1.2.2.13 On "steam, water,
and ice "
If I have three balls of clay and I press them together
into one ball then they become ONE but now it is impossible
to retrieve the original three exactly as they were
originally.
If I have three bricks and I stack them above each other
then I can separate them, but I can not call the three
bricks ONE brick.
By far, the most common analogy given for the "Trinity"
by the church is that of the three forms of water,
specifically, ice, liquid, and steam. They say, just as
water is "one" but with three "states" or three "forms," so
too is God Almighty one but with three states.
On the face of it this appears to be quite a compelling
argument. So let us apply it to a few verses of the Bible in
order to see whether it holds up to scrutiny and is actually
endorsed by the Bible. In other words, it is necessary to
see whether the Bible itself actually confirms such a
picture of God. Only then can we accept or reject this
analogy.
If I have a cup of water which can become steam, liquid,
or ice, then it is not possible for me to drink the "liquid"
while the "ice" and "steam" remain inside the glass. It is
not possible for the "liquid" to beseech the ice to save it
from being drunk while the ice stayed a safe distance away
and was not itself drunk. This is simple logic. In a similar
manner, if God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are all merely
three "personalities" or three "states" for one being,
namely God Almighty, then it is not possible for one
"personality" of God to DIE while the
other two remained a safe distance away unharmed by death
(Mark 15:37, John 19:33, Romans 5:6,...etc.).
Some will then solve this dilemma, as seen in the
previous section, by claiming that Jesus (pbuh) did not
actually "die," rather, he simply shed his earthly "skin."
His actual essence was not killed. In this
case it is necessary to ask: where then is the great
sacrifice? If one of us has five thousand coats, and he
takes one off and throws it in the fire then puts on a
different one and says: "I did this as an ultimate sacrifice
for you," is this truly an ultimate sacrifice if he can
simply create one thousand more earthly "skins" to inhabit
in place of the one he shed? Does his taking off of his coat
and putting on a new one after three days "atone" for the
sins of all of the "inherently wicked and sinful mankind"
from the beginning of time? "And thou shalt love the Lord
thy God ... with all thy mind ... this is the first
commandment" Mark 12:30
There are many other situations in the Bible that
contradict this analogy and the theory of "three" gods. For
example:
Would it be logical to picture the "ice" form of a bucket
of water praying to the "steam" form of
itself (e.g. Luke 6:12). Further, did water
start out as liquid and then decide to "beget" for itself
another personality as "ice" and then add on a third
personality as "steam"? Did God start out with one
"personality" and then one day "beget" for
Himself multiple personalities to keep Him company?. Does He
usually speak to His other personalities and beseech them
for salvation? (Matthew 27:46) Did He sacrifice one of His
personalities to "save" mankind? Do some of His
personalities have knowledge not available to others (Mark
13:32)? Are some of His "personalities" more powerful than
others (John 14:28)? Are some of his personalities
submissive to others (Luke 22:41-44)? Is this our mental
picture of God? How will we answer Him on the day of
judgment when He asks us about these claims we have made
against Him?
In order to demonstrate the absurdity of this "ice,
water, and steam" theory, let us use the following
analogy:
Military/Student Joe:
Assume that "Joe" is a university student who is also
serving in the army. In such a case we might be able to say
that there are two "personalities" to Joe, a "student"
personality and a "military" personality. Does this mean
that it is logical to imagine "student Joe" humbling himself
before "military Joe" and appealing to him to have mercy
upon him while "military Joe" sat some distance away
accepting "student Joe's" pleas and considering whether to
grant them or not (Matthew 26:39)?
Further, if some killers attacked "student Joe" while he
was in the university, would it be logical for us to claim
that "student Joe" ran for the telephone and pleaded with
"military Joe" to quickly come and save him? Would it be
logical to say that "military Joe" did not answer this plea
and "student Joe" was murdered in the university while
"military Joe" remained safe and unharmed in the
military base?
Continuing, according to the Bible, God and Jesus are
claimed to not be equal in knowledge nor in power (Mark
13:32, John 14:28, etc.). So is it then logical in the above
analogy to claim that "military Joe" is stronger than
"student Joe" or that "student Joe" is smarter than
"military Joe"?
It is always important when we are presented with a
theory or "explanation" regarding the claimed "Trinity" to
carefully analyze it and apply it to the Bible and test it
thoroughly before accepting it. It is not at all acceptable
to say I can not explain it nor prove it, neither does the
Bible explicitly command me to have blind faith in this
matter, yet since the church told me to do so, therefore, I
shall do so. Indeed, Jesus (pbuh) wanted his followers to
think, analyze, study, ask
questions, and interrogate. This is his very
FIRST commandment (Mark 12:30). Indeed, the Bible
teaches us "For God is not [the author] of
confusion" 1 Corinthians 14:33.
Let us conclude this section with a very eloquent example
which was once presented by the British scholar Richard
Porson. One day, Porson was discussing the "Trinity" with a
Trinitarian friend when a buggy containing three men passed
by. "There," Porson's friend exclaimed "is an
illustration of the Trinity." Porson replied "No, you
must show me one man in three buggies, if you can."
For the historical details of how such a doctrine was
developed in the first place, please read section 1.2.5
which is coming up soon. But first:
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