Whom Was Jesus Praying To?

I was sharing my faith on Cal State Long Beach a few days ago and I had a conversation with a Muslim fellow about the Trinity. The objection he raised to me is a common one that the Jehovah’s Witnesses and some Unitarian sects raise against the Trinity, which is, if Jesus is God, to whom was he praying to?


What is the Trinity? The Trinity, it must be emphasized, is monotheistic. Trinitarians affirm that there is only one God. In this one God, there are three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, yet they are not three gods, but only one God. Also, while all three persons are God, there is a difference between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are not each other, yet they are all God. There is one being, and three persons; one what, and three who’s.

Given this definition, it makes sense to answer the question, “Who was Jesus praying to?” with, “The Father, another person of the Trinity.” We are perfectly consistent, and we are not contradicting ourselves. When I responded this way to the Muslim gentleman, we said it didn't make sense if Jesus was God, then he was praying to God, and so God was praying to himself, and that’s absurd. I agree, that does sound absurd, but only because the Muslim gentleman snuck in an assumption that strict monotheists assume, which is God is a person. When this fellow says, God was praying to God, he’s equivocating and assuming that God is a singular person, but of course, as a Trinitarian, I deny that! God is a being (some might say substance) and within that being three persons. God himself is not a person. It would indeed be a contradiction if I were to say that there are three persons in one person, or three beings in one being. Rather, there are three persons in one being.

He wanted to go on and start giving analogies of the Trinity, however, I am very skeptical of analogies I haven’t heard before. They may seem ok at first, but will find out later they are straw men. He wanted to say that God is like three shapes. I didn’t allow him to use that, since it sounded like Modalism, the idea that God presents himself in different modes. And by the way, the analogy that the Triune God is like water: it can be liquid, it can solid, it can be gas, I think is also an example of Modalism, so I don’t encourage you to use that as an analogy.

A final objection the Muslim fellow had was that it didn't make sense. I’m not too sure what this is supposed to prove. If it not making sense means that it’s incoherent or contradictory, then that doesn't follow. Something can be perfectly coherent, but just difficult to grasp, like math, or women. I might not understand how a car works, but that doesn't mean it therefore doesn't  I have no idea what God looks like, but because I can’t grasp it doesn't mean it’s incoherent or contradictory. This is a matter of epistemology vs. ontology, or knowledge vs. being, and is a red herring.