Jesus, Prophet of Islam - The Islamic Bulletin

Latet Unitarians in Christianity 187

The doctrine ofTrinity was also refuted by Socianus, as by oth­
ers before him, on the grounds that it was not possible for Jesus to
have two natures simultaneously. He said that two substances hav­
ing opposite characteristics cannot combine into one person, and
that in the case of Jesus and God, such characteristics are mortality

• and immortality: having a beginning - and being without any
  beginning; being subject to change - and being immutable; having
  an end -and being without any ending.
  Again, continued Socianus, two natures each of which is apt to
  constitute a separate person, cannot be huddled into one person.
  For, instead of one, there, of necessity, arise two persons and con­
  sequently, in the case of Jesus, they become two Christs, one divine
  and one human. The Church says that Christ is constituted of a
  divine and a human nature, just as a man is, having a body and a
  soul. Socianus replied that, in that case, this is widely different from
  the belief that the two natures in Christ are 50 united that Christ is
  thus constituted of a divine and a human body. In a man, body and
  soul are so conjoined that a man is neither only sou! nor only body.
  For neither the sou! nor the body separately constitute a person.
  Whereas, in the case of Jesus, the divine nature in itself constitutes
  a person - and therefore, of necessity, so must the human nature in
  itself also constitute a separate person.
  Furthermore, argued Socianus, it is also repugnant to the Scrip­
  tures themselves that Christ should have a divine nature: Firstly,
  God created Jesus. Secondly, the Scriptures say that Jesus was a
  man. Thirdly, whatever excellenceJesus had is testified by the Scrip­
  tures to be the gift of God. Fourthly, the Scriptures most clearly
  indicate that Jesus perpetually ascribes all the miracles not to him­
  self nor to any divine nature of his own, but to the Father. Jesus
  himself confirmed the Divine Will.
  The following excerpt from the Racovian Catechism is to be found
  in Reland's Historical andCriticalReflections uponMahometanism and
  Socianism:

The opinion of those who attribute divinity to Jesus

Christ is not only repugnant 10 right reason but like­

wise to the Holy Scriptures, and they are in gross error

who believe that not only the Father but also the Son

and the Holy Ghost are three persons in one deity ...