Customer Reviews

Jesus-God or the Son of God? A Comparison of the Arguments

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

The strength of this book is not so much the answers to Trinitarian proof texts. Most Trinitarian scriptures have been discussed in other non-Trinitarian works though the author does consider a few that I had never heard of before. I will say that even though a number of these Trinitarian texts have been answered numerous times over, the author does a more thorough job at showing scriptures to back his point.

Consider as one example Matthew 3:3's quoting of Isaiah 40:3 which reads, "Listen! Someone is crying out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of Jehovah, you people! Make his road straight." This verse is speaking about John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus and Trinitarians note that Isaiah 40:3 says he would be preparing the way for Jehovah. Their conclusion is that Jesus must be Jehovah. I've read in several non-Trinitarian books the explanation that since Jesus was Jehovah's representative, preparing the way for Jesus is considered the same as preparing the way for Jehovah. End of discussion.

Mr. Holt, though, gives a far more thorough reply that lends credence to the argument. He not only states the same argument but also backs it up with scriptural examples. First he notes that a similar situation occurs at Matthew 25:35-40 where Jesus says Christians fed him, watered him and clothed him. These Christians ask 'When did we do these things to you?' Holt quotes Jesus' reply of "to the extent that you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." Here we see Jesus said Christians did these things to HIM yet in reality they did it to his followers. Holt rightly notes that no one concludes from Matthew 25 these followers ARE Jesus so why think Jesus is Jehovah because of a similar account? As he states, Trinitarians use a double standard in interpreting these two accounts.

The author further shows that preparing the people to receive Jesus is the same as preparing them to receive Jehovah without meaning Jesus is Jehovah. He does this by noting Jesus' words at Matthew 10:40, "He that receives you receives me also, and he that receives me receives him also that sent me forth."

But the author is not done yet; he finally shows that Isaiah 40:3 does not mean Jesus is Jehovah by noting Jesus' own quote of Isaiah 40:3, "Look! I myself [Jehovah] am sending forth my messenger [John] before your [Jesus] face, who will prepare your way ahead of you." (Matthew 11:10) Here Jesus quotes the same prophecy but clearly says Jehovah would send John ahead to prepare the way for Jesus, not Himself! So Jesus' own quote of the scripture in question shows he did not think he was Jehovah.

This is just one example of dozens of Trinitarian scriptures answered in this book. The author, unlike many other non-Trinitarian books, doesn't just provide an answer; he provides scriptures to back it up. The evidence presented on this one verse alone is powerful enough that even the staunchest of Trinitarians will have to admit the bias in arguing Isaiah 40:3 and Matthew 3:3 mean Jesus is Jehovah. A double standard must be held to stick to a Trinitarian interpretation. The other 50 plus Trinitarian scriptures are answered in the same manner. This is not to say other non-Trinitarian works do not present a well-thought out argument; it only highlights that Holt keeps his opinions to a minimum and tends to offer more scriptural support to his arguments.

However, as I said above, the strength of this book is not the powerful arguments against Trinitarian scriptures. The best part of this book are the hundreds of scriptures covered in the second half, which suggest Jesus is not God. The author basically says 'Here are hundreds of verses specifically showing Jesus is someone other than God. You need to convince us these common people with little to no education heard Jesus say he was sent by God and yet still believed he was God.' This is a format that raises this work above other non-Trinitarian works. While they are mostly consumed with answering Trinitarian scriptures, (and they often do a decent job at that), the author focuses more on getting Trinitarians to deal with the hundreds of non-Trinitarian scriptures.

This book is a gem and the arguments against Trinitarian verses are the most powerful I've seen. And the scriptures showing Jesus is not God are even more powerful. Great buy!

I got this book as a result of a theological dilemma I had found myself in after studying with Jehovah's Witnesses for several years. Though they presented a very good scriptural case that Jesus was not Jehovah the Trinitarian views that I would listen to on Christian radio were also very compelling. Most notably are D. James Kennedy, Adrian Rodgers, Hank Hanegraaff's "Bible Answerman", and "The White Horse Inn" discussions. They all are wonderful ministers and are very convincing in their Trinitarian theology yet in a "Trinitarian" sermon I would always note a lack of consistency from beginning to end. For example, early in a sermon one would preach that Jesus was God but then later on a passage that clearly showed that Jesus was not God would be quoted; Not necessarily to prove Jesus was God but maybe to illustrate a different point. At any rate there always seemed to be at least one contradiction in the person's own sermon not to mention what I could discern from my own scriptural knowledge. This bothered me as I was still torn as to who stood more on scriptural truth rather than doctrinal tradition.

