The Doctrine of the Trinity

Reviews the historical origins and principal elements of Karl Rahner's critique of Thomas Aquinas and Bernard Lonergan. Argues that Rahner's critique fails to come to terms with the basic problematic of Trinitarian theology, and misunderstands the significance of Thomas Aquinas's achievement.

This essay was published in The Bible and Early Trinitarian Theology, edited by Christopher A. Beeley and Mark E. Weedman, for the CUAP Studies in Early Christianity (Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2018); this is the uncorrected proofs. Exploring the humanity and divinity of Jesus, the Son's relation to the Father, and the agency of the Holy Spirit, it is one of five essays suggesting Johannine contributions to trinitarian discussions in the early church.

This paper has long been in my mind and on my heart, and I was finally compelled to work on it and bring it to completion.

The length of the work is largely due to the fact that:
1) The Godhood glory of our Lord has been demonstrated book by book throughout the New Testament (and often in connection with Old Testament prophecy). As such, proofs from one NT book are often seen repeated in others.
2) Extensive comparisons with other scriptures have generally been made for each scripture passage cited in proof of the absolute Deity of Christ—with scripture thus buttressing scripture.
3) Each main text cited in proof of the fact that our Saviour is Jehovah-Jesus has almost always been cited in full and unedited (for all to read for themselves without comment) before citing it again with interspersed remarks bearing on its meaning and unavoidable implications.
4) Commentary other than my own remarks has often been added where it was deemed warranted and helpful.
5) Even scriptures were taken up that are, or may be, twisted and misused by wicked, deluded men to our Lord’s dishonor, and shown that they in fact necessarily redound to His blessed everlasting glory.

In keeping with the above, I have also emphasized the abundant scriptural testimony to our Lord’s unoriginated, underived, eternal Divine Sonship.

One of my objectives, which influenced the structure of this work, was to permit no escape-hatch, if you will, to deceivers or poor, lost deniers of our Saviour's absolute Divine glory. And one of my prayers is that the Holy Spirit would use this paper to shed the light of His scriptures with overwhelming force, such that there is no other recourse than to bow to His Word in true worship of our true God and Saviour Jesus Christ, or to otherwise outright reject His Word with no pretense of submitting to it. May it be the former!

Before delving into the main body of this work, I would also encourage readers to take the time to digest the “Introductory Remarks” which follow this Preface, and which set the framework, context and all-importance of “The Triunity of God and the Person and Work of Christ.” The time invested will pay off in great spiritual dividends—including grounding one in the truth and facilitating avoidance of pitfalls and
traps set by the enemy.

I should also note that I have intentionally not provided full citations of other works or commentaries that have been quoted, but almost always only the names of authors (and then simply their initials after the
first time citing from their works in a given section of the paper). I did not want the remarks cited to be about certain "authorities"; but solely about elucidating the truth (while at the same time not taking false "credit" for such wonderful and helpful comments).

May God use this paper to bless those who belong everlastingly to the Son—to cause their hearts to overflow endlessly in love, adoration, worship of Jehovah-Jesus, He who is their Life and Blessed Hope!—and to reveal, unto salvation, the eternal Godhood glory of the Son of His love to those who are perishing.

Erasmus's 1516 Latin–Greek New Testament edition differed from the Latin Vulgate in several ways. A small number of textual variants with doctrinal implications involved Erasmus in considerable controversy. Medieval Western theologians had often relied on the " Johannine Comma " (the long reading of 1 John 5.7-8), established in the Latin Vulgate during the late Middle Ages, as an important scriptural foundation for the doctrine of the Trinity. However, when Erasmus showed that this variant was not present in the Greek manuscript tradition, he was accused of promoting Arianism. Eras-mus's debates with the cleric Edward Lee and the textual critic Jacobus Stunica exposed tensions between theologians, jealous of their authority in scriptural interpretation, and humanists, who claimed to understand the Bible better than theologians by virtue of their philological skills. This article concludes by exploring the Inquisition's failed attempt to find a consensus on this issue in 1527.

Setelah zaman para rasuli, Gereja mula-mula terus bergumul dalam upaya untuk memahami dan memformulasikan konsep Allah Tritunggal di tengah konteks polemik dengan pemahaman heretic yang berkembang pada masa itu. Pemahaman konsep Allah Tritunggal secara lengkap seperti yang kita miliki sekarang belum di jumpai dalam tulisan Bapa-bapa Rasuli, antara lain Clement dari Roma, Ignatius, Polycarp. Konsep Allah Tritunggal baru mulai terlihat dalam tulisan Bapa-bapa Gereja pada abad ke-2 dan ke-3 seperti Justin Martyr, Irenaeus dan Tertullian. Dalam sejarah perkembangan doktrin Allah Tritunggal dari abad ke-2 sampai abad ke-5, pada awalnya perdebatan teologis berlangsung antara Gereja dengan ajaran heretic modalisme, yang berpandangan bahwa Allah Bapa, Allah Anak dan Allah Roh Kudus adalah satu pribadi Allah dengan tiga peran. Ajaran ini dilawan oleh Tertullian. Pada tahap berikutnya Gereja berhadapan dengan ajaran heretic Arianisme yang menyangkal bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Allah sejati, sehingga terselenggara Konsili di Nicaea (325), yang kemudian merumuskan Pengakuan Iman Nicaea. Salah seorang Bapa Gereja yang berperan penting dalam konsili Nicaea adalah Athanasius. Di dalam Pengakuan Nicaea ditegaskan bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Anak Allah, Allah sejati dari Allah sejati, yang mempunyai substansi yang sama dengan Allah Bapa. Setelah Konsili Nicaea, ternyata Arianisme tetap berkembang dan di dalam periode ini Bapa-bapa Kapadokia meneruskan perjuangan Athanasius. Pertikaian teologis dengan Arianisme berakhir di dalam Konsili Konstantinopel (381). Pada masa yang sama, perdebatan teologis lainnya yang dihadapi oleh Gereja adalah dengan ajaran heretic Macedonianisme, yang tidak percaya bahwa Roh Kudus juga adalah Allah sejati. Perdebatan ini juga diselesaikan dalam Konsili Konstantinopel. Perdebatan teologis berikutnya berlangsung ketika Gereja harus menghadapi ajaran heretic Apollinarisme, yang menyangkal bahwa Yesus Kristus mempunyai jiwa manusia (human soul). Apollinarisme juga juga ditolak dalam Konsili Konstantinopel Sesudah itu, Gereja bergumul untuk memahami natur dan pribadi Kristus. Pergumulan ini dipicu oleh ajaran heretic Nestorianisme yang berpandangan bahwa Yesus Kristus mempunyai dua pribadi dan dua natur yang terpisah serta natur gabungan Allah dan manusia di dalam diriNya. Ajaran heretic ini ditolak di dalam konsili Efesus (431). Dan terakhir, Gereja menghadapi ajaran heretic monofisit yang berpandangan bahwa Yesus Kristus hanya mempunyai satu natur. Ajaran ini kemudian ditentang di dalam Konsili Chalcedon (451), dimana para Bapa Gereja mencapai pemahaman serta perumusan final mengenai dua natur (Allah dan manusia) di dalam satu Pribadi Yesus Kristus, yang diyakini oleh Gereja Universal hingga hari ini. Pada pertengahan masa antara Konsili Nicaea dan Konsili Konstantinopel, hiduplah seorang Bapa Gereja Agustinus (354-430), yang memformulasikan doktrin Allah Tritunggal secara lebih rinci dan komprehensif di dalam bukunya, On the Trinity. Dengan demikian Gereja Universal kini memiliki warisan mengenai doktrin Allah Tritunggal dari Agustinus dan mengenai dua natur Kristus dari Konsili Chalcedon.

