The Idea of the Holy Trinity for Catholics - Essay Example

The Holy Trinity The Trinity, the Blessed Trinity or the Holy Trinity are similar s of the same term used torepresent the central doctrine of the Catholic Church and many other denominations of the Christian religion. In simple terms, the Holy Trinity means “…in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit [and] these Three Persons [are] truly distinct from one another” (Knight). Aside from the idea that there are Three Persons in one God, there is also the idea that each of the Three Persons in the Trinity cannot exist without the other: “…the Father has never been without the Son, nor the Son without the Spirit” (Knight). Lastly, the Holy Trinity is “immutable and unalterable forever” (Knight). This implies that nothing can ever destroy the Holy Trinity and that it can never be destroyed or the Three Persons ever be separated. The proofs of the Holy Trinity are found in both the Old and New Testaments but mostly in the latter, although these proofs are rather implied than stated directly. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus states after His Resurrection, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19, New American Standard Bible). This passage clearly implies the distinction between the Three Persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the fact that the conjunction “and” connects the names of these Three Persons somehow ascribe to them a sense of equality in terms of Godhood. All three therefore are One God. Moreover, the three words that precede the names of the Three Persons – “in the name” – somehow implies and affirms the God nature of not only one but all these Three Persons. Thus, the Father is not the only Person in One God but also the Son and the Holy Spirit. The unity between the Father and the Son is implied by Jesus Himself in the Gospel of John: “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?” (Jn. 14:10). Additionally, Jesus states, “I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10:30). Jesus, therefore, through these passages, affirm that God the Father and He as God the Son are One. On the other hand, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity – the Holy Spirit – is mentioned by Jesus Christ Himself in the Gospel of Luke: “…the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” (Lk. 12:12). Moreover, Jesus mentions the Holy Spirit again in the Gospel of John: “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me…” (Jn. 15:26). These aforementioned passages imply only one thing – that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, and that He is always mentioned to have a divine connection with the Father and the Son. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity, however, met with several oppositions from various individuals as well as other Christian denominations. The first of these oppositions was from the Alexandrian priest named Arius in the year 325. His proposed doctrine, which was known as Arianism, denied the doctrine of the Holy Trinity on the grounds that “personal distinctions were not eternally present within the nature of God” (Dorman). Moreover, according to Arius, “Before time began, the Father had created the Son by the power of the Word to be His agent in creation” (Dorman). Thus, for Arius, the idea of the Son being created by the Father means that the Son must not be identified with the Godhead. As a creation of the Father, the Son is therefore, although created before the world, lacks the divine nature of the Father and is therefore NOT equal to Him (Schaff). This heresy, however, was condemned at the ecumenical Council of Constantinople in the year 381 (“The Doctrine of the Trinity”). The one who faced Arius and the Arians in opposition was Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria during the 4th century at the same time that Arius lived. In his Athanasian Creed, which he wrote against the Arians, Athanasius emphasized that Catholics “worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance” (“The Creed”). Athanasius also put forth in his creed the idea that there are Three Persons in the Holy Trinity – all three uncreate, incomprehensible, and eternal, “the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal” (“The Creed”). Thus, Athanasius established the divine equality of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity. Nevertheless, he did not fail to underline the idea that “there are not three incomprehensible, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible…and yet not three Lords, but one Lord” (“The Creed”). This means that, according to Athanasius, although there are Three Persons, there is still but One God, and that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The Athanasian Creed, therefore, did not only condemn the Arian heresy but also established the idea of the Holy Trinity for Catholics. However, during the Council of Constantinople in 381, there arose two other controversies regarding the Holy Trinity. One of these was Macedonianism, named after Macedon, the bishop of Constantinople during that time. According to Macedonianism, “the Holy Spirit was a separate creation,” was “not of the same substance” as the Godhead and was therefore not divine, which means that the Holy Trinity does not exist (Dorman). Most of Macedon’s followers, however, believed in the divinity of Christ although they did not believe in the divinity of the Holy Spirit (“Macedonianism”). Macedonianism was condemned during the Council of Constantinople. Even before Arianism, however, there was a priest and theologian from the 3rd century in the name of Sabellius, and according to him, “God is one person who has revealed himself in three forms or modes” and not Three Persons in one God (“Modalism”). This heresy came to be known as Modalism or Sabellianism. If, therefore, for