Nontrinitarianism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Modern Christian groups=== * [[Christadelphians]] hold the unitarian belief that although Jesus is the Son of God, this is only a relational title toward the Father who alone is truly God. Christ's personhood, therefore, is human not divine,<ref>{{cite book | last = Flint | first = James |author2=Deb Flint |title = One God or a Trinity? | publisher = Printland Publishers | location = Hyderabad | url = http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/p_onegod.htm | isbn = 978-81-87409-61-8}}</ref> (believing this to be necessary in order to save humans from their sins<ref>{{cite book | last = Pearce | first = Fred | title = Jesus: God the Son or Son of God? Does the Bible Teach the Trinity? | publisher = The Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association Ltd (UK) |location=Birmingham|page=8 |url=http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/jesus.htm#8 }}</ref>). The "Holy Spirit" terminology in the Bible is interpreted as referring to God's impersonal power,<ref>{{cite book | last = Tennant | first = Harry | title = The Holy Spirit: Bible Understanding of God's Power | publisher = The Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association Ltd (UK) | location = Birmingham | url = http://www.christadelphia.org/pamphlet/holysprt.htm#1 }}</ref> or God's character/mind<ref name="TrinityTrueOrFalse"/> (depending on the context). * [[Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith)]].<ref>Nelson's guide to denominations J. Gordon Melton β 2007 "Later in the century, various leaders also began to express doubts about the Trinity, and a spectrum of opinion emerged. ... Still others, such as the Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith) specifically denied the Trinity ..."</ref> * The [[Cooneyites]] is a Christian sect that split from the [[Two by Twos]] in 1928 following [[Edward Cooney]]'s excommunication from the main group; they deny the Living Witness Doctrine.{{clarify|date=May 2017}} * {{Lang|tl|[[Iglesia ni Cristo]]|italic=no}} ([[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] for ''Church of Christ'') views Jesus as human but endowed by God with attributes not found in ordinary humans, though lacking attributes found in God. They contend that it is God's will to worship Jesus.<ref name="incfund">Manalo, EraΓ±o G., ''Fundamental Beliefs of the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ)'' (Iglesia ni Cristo; Manila 1989)</ref> INC rejects the Trinity as heresy, adopting a version of unitarianism. * [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] (and other [[Bible Student movement]] groups such as the Associated Bible Students<ref>''Encyclopedia of Protestantism'', p. 474, J. Gordon Melton, 2005: "... for his many departures from traditional Christian and Protestant affirmations including the Trinity and the deity of Christ. ... 1 (1886; reprint, Rutherford, NJ: Dawn Bible Students Association, nd)"</ref><ref name="mostholyfaith">''Watch Tower'', October 1881, [http://www.mostholyfaith.com/bible/Reprints/Search_Result.asp#R290:13 ''Watch Tower Reprints'' p. 290 As Retrieved 2009-09-23] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002090150/http://www.mostholyfaith.com/bible/Reprints/Search_Result.asp#R290:13 |date=2011-10-02 }}, p. 4, ""He gave his only begotten Son." This phraseology brings us into conflict with an old Babylonian theory, viz.: Trinitarianism. If that doctrine is true, how could there be any Son to give? A begotten Son, too? ''Impossible.'' If these three are one, did God send himself? And how could Jesus say: "My Father is greater than I." John 14:28. [emphasis retained from original]"</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mostholyfaith.com/bible/Reprints/Z1882JUL.asp|title=Z1882 July|access-date=2012-03-05|archive-date=2009-01-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122101649/http://www.mostholyfaith.com/bible/Reprints/Z1882JUL.asp}}</ref>) teach that [[God the Father]] is uniquely Almighty God. They consider Jesus to be "the First-begotten Son", God's only direct creation, and the very first creation by God. They give relative "worship" or "obeisance" (in the sense of ''homage'', as to a king) to Christ,<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=The Watchtower|date=January 15, 1992|page=23}}</ref> pray through him as God's only [[Jesus as priest#Priest|high priest]], consider him to be their Messiah, and a Mediator for imperfect Humans. They believe that only the Father is without beginning, that the Father is greater than the Son in all things, and that only the Father is worthy of "sacred service" (''[[latria]]''). They believe that the Son had a beginning, and was brought forth at a certain point, as "the firstborn of all creation" and "the only-begotten", as the pre-existent [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] and the "[[Angel of the LORD]]" of Exodus, that he left heaven to be born as a perfect human, as the Jewish Messiah and Redeemer, and that after his ascension to heaven he resumed his pre-human identity, but exalted to [[Right hand of God|God's right hand]] until the last days.