There are some who see art as a supplement to our lives; art is considered the activity of the wealthy. History, however, shows the contrary: it shows that since the time of the first primitive cultures, humans needed art–especially visual art–even before they developed a written language. Human needs to see in order to understand, and they want their senses to witness all the ideas in their minds. The divinity has never been far from these attempts; all cultures try to picture the god that they believe in; even Moses wanted to see the God who talks to him.
Christianity did not deactivate this desire in human beings but rather used it in a brilliant way to aid the faithful to worship the unseen God. In his “Letter to Artists,” his holiness Pope John Paul II says that the Church needs art, and art needs the Church: art makes the invisible world of God visible through the attractiveness of beauty.2 During the rise of Christianity, early Christians tried to present their faith by writing and through signs and symbols, as exemplified by the art of the catacombs.
First, this paper will briefly discuss the early attempts to represent the Trinity with all their theological successes and failures: from the symbolic representation to the anthropomorphic representation, which may be separated into the vertical and the horizontal and which was highly developed through the centuries. Finally, the vertical representation of the Throne of Grace will be discussed from a theological viewpoint in order to show that it may be theologically considered as the most accurate representation of the Trinity.

출판사 소개글: 잘못된 삼위일체 하나님으로부터 탈출하라! 그동안 여러 비유로 떠도는 비신학적인 삼위일체 설명에 대한 잡학을 집어던져라. 이 책을 통해 성경적으로 삼위일체를 바르게 알고 이해하며 신앙을 점검하게 될 것이다. 이 책은 먼저 삼위일체 하나님을 대하는 바른 자세에 대해 논하고, 성경과 신조가 말하는 삼위일체 하나님에 대해 설명한다. 더불어 이러한 논의들을 바탕으로 삼위일체 하나님을 표현하는 용어들을 바르게 정리한 후 많은 사람들이 잘못 이해하고 있는 대표적인 삼위일체 오류들을 소개한다. 또한 바른 삼위일체 교리는 무엇인지를 최종적으로 정리하게 된다. 당신은 이 책 한 권으로 세상의 잡다한 삼위일체론에서부터 해방될 것이다. 오랜 신앙생활을 한 기신자에게는 참된 앎의 행복을, 새롭게 신앙생활을 하는 새신자에게는 마음의 답답함을 깨끗하게 해소해 줄 것이다. 뿐만 아니라 조직신학자가 정확하고 바르게 설명해 주는 기본 교리서로서 목회자와 신학생들에게는 더없는 교재로서의 사명을 감당할 것이다. 한국 교회 최고의 삼위일체 개론서가 될 이 책을 통해 삼위일체 교리를 대하는 바른 자세, 바른 성경적 관점, 바른 신조적 관점, 바른 용어적 관점, 바른 교리적 관점 등을 명확하게 인지하여 신앙의 무지로부터 탈출해 보라!

If you are a non-creedal Christian, how do you faithfully confess faith in God? If you seek to be biblical in your theology, what do you do with the doctrine of the Trinity? The Stone Campbell Movement is non-creedal, and has been ambivalent about the Trinity. Alexander Campbell was trinitarian in his theology, but eschewed the language of Trinity. Barton Stone wouldn't accept the designation of Unitarian, but he also rejected the Trinity. That ambivalence has stayed with the movement, but is there need for deep conversation about the Trinity? This is my belief, as developed in what I expect will be a small book/booklet.

A NOTE TO READERS
A great many additions and revisions to this article were rushed through at the last minute, and as a result, numerous errors made their way to print. For example, "repeated" is misspelled on p. 333; the reference to Ep. 237 on p. 336 should be to Ep. 236; "horde" is misspelled four out of the five times it is used on pp. 344-45; W. A. Curtis’s name is misspelled in note 35; and the list goes on. My apologies. I ask readers to be gracious; I am aware of these and numerous other flubs throughout the piece - all rather embarrassing.

Because I am in so many ways displeased with the published version of the piece, I have revised the piece, corrected the numerous errors and polishing the rhetorical flow which was thrown together with unfortunate speed. The corrected version can be accessed below.

ABSTRACT
The following paper is both historical and constructive. The historical dimension of this paper argues that Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzen all use a primary-secondary substance analogy to explain the one ousia and three hypostasis of the Godhead, and this basic line of Trinitarian analogy—what I will call Primary-Secondary Substance Trinitarianism (PST)—is best understood using Aristotelian categories. The constructive side of this essay concerns the question raised by modern critics of PST over whether it can ultimately avoid the charge of tritheism. Thus, after making clear my understanding of this line of analogy, I will consider several objections in an effort to show that PST can successfully sustain its claim to monotheism.

