Is Christianity Polytheistic?
A visitor to our web site expressed discontent with the explanation of the Godhead as given in the March 2, 2003 edition of Answering The Atheist. There, it was stated that the "...gods of Egypt..." (Exodus 12:12) were manmade gods, conceived in the mind of man, but that the one true God exists in three distinct persons; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The nature of the Godhead was diagrammed as follows:
The visitor asserted:
...the analogy can be applied to the gods of polytheism as well. They belong to the divine species, but are different from one another. ...is any sect of Christianity which accept the Doctrine of the Trinity practicing, in fact, polytheism? ...Trinitarianism is actually polytheism.
First, as a matter of clarification, I do not use the word "trinity." It is not a Bible word, but is a term coined by Tertullian (160-220 AD). The Bible uses the word "Godhead" to speak about the state of being God (Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; Colossians 2:9). It is preferable that we use Bible words to speak about Bible topics.
Is it polytheistic to say that there are three persons who are God? Note that this is not the same as saying that there are three Gods. The Bible affirms that there is only one God (Malachi 2:10; Mark 12:32; James 2:19). And yet, as we look into the Scripture, we see three distinct persons who are referred to as God. Several texts identify the Father as God (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 1:2; etc.). Jesus is also identified as God in the pages of Scripture (John 1:1, 14; 20:28; Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:16). Also, the Holy Spirit is referred to as God (Acts 5:3-4). So, there are three Gods? No, there are three persons who are God. How does that work?
Some have tried to explain the Godhead with examples like an apple or an egg, each having three parts: skin, meat & core; shell, white, & yolk. Neither image adequately conveys the nature of the Godhead. The Father is not a part of God, He is God. Jesus is not 33% God, He is 100% God. The Spirit does not differ in nature from the Father and Son; the parts of an apple or egg differ from each other.
“...there are three persons who are God... is not the same as saying that there are three Gods.”
God is not an egg or an apple. Such an analogy fails to reveal how three people can be one God. As our visitor stated, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit "belong to the divine species." God is a form of being which is all powerful and eternal in nature. When we are told in the Bible that there is "one God," the thought is not that there is one person who is God, for as we noticed above, there are three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) who are God. But, there is only one form of being which is God. A better analogy is that of the human race (as in the diagrams above). There are billions of persons who share a single nature - there is only one form of being which is human. Likewise, though there are three persons who share the nature of being God, there remains a single form which is God.
Those in opposition might balk at such and say that there are three Gods (or more). The fact remains, there is one form which is God; three persons who are one God. There are billions of persons who are human, but only one form which is human.
What about the claim that the analogy can apply to polytheistic gods (ie. the gods of nations such as Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc.) as found spoken of in the Bible at times? Is polytheism true? Our visitor demanded that I not "produce such condescending arguments as all other gods ...are 'manmade' and thus false."
With no condescending tone whatsoever, I firmly declare that the gods of Egypt, Greece, Rome and any other polytheistic structures are false. Why? Because the Bible identifies them as so (Jeremiah 10:1-10; Isaiah 40:19-20; 44:9-10; 45:20; etc.). If that comes across as "condescending", I cannot help it. The Bible is our rule of faith, and it reveals that those which some refer to as gods are nothing but falsehood.
These false gods (who cannot speak, cannot hear, cannot see, cannot do, etc.) are nothing like the Lord God, who created all that is. They are NOT the same form of being - they are a product of man's own imagination. The God of heaven is not - rather, man is a product of His creative power.
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Answering The Atheist
Complaint:
James 1:13 says that you cannot tempt God, not that God does not fall into temptation, but you CAN'T tempt God. If Jesus is fully God and fully man, how is it that in Matthew 4:1 the devil tempted Him? Is there a contradiction?
Response:
Indeed, James 1:13 tells us that God cannot be tempted. It reads:
Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
Matthew 4:1 tells us that "...Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." This text does not reveal that Jesus is God, but there are several which do (Matthew 1:23; John 1:1,14; 20:28; etc.). Since Jesus is identified as God in the Bible, is it contradictory for Matthew to say that He was tempted, but for James to say that God cannot be tempted?
Consider a few experiences which Jesus had that might help to understand the distinction of His nature as man and God.
- He participated in creation (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17), an activity which is exclusive to God.
- Jesus ate, drank (John 2:2; 21:12), and got tired (John 4:6), activities which are foreign to God, but experienced by men.
- Jesus died (Matthew 27:50) as all men do; God's nature is such that He cannot die.
- Jesus forgave sin (Mark 2:5-7), a privilege which belongs only to God.
Being both God (John 20:28) and man (1 Timothy 2:5), Jesus participated in activities that were exclusive to one nature or the other. It is false to think that He must experience everything in both natures. The Bible reveals that God may set aside the use of a divine attribute, if He chooses. For example, God is omniscient (Job 31:4; 34:21; Psalm 147:5), but chose to learn of Abraham's love and faithfulness (Genesis 22:11-12).
Since God cannot be tempted (James 1:13), and yet we read that He was tempted (Matthew 4:1), it would be appropriate to conclude that Jesus set aside the divine attribute of not being able to be tempted, and thus endured temptation as a man. In fact, this is the very thing which the Bible reveals (Hebrews 2:14-18; 4:15-16).
There is no contradiction.
This article is in response a web site visitor.