I believe in Sola Scriptura as the only true way to interpret the scriptures as most Protestants do. However, I discovered that Jehovah's Witnesses tend to stay truer to the philosophy of letting scripture interpret scripture. I got to the point where I knew I needed to do a very detailed study of the scriptures that both support and refute Trinitarian thinking. A very daunting task to say the least! It was at that time that I discovered Brian's book. I cannot begin to describe what a blessing it has been! Not only has this book saved me countless hours of research but also provides me with a very handy reference in that when I hear a passage quoted supporting Trinitarian theology I can go straight to the Scripture Index in the back of Brian's book, find the scripture and examine the argument. At the very least this book provides a great starting point for a research project. At best Brian resolves the issue to my satisfaction right then and there! So far there has not been a scripture used to support the Trinity that is not referenced in this book. This is a very comprehensive book on the subject and anyone interested in the modern day "Arian Controversy" should have a copy of this book in his or her library.

Instead of dazzling us with grammatical acrobatics on obscure and arguable rules of Greek as many do on this topic when defending what cannot logically be defended, Brian Holt takes us straight to the Bible, and breaks everything down so all can understand. What a breath of fresh air.

Heads Up, your ad hominem argument is self evident. For those whose Latin may be a tad rusty: In Heads Up's review he appeals to personal considerations and attacks "against the man" (the author) rather than to fact or reason.

If the town liar were to tell a truth, would it be true even though the town liar told it? Truth is truth; it stands on its own merit regardless of who declares it.

Read the book; judge the matter for yourself based on the flawless, detailed arguments presented by the author, not based on his personal religion, his degrees, his mother's maiden name, or his pet's favorite toy. And always, always be prompt to recognize "ad hominem" arguments; they are the refuge of those who cannot present a logical, unbiased rebuttal to the argument at hand. Blame, beat, disregard, or ignore the messanger, because you don't like the message? Come on...

The book presents an outstanding coverage of both sides of the Trinity argument, in favor and against. Decide for yourself once you have fully, entirely educated yourself on the matter.

I read some of the reviews before I bought the book and part of me said don't waste the money, the other part said it might be worth a look. So I bought it and I was impressed with what I saw. The author covers practically every Trinitarian scripture there is and, in my opinion, does a decent job of explaining them. One viewer said he had a flippant attitude in his writing style but I didn't perceive that at all. The author basically took the position of 'It isn't that hard to understand the truth about God and His Son.' That's not a flippant attitude, it's simply a 'don't make this harder than it is' attitude. This one reviewer wants to get into "deep" discussions but why? If Jesus is said to be standing NEXT to the PERSON of God then how much deeper do you need to go to understand if Jesus is separate from God? I believe this reviewer is hung up on human philosophy rather than accepting the simple truth. But she is correct about one thing. Millions of people are being fooled by Trinitarians. Why? Perhaps because they have the same attitude J.Wolf has. They want to make the hundreds of simple statements in the Bible more complex than they need to be. True, the Trinity is a complex doctrine. The relationship of God to Jesus as related in the Bible is not. It's too bad J. Wolf doesn't see that.

And what's with reviewer Daniel Bryant? My goodness this guy has made himself look like a fool. Obviously he doesn't have the book else he'd know the author believes the same thing he does! Mr. Bryant rants on how Jesus isn't God and gives scriptures to back up his statement. But Mr. Bryant is apparently clueless that the whole point of this book is to demonstrate that Jesus is not God. Mr. Bryant seems to think the author is saying Jesus is God! You can't convince me he's read the book.

In regards to the book, it could be a little more in depth in some areas but it is far more detailed than some reviewers have made out. His appendix on Michael the Archangel was interesting (though I'm not convinced) and the simple logic used to dispel the complex arguments of the Trinity are what draw humble, common people to it. After all, the disciples were fishermen, farmers, etc. Not theologians and philosophy majors.

One last comment to the reader who thinks we're all "missing the point." I'm sure he/she would like to think that our personal salvation is the most important thing but to be quite frank, it isn't. This person needs to quite thinking so highly of himself. There are far more important issues in the universe than our personal salvation. And I'm sure even most Trinitarians would agree that it's very important to know the truth about God and Jesus. As the apostle Paul said, some would "have a zeal for God, but not according to accurate knowledge." -Rom 10:3. And it was our Lord Himself who said "God is a spirit and those who worship him must worship him with spirit and TRUTH."-John 4:24

So I do recommend this book because of the simplicity in which it presents the truth. For those of you who, like J.Wolf, want to go through the labyrinth of confusing discussions in an effort to explain a three-headed God, this work isn't for you. But if you're the kind of person that simply wants to accept what the Bible says rather than how creative a philosopher can get in order to explain it away, grab a copy and enjoy!

I have read many books on the Trinity, including works from Rob Bowman, Robert Morey and Ron Rhodes, along with some more respectable scholars. None of these works compare to this book. What we find from the above mentioned authors is a lot of fluff with little substance. They pick a scripture and spend three pages trying to convince you why such a scripture says Jesus is God.

