An Agnostic Questions the Trinity

by Matt Slick

This is a very brief dialogue, but it contains a bit of information that I think is helpful in dealing with people who are curious about the Trinity and who think it is illogical.

Vick: Hello. I'm the Agnostic who e-mailed you yesterday. Want to have a little discussion?
Matt: Sure.
Vick: So why exactly are you a Christian, if you mind me asking? What led you to Christianity?
Matt: Well, it's because I "got saved." It was an extremely emotional and spiritual event.
Vick: What were your beliefs before then?
Matt: Before I was a Christian I was an agnostic, an evolutionist, and I did not really take God, or the issue of God, very seriously.
Vick: I think I've given it a good deal of thought. I just came to the conclusion that Christianity, Islam, and just about every other world religion was illogical
Matt: Why is that?
Vick: Things like the Trinity, God having an arch enemy....that kind of stuff.
Matt: Well, let's take a look at the Trinity quickly. The Trinity is the doctrine that there is one God who exists in three persons: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are not three gods. Now, what about that is illogical?
Vick: Well, for starters, why? Why exist in 3 persons?
Matt: Asking why is not an issue of logic, but of curiosity. The Trinity is not illogical. Asking "Why" really isn't the issue. Do you see my point?
Vick: Yea, I see. But I can't see why that would be essential for him to survive, or anything for that matter
Vick: Not to mention the idea of a trinity was not popular until well after the 1st century.
Matt: We do not know if it is or it is not essential, that God be a Trinity -- though I assume it is because that is what He is. We Christians simply state that the Trinity is the doctrine revealed in scripture. It is what God has revealed about himself. Take for example the concept of time. Time exists in three parts: past, present, and future. Each is not the other. But each shares the same nature: time. So too with space which is height, width, and depth. Matter is solid, liquid, and gas. You live in the trinity of trinities. Why would the concept of the Trinity be so difficult to accept? The Bible says in Romans 1 that God's nature is revealed in creation. It is all around us. Also, it does not matter if the Trinity was popular or not before or after the first century. The issue is whether or not the Bible teaches it. The Church merely took a while to recognize what the Bible said about God's nature. What they concluded was what we call the Trinity.
Vick: While we're on the subject of the bible, what do you have to say about errancy of the bible?
Matt: I believe the Bible is inerrant in the original manuscripts. What we have are copies of inerrant documents. There are minor areas of textual variation worth consideration. But, the overlapping concepts and the overlapping manuscript evidence is overwhelming. We can easily accept the Bible as a reliable and historically accurate document.
Vick: be right back