I try hard, but cannot get my head around the concept of trinity, so the question arises, when God conveys his message, why send that message in a way wich is so difficult to understand, why not keep it simple?
[QUOTE]
As far as praying to himself, that is trying to apply human concepts of limits to God. My question is, how big is God? Is he limited by how you perceive him, what you think he is and is not capable of, obviously not as he created matter. Where did matter come from? It does not make sense that matter would just appear out of thin air but it did. And what of the design of the universe. Does it make sense that the Earth is exactly far enough away from the sun to sustain life. Yet God in his infinite wisdom, was able to design this and more.
[/QUOTE]
if that is the case, then nothing Jesus did is relevant to you. Why do you encourage people to emulate Jesus's gentleness when that is superhuman? Why do you cite Jesus's tolerance, compassion etc when it is beyond human limits?
Why would God come down from the heavens and live amongst humans for years, if everything that he did could be construed as something that falls out of limits for ordinary humans?
And if not, if he was a role model for his people in his time, then you must concede that everything he did had pedagogical reasons for his people. was he teaching people to worship themselves then? or was it duplicitous..he wasnt really praying, he was merely demonstrating that this is how you pray.. with an inordinate amount of fervour..
i dont believe in a deceptive God.
[QUOTE]
Ok so if God is all powerful, who is man to say "God, I do not believe that you could exist as one God, but in the forms of 3 or 1 + 1 + 1 = 1?" That is like telling God, "I know how you made the sun set." What man in his right mind would tell God how he made the sunset. I also beg the question what man in his right mind will tell God how he can and can not manifest himself.
[/QUOTE]
so the gist of your, and old man's post is that the trinity doesnt represent seperate persons, but seperate aspects of the same person. true?
in that case, if jesus was a mere aspect of the one God, then trinity becomes of secondary importance, for aspects are for the purposes of presentation. just as this nature, to some, is Allah's easel, his expression. just as the sunset, the planetary rotation, are all manifestations of his Intelligence. but yes, they're nothing more.
we worship that Allah that is the single entity behind his manifestations. trinity is unimportant. furthermore it is also illogical, which I believe you concede ..(?) . thereby it is a distraction from the entity that is the source of every aspect, real or imaginary.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by the real AK47: *
I try hard, but cannot get my head around the concept of trinity, so the question arises, when God conveys his message, why send that message in a way wich is so difficult to understand, why not keep it simple?
[/QUOTE]
What religion is simple and easy to understand? None of the monotheistic religions for sure. The Trinity does have gray area and remains a mystery to many Christians. But we are dealing with God Himself and He is infinite. It is not a strech to see Him in 3 different ways.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Ibn Sadique: *
Now that's imposssible! In reality it is not so. At different temperatures the water adopts a appropriate form for that temperature.
Water cannot be liquid/Ice/Vapour at the same instance. If the water is in a liquid form, it will have the qualities of a liquid and will behave so. It will not have the qualities or the essence of Solid/Ice or Vapour/Steam.
If it takes form of one state it losses the 'qualities' of the 'other' two forms.
[/QUOTE]
At 0° all three states co-exist. All is different and with it's own qualities but remain the same chemical water. Exactly as with the case of the Trinity.
[quote]
Explaining Trinity is like solving a Riddle warped up in a Enigma.
[/quote]
It must be difficult to accept the idea if one's religion doesn't, I agree.
[QUOTE]
I don't think that Concept of Trinity exists in the Old Testament, though it is in the New Testament.
[/QUOTE]
I'm glad you don't "think" so (not being completely sure), since it DOES exist in the old Testament :)
Bringing the discussion back to "Muslim understanding of the Trinity":
The Prophet Muhammad had it completely wrong in the Qu'ran when he thought the Trinity consisted of God, Jesus and Mary.
This could have been because some Christians whom he met did not give enough importance to the function of the Holy Spirit while overemphasizing the roll Mary plays.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by The Old Man: *
Bringing the discussion back to "Muslim understanding of the Trinity":
The Prophet Muhammad had it completely wrong in the Qu'ran when he thought the Trinity consisted of God, Jesus and Mary.
This could have been because some Christians whom he met did not give enough importance to the function of the Holy Spirit while overemphasizing the roll Mary plays.