The Theology Without Walls (TWW) project attempts to interpret spiritual experiences without subjecting  them  to  a  priori  criteria  from  religious  traditions,  but  TWW  does  not substitute  universalized  secular  criteria  for  religious  criteria. Some  have  promoted  “multiple  religious  belonging”  as  a  prism  through  which  to  interpret  the  experiences  of  people  participating  in  more  than  one  spiritual  path.  Yet  the  concept  of  multiple  religious  belonging  still  presumes  a framework  in  which  communal  traditions  coordinate  one’s  spiritual  experiences.  For  TWW,  however,  belonging  does  not  have  to  be  religious  or  interreligious or multireligious. The manner in which practitioners thematize, or refuse to thematize, their journeys is not a prerequisite for participation in TWW.  Is TWW then a sect of the disaffiliated that rejects communal encounters and traditions? How does TWW operate in practice? Raimon Panikkar’s writings on the  Trinity  demonstrate  how  a  theologian/practitioner  well  versed  in  two  traditions  responds  to  what  he  calls “the cosmotheandric experience” by articulating how trinitarian presence is not primarily a doctrine but  contrasting  facets  of  reality  to  which  Christianity  and Hinduism  bear  witness.  Panikkar’s  work  is  a  model of how scholars working with TWW can engage with traditions and simultaneously remain attentive to the particularities of everyday reality.

A short article on the origin and development of the longer Trinitarian text of 1 John 5:7-8 as found in the Textus Receptus. The typos that are present in this draft will be corrected before the final version is submitted for publication. These include: Lachman > Lachmann; 1881 > 1831; Montifortianus > Montfortianus; [Ayuso] Ionneum > Ioanneum; [Bludau 1903-1] Bibeldruchen > Bibeldrucken; [Bludau 1919-1] den Glaubensbekenntnis > dem Glaubensbekenntnis; [Fischer] pseudo-autustinischen > pseudo-augustinischen; obiectarum. > obiectarum.’; [Rivière] es trois > des trois. Thanks to Jeff Cate, Peter Gurry, and especially Jan Krans for alerting me to these when it was originally posted on academia in 2015. The data of this DRAFT will also fully updated and footnoted in the 2020 peer-reviewed version in "Early Christianity."

This article critically examines Jonathan Edwards’s doctrine of the Trinity with a particular focus upon his understanding of the person of the Holy Spirit. While his restatement of Augustinian orthodoxy served the church well during a time of great doctrinal heterodoxy, it created some problems of its own. These problems were rooted in his use of philosophical idealism, his reliance upon trinitarian analogies, and his adapted doctrine of perichoresis.

Setelah zaman para rasuli, Gereja mula-mula terus bergumul dalam upaya untuk memahami dan memformulasikan konsep Allah Tritunggal di tengah konteks polemik dengan pemahaman heretic yang berkembang pada masa itu. Pemahaman konsep Allah Tritunggal secara lengkap seperti yang kita miliki sekarang belum di jumpai dalam tulisan Bapa-bapa Rasuli, antara lain Clement dari Roma, Ignatius, Polycarp. Konsep Allah Tritunggal baru mulai terlihat dalam tulisan Bapa-bapa Gereja pada abad ke-2 dan ke-3 seperti Justin Martyr, Irenaeus dan Tertullian. Dalam sejarah perkembangan doktrin Allah Tritunggal dari abad ke-2 sampai abad ke-5, pada awalnya perdebatan teologis berlangsung antara Gereja dengan ajaran heretic modalisme, yang berpandangan bahwa Allah Bapa, Allah Anak dan Allah Roh Kudus adalah satu pribadi Allah dengan tiga peran. Ajaran ini dilawan oleh Tertullian. Pada tahap berikutnya Gereja berhadapan dengan ajaran heretic Arianisme yang menyangkal bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Allah sejati, sehingga terselenggara Konsili di Nicaea (325), yang kemudian merumuskan Pengakuan Iman Nicaea. Salah seorang Bapa Gereja yang berperan penting dalam konsili Nicaea adalah Athanasius. Di dalam Pengakuan Nicaea ditegaskan bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Anak Allah, Allah sejati dari Allah sejati, yang mempunyai substansi yang sama dengan Allah Bapa. Setelah Konsili Nicaea, ternyata Arianisme tetap berkembang dan di dalam periode ini Bapa-bapa Kapadokia meneruskan perjuangan Athanasius. Pertikaian teologis dengan Arianisme berakhir di dalam Konsili Konstantinopel (381). Pada masa yang sama, perdebatan teologis lainnya yang dihadapi oleh Gereja adalah dengan ajaran heretic Macedonianisme, yang tidak percaya bahwa Roh Kudus juga adalah Allah sejati. Perdebatan ini juga diselesaikan dalam Konsili Konstantinopel. Perdebatan teologis berikutnya berlangsung ketika Gereja harus menghadapi ajaran heretic Apollinarisme, yang menyangkal bahwa Yesus Kristus mempunyai jiwa manusia (human soul). Apollinarisme juga juga ditolak dalam Konsili Konstantinopel Sesudah itu, Gereja bergumul untuk memahami natur dan pribadi Kristus. Pergumulan ini dipicu oleh ajaran heretic Nestorianisme yang berpandangan bahwa Yesus Kristus mempunyai dua pribadi dan dua natur yang terpisah serta natur gabungan Allah dan manusia di dalam diriNya. Ajaran heretic ini ditolak di dalam konsili Efesus (431). Dan terakhir, Gereja menghadapi ajaran heretic monofisit yang berpandangan bahwa Yesus Kristus hanya mempunyai satu natur. Ajaran ini kemudian ditentang di dalam Konsili Chalcedon (451), dimana para Bapa Gereja mencapai pemahaman serta perumusan final mengenai dua natur (Allah dan manusia) di dalam satu Pribadi Yesus Kristus, yang diyakini oleh Gereja Universal hingga hari ini. Pada pertengahan masa antara Konsili Nicaea dan Konsili Konstantinopel, hiduplah seorang Bapa Gereja Agustinus (354-430), yang memformulasikan doktrin Allah Tritunggal secara lebih rinci dan komprehensif di dalam bukunya, On the Trinity. Dengan demikian Gereja Universal kini memiliki warisan mengenai doktrin Allah Tritunggal dari Agustinus dan mengenai dua natur Kristus dari Konsili Chalcedon.