the Modalists, there is but one God with three aspects, then the Holy Trinity of Three Persons in One God does not exist. This was, however, condemned by the early church father and Christian apologist Tertullian in the 3rd century. Another ancient heresy against the doctrine of the Holy Trinity was Binitarianism, or the belief that “the Holy Spirit was not a distinct person from Jesus but rather another name for Him” (“Is the Holy Spirit”). Since this is the case, the Holy Trinity, therefore, does not exist because there are only Two Persons, namely God the Father and God the Son. The proof of the belief is in the First Book of Peter: “…seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow” (1 Peter 1:11). The heresies continued even up to the 18th century when a group of Christians in England known as Unitarians and established the first Unitarian Church there. Unitarians supported the Christian theological movement known as Unitarianism, which declares that God is a separate person and a being separate from Jesus Christ (“Unitarian History”). Unitarians, therefore, believe in the “unity, or single aspect, of God” and when it began in America in the late 1800’s, among its adherents included famous names like former U.S. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, as well as writers Louisa May Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson (“Unitarian History”). However, unlike the Oneness adherents, who believed that Jesus is the only God, the Unitarians believed that God the Father was the only God and denied the divinity of the Christ (“Unitarian History”). The Trinity, therefore, for Unitarians, never existed. The early 20th century also witnessed controversies against the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. In 1914, the idea and movement called “Oneness Pentecostalism” arose from the Pentecostal Christian Church. According to the Oneness adherents, “God is numerically singular, and that Jesus Christ is that one God” (“Oneness Theology”). They use the Book of Deuteronomy as a basis for their theological stance: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” (Deut. 6:4). Therefore, for the Oneness adherents, there can strictly never be any other number for God other than one. Furthermore, according to Oneness Theology, “the Son is not God, but only the man whom God the Father dwelt in” and that the Spirit and the Son are only “roles God plays for different functions” (“Oneness Theology”). Thus, Oneness Theology is somehow similar to 3rd century Modalism, although the idea of the oneness of God finds greater emphasis in the former. There are many other controversies that did not agree with the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Among the rest worth mentioning include the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who approach the doctrine using logic and pose this question: “How is it possible for Jehovah to be three and one both at the same time?” and then answers their rhetorical question in this way: “It is illogical, unreasonable and confusing; and God is not the author of confusion!” (Martin). If the Jehovah’s Witnesses used logic to disprove the Holy Trinity, the Mormons used their own Scriptures to define the Trinity in their own way, but drastically modified it: “The trinity is three separate Gods: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost” and they are “separate individuals, physically distinct from each other” (Slick). The controversies that involved the Holy Trinity were numerous and the heresies that sought to destroy its existence were relentless. Although most of the ancient heresies were condemned, those that arose in the modern times were adopted by religions that exist until now like the Mormon Church and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Nevertheless, for Catholics, the Holy Trinity remains a mystery that no human being can completely comprehend. This means that there is no way that mere human logic can invalidate the existence of the Holy Trinity and that the Trinity does not have to be fully understood first by imperfect human minds before it can be said to exist. The problem with the heresies and the churches that opposed the Trinity is that most of them proposed the nonexistence of the Trinity simply because they were not able to comprehend it and that it did not pass the test of human logic. The greatest blasphemy, I believe, is to limit God, and the Three Persons in One God, using logic, which is obviously man-made and therefore imperfect. Works Cited “Christian Heresy.” 2011. The Roman Empire. Web. 10 Nov 2011. Dorman, Marianne. “Arianism, Macedonianism, Apollinarianism, and the Cappadocian Fathers.” 2011. Marianne Dorman’s Catholic Website. Web. 10 Nov 2011. “Is the Holy Spirit Merely Another Name for Jesus? (Binitarianism).” 2011. Blue Letter Bible. Web. 10 Nov 2011. Knight, Kevin. “The Blessed Trinity.” 2009. New Advent. Web. 11 Nov 2011. “Macedonianism.” 2011. CatholicReference.net. Web. 11 Nov 2011. Martin, Walter R. “Jehovah’s Witnesses and The Trinity.” 2003. Believer’s Web. Web. 10 Nov 2011. “Modalism.” 2011. Theopedia. Web. 10 Nov 2011. New American Standard Bible. 2011. BibleGateway.com. Web. 11 Nov 2011. “Oneness Theology.” 2009. Let Us Reason Ministries. Web. 11 Nov 2011. Schaff, Philip. “Arius and Arianism.” 2011. EarlyChurch.org.uk. Web. 10 Nov 2011. Slick, Matt. “A Comparison Between Christian Doctrine and Mormon Doctrine.” 2011. Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry. Web. 11 Nov 2011. “The Creed of Saint Athanasius.” 2011. Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. Web. 10 Nov 2011. “The Doctrine of the Trinity.” 2010. Religion Facts. Web. 11 Nov 2011. “Unitarian History.” 2011. Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Web. 11 Nov 2011. New American Standard Bible. 2011. BibleGateway.com. Web. 11 Nov 2011. Read More