[/QUOTE]
none of you seem to know what it means without resorting to "who knows" and "gray areas".
maybe there isnt one specific interpretation of the trinity to begin with. maybe at the time of the Prophet this was the version of trinity-belief.
Re: Re: Re: Muslim understanding of the Trinity concept?
Without any disrespect to yourself Old Man, I wish to raise some points…
Represented. Then why would God choose himself as a representative? Who sits on the Throne of God? God Himself or Jesus or the Holy Spirit? If God sits on the Throne, what do Jesus and the Holy Spirit do during this time? As far as could and might go, there could be other ‘coulds’ and ‘mights’, and if we were to take every could and might as the basis of faith, then faith would cease to be a faith any more.
And as for logic, if logic takes the highway east, faith takes the highway west…Human logic and Divine Injunctions are two different things altogether…
As per our beliefs, nothing stems from God as everything was created by the simple word from Allah :swt: of ‘kun’ or ‘be’…The only thing that most closely ‘stem’ from Allah :swt: would be the soul of man which was ‘breathed’ into Adam :as: to make him alive…Apart from that everything is just created out of nothing…
This is really confusing…I can’t quite figure out how to postulate a query…Perhaps you’d be so kind as to define it in simpler terms, please?
What aspect of God must be understood through the Tri-une aspect of God? Can you please tell me one of them? And where does this word ‘Tri-une’ come from and what does it mean?
1x1x1=1 so if 1=1 then why the other 2? 
First of all, let me clear a misunderstanding here…The Prophet Mohammed (saw) did not write the Holy Quran…It was sent by Allah (swt) through the angel Gabriel (as)…If you do not believe me, then you can check out some scientific miracles of the Holy Quran which a person of the Prophet (saw)'s era could not have known and written…Especially since the Prophet (saw) was unlettered, meaning, he couldn’t read or write…This has been proven by Christian as well as atheist scienstists that the knowledge in the Quran can only be deciphered today by today’s science…
The word ‘goddess’ or ‘god’ has not been used for Mary in the Bible yet neither has it been used for Jesus :as: and neither for the Holy Spirit…Yet you consider Jesus the son of god and the Holy Spirit the Spirit of god, so what is to say that Mary has not been given the status of the bride of God ? She certainly has been given the status of the mother of God and eventually to be revered as a god herself 
…
You call the son holy, the spirit holy and the mother holy…
I don;t know if you remember our discussion from some time back regarding the word ‘Yahweh’ meaning I am…Let’s see if I can search for it…
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by The Old Man: *
Bringing the discussion back to "Muslim understanding of the Trinity":
The Prophet Muhammad had it completely wrong in the Qu'ran when he thought the Trinity consisted of God, Jesus and Mary.
This could have been because some Christians whom he met did not give enough importance to the function of the Holy Spirit while overemphasizing the roll Mary plays.
[/QUOTE]
The Old Man I am just doing a 'Cut & Paste' job but it does address your allegation.
“It is not an uncommon occurrence that during the dialogues with Christians, a Muslim may hear remarks such as the one mentioned here under:
*Remark: * Muhammad, the author of the Holy Qur’an, was mistaken into believing that Mary (the mother of Jesus), was the third Person of the Holy Trinity. Muhammad was not aware of the fact that the Holy Ghost is the third Person of the Holy Trinity and not Mary.
To substantiate the above misconception, the person making the remark would probably quote the following verse from the Holy Qur’an:
- “And behold! Allah will say: “O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, ‘Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah?” He will say: “Glory to Thee! Never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, Thou wouldst indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, though I know not what is in Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that is hidden.” Holy Qur’an 5:116*
Upon careful study of the above verse, which was revealed by Allah to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) through Allah’s angel Gabriel, and the scrutiny of the following observations, one discovers that Allah has spoken the Truth.