This article builds on C. S. Peirce’s suggestive blueprint for an inclusive outlook that grants reality to his three categories. Moving away from the usual focus on (contentious) cosmological forces, I use a modal principle to partition various ontological layers: regular sign-action (like coded language) subsumes actual sign-action (like here-and-now events) which in turn subsumes possible sign-action (like qualities related to whatever would be similar to them). Once we realize that the triadic sign’s components are each answerable to this asymmetric subsumption, we obtain the means to track at which level of complexity semiosis finds itself, in a given case. Since the bulk of such a “trinitarian” metaphysics would be devoted to countenancing un-interpreted phenomena, I argue that current misgivings about sign-based ontologies are largely misplaced.

Setelah zaman para rasuli, Gereja mula-mula terus bergumul dalam upaya untuk memahami dan memformulasikan konsep Allah Tritunggal di tengah konteks polemik dengan pemahaman heretic yang berkembang pada masa itu. Pemahaman konsep Allah Tritunggal secara lengkap seperti yang kita miliki sekarang belum di jumpai dalam tulisan Bapa-bapa Rasuli, antara lain Clement dari Roma, Ignatius, Polycarp.  Konsep Allah Tritunggal baru mulai terlihat dalam tulisan Bapa-bapa Gereja pada abad ke-2 dan ke-3 seperti Justin Martyr, Irenaeus dan Tertullian. Dalam sejarah perkembangan doktrin Allah Tritunggal dari abad ke-2 sampai abad ke-5, pada awalnya perdebatan teologis berlangsung antara Gereja dengan ajaran heretic modalisme, yang berpandangan bahwa Allah Bapa, Allah Anak dan Allah Roh Kudus adalah satu pribadi Allah dengan tiga peran. Ajaran ini dilawan oleh Tertullian. Pada tahap berikutnya Gereja berhadapan dengan ajaran heretic Arianisme yang menyangkal bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Allah sejati, sehingga terselenggara Konsili di Nicaea (325), yang kemudian merumuskan Pengakuan Iman Nicaea. Salah seorang Bapa Gereja yang berperan penting dalam konsili Nicaea adalah Athanasius. Di dalam Pengakuan Nicaea ditegaskan bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Anak Allah, Allah sejati dari Allah sejati, yang mempunyai substansi yang sama dengan Allah Bapa.

Setelah Konsili Nicaea, ternyata Arianisme tetap berkembang dan di dalam periode ini Bapa-bapa Kapadokia meneruskan perjuangan Athanasius. Pertikaian teologis dengan Arianisme berakhir di dalam Konsili Konstantinopel (381). Pada masa yang sama, perdebatan teologis lainnya yang dihadapi oleh Gereja adalah dengan ajaran heretic Macedonianisme, yang tidak percaya bahwa Roh Kudus juga adalah Allah sejati. Perdebatan ini juga diselesaikan dalam Konsili Konstantinopel. Perdebatan teologis berikutnya berlangsung ketika Gereja harus menghadapi ajaran heretic Apollinarisme, yang menyangkal bahwa Yesus Kristus mempunyai jiwa manusia (human soul). Apollinarisme juga juga ditolak dalam Konsili Konstantinopel

Sesudah itu, Gereja bergumul untuk memahami natur dan pribadi Kristus. Pergumulan ini dipicu oleh ajaran heretic Nestorianisme yang berpandangan bahwa Yesus Kristus mempunyai dua pribadi dan dua natur yang terpisah serta natur gabungan Allah dan manusia di dalam diriNya. Ajaran heretic ini ditolak di dalam konsili Efesus (431). Dan terakhir, Gereja menghadapi ajaran heretic monofisit yang berpandangan bahwa Yesus Kristus hanya mempunyai satu natur. Ajaran ini kemudian ditentang di dalam Konsili Chalcedon (451), dimana para Bapa Gereja mencapai pemahaman serta perumusan final mengenai dua natur (Allah dan manusia) di dalam satu Pribadi Yesus Kristus, yang diyakini oleh Gereja Universal hingga hari ini.

Pada pertengahan masa antara Konsili Nicaea dan Konsili Konstantinopel, hiduplah seorang Bapa Gereja Agustinus (354-430), yang memformulasikan doktrin Allah Tritunggal secara lebih rinci dan komprehensif di dalam bukunya, On the Trinity. Dengan demikian Gereja Universal kini memiliki warisan mengenai doktrin Allah Tritunggal dari Agustinus dan mengenai dua natur Kristus dari Konsili Chalcedon.

This paper explores Nicola Vicentino’s comparison of the musical intervals of the unison, octave and double octave to the three persons of the Christian Trinity (L’antica musica II.23). Vicentino draws this unusual analogy through an exploration of Augustine’s suggestion that all creation bears ‘traces of the Trinity’ (vestigia Trinitatis). Despite explicitly distancing himself from Platonising Arians, Vicentino uses a number of Platonic themes in his exploration of the nature of the Trinity as well as in his metaphysical and aesthetic theories. Finally, he asserts that music can bring about ethical transformation not simply by means of the physical or psychological effects of its sounds, but also by prompting tropological interpretation.

Per rispondere a questa domanda esaminiamo tre aspetti basati sulle parole di Gesù stesso:
1) Cosa ci insegnano le parole di Gesù al Getsemani?
2) Gesù e Dio sono una sola persona?
3) Cose che Dio conosce e Gesù no, e cose che non competono a Gesù.

This article studies the role of theological preunderstanding in interpreting the text of Scripture in the middle of the fourth century CE. It investigates Hilary of Poitier’s use of Scripture in Trinitarian controversies, his hermeneutical approach in his De Trinitate, and his theological exegesis of John 1:1-2. It is contended that Hilary’s pro-Nicene theology determined his particular reading of the opening verses of the Gospel of John. The article demonstrates how this exactly worked. Encountering the exegesis of Arius/‘Arians’/Latin Homoeans, Hilary attempted to show that the Son was eternally born from the Father and therefore, one could not speak about the temporal or even pre-temporal beginning of the Son’s existence. The Son already ‘was’ ‘in the beginning’.