<ref>{{cite book|title=Insight on the Scriptures|volume=2|pages=393β394|publisher=Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania|year=1988}}</ref><ref>[https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102014738 Chapter 138 β Christ at God's Right Hand], JW.org. Retrieved October 18, 2019.</ref> They do not believe that the Holy Spirit is an actual person, but consider it to be God's divine active force.<ref>{{cite book|title=Should You Believe in the Trinity?|page=20|publisher=Watch Tower Society}}</ref> * [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct beings that are not united in substance, a view sometimes called [[Social trinity|social trinitarianism]]. They believe the three individual deities are "one" in will or purpose, as Jesus was "one" with his disciples, and that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit constitute a single [[God in Mormonism|godhead]] united in purpose.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2007/10/the-only-true-god-and-jesus-christ-whom-he-hath-sent?lang=eng |title= The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent|last1= Holland |first1=Jeffrey R. |access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref> Latter-day Saints believe that Christ is the Firstborn of the Father,<ref name="eomchristfirstborn">{{cite book |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/3818 |contribution= Jesus Christ: Firstborn in the Spirit |last= Giles |first= Jerry C. |page= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo01ludl/page/728 728] |editor-last= Ludlow |editor-first= Daniel H |editor-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |year= 1992 |title= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn= 978-0-02-879602-4 |oclc= 24502140 |title-link= Encyclopedia of Mormonism }}</ref> that he is subordinate to God the Father (Matthew 26:39),<ref name="eomchristoverview">{{cite book |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/3818 |contribution= Jesus Christ: Overview |last= Millet |first= Robert L. |author-link= Robert L. Millet |pages= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo01ludl/page/724 724β726] |editor-last= Ludlow |editor-first= Daniel H |editor-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |year= 1992 |title= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn= 978-0-02-879602-4 |oclc= 24502140 |title-link= Encyclopedia of Mormonism }}</ref> and that Christ created the universe.<ref name="eomchristoverview"/><ref name="carmarianism">{{cite web |url= http://carm.org/arianism |title=Arianism |publisher=Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry |access-date=29 November 2013|date=2008-12-13 }}</ref> Latter-day Saints do not subscribe to the ideas that Christ was unlike the Father in substance<ref name="eomfatheroverview">{{cite book |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/3732 |contribution= God the Father: Overview |last= Robinson |first= Stephen E. |author-link= Stephen E. Robinson |pages= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo01ludl/page/548 548β550] |editor-last= Ludlow |editor-first= Daniel H |editor-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |year= 1992 |title= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn= 978-0-02-879602-4 |oclc= 24502140 |title-link= Encyclopedia of Mormonism }}</ref> and that the Father could not appear on earth,<ref name="eomfirstvision">{{cite book |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/3702 |contribution= First Vision |last= Backman |first= Milton V. |author-link= Milton V. Backman |pages= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo01ludl/page/515 515β516] |editor-last= Ludlow |editor-first= Daniel H |editor-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |year= 1992 |title= Encyclopedia of Mormonism |location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn= 978-0-02-879602-4 |oclc= 24502140 |title-link= Encyclopedia of Mormonism }}</ref> or that Christ was adopted by the Father,<ref name="eomchristfirstborn" /> as presented in Arianism.<ref name="carmarianism" /><ref name="ariancatholic">{{cite web |url=http://www.arian-catholic.org/arian/arianism.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060409074813/http://www.arian-catholic.org/arian/arianism.html |archive-date=9 April 2006 |title=What is Arianism? |publisher=The Arian Catholic Church |access-date=29 November 2013 }}</ref> Latter-day Saints assert that both God and the resurrected Christ have perfected glorified, physical bodies,<ref name="lds_gospel_principles">{{cite web |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-1-our-father-in-heaven?lang=eng |title=Gospel Principles β Chapter 1: Our Father in Heaven |quote=The Nature of God |publisher= The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=4 June 2017}}</ref> but do not otherwise classify deity in terms of substance. While Latter-day Saints regard God the Father as the supreme being and literal father of the spirits of all humankind, they also teach that Christ and the Holy Spirit are equally divine and that they share in the Father's "comprehension of all things".