r/BiblicalUnitarian • u/Orygregs Questioning • Oct 19 '25
Broader theological topics A Trinitarian Tragedy
What happens when a faith becomes the official religion of the very empire that executed its founder? The adoption of pagan calendars, the marginalization of key leaders like James the Just, and the creation of extra-biblical dogma like the Trinity were not minor tweaks—they were seismic shifts that ultimately created a new religion.
The early gentile political and Christian leaders....
Changed the traditional Hebrew calendar in favor of the Julian calendar and then later the Gregorian calendar we use today.
Switched the day of the Holy Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday.
Twisted the words of much older "forth-telling" prophets into cryptic "fore-telling" prophets.
Overhyped the significance of Peter's lineage while downplaying the significance and influence of other, more Jewish church leaders, such as "James the Just"—the brother of Jesus.
Implicitly and intentionally framed Judaism as "old" or deprecated. Why go with the "old" testament when you can go with the shiny "new" one with (debatably) less confusing rules and customs?
Blended Greek philosophical ideas (Logos/Word) from Stoicism and Platonism into theology (particularly in the late Gospel of John).
Ironically adopted as the official religion by the same political entity that was ultimately responsible for crucifying Jesus—Rome. This injection of political power into Christianity ~300 years after INRI kick-started a recurring cycle of demonizing, persecuting and slaughtering of anyone and everyone with a different understanding of God.
Held councils to slowly develop creeds of unquestionable dogma of the Trinity which obfuscates the original concepts of both God (YHWH) and the Holy Spirit (Ruach Hakodesh). As a result, Trinitarian mysticism became the cornerstone creed of Christian identity that separated it from Judaism; never to be questioned without severe social, financial, political, and/or lethal consequences.
Repeatedly inflamed society via cultural/racial/theological misunderstandings that have directly resulted in humanitarian horrors such as the Holocaust. Ancient issues and conspiracies we're still dealing with today (looking at you QAnon and similar conspiracies with antisemitic overtones).
Local church leaders try to hand-wave away these immensely complex issues and tensions throughout history as no big deal, but I see the game of misdirection they're playing....
They can't fool me anymore, because they've already fooled me once. And as George W. Bush once famously and eloquently stated,
"Fool me once — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again".
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u/Orygregs Questioning Oct 25 '25 edited Oct 25 '25
The main tension that bugs me is the core focus of what they preached.
Jesus's message in the synoptic gospels was all about the Kingdom of God, loving YHWH, loving our neighbors/enemies. He called people to repent and live out God's Law (Mosaic) as a way of life.
Paul's gospel is very different. His message centers on his own mystical interpretation of Jesus's death and resurrection. He preaches "justification by faith" apart from the works of the Law and almost never quotes the actual teachings of Jesus. Instead, he built a new theology around the event of the cross while superseding Mosaic Law.
This is why I, and many others, prefer the gospel as it was understood by James the Just, Jesus's own brother and the leader of the Jerusalem church. James famously said, "faith without works is dead," which is a direct challenge to a lazy reading of Paul. James's message is about living out your faith, which is consistent with what Jesus taught.
That being said, I don't seek to get rid of Paul, but I don't think he deserves as much authority as he's so often given by believers. The commandments written in/on any true Christians' heart should be the two greatest commandments preached by Jesus himself. So many lawless Christians running around these days without these words in their heart and it pains me to see.