This article investigates the implications of the ancient nomos/physis debate to Trinitarian theology. While the Cappadocians, countering Heteroousians, eventually demonstrated that naturalist understanding of naming did not work for Christian theology, Hilary still assumed that it did. Hilary is usually grouped with naturalists who held that names were not arbitrary and conventional impositions, but that they corresponded to the nature of what they designated. Yet, there are several complications with such a grouping, because not all naturalists (e.g., Cratylus, Stoics, Origen, Eunomius) say the same thing, focus on same issues, have theological interest in names, or agree with Hilary. Accordingly, this paper will argue that Hilary can be called a “naturalist” only in a qualified sense.

Setelah zaman para rasuli, Gereja mula-mula terus bergumul dalam upaya untuk memahami dan memformulasikan konsep Allah Tritunggal di tengah konteks polemik dengan pemahaman heretic yang berkembang pada masa itu. Pemahaman konsep Allah Tritunggal secara lengkap seperti yang kita miliki sekarang belum di jumpai dalam tulisan Bapa-bapa Rasuli, antara lain Clement dari Roma, Ignatius, Polycarp. Konsep Allah Tritunggal baru mulai terlihat dalam tulisan Bapa-bapa Gereja pada abad ke-2 dan ke-3 seperti Justin Martyr, Irenaeus dan Tertullian. Dalam sejarah perkembangan doktrin Allah Tritunggal dari abad ke-2 sampai abad ke-5, pada awalnya perdebatan teologis berlangsung antara Gereja dengan ajaran heretic modalisme, yang berpandangan bahwa Allah Bapa, Allah Anak dan Allah Roh Kudus adalah satu pribadi Allah dengan tiga peran. Ajaran ini dilawan oleh Tertullian. Pada tahap berikutnya Gereja berhadapan dengan ajaran heretic Arianisme yang menyangkal bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Allah sejati, sehingga terselenggara Konsili di Nicaea (325), yang kemudian merumuskan Pengakuan Iman Nicaea. Salah seorang Bapa Gereja yang berperan penting dalam konsili Nicaea adalah Athanasius. Di dalam Pengakuan Nicaea ditegaskan bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Anak Allah, Allah sejati dari Allah sejati, yang mempunyai substansi yang sama dengan Allah Bapa. Setelah Konsili Nicaea, ternyata Arianisme tetap berkembang dan di dalam periode ini Bapa-bapa Kapadokia meneruskan perjuangan Athanasius. Pertikaian teologis dengan Arianisme berakhir di dalam Konsili Konstantinopel (381). Pada masa yang sama, perdebatan teologis lainnya yang dihadapi oleh Gereja adalah dengan ajaran heretic Macedonianisme, yang tidak percaya bahwa Roh Kudus juga adalah Allah sejati. Perdebatan ini juga diselesaikan dalam Konsili Konstantinopel. Perdebatan teologis berikutnya berlangsung ketika Gereja harus menghadapi ajaran heretic Apollinarisme, yang menyangkal bahwa Yesus Kristus mempunyai jiwa manusia (human soul). Apollinarisme juga juga ditolak dalam Konsili Konstantinopel Sesudah itu, Gereja bergumul untuk memahami natur dan pribadi Kristus. Pergumulan ini dipicu oleh ajaran heretic Nestorianisme yang berpandangan bahwa Yesus Kristus mempunyai dua pribadi dan dua natur yang terpisah serta natur gabungan Allah dan manusia di dalam diriNya. Ajaran heretic ini ditolak di dalam konsili Efesus (431). Dan terakhir, Gereja menghadapi ajaran heretic monofisit yang berpandangan bahwa Yesus Kristus hanya mempunyai satu natur. Ajaran ini kemudian ditentang di dalam Konsili Chalcedon (451), dimana para Bapa Gereja mencapai pemahaman serta perumusan final mengenai dua natur (Allah dan manusia) di dalam satu Pribadi Yesus Kristus, yang diyakini oleh Gereja Universal hingga hari ini. Pada pertengahan masa antara Konsili Nicaea dan Konsili Konstantinopel, hiduplah seorang Bapa Gereja Agustinus (354-430), yang memformulasikan doktrin Allah Tritunggal secara lebih rinci dan komprehensif di dalam bukunya, On the Trinity. Dengan demikian Gereja Universal kini memiliki warisan mengenai doktrin Allah Tritunggal dari Agustinus dan mengenai dua natur Kristus dari Konsili Chalcedon.

In this essay, I assess a certain version of ’social Trinitarianism’ put forward by J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, ’Trinity Monotheism’. I first show how their response to a familiar anti-trinitarian argument arguably implies polytheism. I then show how they invoke three tenets central to their Trinity Monotheism in order to avoid that implication. After displaying these tenets more fully, I argue that trinitarians would do well to hold Moreland’s and Craig’s Trinity Monotheism at arms length.

How and when did Jesus and the Spirit come to be regarded as fully God? The Birth of the Trinity offers a new historical approach by exploring the way in which first- and second-century Christians read the Old Testament in order to differentiate the one God as multiple persons. The earliest Christians felt they could metaphorically 'overhear' divine conversations between Father, Son, and Spirit when reading the Old Testament. When these snatches of dialogue are connected and joined, they form a narrative about the unfolding interior divine life as understood by the nascent church. What emerges is not a static portrait of the triune God, but a developing story of divine persons enacting mutual esteem, voiced praise, collaborative strategy, and self-sacrificial love. The presence of divine dialogue in the New Testament and early Christian literature shows that, contrary to the claims of James Dunn and Bart Ehrman (among others), the earliest Christology was the highest Christology, as Jesus was identified as a divine person through Old Testament interpretation. 

Endorsements: Joel B. Green, Larry Hurtado, Lewis Ayres, and Matthew Levering.

