47), which tells the followers of the Gospel to judge by what God has revealed in it. From an academic perspective, this reflects the historical context of 7th-century Medina, where Jews and Christians were recognized as 'People of the Book' who possessed divine laws. While Islamic theology holds that modern biblical texts have suffered from textual corruption (tahrif), the Quran historically appeals to the core monotheistic truths remaining in those scriptures to validate Muhammad's message.

25.In the time of Jesus, what qualities would identify the Messiah, to the Jews?

First-century Jewish expectations, as discussed in this analysis of Trinity dogma, centered on a human leader, such as a prophet or king from David's line, rather than a divine figure.

A human empowered by God. Not a God-man, a person of the Godhead or part of a Triune God (Trinity)
From the lineage of Abraham (Gen. 22:18)
From the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10)
A descendant of David (2 Sam. 7:12)
A Lord under Yahweh, the God of Israel (Ps. 110:1)
From amongst their own people (Jer. 30:21)

26.How did the 1st century Jews view the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit was understood as God's active, divine power, rather than a distinct, third person of a Trinity.

First century Jews believed the Holy Spirit was another name for God, similar to Yahweh, Elohim or El Shaddai - not a separate Person in the Trinity!

There is no record of Jesus ever trying to correct the Jews and prove the Holy Spirit was a third Person in the Trinity.

27.Jesus claimed to be God. The Jews must have understood this, as they accused him of blasphemy and were ready to stone him?

The platform asserts that Jesus did not claim divinity in this instance, and that his mention of Psalm 82:6 in John 10:34 was a defense noting that human judges are called 'gods' in scripture, thus challenging the accusation of blasphemy.

28.Why do Jews let the hair grow on the sides of there head?

In the text of the Torah (Leviticus 19:27), God explicitly forbids cutting or rounding off the corners of the hair on the sides of the head and marring the edges of the beard.

29.How did Jews view the Greek Bible (Septuagint)?

The Jewish community regarded the Septuagint only as a translation of the original Hebrew, never as an independent or authoritative scripture.

30.In the time of Jesus, how were the Jews viewed by the Greeks?

The text suggests that the Greeks perceived Judaism as an insular tradition, weakened by long-term Roman occupation, economic decline, and emigration.