The Pros And Cons Of The Holy Trinity Doctrine

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).

Throughout this semester I have learned many of the different christian doctrines. Many of them were challenged and also accepted in my weekend trip throughout Saint Louis. I think one of the most important topics that was discussed during my weekend was the consideration of the Trinity. In the Christian thought the word “trinity” is a term used to talk about the Christian doctrine that God exists as a unity of three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three of the staple thoughts include; God is three person; each person is divine; there is only one God. In their relations to one another, they are stated to be on in all else, co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial. With these three thoughts about the Trinity you also must remember that Christianity is a monotheistic religion.

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.

Nicene Trinitarian Doctrine, Bishops from all over came to talk about and challenge the Arian view that Jesus and God are alike but not of the same essence or one. “Nicaea proclaimed with boldness that Jesus shares the divinity of the Father. God the Son is homoousios with God the Father, the same in essence or substance” (Jones, Beth Felker. Practicing Christian Doctrine: An Introduction to Thinking and Living Theologically pg. 64). The Nicene Trinitarian Doctrine is the one that the Church actually adopted because it meant that The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit are one. Then in 381 the Council of Constantinople affirmed the oneness of God, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. There was no trace of ideology in this doctrine and it went along with the Christian Tradition. (John 14:11- 14) “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or believe because of the miracles I have done. (v.13) and if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you. Then the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son. (v.14) if you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it. The Promise of the Holy Spirit (The Holy Bible). The Bible has always lead us to believe that all three persons are in the oneness of God, but it is harder to make sense of it, or try to understand the Trinity. The Church began to understand the doctrine of the Trinity by analyzing all

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

After all, it is this redemption accomplished by Christ on the cross that gives us hope and meaning in the life after death. In order to sufficiently grasp the link between the Trinity and the doctrine of salvation, it is imperative that we start by expounding some trinitarian concepts. The first such concepts are the “Immanent Trinity” which championed the unity of the Triune Godhead as eternally self-sufficient in loving relationships between the distinct persons. A paternal relationship between the Father and Son; a filial relationship between the Son and Father; and the relationships between

The Doctrine of the Trinity was the one core belief that the group expounded on the most. As a question arose on how should one explain the Trinity

Athanasius refers to the Son as the Word and states that in the life of grace, the Word gives the Spirit, who is the “living energy of creation” (Edwards 2014, p.60), to live on earth with God’s people and the Father is in the Word (Edwards 2014, p.61). This shows how each part of the Trinity has their own separate role but they are all one and work in accordance with each other. Athanasius, just like Christians today, is faced with opposition on the idea of the Trinity and just like him, Christians today should remain strong in the faith and solidify their

In order to properly worship, imitate, and love our Lord, we must seek to know who our God is. However, fathoming the Lord becomes an anguishing process for those who seek to decipher the mystery of the Trinity while adhering the systematic philosophies and sciences that comprise Post-Enlightenment’s standards of reason. Instead, seeking to know our God revealed in three persons invites modern Christians to expand their theological imaginations by returning to the early mysticisms and spiritual practices of the early Christian Fathers and Mothers who created our doctrine of Trinity. In order to complete this task of better understanding the mystery of the trinity, we will first explain the historic doctrinal framework of the trinity, then

He gives a good history of the development of the Trinity Doctrine and shows that the Emperors of Rome force Nicene Creed and the others Creeds related to the Trinity Doctrine on the Church. Thus, the Creed of the Trinity Doctrine was more political than theological. Moreover, the ante-Nicene Fathers were not trinitarians in the sense of the Trinity Doctrine; they were unitarians.

It is important to note the defined goals of the Trinity. One being that God sent His Son, Jesus did not send God. Jesus tells us in John 6, that He came to do the will of His Father. Jesus was not doing His own selfish will but everything He did was for His Father. Jesus and God sent the Holy Spirit according to Jesus’ words in John 14:26, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”. It is necessary to recognize the distinctions of the roles of the Trinity as if the roles were not distinctive there would be no Trinity.

As a result, fellowship, prayer, Bible study, worship, and most importantly salvation in its purest form can be discerned and acted upon correctly. In addition, a further understanding can be thus gained regarding the person of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Finally, heresies and heretical groups or beliefs can lead God’s followers astray from the truth and create an improper understanding, and thus relationship with God. Positions past and present have, and are, attempting to mislead Christians about the Trinity. A skewed view of the Trinity can result in a view of God as either divinely apart from creation or simply a better version of all the best attributes of humans. Some positions even take away from the Divinity of Jesus Christ. All of these views severely diminish who God is and alters a proper and true relationship and worship. It is a necessity that these errant views be exposed as a hindrance to God in order not to mislead God’s followers. Likewise a Biblically sound explanation of the Trinity is needed. As a result, a true and pure knowledge of the concept of the Trinity is crucially needed to understand God and be obedient to the Bible.

The Bible is not perfect. (There are parts we now consider obsolete; e.g. Levitical codes.)

The Trinity is a doctrine that has and will continue to bring much controversy to the Christian faith. Yet it is important to understand that a practical approach to this topic can be very important. Having a full understanding of the Trinity is vital to the life of a Christian. The distinct, yet interwoven aspects of God’s character will affect every aspect of a believer’s life.