    - A new historical proposal for how the doctrine of the Trinity first emerged.
    - Unfolds the story of the God in a uniquely Trinitarian fashion.
    - Exemplifies the theological interpretation of Scripture.
    - Shows how and why one can read the Old Testament and the New Testament together as Christian Scripture.
    - Fresh evidence for an early high Christology.

This article locates the roots of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed in the teachings of the New Testament, particularly in the application of OT YHWH texts and the ’aqēdāh motif to Jesus.  Includes a listing of over ninety YHWH texts applied to Jesus in the NT.

Setelah zaman para rasuli, Gereja mula-mula terus bergumul dalam upaya untuk memahami dan memformulasikan konsep Allah Tritunggal di tengah konteks polemik dengan pemahaman heretic yang berkembang pada masa itu. Pemahaman konsep Allah Tritunggal secara lengkap seperti yang kita miliki sekarang belum di jumpai dalam tulisan Bapa-bapa Rasuli, antara lain Clement dari Roma, Ignatius, Polycarp. Konsep Allah Tritunggal baru mulai terlihat dalam tulisan Bapa-bapa Gereja pada abad ke-2 dan ke-3 seperti Justin Martyr, Irenaeus dan Tertullian. Dalam sejarah perkembangan doktrin Allah Tritunggal dari abad ke-2 sampai abad ke-5, pada awalnya perdebatan teologis berlangsung antara Gereja dengan ajaran heretic modalisme, yang berpandangan bahwa Allah Bapa, Allah Anak dan Allah Roh Kudus adalah satu pribadi Allah dengan tiga peran. Ajaran ini dilawan oleh Tertullian. Pada tahap berikutnya Gereja berhadapan dengan ajaran heretic Arianisme yang menyangkal bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Allah sejati, sehingga terselenggara Konsili di Nicaea (325), yang kemudian merumuskan Pengakuan Iman Nicaea. Salah seorang Bapa Gereja yang berperan penting dalam konsili Nicaea adalah Athanasius. Di dalam Pengakuan Nicaea ditegaskan bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Anak Allah, Allah sejati dari Allah sejati, yang mempunyai substansi yang sama dengan Allah Bapa. Setelah Konsili Nicaea, ternyata Arianisme tetap berkembang dan di dalam periode ini Bapa-bapa Kapadokia meneruskan perjuangan Athanasius. Pertikaian teologis dengan Arianisme berakhir di dalam Konsili Konstantinopel (381). Pada masa yang sama, perdebatan teologis lainnya yang dihadapi oleh Gereja adalah dengan ajaran heretic Macedonianisme, yang tidak percaya bahwa Roh Kudus juga adalah Allah sejati. Perdebatan ini juga diselesaikan dalam Konsili Konstantinopel. Perdebatan teologis berikutnya berlangsung ketika Gereja harus menghadapi ajaran heretic Apollinarisme, yang menyangkal bahwa Yesus Kristus mempunyai jiwa manusia (human soul). Apollinarisme juga juga ditolak dalam Konsili Konstantinopel Sesudah itu, Gereja bergumul untuk memahami natur dan pribadi Kristus. Pergumulan ini dipicu oleh ajaran heretic Nestorianisme yang berpandangan bahwa Yesus Kristus mempunyai dua pribadi dan dua natur yang terpisah serta natur gabungan Allah dan manusia di dalam diriNya. Ajaran heretic ini ditolak di dalam konsili Efesus (431). Dan terakhir, Gereja menghadapi ajaran heretic monofisit yang berpandangan bahwa Yesus Kristus hanya mempunyai satu natur. Ajaran ini kemudian ditentang di dalam Konsili Chalcedon (451), dimana para Bapa Gereja mencapai pemahaman serta perumusan final mengenai dua natur (Allah dan manusia) di dalam satu Pribadi Yesus Kristus, yang diyakini oleh Gereja Universal hingga hari ini. Pada pertengahan masa antara Konsili Nicaea dan Konsili Konstantinopel, hiduplah seorang Bapa Gereja Agustinus (354-430), yang memformulasikan doktrin Allah Tritunggal secara lebih rinci dan komprehensif di dalam bukunya, On the Trinity. Dengan demikian Gereja Universal kini memiliki warisan mengenai doktrin Allah Tritunggal dari Agustinus dan mengenai dua natur Kristus dari Konsili Chalcedon.

Readers are advised that an up-to-date discussion of the author's fundamental thesis (’The Idea’), on the origin, operation, and destiny of the World, is now found at the top of the main page under the rubric, Thematic Evolution and Prospect of 'The Idea.'

A substantial part of our work attempts to construct an adequate Theory of the Face. See 'The Soul of Life' (below) and other studies on the page, some of which remain in draft and others merely projected. (Five papers on this difficult subject are planned.)

Progressive and substantial concretion of the thesis has been recently demonstrated through focused studies (2018-2020), whose URLs are conveniently grouped below:

'The Spirit of War'
https://www.academia.edu/36536128/The_Spirit_of_War

'Carlyle and the Idea'
(https://www.academia.edu/37362600/Carlyle_and_the_Idea)

'The Last Day (Illustrated Essay)'
(https://www.academia.edu/41144933/The_Last_Day_Illustrated_Essay_)

'How the German Spirit Died (A History)'
(https://www.academia.edu/41745763/How_the_German_Spirit_Died_A_History_)

'How the Human Spirit Died (Meta-Analysis)'
(https://www.academia.edu/41985864/How_the_Human_Spirit_Died_Meta-Analysis_)

'Three Malefactors of the Communist Idea (Meta-Analytical Note)'
(https://www.academia.edu/42052811/Three_Malefactors_of_the_Communist_Idea_Meta-Analytical_Note_)

Our gradual (and still incomplete) conceptualization of absolute cosmogony, cosmology, and eschatology in its modern (often microphysical) aspects, which has arisen quite organically over several years of detailed study, may be briefly encapsulated and characterized (A-T) for the reader as follows:

A. The Idea is the fundamental reality of the World, whose existence was clearly intuited (as “hypodoche”) by Plato, operationally defined by Boehme (first as “das Rad Gottes” and subsequently as “Eternal Nature”), organically articulated by Hegel (as “the Idea”), and finally discovered to be the locus of proto-being and foundation of living motion by means of 20th century microphysics (and accurately named by it “the color vacuum”). The electron is its projection into the finite. Field theory is its "physical" basis.