Brian Holt has done something novel that is sure to change the way Trinitarians will have to deal with non-Trinitarians. He went straight through the NT recording every scripture that seems to say Jesus is God and every scripture that seems to say he is not. How many Trinitarians have done that? Not many as they would simply be overwhelmed by the quantity of scriptures stacked against them. All to the tune of around 400! And these scriptures that Holt brings to the table are not of the implicit type Trinitarians bring where they have to explain to us why a certain verse shows Jesus is God. There's no question on how to translate the nearly 400 scriptures Holt notes and we don't have to be guided through the Bible playing "connect the dots" with other verses in order to see why such a verse is saying Jesus is not God. As Holt said, the 400 scriptures that show Jesus is not God just "smack us in the face" as meaning just that.

However, he doesn't stop there. He combs through numerous Trinitarian books gathering their arguments. Then, one by one and with relative ease, he discusses why these verses do not say Jesus is God. The amazing thing is that he quotes many Trinitarian scholars who challenge other Trinitarians on what certain verses mean. Pitting two people who believe the same doctrine against each other because they disagree on which verses call Jesus is God is a brilliant approach. After all, if Trinitarian scholars can't agree amongst themselves about what a verse means, why should non-Trinitarians accept what only half the Trinitarians accept?

As one who has read many Trinitarian and anti-JW books, it's refreshing to see a book that actually discusses all of the evidence. For those who want to remain in the dark and seek refuge from the bulwark of non-Trinitarian arguments, keep buying books by the above mentioned authors. If you want to see just how much evidence is stacked against the Trinity, some from Trinitarians themselves, get this book! But be careful! This book is a powerful attack on Trinitarian faith. The arguments don't come from scholars, theologians or the opinions of Baptist preachers, they come from God's Word.

I found this book very well written, especially for the layperson. I can't really offer any more praise for it than what has been offered below but I will address a common argument used by negative reviewers. For instance, a "Reader from Finland" states the following about this book.

"Without doubt, it convinces you that Jesus didn't claim to be God -- meaning that Jesus didn't claim that he was God the Father. The problem is, Trinitarians don't claim, nor they ever have, that Jesus did."

This has been a typical response by Trinitarians to this book but nothing is further from the truth. The author NEVER says that Trinitarians think Jesus is the Father or that Jesus claimed to be the Father. In fact, the author must have heard this argument many times before he wrote this book because he repeatedly, almost to a nauseous level, reminds the reader over and over that these scriptures are NOT contrasting Jesus with "God the Father", they are contrasting Jesus with "God", period! Trinitarians instantly substitute the phrase "God the Father" in place of "God" at their own convenience.

Additionally, from the first chapter the author addresses the term "God" as used by Trinitarians, noting that they believe there is "God the Father", "God the Son" and "God the Spirit" and that they are not the same person and that one cannot be swapped for the other. What these Trinitarian reviewers have done is automatically ASSUME that any verse that contrasts Jesus with "God" must be contrasting Jesus with "God the Father" even though the verse doesn't say "God the Father", it simply says "God." The author acknowledges this tendency for Trinitarians to take it upon themselves to arbitrarily assume when "God" means "God the Father" or "God the Son" or "God the Spirit" or if it means ALL of God as in the whole Trinity. On page 13 he states the following:

"How does a Trinitarian know which definition of God to apply to a verse? It is quite simple. If a verse appears to say Jesus is not God or God is someone other than him, then the term God must only be referring to "God the Father..." since it could not possibly mean all of God because this would exclude Jesus from being God."

Thus, I can assure you, the alleged straw man argument these reviewers claim is in the book is simply not there. What the author does is go through the book showing HUNDREDS of scriptures that contrast the person of Jesus, not with the term "God the Father", but with the all-inclusive term "God". The author, perhaps frustrated from the same old repetitive response given by Trinitarians, states the following in his concluding chapter.

"Think about what this means. Nothing can refute the Trinity doctrine! No matter how many times Peter, Paul or Jesus himself says Jesus has a God, it does not refute the idea that Jesus is God. No matter how many times he is called God's Son, he is still God. Do not worry about how many times the Bible says he is in subjection to God...What about all those verses that say Jesus is a different person from God? Do not worry about those either...In other words, if there were 800, 1600 or even 3200 hundred verses that state Jesus is not God, it would not matter [to Trinitarians]...With that thought in mind, one mask ask himself...am I allowing the Bible to shape my viewpoint of Jesus or am I allowing a preconceived doctrine to shape it?"

Good point Mr. Holt. A common argument used by Trinitarians is the question, "Why didn't Jesus just come out and say 'I am not God" if he wasn't God?" But as the author notes in the concluding chapter, even if Jesus DID say "I am not God", it would not convince most Trinitarians. If Jesus did say that, the Trinitarian response would be something along the lines of this:

'What Jesus meant by saying "I am not God" was that he was not "God the Father". He was not saying that he was not "God the Son" and thus, even though Jesus said "I am not God", he was not denying the Trinity or that he is God.'