*The Observations... *
a) Carved or molten images (Statues) of Jesus Christ and his mother Mary, in various sizes and shapes, are to be found in the Catholic Churches, all around the world.
b) Most of these Sacred Statues are placed in the prominent places of the Prayer Halls of these Christian Churches for venerating and worshipping.
c) One would also notice that the majority of the attending congregates would kneel, worship, venerate and pray before these Holy Images as their reverent rituals. Many devoted believers would place lighted candles in front of these Sacred Statues, before paying their homage.
d) These Catholic congregates who venerate Lord Jesus as their God and Virgin Mary as the "Mother of God", do form the bulk of the Christians community. It has been so since the inception of the Roman Catholic Church. The Protestants, who separated from the Roman Catholics, nearly ten centuries after the advent of Islam, do not have the Statues of Mother Mary in their Churches.
e) These observations clearly indicate that Virgin Mary has been venerated with hyperdulia, along with her son Jesus, by the majority of the Christians, from the early years of the Catholicism.
f) As for the Holy Ghost, the third person of the Holy Trinity, no Christian Church has so far instituted its venerating representation, image or semblance for their Churchgoers.
*The Truth *
The obvious conclusion is that for all practical purpose and in reality, when the issue is of Worshipping, Venerating, Deifying and/or Idolizing, it is Mary - the "Mother of God" and not the Holy Ghost has that kind of rank and status. Briefly, the historical figures of Jesus and Mary are venerated as Deities. The Holy Ghost is not venerated as a Deity.
The quoted verse from the Holy Qur’an questions such Divine Ranks and Status that have been assigned by the followers of Jesus to him and his mother. The verse does not speak of the Church developed enigmatic Doctrine of Trinity.
Theologically speaking, the concept of Holy Ghost as ‘Filioque’ (“a double procession”) was added to the Original Doctrine much later. As taught by the Greek theologians and advocated by St. Augustine, it simply makes the Holy Ghost a “go-between” communications or things that proceed from the Father and is received by an individual via Jesus Christ. One may argue that since the Holy Ghost emanates from God the Father, it is also God. In reality, this would only be possible if there was a "total emanation" (100% transfer). If that be the case, then the Primary Source has either annihilated Himself (Itself) or has produced a Clone. God the Father still exists and Christians with their Trinitarian Beliefs yet claim God is One.
During his ministry, Jesus Christ had taught in very explicit language to worship the*“Father in Heaven” (see Matthew 6:5-13). * Jesus never ever taught his followers to make images of him and/or his mother and then venerate either of them. In this regards, the Protestants consider themselves a step ahead and reformed than their counterparts.
The quoted verse from the Holy Qur’an is a direct challenge to those who make the graven images of Jesus and Mother Mary. The Almighty God in the Second of the Ten Commandments also warns mankind against making of graven images and worshipping them. (See Exodus 20:4).
written - by Akbarally Meherally
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ravage: *
maybe there isnt one specific interpretation of the trinity to begin with. maybe at the time of the Prophet this was the version of trinity-belief.
[/QUOTE]
There is (and always was) only one interpretation of the word "Trinity" in Christianity. Some denominations do differ on the general view of the interaction of the three entities.
[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Seminole: *
What religion is simple and easy to understand? None of the monotheistic religions for sure. The **Trinity does have gray area* and remains** a mystery** to many Christians. But we are dealing with God Himself and He is infinite. It is not** a strech to see Him in 3 different ways**.
[/QUOTE]
Part off what you said, is more or less what I was trying to illustrate.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Muslim understanding of the Trinity concept?
I ask forgiveness in advance for diverting from the topic at hand as to the Muslim’s view of the Trinity, to the Christian’s view of the Trinity. Maybe a separate discussion would not cloud the topic at hand….?
Why can’t God represent Himself?
God the father sits on the throne while Jesus Christ sits on his right hand and the Holy Spirit is presently with each believer and attempting to convince non-believers to repent.
“Could’s” and “Might’s”? God Almighty is an entity that our human feeble mind can’t fully grasp. That is the reason we can’t SEE God Almighty. God decided to appear to mankind in a form which mankind can comprehend. Do you want to state that God Almighty CAN’T take on a human body because He is limited in our dimension? I will not be as bold to hamstring God’s powers….
I understand God Almighty as the supreme logic entity.
Actually the soul was not “breathed” into man, but the spirit. That is why mankind has a yearning for a Supreme Being. All animals have a soul according to the Bible.
