Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Christian Podcast Central

Home
Evangelical - Sponsored
The Summit Lecture Series: A Muslim Makes Sense of the Trinity, with Nabeel Qureshi

The Summit Lecture Series: A Muslim Makes Sense of the Trinity, with Nabeel Qureshi

Last updated on: December 29, 2015 at 9:38 am by Christian Podcast Central

The Summit Lecture Series: A Muslim Makes Sense of the Trinity, with Nabeel Qureshi 2015-12-29T09:38:22-08:00 Christian Podcast Central

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Summit Lecture Series Slider

To purchase the entire DVD set of the Summit Lecture Series, visit summit.org.

As a Muslim, I believed that God appointed Jesus (the Quran teaches very clearly that Jesus is THE MOST miraculous of prophets); and I believed that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John ARE God’s word.

But, when I was hit between the eyes with the reality that the Gospels could not have been corrupted over the past 2,000 years; and that Jesus did, in fact, claim to be God, I suffered from cognitive dissonance, to say the least! Nabeel Qureshi

I had a HUGE intellectual and personal dilemma.

What had previously been pretty much just an academic wrestling match with my Christian friend, David, became something that hit home to my very mind and soul and it consumed me.

For the first time, I began to question what I had been taught my whole life and led to believe as truth. I thought about my parents, sister and extended family and everything they had given up in order to follow Islam. And wonder if Islam is true at all.

Now, my investigation turned much more personal. I began praying more and more fervently as I sought out truth. Now, I had prayed before – at least five times each day – but, it was more out of Muslim duty, not out of loving God with my whole heart.

But, at this new point in my life, I was seeking God like never before. I learned Matthew 7:7 in a whole new perspective:

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”

I also knew that the Quran says, “If you seek truth, you will receive it.” So, I prayed like crazy, “Allah, could you show me the truth here? I need to know what the truth is.”

This started me asking questions like, “Can the Trinity actually be viable? What does it mean for God to be three-in-one and one-in-three?”

This summer coincided with when David and I took Organic Chemistry together. In Chemistry, you learn that everything is made up of atoms. Each atom has multiple parts – a nucleus made up of a neutron and a proton and electrons floating around it. Then, multiple nuclei come together and share electrons within electron clouds, called molecules.

Now, sometimes, these electrons hang out in one area and then all of a sudden flip to another area because of the polarity and other factors. When this happens, you have multiple resonance structures. And here’s what my Organic Chemistry professor said about resonance structures:

Image: ChemistNATE

“A molecule is every single one of its resonance structures at every point in time. BUT it’s no single one of its resonance structures at any point in time.”

Upon hearing this, I stopped and thought, “If she can believe that about Chemistry, what problem do I have about the Holy Trinity?”

In other words, there are certain things in science that we know to be true, but are inexplicable at the macro level. Another example is light: We know that light is both a particle AND a wave. This makes no sense to physicists, but they know it is still true. There are things that happen on the deeper levels of science that just do not fit our macro-understanding.

Why is it, then, that the Trinity poses such a problem, when we can expect the One who created the world to be more complex than anything in the world?

Another perspective is this: God created our minds. So, if I can “create” a god that my mind can grasp, it probably isn’t the right God. God is bigger than us.

This is when I began to realize that no matter what objection I had to the nature of God, it is an unviable objection – unless there is an obvious contradiction. This is because God MUST BE greater than my comprehension.

Image: Cath Art Creations by Marianne

So, this leads to the question, “Is the Trinity a contradiction?”

No.

The definition of the Trinity is: God exists in one Being, and three Persons. Now, if I were to say that God was one Being and three Beings, that would be a contradiction. Same goes for if I were to say that He is one Person and three Persons. But, He is one Being and three Persons.

So, what’s the difference between a being and a person?

I am a human being. That is my being – I am human. But, my person is Nabeel. That’s who I am. So, my being makes me what I am, and my person makes me who I am.

Therefore, God is one Being, but His one Being has three co-equal Persons: the Father, the Son and the Spirit. This is not a contradiction. He is just more complex than anything we’ve seen on this earth. And that’s what we can expect!

Is the Bible corrupted?

Muslim objections to Christianity

muslims

Nabeel Qureshi

speech and debate

Previous Post

December 28, 2015

The Daren Streblow Comedy Show Mini-Cast 123: Kindergarten, Andy Beningo & Jeff Allen

Next Post

December 29, 2015 I’m Waiting 13: Our Choices ALWAYS Come with Consequences, with Ricky Garza

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Brad Stine Has Issues Christian Podcast Central Classic Podcast Experience God Life Grounded Ouxano Parent Like You Mean It The Protest Show with Thor Ramsey The Summit Lecture Series Uncategorized What You’ve Been Searching For

Select a Month July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz