Quotes on the Trinity

Economic and essential trinity:- (a) The transition from the Trinity of experience to the Trinity of dogma is describable in other terms as the transition from the economic or dispensational Trinity [Greek] to the essential, immanent or ontological Trinity [Greek] !t first the "hristian faith #as not Trinitarian in the a strictly ontological reference $t #as not so in the apostolic and s%b-apostolic ages, as reflected in apostolic the &T and other early "hristian #ritings &or #as it so e'en in the age of the "hristian apologists !nd e'en Tert%llian, #ho fo%nded the nomenclat%re of the orthodox doctrine, kne# as little of an ontological Trinity as did the apologists( his still the economic or relati'e conception of the )ohannine and *a%line theology +o ,arnack holds, and he says f%rther that the #hole history of "hristological and Trinitarian dogma from !thanasi%s to !%g%stine is the history of the displacement of the -ogos-conception by that of the +on, of the s%bstit%tion of the immanent and absol%te Trinity for the economic and relati'e $n any case the orthodox doctrine in its de'eloped form is a Trinity of essence rather than of manifestation, as ha'ing to do in the first instance #ith the s%b.ecti'e rather than the ob.ecti'e /eing of God !nd, .%st beca%se these t#o meanings of the Trinity-the theoretical and the practical, as they might also be described-are being sharply disting%ished in modern "hristian tho%ght, it might be #ell if the term 0Trinity0 #ere employed to designate the Trinity of re'elation or the doctrine of the threefold selfmanifestation of God), and the term 1Tri%nity0 (cf Germ 2reienigkeit) !dopted as the designation of the essential Trinity (or the doctrine of the tri-personal nat%re of God)3 (Encyclopdia of Religion and Ethics, James Hastings, Trinity, p 461 ! 34irst, it is important to note that the doctrine of the Trinity does not go back to non"hristian so%rces [this is his opinion], as has sometimes been s%pposed in the past There has been no lack of attempts to find the initial form of the doctrine of the Trinity in *lato, or in ,ind%ism, or in *arsiism !ll s%ch attempts may be regarded today as ha'ing flo%ndered [again his opinion ref%ted belo#] $t is another 5%estion, of co%rse, #hether or not the ch%rch, in de'eloping the doctrine of the Trinity [#hy de'elop something if it already existed6], had reco%rse to certain tho%ght forms already present in the philosophical and religio%s en'ironment, in order that, #ith the help of these, it might gi'e its o#n faith clear intellect%al expression [an admission of borro#ing pagan philosophy] This 5%estion m%st definitely be ans#ered in the affirmati'e $n partic%lar cases the appropriation of this concept or that can often be pro'ed 7nfort%nately,

ho#e'er, it is tr%e that partic%larly in reference to the beginnings of the doctrine of the Trinity there is still m%ch %ncertainty $n this area final clarity has not yet been achie'ed !s far as the &e# Testament is concerned, one does not find in it an act%al doctrine of the Trinity This does not mean 'ery m%ch, ho#e'er, for generally speaking the &e# Testament is less intent %pon setting forth certain doctrines than it is %pon proclaiming the kingdom of God, a kingdom that da#ns in and #ith the person of )es%s "hrist !t the same time, ho#e'er, there are in the &e# Testament the r%diments of a concept of God that #as s%sceptible of f%rther de'elopment and clarification, along doctrinal lines [his opinion] +peaking first of the person of )es%s "hrist $n other passages of the &e# Testament the predicate 3God3 is #itho%t a do%bt applied to "hrist3 (" #hort History of $hristian %octrine, &ernard 'ohse, 1(66, p)*+)( ! 3$t is a good thing to examine the re'elation that God made to the )e#ish people in the 8ld Testament 9e shall not find in it a lesson on the trinity--there is none ,T-entieth $entury Encyclopedia of $atholicism, .ol! /0, 1hat 2s The Trinity, &ernard 3iault4!5 3$n the book ! +tatement of :easons, !ndre#s &orton says of the Trinity: 09e can trace the history of this doctrine, and disco'er its so%rce, not in the "hristian re'elation, b%t in the *latonic philosophy The Trinity is not a doctrine of "hrist and his !postles, b%t a fiction of the school of the later *latonists3 (" #tatement of Reasons, "ndre-s 6orton, 17*/, 8ifth edition, "merican 9nitarian "ssociation, &oston, :", p (4, 104 ! 