Trinity
- Created by: Former Member
- Created on: 08-05-23 08:40
Meaning of Trinity
Means tri-unity or three in one and was coined by Tertillian in the 3rd century.
The Father / creator, Son / redeemer and Spirit / sustainer are three distinct persons that are all fully God but they coexist equally so Christianity is still monotheistic. It can aldo be described as perichoresis or rotating around each other and is symbolised by the triquatra. This reflects the ineffabiity of God and portrays him as a community of three persons.
It was written into the Nicene Creed in 325CE.
Heresies that contradict the trinity are adoptionism, that Jesus only became God's son when he was baptised, sabellianism, that Jesus was only human, and arianism, that Jesus was the highest ccreated being but not of the same level as God. Unitarians also reject it as they think Jesus was human and not divine.
"The Word was with God and the Word was God" (Jn 10)
"I and the Father are one" (Jn 14)
"In the name of the Faher, the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28)
Filioque Controversy
Latin 'filioque' means and the son and was added on to the Nicene Creed, implying that the Holy Spirit proceded from Jesus as well as God.
It was accepted by the Latin West but rejected by Greek East, causing a great schism between the Eastern and Western churches. This is partly because it was added without the consent of the 5 patriarchs: Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Rome and Constantinople. When the Pope taught the Trinity in church, he was called a heretic.
There was also debate about what the Trinity meant.
Economic Trinity = what the three persons of God do e.g. create, redeem, sustain.
Immanent Trinity = what the three persons of God are e.g. three persons one God.
Views on the Trinity
Barth saw the Trinity as fundamenal to Christianity and that the three persons live in eternal repetition rather than simultaneously. He also said that the immanent trinity is the economic trinity. It is "what distinguishes the Christian doctrine of God as Christian"
Criticisms - Moltmann thinks Barth commits the heresy of modalism by saying God exists in three modes of being, he doesn't distinguish between the three parts enough, Orthodox Christians say the immanent trinity is not the economic trinity and others thinks the filioque as a whole is heretical.
Augustine thought the economic trinity was the immanent trinity and you can see traces of the trinity in creation e.g. love, lover, beloved or memory, understanding, will.
Enlightenment scholars found the three persons too illogical, especially since it is not empirical and canot be experienced. Schleiermacher dismissed the Trinity in one of his books called 'The Christian Faith'.
Trinity A1
Explain how the filioque controversy could create different views about the doctrine of the Trinity.
Latin 'filioque' means and the son and was added on to the Nicene Creed, implying that the Holy Spirit proceded from Jesus as well as God.
It was accepted by the Latin West but rejected by Greek East, causing a great schism between the Eastern and Western churches. This is partly because it was added without the consent of the 5 patriarchs: Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Rome and Constantinople. When the Pope taught the Trinity in church, he was called a heretic.
The Western church emphasise the unique quality of each person: fatherhood, begottenness and procession while the Eastern Orthodox see the Son and Spirit as coming from the one source of the Father.
Trinity A2
Examine the nature and identity of Christ in the doctrine of the Trinity.
Means tri-unity or three in one and was coined by Tertillian in the 3rd century. The Father / creator, Son / redeemer and Spirit / sustainer are three distinct persons that are all fully God but they coexist equally so Christianity is still monotheistic. It can aldo be described as perichoresis or rotating around each other and is symbolised by the triquatra. This reflects the ineffabiity of God and portrays him as a community of three persons.
It was written into the Nicene Creed in 325CE, though there was debate over the filioque controversy. Heresies that contradict the trinity are adoptionism, that Jesus only became God's son when he was baptised, sabellianism, that Jesus was only human, and arianism, that Jesus was the highest ccreated being but not of the same level as God. Unitarians also reject it as they think Jesus was human and not divine.
"The Word was with God and the Word was God" (Jn 10)
"I and the Father are one" (Jn 14)
"In the name of the Faher, the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28)
Trinity B1
'The monotheistic claims of Christianity are not compatible with the doctine of the Trinity.' Evaluate this view.
Agree - the three persons make it polytheistic, it is illogical nonsense and hard to grasp as metaphors and analogies fail, it is comparable to paganism, during the incarnation Jesus and God must have been two separate beings, Unitarians argue the Son and Spirit are not God.
Disagree - to deny that Jesus is God is the heresy of arianism, a similar concept called brahman is seen in Hinduism, it is meant to be complex rather than reductionistic, it is ultimately a mystery.
Trinity B2
'The doctrine of the Trinity is necessary to understand the God of Christianity.' Evaluate this view.
Agree - essential doctrine that describes God's immanent and economic nature and explains why Jesus is the Messiah and how churches have the Holy Spirit breathed on them, Barth calls it the distinguishing feature of Christianity, denying that Jesus is God is arianism.
Disagree - it is illogical and confuses our understanding of God, Barth's concept of three modes of being commits the heresy of modalism, if the Son and Spirit both come from only the Father then He is the only person we must understand.
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