The Athanasian Creed (5-6th Century)
– summarised version
And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; ... .. Neither confounding the Persons: nor dividing the Substance.
For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son: and another of the Holy Ghost,
But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one: the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son: and such is the Holy Ghost….
……But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together: and co equal, So that in all things, as is aforesaid; the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.
He therefore that will be saved: must thus think of the Trinity.
This doctrine is taken seriously as the closing phrases indicate. In the words of the creed, salvation depends upon believing in this concept of God. This teaching has been vigorously maintained in the past, and often enforced on pain of persecution or death. (For example, the reader may care to investigate the death of Michael Servetus – a prominent surgeon burnt slowly to death at the bidding of John Calvin. He was not the only one. The reader may also like to consider the history of what is called ‘The Doctrine of the Trinity Act’ in England).
While Trinitarian theology accepts that The Father is God, it complicates matters by teaching that God is a Triune God, comprised of three persons; the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. They further believe that these three persons are each of equal power and might from eternity. They are distinct in person, yet one in unity and substance, and just so you don’t confuse things too much, they say that it is important to understand that the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. This is a very confusing concept, and one that many theologians also admit is confusing. For this reason it is often called ‘a mystery’.
However, as with most wrong ideas, if it is firstly assumed to be true then the evidence can be garnered and arranged to support the position. The following quotations provide an interesting insight into the thinking of many modern scholars who are unshackled from the past perils of expressing heterodox views. Further details on these references are noted below the quotations.
M.Harris ‘Jesus as God: The New Testament Use of Theos in Reference to Jesus’ (Grand Rapids: Baker. 1992) (‘The Restitution of Jesus Christ’ - Page 21)
“it is a curious fact that each of the [disputed theos] texts … contains an interpretative problem of some description; actually, most contain two or three.”
A.E.Harvey, ‘Jesus and the Constraint of History’ 1982 (‘The Restitution of Jesus Christ’ - Page 21)
“The New Testament writers … show no tendency to describe Jesus in terms of divinity, the few apparent exceptions are either grammatically and textually uncertain or have an explanation which … brings them within the constraint of Jewish monotheism”
Dr. W. Matthews (1940) (‘The Trinity, True or False’ - Page 188)
“It must be admitted by everyone who has the rudiments of an historical sense that the doctrine of the Trinity, as a doctrine, formed no part of the original message. St Paul knew it not, and would have been unable to understand the meaning of the terms used in the theological formula on which the Church ultimately agreed”
Harold Brown ‘Heresies’ (Doubleday, 1984) (Anthony Buzzard’s ‘The Doctrine of the Trinity’, Pg.145)
“It is a simple fact and an undeniable historical fact that several major doctrines that now seem central to the Christian faith – such as the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of the nature of Christ – were not present in a full and self-defined generally accepted form until the fourth & fifth centuries”.
We will not spend any more time refuting this belief here, but the reader is welcome to research these matters for themselves. The following books may be of some help in understanding the subject more fully.
“The Trinity – True or False?” – (Available from the Dawn Book Supply)
‘When Jesus Became God’ by Richard E. Rubenstein (Amazon)
‘The Doctrine of the Trinity – Christianity’s Self-Inflicted Wound’ – Anthony Buzzard & Charles F. Hunting. (Amazon)
“The Restitution of Jesus Christ” – Kermit Zarley (Available from the author, via his website)
And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; ... .. Neither confounding the Persons: nor dividing the Substance.
For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son: and another of the Holy Ghost,
But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one: the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son: and such is the Holy Ghost….
……But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together: and co equal, So that in all things, as is aforesaid; the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.
He therefore that will be saved: must thus think of the Trinity.
This doctrine is taken seriously as the closing phrases indicate. In the words of the creed, salvation depends upon believing in this concept of God. This teaching has been vigorously maintained in the past, and often enforced on pain of persecution or death. (For example, the reader may care to investigate the death of Michael Servetus – a prominent surgeon burnt slowly to death at the bidding of John Calvin. He was not the only one. The reader may also like to consider the history of what is called ‘The Doctrine of the Trinity Act’ in England).
While Trinitarian theology accepts that The Father is God, it complicates matters by teaching that God is a Triune God, comprised of three persons; the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. They further believe that these three persons are each of equal power and might from eternity. They are distinct in person, yet one in unity and substance, and just so you don’t confuse things too much, they say that it is important to understand that the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. This is a very confusing concept, and one that many theologians also admit is confusing. For this reason it is often called ‘a mystery’.
However, as with most wrong ideas, if it is firstly assumed to be true then the evidence can be garnered and arranged to support the position. The following quotations provide an interesting insight into the thinking of many modern scholars who are unshackled from the past perils of expressing heterodox views. Further details on these references are noted below the quotations.
M.Harris ‘Jesus as God: The New Testament Use of Theos in Reference to Jesus’ (Grand Rapids: Baker. 1992) (‘The Restitution of Jesus Christ’ - Page 21)
“it is a curious fact that each of the [disputed theos] texts … contains an interpretative problem of some description; actually, most contain two or three.”
A.E.Harvey, ‘Jesus and the Constraint of History’ 1982 (‘The Restitution of Jesus Christ’ - Page 21)
“The New Testament writers … show no tendency to describe Jesus in terms of divinity, the few apparent exceptions are either grammatically and textually uncertain or have an explanation which … brings them within the constraint of Jewish monotheism”
Dr. W. Matthews (1940) (‘The Trinity, True or False’ - Page 188)
“It must be admitted by everyone who has the rudiments of an historical sense that the doctrine of the Trinity, as a doctrine, formed no part of the original message. St Paul knew it not, and would have been unable to understand the meaning of the terms used in the theological formula on which the Church ultimately agreed”
Harold Brown ‘Heresies’ (Doubleday, 1984) (Anthony Buzzard’s ‘The Doctrine of the Trinity’, Pg.145)
“It is a simple fact and an undeniable historical fact that several major doctrines that now seem central to the Christian faith – such as the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of the nature of Christ – were not present in a full and self-defined generally accepted form until the fourth & fifth centuries”.
We will not spend any more time refuting this belief here, but the reader is welcome to research these matters for themselves. The following books may be of some help in understanding the subject more fully.
“The Trinity – True or False?” – (Available from the Dawn Book Supply)
‘When Jesus Became God’ by Richard E. Rubenstein (Amazon)
‘The Doctrine of the Trinity – Christianity’s Self-Inflicted Wound’ – Anthony Buzzard & Charles F. Hunting. (Amazon)
“The Restitution of Jesus Christ” – Kermit Zarley (Available from the author, via his website)
No comments:
Post a Comment