This article argues that a correct understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity can help Muslims accept the truth of Christianity despite that the doctrine of the Trinity is an obstacle to Muslims. To this end, we first examined Islam"s overall understanding of the Trinity and representative verses from Quran, and suggested the possibility that the three representative verses used to deny the Trinity cannot be seen as a denial of the Trinity doctrine of the mainstream Christians. However, it cannot be denied that some other verses of the Quran and Islamic doctrine in general refute the Trinity.
As for the Christian understanding of the Trinity, although the term Trinity is not mentioned in the Bible, several biblical texts evidence that the Trinity is a core doctrine of Christianity based on the Bible. In addition, we noticed that the orthodox church consolidated the doctrine of the Trinity in response to heretics" challenges to the biblical concept of the Trinity and that in this process, terms not used in the Bible were used to explain biblical concepts.
And in the discussion about the views of God between the early Islam and Christianity, the most controversial issue for the early Islam in relation to Christianity was the Trinity and the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ just as they were the issues challenged by heretics throughout previous church history. In addition, the article explored how Arab Christians defended the doctrine of the Trinity in response to the challenge of Islam"s view of God’s absolute oneness. The apologetics of the Trinity can be divided into two approaches: an approach that seeks to prove that the view of trinitarian God is more valid and superior to the Islamic view of God, and an approach that attempts to prove that the view of a trinitarian God is probable even within the framework of the Islamic view of God.
Even today, the basic issues concerning the Trinity from the early days of Islam continues. Also, through the examples of the two contemporary Christian scholars" apologetics, we find that the same vein of apologetics for the Trinity continues since the early dialogue between Islam and Christianity. In addition, the writer addresses the necessity of efforts to correct Muslims" distorted view of the Son"s sonship through the discussion on the Son"s eternal sonship and eternal generation. Lastly, the implications of the comparative study of Christianity and Islam on the Trinity were briefly mentioned.