Often, no matter how well you define or explain the Trinity, the Witnesses are likely to shake their heads and tell you that what you’re saying is self-contradictory or at least that it makes no sense.
The Watchtower has trained them to believe this.
It claims that Christendom’s teaching that God is a Trinity misrepresents him, making him appear “unfathomable”[1] and “impossible to understand.”[2]
Let’s look at a memorable way to counter this. Granted, no analogy to God is perfect. As far as we know, there are no beings besides God who exist in three distinct persons.
Then again, no being besides God is eternal, having no beginning. The Watchtower itself has said this: “God has always existed. As difficult as the concept of God’s eternity is to grasp, we cannot dismiss the idea simply because we cannot fully comprehend it. How reasonable is it that we should expect to understand all of God’s ways? …Yet, we can have absolute trust in what the Bible teaches about God.”[3]
Just because we can’t fully comprehend some aspect of God’s nature doesn’t mean that we can’t understand anything about it or that it is unfathomable.
As part of a video entitled “Science Proves Christianity is True!” Philip DelRe states: “There are tri-unities all around us. In fact, almost all of life as we know it is triune in nature.”[4]
He gives the following examples. The highlighted portion can become your soundbite:
“Time is a trinity: the past, the present, and the future:
- The past is not the present.
- The present is not the future.
- The future is not the past.
- One is not the other.
- All are part of the same.
- None could exist without the other.
- And yet each one is distinct.”
“Space: We live in a 3-dimensional realm: height, width, depth:
- Height is not width.
- Width is not depth.
- Depth is not height.
- One is not the other.
- All are part of the same.
- None could exist without the other.
- And yet each one is distinct.”
“Matter: Atoms are made up of 3 primary components: protons, neutrons, and electrons:
- Protons and not neutrons.
- Neutrons are not electrons.
- Electrons and not protons.
- One is not the other.
- All are part of the same.
- None could exist without the other (if you want to have a compete atom).
- And yet each one is distinct.”
“The human mind is a trinity: intellect, will, and emotions:
- The intellect is not the will.
- The will is not the emotions.
- The emotions are not the intellect.
- One is not the other.
- All are part of the same.
- None could exist without the other.
- And yet each one is distinct.”
Using DelRe’s soundbite format, we can explain that God is a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and by that we mean:
- The Father is not the Son.
- The Son is not the Holy Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit is not the Father.
- “One is not the other.
- All are part of the same.
- None could exist without the other.
- And yet each one is distinct.”
Of course, these soundbite statements don’t prove that God is triune. That’s not their purpose.
DelRe summarizes his point as follows: “I have just demonstrated for you—scientifically, logically, mathematically—that the Trinity is not an unfathomable contradiction.”
Your turn:
Have you ever struggled to explain the Trinity to Jehovah’s Witnesses? Do you think some of these analogies might help?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
[1] The Watchtower, “Be Zealous For True Worship,” 12/15/2010, p. 9
[2] The Watchtower, “The Son Is Willing to Reveal the Father,” 4/15/2012, p. 3
[3] The Watchtower, “Did God Have a Beginning? 7/1/2010, p. 28
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