<ref>{{citation |title= Doctrine and Covenants Instructor's Guide: Religion 324β325 |chapter= 'The Glory of God Is Intelligence' Lesson 37: Section 93 |year= 1981 |chapter-url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-instructors-guide-religion-324-325/the-glory-of-god-is-intelligence-lesson-37-section-93?lang=eng |pages=73β74 |publisher=[[Institute of Religion|Institutes of Religion]], [[Church Educational System]] |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/32494_eng.pdf }}</ref> * The [[Members Church of God International]] believes in the divinity of Christ but rejects the doctrine of Trinity. * [[Oneness Pentecostalism]] is a subset of [[Pentecostalism]] that believes God is only one person, and that he manifests himself in different ways, faces, or "modes": "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost) are different designations for the one God. God is the Father. God is the Holy Spirit. The Son is God manifest in flesh. The term Son always refers to the [[Incarnation]], and never to deity apart from humanity."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm|title=The Oneness of God|archive-date=16 February 2008|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref> Oneness Pentecostals believe that Jesus was "Son" only when he became flesh on earth, but was the Father prior to being made human. They refer to the Father as the "Spirit" and the Son as the "Flesh". Oneness Pentecostals reject the Trinity doctrine, viewing it as pagan and unscriptural, and hold to the [[Jesus' Name doctrine]] with respect to baptisms. Oneness Pentecostals are often referred to as [[Sabellianism|"Modalists"]] or [[Sabellianism|"Sabellians"]] or "Jesus Only".<ref name=fp123-4>{{cite book |last1=Patterson |first1=Eric |last2=Rybarczyk |first2=Edmund |title=The Future of Pentecostalism in the United States |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2007 |location=New York |pages=123β124 |isbn=978-0-7391-2102-3 }}</ref> * Denominations within the [[Seventh-day Sabbatarianism|Sabbatarian]] tradition ([[Armstrongism]]) believe that Christ the Son and God the Father are co-eternal, but do not teach that the Holy Spirit is a being or person. Armstrong theology holds that God is a "Family" that expands eventually, that "God reproduces Himself", but that originally there was a co-eternal "Duality", God and the Word, rather than a "Trinity". * [[Swedenborgianism]] holds that the Trinity exists in one person, the Lord God Jesus Christ. The Father, the being or soul of God, was born into the world and put on a body from [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]]. Throughout his life, Jesus put away all human desires and tendencies until he was completely divine. After his resurrection, he influences the world through the Holy Spirit, which is his activity. In this view, Jesus Christ is the one God; the Father as to his soul, the Son as to his body, and the Holy Spirit as to his activity in the world. This view is very similar in many ways to Sabellianism, Modalism, Oneness, or Jesus Only beliefs. * Numerous [[Unitarianism#Modern Christian Unitarian organizations|Unitarian Christian organizations]] exist around the world, the oldest of which is the [[Unitarian Church of Transylvania]]. An [[umbrella organization]] for these groups is the [[International Council of Unitarians and Universalists]], though only some members and affiliates of that body consider themselves exclusively or predominantly Christian. In the United States, "Unitarian" often refers to members and congregations within the [[Unitarian Universalist Association]] (UUA), a non-Christian group formed in 1961 from the merger of the [[American Unitarian Association]] with the [[Universalist Church of America]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uuworld.org/articles/stevenson-2017-ware-lecture|title=Bryan Stevenson weaves story, policy in 2017 Ware Lecture|last=McCardle, Elaine and Kenny Wiley|date=2017-06-28|website=UU World|access-date=2019-09-17|quote=Stevenson referred to the UU faith's members repeatedly as "Universalists," which caught the attention of several social media users. Unitarian Universalists are more commonly referred to colloquially as "Unitarians."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-03-30-8601230398-story.html|title=Unitarians Making Peace with Easter |last=Buursma|first=Bruce|date=1986-03-30|website=[[Chicago Tribune]]|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-17}}</ref> Though both of these predecessor groups were originally Christian, the UUA does not have a shared creed and does not identify as a Christian Unitarian organization.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe|title=Beliefs & Principles|last=Unitarian Universalist Association|date=9 February 2015|website=uua.org|access-date=2019-09-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/beliefs/christianity|title=Christian Unitarian Universalists|last=Unitarian Universalist Association|date=25 November 2014|website=uua.org|access-date=2019-09-17|quote=Some of our UU congregations are Christian in orientation, worshipping regularly with the New Testament, offering Communion, and celebrating Christian holidays throughout the year. All of our congregations welcome people with Christian backgrounds and beliefs.}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page