“Religions have developed systems of beliefs to respond to the big questions in life.”
The Protestant Christian Tradition has a set of rituals and beliefs that set the foundation for their faith. The acceptance in a triune God, that is; God as three persons that are collectively one, God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, is a fundamental part in the Protestant Christian Traditions understanding of the Characteristics of God. His nature is also understood as being transcendent –existing out of space and time, and immanent – being present within space and time. God’s image is present in humanity and thus these beliefs in God and his character enable us to get a clear understanding of our purpose in life, and the responsibility we
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In genesis we get an idea of the trinity being presented when God speaks “Let us make man in our image, according to Our likeness” and continues to refer to himself as plural. In the New Testament, there are countless occasions where the trinity is referenced; “Baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19). This idea of the trinity came about in response to Arius’ teachings on the father’s divinity over the Son and the utterly transcendent, immutable and impassable nature of God. The fullest expression of the concept of the trinity was introduced by Tertullian, a Latin theologian who wrote in the early third century. Tertullian created the words "Trinity" and "person" and explained that the Bible taught that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were "one in essence - not one in Person. A century after Tertullian, the Council of Nicea set out to officially define the relationship of the Son to the Father, in response to the controversial teachings of Arius. Led by Bishop Athanasius, the council affirmed the doctrine of the Trinity as orthodoxy in contrast to Arius ' teaching that Christ was the first creation of God. Thus the trinity was accepted as an official religious dogma. The creed adopted by the council described Christ as "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios) with
Religion was involved with many things in a person’s life. It affects things like social status, relationships, the economy, culture, and politics. The complex ideas of religion and politics have shaped societies. The Puritans have set their goal to make their society and way of living connected to God in every way, shape, and form. In the seventeenth century this standard to keep God by your side has deeply affected politics and lawmaking, and has even caused some people to be continuously persecuted. From the strength of their religious beliefs stemmed these radical ideas, which deeply affected lives in the 17th century. Though these ideas were a way of life at one point in time, if these ideas were applied to our government today the
The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325. At that time, the text ended after the words "We believe in the Holy Spirit", after which an anathema was added. The doctrine of the Trinity is commonly expressed as: "One God, three Persons”, but this word "Trinity" does not appear in the Bible. So the doctrine is formally defined in the Nicene Creed, which declares Jesus to be: "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father." in 325, the Council of Nicea set out to officially define the relationship of the Son to the Father, in response to the controversial teachings of
I will like to crave your indulgence to the fact that "Nicene concept of Trinity" is never stated in the Bible, and it is that early Christians as well as the scriptures clearly points out the fact that Jesus was fully divine and pre-existent. For the fact that, none of the early Christian theologians fully asserted the doctrine of the Trinity, not even a speculation about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. According to the father of the paganism description of Trinity "God can in no way be described." (Schindler 148).
Trinity: The Trinity was a key feature of Christianity. The Trinity symbolized the three persons of God, the father, the son, and the Holy
God the Son is revealed in the Christian Scriptures. God the Spirit is revealed in the Church. The Trinitarian doctrine states that there are three co-eternal, equal persons in God, which is the notion of unity within community. The Trinitarian doctrine was further developed and defined at the councils of Nicaea in 325 CE and Constantinople in 381 CE. God was always trinity, however gradually this reality became known through revelation. Jesus calls God and speaks of the spirit which indicates a plurality in God. The difficulty is reconciling the concept of monotheism with the notion of God existing as three persons. The divine essence is common to all three, however the three persons have attributes or properties which distinguished them eg Fatherhood, sonship and sanctifying power. Once essence means that the actions (creation, redemption, sanctification) are attributable to all. Mutual relations is the concept that the terms Father and Son are not titles but expressions of a relationship and thus all three persons are co-equal
Although the consubstantial nature of Jesus and God was confirmed at Nicaea, it wasn’t definitively defined because Arians responded with another heretical view: Jesus and God were homoiousious. The belief that God and Jesus were only similar in nature allowed for subordinationism to manifest, which was a heresy that asserted God the Father was superior to Jesus and the Holy Spirit (Williams, 2001, p.133). So this belief accepts the Trinity but has misinterpreted the orthodox declaration of the idea. Arius told of the unequal glories amongst each “distinct being” within the Trinity (Williams, 2001, p.102). This was scorned by Athanasius who knew of the homoousious relationship through scripture (Colossians 2:9), which is how God expresses
The word “trinity” is used to describe the relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Though all three are used in scripture there is no description of the “trinity.” Throughout this paper the concept of the “trinity” will be examined. First, the paper will have a summary of relevant sections from three sources: the New Catholic Encyclopedia, the older Catholic Encyclopedia, and a peer-reviewed theological article from a contemporary journal. Two concise analyses will follow the summary. In the first analysis there will be a comparison between the older and newer Catholic encyclopedias to see how over time theological reflection has changed. In the second analysis there will be a comparison between the New Catholic Encyclopedia and a contemporary theological article to show the differences between the two theological perspectives.
