Trinity

TRINITY & OTHER DOCTRINES OF GOD:
PROF. M. M. NINAN
TRINITY
&
OTHER DOCTRINES OF GOD
Prof. M.M.Ninan
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INTRODUCTION
The concept of God in mankind had been a progressive evolution from time immemorial. If we
take the history of mankind as given in the Bible, the three patriarchs, Ham,Shem and Japheth
from whom the whole mankind evolved knew about the God of their fathers directly from their
father Noah. They knew of a creator God from whom everything came and also of various lower
beings of Angelic hosts who were in all dimensions of existence. After the dispersion from the
tower of Babel these developed into a barter system by propitiation of angelic hosts and
semigods. Jewish magic and witchcraft developed from these understanding. We can see the
same approach among the Vedic Aryans from their Indian Vedas. All Vedic rituals were
propitiation of these demi-gods through rituals of food and drinks given to them through fire.
Thus we see the title Elohim a plural used for the entire creation along with the true God
wherever God has given his authority or even those who took authority from God illegally based
on the freedom that God himself gave to his created beings.
Who Are Elohim in the Bible?
"Elohim" is found 2602 times in the Hebrew Bible.
They refer to:
• the true God—Gen 1:1; Isa 2:3; Ps 50:1
• false or foreign gods and goddesses—Exod 20:3; 32:1
• angels (supernatural spirits)—Ps 8:6; 97:7; 138:1
• Samuel's afterlife "shade" or hologram—1 Sam 28:13
• Moses (as God's agent rep)—Exod 4:16; 7:1
• the shoftim (judges-governors)—Exod 21:6; 22:7, 8, 27
• the Messianic king—Ps 45:7
Abraham was probably the first person in the later history to see the importance of identifying
the only true God who is worthy of all worship, praise and adoration. All of Abraham’s children
carried this heritage to wherever they went and asserted monotheism to the core even
overturning the later development of ascribing the title of deity to anything even to the
incarnation.
However the fact that God is not an absolute monism is hidden within the first declaration of
faith even when we try to hide the meaning saying that the plurality is indicative of majesty and
echad unity can also imply monism etc. God would have certainly made that simple and
positive by using singular El (instead of Elohim) and use yachid (instead of Echad). God used
his disclosure for us to understand him properly and fully. Here is what the Scripture declares:
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