What exactly must I elaborate on? Mankind is made up of a body, a soul, and a spirit. In the same way God Almighty is made up of a Body (Jesus), a Soul (the Father), and a Spirit (the Holy Spirit). Surely you understand that Lajawab has a body that will one day die and be buried (hopefully not soon), Lajawab also has a soul and spirit (from God). Lajawab’s spirit (will of Lajawab) is contained in his soul (mind, emotions, intellect), which is contained in his body.
Tri-une is another word for Trinity. I, and others, like to rather use the word “Tri-une” because it more clearly states that there is three in one.
Lajawab’s body is called “Lajawab”. His soul is called “Lajawab”. His spirit is called “Lajawab”. If I say I spoke to Lajawab, to whom did I speak? Could be anyone since Lajawab is Lajawab! (1=1=1=1!)
Mary is no God. John.1v1 states clearly the Word (Jesus) is God. Jesus himself said, “God is spirit” (John.4v24). Mary is not the bride of God but only someone God decided to use in a specific way for His purpose. It could have been anyone else. Mary is the mother of Jesus in but not the mother of God. Jesus actually existed before Mary! (John.1v15)
Fact remains though that either the Prophet Muhammad had it wrong or the Qu’ran is wrong by referring to the Trinity as God, Jesus and Mary.
Anyone that calls Mary holy in the sense that they call Jesus holy, blaspheme. It is not certain whether Mary did accept Jesus as her saviour from original sources. If she did not, then she is condemned to go to Hell. If she did, she is as much holy as all the believers of Jesus since his death. Anyone that worships Mary as they would Jesus is busy with idol worshipping.
Mr. The Old man,
So According to you and according to your own person belief,which of these four correctly depicts your idea of trinity:
They possessed different phases or aspects of one single person.
They were three different persons, sharing eternity among themselves equally.
They were three persons with some of their characteristics individual and distinct; not entirely shared by others.
They were three persons in one with completely similar characteristics and similar equal powers, merged with each other and with no functions separate from the other.
Patiently waiting for your answer!
Trying to understand something as infinite as God cannot be done in parables that limit God to a 'person' or 'sitting on a throne' as if He is some bearded old man sitting in the clouds. God is everywhere, why coudn't He present himself in different ways?
Mr. Seminole,
you are right that God can manifest in many ways but the problem starts when you start making a humble servant of God, in this case Jesus (AS), a God himself and start elevating his status to a God.
From all the points put forward on this discussion boards by people who believe in Trinity, I have come to the conclusion that concept of Trinity can't be understood rationaly and one has to blindly accepts it as a will of God which can't be challenged.
The problem muslims have with this concept is that it collides directly with concept of Unity, Tauheed or Wahdaniat of God. If you read Holy Quran, you would the concept of unity and Tauheed of Allah in Surah Al-Ikhlaas:
[QUOTE]
In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
Say 'He is Allah, the One!
Allah the Independent and Besought of all.
'He begets not, nor, is He begotten,
And there is none like unto Him.
[/QUOTE]
I believe that nothing can be more comprehensive and beautiful then the above verses to describe the unity of God.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Muslim understanding of the Trinity concept?
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by The Old Man: *
Lajawab’s body is called “Lajawab”. His soul is called “Lajawab”. His spirit is called “Lajawab”. If I say I spoke to Lajawab, to whom did I speak? Could be anyone since Lajawab is Lajawab! (1=1=1=1!)
[/QUOTE]
Are not the 'soul' and 'spirit' the same thing? ...is there a difference?
and the body is just a vehicle wich takes us through this life, nothing more.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by The Old Man: *
At 0° all three states co-exist. All is different and with it's own qualities but remain the same chemical water. Exactly as with the case of the Trinity.
It must be difficult to accept the idea if one's religion doesn't, I agree.
I'm glad you don't "think" so (not being completely sure), since it DOES exist in the old Testament :)
[/QUOTE]
The Old Man I just got the following for you to ponder over.
