Thanks for starting this thread. :)
I've been tempted to compile a list of refutations of common trinitarian appeals. John 1:1, the Oneness doctrine and Col 1:16 rank at the top of legs they often use support their man-made dogma.
Here is where biased trinitarian translators seek to modify the word of God to fit their dogma. This is why I seek out different translations. The NLT is the one I prefer for this verse for it makes it clear the creating is being done, not by Jesus but by God. (The juxtaposition cannot be acknowledged by trinitarians).
Christ Is Supreme
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,[a]
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
Colossians 1:15-17 NLT
In this sentence, "Christ" is the "him" through which Creation happened. Who did this creating is explicitly not Jesus in the NLT rendering but God.
Anytime two prepositions are put together, it is a clumsy sentence, e.g., 'for by' or 'for through.' It almost says Jesus created everything, which is exactly what trinitarians want to believe. But almost relies on a lack of reading skills to support a flawed dogma. In fact, it may be a literal translation but is not proper English. The CJB renders is in more precise English language usage.
because in connection with him were created all things
The passive voice of 'were created' makes it clear the creating was done by another Being other than Jesus. There is no 'created by' to mislead anyone and the 'in connection' makes clear that although Jesus was involved, connected, he was NOT the Creator.
Most significantly, it is used to refer to
re-creating. Our God is not merely a Creator but through Christ, he is a re-Creator, a redeemer. 1 COR 15:23-28. We were not just made, we were made to be right with God - through his
chosen suffering servant. Keeping this adoption in mind of who Jesus is, is most important.
To read Collosians in context of Scripture, one must realize it was after The Gospel of Mark and The Acts of the Apostles, were it is written a proof text destroying trinitarianism:
This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God (not God the Son).
Mark 1:1
For he has set a Day when he will judge the inhabited world, and do it justly, by means of a man whom he has designated. And he has given public proof of it by resurrecting this man from the dead.”
Acts 17:31 CJB
It means Jesus was selected, among men, to carry out God's plan. In another thread, one poster deliberately misinterpretted this point, fixating instead on and asserting that the man Jesus was not selected but Judgment Day was selected. In my correcting his error, his ego could not admit the verse
explicitly juxtaposes God with this man who God selected. Hard to fit the trinity into that. And Col 1:16 must be read with this pre-existing understanding of the audience in Collosse in mind.