Their silence upon a point deemed important, undeniably demonstrates that the Apostles
never entertained any such notion [of the deity of Christ or a Trinity]; neither did
they require any such belief of the first Christians; and it lies upon you, as a sincere
Christian, to show what right Christians had, who lived several hundred years after
their days, to make that necessary to salvation, which Christ and his Apostles never
made so.
Joseph Priestly, in Tracts, 1:182 (London: Unitarian Society, 1790) cited in Leonard Hodgson, The
Doctrine of the Trinity (London: Nisbet and Co., 1943) 221.
This is why you need to proclaim your belief in the Trinity. A mistaken belief that silence is assent to a position. In this case that the Apostles did not think Jesus was God. I do not necessarily agree that there was silence:
13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"14And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets."
15He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
This is a clear declaration of the deity of Christ by Peter.
27Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."
28Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
29Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."
I think this a clear declaration of the deity of Christ after the resurrection by Thomas.
My point is that you can never state this concept too boldly nor too frequently. There is clear declaration within passages of Scripture, but some will maintain that silence on the part of the Apostles was uncertainty or disbelief.
The question is, how do you do it effectively? Any ideas?
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