"Even well-informed Muslims simply cannot follow, as the Jews thus far have likewise failed to grasp, the idea of the Trinity . . . The distinctions made by the doctrine of the Trinity between one God and three hypostases do not satisfy Muslims, who are confused, rather than enlightened, by theological terms derived from Syriac, Greek, and Latin. *Muslims find it all a word game . . . Why should anyone want to add anything to the notion of God's oneness and uniqueness that can only dilute or nullify that oneness and uniqueness?" * - Catholic theologian Hans Küng in Christianity and the World Religions,
"The doctrine is not taught explicitly in the New Testament, where the word God almost invariably refers to the Father" *-- MS Encarta 99 *
"Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament." - The New Encyclopedia Britannica
Yale University Professor E. Washburn Hopkins: "To Jesus and Paul the doctrine of the trinity was apparently unknown; . . . they say nothing about it." *-- Origin and Evolution of Religion. *
"Jesus Christ never mentioned such a phenomenon, and nowhere in the New Testament does the word 'Trinity' appear. The idea was only adopted by the Church three hundred years after the death of our Lord." *-- The Paganism in Our Christianity -- Historian Arthur Weigall *
"Neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord' -- Deut. 6:4 *- The New Encyclopedia Britannica *
"The word Trinity is not found in the Bible . . . It did not find a place formally in the theology of the church till the 4th century." *-- The Illustrated Bible Dictionary *
"The word itself does not occur in the Bible...The explicit formula was thus formulated in the post-biblical period, although the early stages of its development can be seen in the New Testament. Attempts to trace the origin still earlier (to the Old Testament literature) cannot be supported by historical-critical scholarship, and these attempts must be understood as retrospective interpretations of this earlier corpus of Scripture in the light of later theological developments." *The Harper Collins Study Bible Dictionary *
"In Scripture there is as yet no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together. The word tri'as is first found in Theophilus of Antioch about A. D. 180 . . . Shortly afterwards it appears in its Latin form of trinitas in Tertullian."
However, this is no proof in itself that Tertullian taught the Trinity. The Catholic work Trinitas - A Theological Encyclopedia of the Holy Trinity, for example, notes that some of Tertullian's words were later used by others to describe the Trinity. But then it states: "But hasty conclusions cannot be drawn from usage, for he does not apply the words to Trinitarian theology." - The Catholic Encyclopedia
"As early as the 8th century, the Theologian St. John of Damascus frankly admitted what every modern critical scholar of the New Testament now realizes: that neither the Doctrine of the Trinity nor that of the 2 natures of Jesus Christ is explicitly set out in scripture. In fact, if you take the record as it is and avoid reading back into it the dogmatic definitions of a later age, you cannot find what is traditionally regarded as orthodox Christianity in the Bible at all." -- For Christ's Sake.- Tom Harpur
"Anyone who can worship a trinity and insist that his religion is monotheism can believe anything." -- Robert A. Heinlein
Sorry, looks like that thread is slipping away from "Muslim understanding of the Trinity concept?" to that of Christians.
Hi everyone,
Sorry this response has taken so long. I had to think about this question. I think that some Christians focus too much on the idea of the Trinity, as it is not a specific idea taught by Jesus. It is only alluded to by what scripture says. Instead I think that Christians should focus on the Cross and the fact that we are imperfect beings and that Jesus Blood has payed for our sins. This is the power of Christ.
And when Christians believe and come to Christ, we should try to live our lives in the example that our Lord gave us, as illustrated in the scriptures. This is not to try to earn salvation, mind you. But that we have been redeemed so we live our lives as new creations.
PakistaniAbroad,
More so it was a question to understand how Muslims understand a concept I believe. I'm truly trying to understand my friends. I'm not trying to say you're all wrong but obviously I disagree with you. I hope we can agree to disagree here. At the same time to deny what I believe would be as wrong as if you denied the Quran.
That said, concerning my understanding of the trinity, and I must reiterate that I question the truth of this concept myself sometimes.
Out of your 4 options I think 3 is the closest to my own beliefs but not quite accurate as I will try to explain. We have God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
Through the gospel John, I undersand that Jesus was with the Father at the beginning and that he was God. Which is the strongest argument for the trinity that I can find.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And further in John
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
So by the previous mentioned verses I gather that Jesus and God are one in the same.
As my spirit goes with me wherever my body resides. I also assume that the spirit goes with God where he resides. So this connects the spirit in with the Father and the Son.
So I guess I understand it that they are three separate faces of the God head.
So this option with modifications mentioned is probably closest to my understanding as it is now.