B. This definition of “substance” as a completely immaterial and literally infinite, self-related, hebdomadic-triadic system of actuality within the Idea at the fundament or basis of reality constitutes the greatest discovery of the human mind which, before the end of the 21st century, upon full comprehension, will completely revolutionize religion and therefore geopolitics, as well as pedagogy, paleontology, and biophysics.  The seat of the animating principle in organisms can now be described and explained.

C. Briefly, the research for this book involves the cosmology, cosmogony, and eschatology (destiny) of the world as the finite projection of the Eternal Idea. The Idea itself was created by the Triune Absolute Spirit as a finite-infinite field to manifest, reward, and punish moral, aesthetic, and intellectual performances in a Living Matrix.

D. Through the vast and distributed powers of its microphysical basis, the Idea as the created conduit of Absolute Power has autonomously generated a pseudo-history in geology and astronomy. The powers of Light and Darkness guided by Eternal Life deep within the fundament sustain the finite living motion of which we are aware through biology and empower conscious awareness in animals. Biopsychological functioning and all positive intellectual achievement in Mankind have their roots in the Idea.

E. Moreover, though unseen, the silent workings of a vast cosmological Absolute Hebdomad (deduced through study of the Idea in the 17th century) mercifully overarch and limit the Inchoate Life of the Sinister Itself--a Cosmic Disruptor also previously unsuspected that is responsible for the nocturnal Dream Life of animals. Is this a conceptual solution to the mysterious phenomena of telepathy and clairvoyance?

F. Biological and psychic life thus have always been suspended between two great cosmological powers representing a generalized War Between Infinite and Finite Life that began with King Lucifer, and which in its present form continually tests, through Contention, War, and Worldly Contrariety, the whole of Living Being as it follows a tortured and fateful course between Life and Death according to the much-lamented plan chosen by the Mind ("Gemüt") of Adam.

G. Finally, the hidden existence of the Idea necessarily implies a universal negative unity as the ideal origin of all gravitational and inertial phenomena, offering to science a solution at last to storied and continuing, completely beguiling conundrums (e.g., "Dark Matter" and "Dark Energy") involving the ultimate structure of the cosmos.

H. By tracing the Idea's manifold determinations of physical, biological, and psychic being, then, the present study seeks to explicate the final, and heretofore unsuspected, links in the fabled Great Chain of Being for the edification of Mankind. Inherently opposing it, pathetically and even insanely, is guileless materialism.

I. The war of materialism against idealism eventually culminated in the death of the German Spirit (1918). The main intellectual cause of German spiritual morbidity, however, is traceable to events within the Reformation (1517-1546). This did not prevent a period of optimism within Prussian education and science (1800-1840).

J. The theft of Silesia (1946) was an intentionally demoralizing spiritual crime against Germany with major consequences for the spiritual life of the world. The German Spirit's whole turbulent career constituted a vacillation on renunciation of self-will, and this latter always was the essential content of the Absolute Mind in Germany.

K. Germany's fatal spiritual debility can be considered to be a world "contagion" that spread centrifugally from the center of Europe to the whole Human Race which, therefore, is itself now in the throes of an analogous spiritual death, self-contemplation, and deliverance from the finite. The Zero-Hour is imminent.

L. Each of the Six Days (in Moses) is now fundamentally understood to mean a thousand-year period. Thus, Creation has all along been continuous and--after 6,000 years--will soon be completed (the argument proposes a means to confirm or deny the asserted beginning of 3,970 B.C.). Thus, the Day of Rest (for the Community of Heaven) will soon arrive for the self-elect of Mankind.

M. This tortured path was, of course, divinely foreseen but nevertheless represents an accommodative posture which was not at first understood. The Creator's response achieves a wise and just outcome despite the wreck and pain arising from myopic creatural assertion and pathetic gratification, as recounted in the mosaic story of old.

N. In fact, Talmudic commentators reached this conclusion in the 2nd or 3rd century A.D.--amending (in 'Sanhedrin 97a') the original mosaic interpretation of once-and-for-all Creation in favor of Continuous Creation with a clear Limit or End, specified as 6,000 years (each "day of creation," as mentioned above, being 1,000 years).

O. Thus, Moses (properly cogitated) was right but his dicta were for a long period taken wrongly--perforce leading the Christians astray through an accident of church history that remains a stumbling block up to the present day. See the author's 'The Last Day (Illustrated Essay).'

P. We know from modern physics that the "physical" world at the fundament is sustained by completely immaterial field relations that never cease, or else creation-in-process would not maintain itself. The creative motion is mathematically and physically infinite but disguises its own infinity--the chief insight, credited to Dirac, supporting Absolute Physics.

Q. Hence, it is now clear that the Creation--continuous since the beginning--is approaching its End and Goal. The Last Day is thus imminent and will arrive within the present decade, according to the wisest Christian view, this actually having been announced four centuries ago in German idealism.

R. The Eternal Word's role has always been to Shine Divinely (inwardly) in the gloom and darkness of the outward finite (the "Field of the Reprehensible") for salvation's sake (see 'Carlyle and the Idea'). It is this that Jesus of Nazareth spoke of, and it is this his followers embody, when they speak of the "true bread from heaven," etc..

S. This is why Christians can claim that the finalized ("Third") Temple of God is already in existence and is composed of living stones (minus the winnowed Condemned and Damned) whose essence will endure forever in God.

T. Our thesis is only now emerging in its final form. This is because the horizon of knowledge keeps receding as the true depth is revealed--the world is a set of nested dolls and the innermost doll is God, who is unknowably deep (but friendly, since we are Him in disguise when we abandon our finite wills).