39hat does the 8ld Testament tell %s of God6 $t tells %s there is one God, a #onderf%l God of life and lo'e and righteo%sness and po#er and glory and mystery, #ho is the creator and lord of the #hole %ni'erse, #ho is intensely concerned #ith the tiny people of $srael $t tells %s of ,is 9ord, 9isdom +pirit, of the ;essieh ,e #ill send, of a +on of ;an and a +%ffering +er'ant to come /%t it tells %s nothing explicitly or by necessary implication of a Tri%ne God #ho is 4ather, +on and ,oly +pirit 3 3/%t no#here do #e find any trinitarian doctrine of three distinct s%b.ects of di'ine life and acti'ity in the same Godhead3 (The Triune ;od, Edmund 8ortman, pp 6, 1< ! 3The /ible does not teach the doctrine of the trinity &either the #ord trinity itself, nor s%ch lang%age as one in three, three in one, one essence or s%bstance or three persons, is biblical lang%age The lang%age of the doctrine is the lang%age of the ancient "h%rch, taken not from the /ible b%t from classical ;ree= philosophy ,#hirley $! ;uthrie, Jr!, $hristian %octrine, p (/4!5 3There is no e'idence the !postles of )es%s e'er heard of a trinity ,H! ;! 1ells, >utline of History, 1(/0 Edition, p 4((4!5 3$t #as at this stage that "onstantine made his momento%s s%ggestion ;ight not the relationship of +on to 4ather be expressed by the term homoo%sios (3of the same s%bstance3) $ts %se, ho#e'er, by the +abellian bishops of -ibya had been condemned by 2ionysi%s of !lexandria in the <=>s, and, in a different sense, its %se by *a%l of +amosata bad been condemned by the "o%ncil of !ntioch in <=? $t #as th%s a 3loaded3 #ord as #ell as being %nscript%ral 9hy "onstantine p%t it for#ard #e do not kno# The possibility is that once again he #as prompted by ,osi%s, and he may ha'e been %sing it as a 3translation3 of the traditional 'ie# held in the 9est, that the Trinity #as composed of 3Three *ersons in one s%bstance,3 #itho%t in5%iring f%rther into the meaning of these terms The Emperor bad spoken, and no one dared to%ch the creed d%ring his lifetime

The great ma.ority of the Eastern bishops fo%nd themsel'es in a false position5 (The Rise of $hristianity, 1(7<, 1!H!$! 8rend, p140+141 ! 3The *latonic trinity, itself merely a rearrangement of older trinities dating back to earlier peoples, appears to be the rational philosophic trinity of attrib%tes that ga'e birth to the three hypostases or di'ine persons ta%ght by the "hristian ch%rches This Greek philosopher0s conception of the di'ine trinity can be fo%nd in all the ancient [pagan] religions3 (8rench 6ou?eau %ictionnaire 9ni?ersel ,6e- 9ni?ersal %ictionary4, .ol! /, p! 146* ! 3(b) !ltho%gh the notion of a di'ine Triad or Trinity is characteristic of the "hristian religion, it is by no means pec%liar to it $n $ndian religion e g , #e meet #ith the trinitarian gro%p of /rahma, si'a, and @isn%( and in Egyptian religion #ith the trinitarian gro%p of 8siris, $sis, and ,or%s, constit%ting a di'ine family, like the 4ather, ;other, and +on in medie'al "hristian pict%res &or is it only in historical religions that #e find God 'ie#ed as a Trinity 8ne recalls in partic%lar the &eo-*latonic 'ie# of the +%preme or 7ltimate :eality, #hich #as s%ggested by *lato in the Timmoe%s( e g , in the philosophy of *lotin%s the primary or original :ealities are triadically represented as the Good or (in n%merical symbol) the 8ne, the $ntelligence or the 8ne-;any, and the 9orld-+o%l or the 8ne and ;any The religio%s Trinity associated, if some#hat loosely, #ith "omte0s philosophy might also be cited here: the c%lt%s of h%manity as the Great /eing, of space as the Great ;edi%m, and of the earth as the Great 4etish (c) 9hat lends a special character to the "hristian doctrine of the Trinity is its close association #ith the distincti'e "hristian 'ie# of di'ine incarnation 3 3 !s !