Did Jesus Redeem Mankind? — Page 12
12. TRINITY. No doubt, belief in trinity holds an important place in the basic articles of Christianity. But, it is so closely bound up with the belief in vicarious atonement and disbelief in salva-· tion, that they stand together and fall together. . Christianity, as is well-known, believes that, in order to save man, God sent the Messiah, His only son, in atonement. . According to Christianity, God cannot forgive sin as it would contradict His justice. By forgiving the sins of man, He runs the risk of being iniquitous. But since, at the same time, He was very keenly desirous that men should be saved, therefore, in order to secure this end, He sent His son the Cross, so that those who believed in his death on the Cross to be put on may be saved from spiritual punishment and thus his giving up his ghost on the Cross may atone for their sins. . It is evident that the theory of vicarious atonement presupposes tripartite godhead, for, it is based on the doctrine that God hanged His only son to death and gave him life after three days. This belief predicates the existence of more than one God. In case of His being the one and only God, this cannot be a practical proposition. For, God, cannot bring Himself back to life three days after hanging Himself to death. . In the event of accepting the doctrine of tripartite godhead, however, one is confronted with the question whether the three members of the order have equal powers or differ rom one another in that respect. If one has greater power than the other, this would amount to an imperfection in God the Almighty. According to the concensus of belief all religions are agreed that an imperfect being cannot be god. The