3. They were three persons with some of their characteristics individual and distinct; not entirely shared by others. (I do not personally believe the Holy Spirit is a person, as is stated spirit.) And I do believe they are one, not separate. How this is I can not tell you but believing God to be all powerful, I believe there are things which he is capable of doing which I am incapable of understanding fully.
But Jesus allowed himself to give up some of his divinity to experience and understand our human nature first hand. I can not explain how this happened as I am not God. But God, according to my beliefs is all powerful so if he desided to manifest himself as a man, so be it.
I hope this makes sense.
Peace
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by the real AK47: *
I try hard, but cannot get my head around the concept of trinity, so the question arises, when God conveys his message, why send that message in a way wich is so difficult to understand, why not keep it simple?
[/QUOTE]
If faith could explain everything in the universe, where would be the power in being God, and the Mystery of faith? You would not need faith as you would know, which we all will in the end. Maybe the problem is assuming that we as finite creatures can even try full comprehension of the Almighty Lord. Remember he is infinite.
It is kind of like 2 dimensional creatures trying to understand a 3 dimensional world. How would you ever understand what it is to drop from 30 meters to the ground if you had no idea what up meant?
So how on earth can I explain something to you from 2 dimensional space. Is God Almighty bound by space and time? I think not, yet can you imagine being unbound by the time in which you must live your life? This is hard for me to grasp.
Praise be to God.
quote:
In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
Say 'He is Allah, the One!
Allah the Independent and Besought of all.
'He begets not, nor, is He begotten,
And there is none like unto Him.
My question is what yearsdid the Apostle John walk on the earth? What yearsdid Muhammad walk on the earth? Funny that one would chose the words of a man who comes along about 500 years after Jesus walked when we have the words of a man who was there when Jesus performed the miricales. (Taking into consideration that Muslims somehow believe that there is a huge conspiracy and that ALL the books got changed, which to me is another question alltogether as that would mean that someone would have to have confiscated all written copies simultaneously and written a new gospel. Hmm seems to me there are more than one source of scripture and it all pretty much says the same thing.)
John makes it a plain fact that Jesus was God made man.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
How then are we supposed to believe a man, who comes along 500ish years after John, who was there with Jesus, and tells us this is not so? I find it hard to go out on that limb and believe this is so.
Peace all
Trinity 1/4 : Different Phases or Aspects of One Single Person
As for this possibility there is no need to discuss it at length because there is hardly any Christian today who would believe Jesus to be an aspect or a phase of God rather than a distinct person. Believers in Trinity insist on there being three different persons merged into one.
The moment one accepts the scenario of one person having different aspects displayed simultaneously, the concept of Trinity, that is, of three gods in one, melts away into thin air. and no Trinity is left at all. Then it would be God the Father Himself who, motivated by His mercy, would die for human sins. In this case it will merely be a transient phase of the same person. Aspects are not persons, and similarly phases do not create separate entities. Any human being can pass through a multitude of varying moods and aspects, without splitting into two or three or many persons. Therefore, if God decided to die for the sake of the sinful humanity, it will have to be God Himself and not His aspects who would do so.
Hence, regarding the case in point, that aspect of God which played a vital role in the Divine sacrifice for the sake of sinful humanity can only be understood to be a mere display of one of his attributes. So, if the mercy of God is alone to be treated as a ‘person’ and that person is given the name of Jesus Christ, then that something which died was the ‘mercy’ of God. What a strange contradiction that the mercy of God, having taken pity on sinful humanity, commits suicide. It implies that for three days and nights there was no mercy left in God.
Remember that in this scenario, Jesus is not being treated as a separate independent person, but only a characteristic or an aspect of God in which he becomes a sort of mercy personified. That person however remains to be the one single indivisible entity of God. So if anything died during this process, it would have to be either the person God or the attribute of His Mercy which played the most vital role in this episode. Hence there is no option but to believe in either the death of the Mercy of God, or the death of Merciful God Himself.
Many complications would arise out of the claim that aspects of a single person could be wiped out of existence, whether temporarily or permanently. This scenario can only be understood in relation to its application to human experience. A man can lose sight or hearing temporarily or permanently, but he would still be the same living man. The death of a faculty is, in fact, a partial death of the same person. In the ultimate analysis, the loser or sufferer remains the same individual entity of the person.