The Trinity: Don’t Take It Lightly

The Trinity: Don’t Take It LightlyGwen Shamblin had a good thing going. She had combined her training in dietetics with a Christ-centered approach to counseling and formed the Weigh Down Diet weight-loss program. Her popular workshop – over 30,000 groups meeting in churches around the world – and her best-selling book, The Weigh Down Diet, were overwhelming successes. Gwen found herself at the helm of a multi-million dollar business. But then last winter she ventured outside her field, and wrote an article entitled “Teaching The Trinity” in which she denied that there are three persons in one God. She made such shallow comments as, “If God had wanted us to refer to Himself, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as the ‘Trinity,’ He would not have left this word completely out of the Bible.” Referring to the Trinity as “man-made teaching debated between 325 and 415 AD,” she wrote, “I should not be looked down upon because I continue the debate.” As soon as she denied the Trinity, Gwen discovered how significant this doctrine is to God’s people. Her publisher, Thomas Nelson, cancelled the contract for her next book. The Christian Booksellers Association advised bookstores to remove her books from their shelves. Thousands of her workshops were shutdown by their host churches. The Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry pointed out that denying the Trinity means denying also the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit. It labeled her a “false teacher” and warned against any association with her or her diet program. Such a strong reaction to the denial of the Trinity demonstrates just how sacred this foundational doctrine is to those who enjoy an intimate relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To find out more about the Trinity, and how much this doctrine permeates both the Old and New Testaments, read this month’s features.By Larry Ondrejack