246 Jesus, Prophet of Islamto the modern forms of Christianity which is rooted in the past,
which is supported by the ecumenical movement as far as it goes,
which is Trinitarian, and which is now propagated and imposed
by more subtle means than those once utilised by the notorious
Inquisition - notably by the various forms of electronic mass-com
munication. The absence of any ongoing debate between the Uni
tarians and the Trinitarians testifies to the 'success' of these new
techniques.
Although many Christians today will cheerfully agree that there
is only One God, and assert that they are Unitarians, the underly
ing structure of their belief-system remains Trinitarian - for its ori
gins are Trinitarian. Although most 'born again' Christians will
agree that God cannot die, even temporarily, most of them will be
only too happy to say in one breath that Jesus is their Lord -God
and in the next breath that Jesus died in order to redeem the sins of
whoever believes in him, and in the next breath that whoever truly
believes in him is filled with the Holy Spirit and so 'born again' in
this world and saved in the next world - saved by God. Although
the word 'Trinity' may not actually be used in the course of this
explanation, it is clear that within this circular belief-structure there
are three distinct elements or persons - God, Jesus (who in fact is
God), and the Holy Spirit (of God) -who are nevertheless united
as a whole, making One. And 50 the doctrine of the Trinity contin
ues to survive, even though it just does not make sense!
As long as awkward questions - such as, 'If Jesus is God, then
how can God die?' or, 'If Jesus is God, and if God was dead for
three days, then who sustained the Universe and every living thing
in it during that period?' or, 'If Jesus was God, then to whom was
he always praying?' - as long as awkward questions such as these
are ignored or avoided, then for many it is still possible to sustain
the Trinitarian belief-structure, even in this modern age, and often
with the help of the sense of euphoria which can be experienced
by whoever believes that they have indeed been 'saved'.
Itis this emotional response towardsJesus -'Jesus loves you!'
in which his original ties with the Tribe of Israel and his original
commitment to up hold and live by the Law of Moses are either not
known, or else ignored, or even vetoed thanks to the doctrine of
the 'New Covenant' (of Paul, it must be emphasised, not Jesus or
God) - that has enabled the ecumenical movement to make sorne
'progress' during the last fifty years.
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