Response: “Let God be true, even though every person is a liar.” (Romans 3:4)
Did Jesus –the Son of the true God– tell the truth or did he lie when he said that the Father is the “only true God”? Which would be better, the Church in error or Jesus in error? (John 17:1-3)
When we compare the history of the institutional Church (Roman Catholic, Eastern [Orthodox] Catholic, and Protestant) to the teachings of the Prince of Peace we should be horrified. Jesus taught love for God, neighbor, fellow believers, and even enemies.
After gaining political influence during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine (the Great), the institutional Church had no problem persecuting and executing persons whom it deemed heretics.
The Church councils that dealt with the trinitarian issue were organized out of the Emperor’s concern for stability in his Empire. After this, governmental politics and church business intertwined. And, as the cliché goes, power corrupts. Jesus said, “by their fruit you will know them.’” (Matthew 7:16). One need just to look at the Church’s history of persecution and execution of alleged heretics, Jews, Moslems, and anyone who disagreed.
This is the “Church” that formulated Trinitarian Creeds!
When having the political power to do so, even some leaders of the Protestant Reformation persecuted and executed dissenters.
Did Jesus command his followers to persecute or execute anyone? (Matthew 7:20)
Before Constantine few Christians joined the military and the established Church frowned upon it. But after Constantine the institutional Church had no problem encouraging the lambs of Christ’s flock to sacrifice themselves upon the altar of political expediency and egotistical imperialism. “For God and country!” …ignoring the fact that the Christian’s country is the Kingdom of God, not the Roman Empire, its contemporaries, nor their successors.
Think of the number of lives that would have been saved and the amount of suffering that would have been avoided if the Church had been doing its job of teaching love, tolerance, and compassion over the last 1700 years.
If those who professed Christianity in the twentieth century had refused to engage in warfare, two world wars may have been averted. Professed Christians on each side of the battlefield killed one another! Because politicians told them to!
Regardless of whether the Trinity doctrine is true or not, the institutional Church has been and continues to be in serious error.
This is, perhaps, why God allowed the errant (Trinitarian) position to win the doctrinal war 1700 years ago; He did not want the true doctrine of biblical monotheism polluted by political power.
“Think of the number of lives that would have been saved and the amount of suffering that would have been avoided if the Church had been doing its job of teaching love, tolerance, and compassion over the last 1700 years.”
The word “tolerance” means to put up with something you inherently know is not right.
perhaps a better word would be “grace” which affords anyone the right to be wrong without having to “accept” the error in any way.
Of course, this is just my opinion. 🙂 God Bless