Both Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox Church comprehended God to exist in three structures, known as the Trinity. God is three in one, the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.
In 325, the Council of Nicea set out to formally characterize the relationship of the Son to the Father, in light of the dubious lessons of Arius. Driven by Bishop Athanasius, the gathering confirmed the precept of the Trinity as conventionality and censured Arius ' showing that Christ was the first making of God. The ideology received by the committee depicted Christ as "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios) with the Father."
Migliore defines the Christian confession of God as triune as a “summary description of the witness of Scripture to God’s unfathomable love incarnate in Jesus Christ and experienced and celebrated in the community of faith” (Migliore 67). He is quick to explain that “the doctrine of the Trinity is not a revealed doctrine…[because it] did not descend miraculously from heaven, nor was it written by God on tablets of stone”’; rather it is “the product of the meditation and reflection of the church on the gospel message over many centuries” (67). That said, Migliore believes that a confession of the triune God has both a biblical and experiential basis. He states “if talk of the triune God is not to be wild speculation, it will always find its basis and its limit both in the biblical narrative of God that comes to the world through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the actual
There are three foundational points in this theological approach that provide comprehension for that which seems beyond understanding --- God in one being; God in three persons. First, the main idea is centered on joining with Christ in the continuing ministry that substantiates the
All through history, religion and what God someone follows has drastically affected their lifestyle by affecting their political statuses. The way someone lived was determined by what religion they followed politically,economically and socially. Most colonies official religion was Anglican/Church of England or Christianity but some did not have an official religion which created problems. The slaves that were forcefully immigrated to the colonies were not able to practice their own religion because some owner were extremely religious and other were not able to connect to their God or Gods. American history demonstrate that religion and the God someone followed had drastic effects with politics by not being able to be part of it, economy by not being able to own any land and make money for himself , and society by not being about to join any communities or organization extremely affected slaves to reach true happiness in the place they call home.
The definition of the Trinity according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead according to Christian dogma.” The basis of the Trinity is that there is God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are three separate parts, yet they make up one. While this is confusing to the naked ear, it actually makes logical sense on a deeper level. Scholars and philosophers struggled for years to give a valid explanation of the Trinity. It was not until Tertullian in the 2nd or 3rd century AD that a satisfactory explanation was given. Tertullian came up with the Trinitarian Doctrine, which basically
When discussing religion, many people have different perspectives about religion beliefs and how to approach it. Religion is grouped in different sections such as, religion and spirituality, religion and philosophy, and religion and politics. Religion has many different views from different cultures because everyone approaches it differently with different beliefs also. To make something religion, is to have some type of belief in God, but everyone’s belief is different depending on the culture someone is located in. In society back then and today, religion has no set essence of a definition because of the different aspects people group religion in. This paper will explain the different aspects of what people believe constitutes different types of religion.
As Catholics we believe in the holy Trinity. Trinity derives from the Latin word trinitas meaning three. This is where the controversy begins and becomes relatively easy for non-Catholics or non-believers to misinterpret the holy Trinity. When we make the sign of the cross and say in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit we know as Catholics that we are referring to three people and one substance, which means they are in relationship with each other. In 325, the Arianism belief claimed Jesus Christ and God the Father were different substances (hypostasis). Due to Arianism’s outrages claims Constantine, a Roman emperor, ordered all Bishops to gather and discuss the consensus of the relationship between Jesus Christ and God the Father. They gathered in Nicea and created the Creed of Nicea in 325. The creed gave light to the relationship between Jesus Christ and God the Father. The Council of Nicea revealed four arguments to support the relationship between Jesus Christ and God the Father. First, they said Jesus Christ is eternally begotten (before all ages), Jesus Christ is begotten from the Father’s substance (ousia), he is one substance (homoousia) with the Father, and was begotten not made. Their goal was to uphold the Church’s truth that the Son of God and God the Father were in all actuality “one substance.” It was also done to shut down the Arianism belief that Jesus Christ was of a different substance (hypostasis).