%g%stine said, 3if in the books of the *latonists it #as to be fo%nd that 0in the beginning #as the 9ord,0 it #as not fo%nd there that 0the 9ord became flesh and d#elt among %s 03 3&one the less "hrist is ackno#ledged as the eternal +on of God and the s%preme re'elation of the 4ather, and the 5%ickening +pirit of life is ackno#ledged to be deri'ed 0 from on high 3 !nd so, #hen the early "hristians #o%ld describe their conception of God, all the three elements-God, "hrist, and the +pirit-enter into the description, and the one God is fo%nd to be re'ealed in a threefold #ay3 [re'ealed 'ia *lato philosophy] (Encyclopdia of Religion and Ethics, James Hastings, Trinity, p 4<7 ! 3The doctrine of the Trinity did not form part of the apostles0 preaching, as this is reported in the &e# Testament3 (Encyclopedia 2nternational, 2an Henderson, 9ni?ersity of ;lasgo-, 1(6(, page //6 ! 3To )es%s and *a%l the doctrine of the trinity #as apparently ne'er kno#n They say nothing abo%t it ,>rigin and E?olution of Religion, @y Aale 9ni?ersity 3rofessor E! 1ash@urn Hop=ins4!5 3!t first the "hristian 4aith #as not trinitarian $t #as not so in the !postolic and s%b!postolic ages, as reflected in the &e# Testament and of the early "hristian #ritings ,Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics4!5 3The trinity 3is a corr%ption borro#ed from the heathen religions, and ingrafted on the "hristian faith3 (" %ictionary of Religious Bno-ledge, 'yman "@@ott, 17*<, p(44 ! 3The #ord Trinity is not fo%nd in the /ible, and, tho%gh %sed by Tert%llian in the last decade of the <nd cent%ry, it did not find a place formally in the theology of the "h%rch till the Ath cent%ry3 (&e# /ible 2ictionary, ) 2 2o%glas B 4 4 /r%ce, Trinity, p C<D?)

The trinity: 3is a 'ery marked feat%re in ,indooism, and is discernible in *ersian, Egyptian, :oman, )apanese, $ndian and the most ancient Grecian mythologies3 (:eligio%s 2ictionary, -yman !bbott, pDAA) 3Theologians today are in agreement that the ,ebre# /ible does not contain a doctrine of the Trinity theologians agree that the &e# Testament also does not contain an explicit doctrine of the Trinity $n the immediate post &e# Testament period of the !postolic 4athers no attempt #as made to #ork o%t the God-"hrist (4ather-+on) relationship in ontological terms3 (The Encyclopedia of :eligion, ;ircea Eliade, Trinity, @ol CE, pEFEG) 3The Trinity The &T does not contain the de'eloped doctrine of the Trinity 3The /ible lacks the express declaration that the 4ather, the +on, and the ,oly +pirit are of e5%al essence and therefore in an e5%al sense God himself3 (6e- 2nternational %ictionary of 6e- Testament Theology, &ro-n, $olin, 1()/, ;od, ?ol /, p74, J! #chneider ! 39hen #e t%rn to the problem of the doctrine of the Trinity, #e are confronted by a pec%liarly contradictory sit%ation 8n the one hand, the history of "hristian theology and of dogma teaches %s to regard the dogma of the Trinity as the distincti'e element in the "hristian idea of God, that #hich disting%ishes it from the idea of God in )%daism and in $slam, and indeed, in all forms of rational Theism )%daism, $slam, and rational Theism are 7nitarian 8n the other hand, #e m%st honestly admit that the doctrine of the Trinity did &8T form part of the early "hristian-&e# Testament-message "ertainly, it cannot be denied that not only the #ord 3Trinity3, b%t e'en the EH*-$"$T $2E! of the Trinity is absent from the apostolic #itness of the faith The doctrine of the Trinity itself, ho#e'er, is not a /iblical 2octrine3 (Emil &runner, 5The $hristian %octrine of ;od5, 3hiladelphiaC 1estminster 3ress, 1(4(, pp! /0< D /)6 ! 3!ll this %nderlines the point that primiti'e "hristianity did not ha'e an explicit doctrine of the Trinity s%ch as #as s%bse5%ently elaborated in the creeds of the early ch%rch3 (James '! &ar=er, 5"postacy 8rom the %i?ine $hurch5, #alt 'a=e $ity 9T, 1(60, p! 44 ! 3Th%s the &e# Testament itself is far from any doctrine of the Trinity or of a tri%ne God #ho is three co-e5%al *ersons of 8ne &at%re3 (1illiam J! Hill, 5The Three+3ersoned ;od5, 1ashington %$, The $atholic 9ni?ersity of "merica 3ress, 1(7/, p! /* !