Any non-Trinitarian who has spoken with a Trinitarian can only shake his head in agreement that the likely response to Jesus saying "I am not God" would be just has the author put it. This can be seen from the many times Jesus is distinguished from "God" and immediately Trinitarians will reply that "God" means "God the Father", even though the scriptures don't say that. The author has successfully demonstrated the thinking of many who believe Jesus is God and has shown why their a priori skews their ability to understand the simple truth. This book is awesome!

Brian Holt does a good job of listing most of the scriptures and showying why they do or not support the trinity doctrin. His division of the scriptures into implicit and explicit is most helpful Also, the additional information about the church fathers, Athanasian Creed, and Michael the Archangel was good supplemental information.

However, I have two complaints about the book. First, there is the problem of his notations at the end of some scripture references that they were handled earlier without a page number or scripture reference to locate the comments. For example, Mark 1:24 on page 164; John 6:69 on page 194. In most csaes he was kind enough to give this information. This can lead to hours of going back over previousely plowed ground. Second, some trinitarians use supportive verses in multiple ways and Mr. Holt does not address all variants. Were he to do so his book would have been much thicker and far too complex.

On the whole I have been benefitting greatly from the information and appreciate the opportunity to have such information in one compact volume. I would certainly recommend this book for anyone who wants a truly balanced viewpoint on the subject even though it does not cover all aspects of the complex trinity doctrin.

Occum's Razor says all things being close to equal the similest explantion seems to be the right one in most cases. This books writer has not only shown his understanding of Gods word the bible but his reasoning is so simple to understand. He is a witness and he reasons like one (similar to his Master Christ). The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology Vol.2 says under God "The NT does not contain the developed doctrine of the Trinity." Holts points out this in his book and it's so easy to understand and show the truth of this statement, just because the bible at John 1:1 and Isa 9:6 calls Jesus God does not make him equal to the Father in power, glory and substance and coeternal, no more than - God calling the judges of Isreal gods, or Moses God, or Satan the God of this world would make them equal to our heavenly Father in power, glory and substance and coeternal with him. Trinitarian arguments are 100% implicit (it might mean what they feel it means if no all the other verses are considered)but no verses the use are explicit. Bible words don't work by themselves, sentences or verses don't work by themselves, chapters don't work alone, bible books don't work alone but with all other portions of the bible and in harmony. Thats what makes it stand out as a book from God. Buy the book it shows both arguments and does it with such eaze and class. Love it.

I am not one to write reviews at Amazon but I love to read them. However, a review by Mr. Roach was so off base I am compelled to finally speak up. Firstly, I love this book and use it often when speaking to Trinitarians and it stumps them all the time. Perhaps Mr. Roach should have named his review "Hey, my book is missing a bunch of pages!" The author DOES address most of his trinitarian issues. (although he states in the book that he doesn't address all of the arguments by Trinitarians because some are simply so poor they are not worth mentioning. I agree)

Looking through his bullets I see Mr. Roach is missing the following pages regarding worshiping Jesus (32-38, 103-105 ), on Jehovah being Almighty God while Jesus is a Mighty God (52, 57-58, 134, 142, 147, 348, 355 ), discussion of Matt 28:19,20 (46-47 ), God as Creator, not Jesus (109-111, 125-127, 132-133 ), the term "other" at Col 1:15 (249-256 ), John 5:18 is covered also (62-64 ) and so is John 20:28 (79-81 ) in which the author doesn't have any trouble at all addressing this argument, contrary to what Mr. Roach states. And while Mr. Roach acknowledges that the author covers John 1:1 arguments on pages 49-59, he doesn't address the arguments the author made other than just implying they are wrong. Ok, if you say so Mr. Roach, then it must be true. Oh, BTW, Matthew 1:23 is addressed on page 39-44.

Would someone from Amazon please send Mr. Roach another copy, it appears he received one missing half the pages in it.

What I can say about the book is that it covers all the reputable Trinitarian arguments, and I've put page numbers for Mr. Roach so he can go back and read his book and find these arguments. To date, this is still one of the best books on the identity of Jesus that I've read. Don't let Trinitarians deceive you when they say this book isn't thorough on the subject and the scriptures it covers. It's just an attempt to try to divert some of their own away from seeing the hundreds of scriptures that go against their doctrine. That's not a typo either. There are literally hundreds of scriptures that show Jesus is not God. So the author didn't discuss a few of the weaker Trinitarian arguments. Like me, he probably realized that with over 400 verses showing Jesus is not God, those weaker ones weren't worth wasting the paper to address.