The Greek model of the Trinity, based on the Theological Orations of Gregory of Nazianzus, treats the Trinitarian relations as connections between the Father and the two other persons: the Son and the Holy Spirit. The two relations have to be heteronymous (“generation” and “procession”), and have to be interpreted from the extreme realistic position. The Latin Trinitarian model, based on Boethius’ De Trinitate, treats relations as three subsistent persons. The relations have to be unidirectional: from the Father to the Son, and from both of them to the Holy Spirit. Both models are adequate and effective, but incompatible. One of the consequences of this incompatibility is the problem of filioque: the introduction of an additional relation of procession into the Greek model as well as the exclusion of this relation from the Latin model result in the inadequacy of the models. From the point of view of the complementability of a model, the Greek model allows introduction of new elements, while the Latin model does not. The soteriological consequences are such that the Greek model welcomes a human person to establish a unique relation with the person of the Father, which leads to the theosis of a creature. The Latin model requires the saving relation to be established with the whole Trinity, and theosis is not supported.

Setelah zaman para rasuli, Gereja mula-mula terus bergumul dalam upaya untuk memahami dan memformulasikan konsep Allah Tritunggal di tengah konteks polemik dengan pemahaman heretic yang berkembang pada masa itu. Pemahaman konsep Allah Tritunggal secara lengkap seperti yang kita miliki sekarang belum di jumpai dalam tulisan Bapa-bapa Rasuli, antara lain Clement dari Roma, Ignatius, Polycarp. Konsep Allah Tritunggal baru mulai terlihat dalam tulisan Bapa-bapa Gereja pada abad ke-2 dan ke-3 seperti Justin Martyr, Irenaeus dan Tertullian. Dalam sejarah perkembangan doktrin Allah Tritunggal dari abad ke-2 sampai abad ke-5, pada awalnya perdebatan teologis berlangsung antara Gereja dengan ajaran heretic modalisme, yang berpandangan bahwa Allah Bapa, Allah Anak dan Allah Roh Kudus adalah satu pribadi Allah dengan tiga peran. Ajaran ini dilawan oleh Tertullian. Pada tahap berikutnya Gereja berhadapan dengan ajaran heretic Arianisme yang menyangkal bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Allah sejati, sehingga terselenggara Konsili di Nicaea (325), yang kemudian merumuskan Pengakuan Iman Nicaea. Salah seorang Bapa Gereja yang berperan penting dalam konsili Nicaea adalah Athanasius. Di dalam Pengakuan Nicaea ditegaskan bahwa Yesus Kristus adalah Anak Allah, Allah sejati dari Allah sejati, yang mempunyai substansi yang sama dengan Allah Bapa. Setelah Konsili Nicaea, ternyata Arianisme tetap berkembang dan di dalam periode ini Bapa-bapa Kapadokia meneruskan perjuangan Athanasius. Pertikaian teologis dengan Arianisme berakhir di dalam Konsili Konstantinopel (381). Pada masa yang sama, perdebatan teologis lainnya yang dihadapi oleh Gereja adalah dengan ajaran heretic Macedonianisme, yang tidak percaya bahwa Roh Kudus juga adalah Allah sejati. Perdebatan ini juga diselesaikan dalam Konsili Konstantinopel. Perdebatan teologis berikutnya berlangsung ketika Gereja harus menghadapi ajaran heretic Apollinarisme, yang menyangkal bahwa Yesus Kristus mempunyai jiwa manusia (human soul). Apollinarisme juga juga ditolak dalam Konsili Konstantinopel Sesudah itu, Gereja bergumul untuk memahami natur dan pribadi Kristus. Pergumulan ini dipicu oleh ajaran heretic Nestorianisme yang berpandangan bahwa Yesus Kristus mempunyai dua pribadi dan dua natur yang terpisah serta natur gabungan Allah dan manusia di dalam diriNya. Ajaran heretic ini ditolak di dalam konsili Efesus (431). Dan terakhir, Gereja menghadapi ajaran heretic monofisit yang berpandangan bahwa Yesus Kristus hanya mempunyai satu natur. Ajaran ini kemudian ditentang di dalam Konsili Chalcedon (451), dimana para Bapa Gereja mencapai pemahaman serta perumusan final mengenai dua natur (Allah dan manusia) di dalam satu Pribadi Yesus Kristus, yang diyakini oleh Gereja Universal hingga hari ini. Pada pertengahan masa antara Konsili Nicaea dan Konsili Konstantinopel, hiduplah seorang Bapa Gereja Agustinus (354-430), yang memformulasikan doktrin Allah Tritunggal secara lebih rinci dan komprehensif di dalam bukunya, On the Trinity. Dengan demikian Gereja Universal kini memiliki warisan mengenai doktrin Allah Tritunggal dari Agustinus dan mengenai dua natur Kristus dari Konsili Chalcedon.

L'articolo espone in forma estremamente sintetica gli scopi e i risultati principali della teologia trinitaria contenuta nel trattato «De trinitate» di Agostino di Ippona (354-430).

This paper makes a synthesis of the main aims and results of Augustine of Hippo's "De trinitate", as fas as Trinitarian theology is concerned.

This paper will be an examination of the development of the concept of the trinity in Christian theology from the early Church, the Church Fathers and modern theologians.  This will be a brief survey of the development of the doctrine of the Trinity and how the doctrine developed over time.

Giorgi Macharashvili, ''This will be for you as the law of Orthodoxy'' (the question of procession of the Holy Spirit in the Georgian ecclesiastical literature of the Great Schism period) - III scientific conference dedicated to Ilia Abuladze, National Centre of Manuscripts, Tbilisi, 25-26 November 2013. (abstracts in Georgian language)

Георгий Маджарашвили, ''Это будет тебе правилом Православия'' (вопрос исхождения Святого Духа в грузинской духовной литературе периода Великой Схизмы) - III научная конференция посвящена памяти Ильи Абуладзе, Национальный Центр Рукописей, Тбилиси, 25-26 Ноябрь 2013. (тезисы на грузинском языке).

გიორგი მაჭარაშვილი, ''ესე იყავნ შენდა კანონ მართლმადიდებლობისა'' (სულიწმიდის გამომავლობის საკითხი დიდი სქიზმის ეპოქის ქართულ სასულიერო მწერლობაში) – ილია აბულაძისადმი მიძღვნილი მესამე სამეცნიერო კონფერენცია, ხელნაწერთა ეროვნული ცენტრი, თბილისი, 25–26 ნოემბერი, 2013.