2B The Trinity Flashcards

1
Q

What three things does the doctrine assert?

A

1) F,S,HS = three distinct persons
2) Each person = fully God; coexistent, coeternal, coequal
3) Only one God; not split into three parts

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2
Q

Who coined the word ‘Trinity’?

A

Tertullian, 3rd C. (word never appears in Bible)

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3
Q

When/how was the doctrine formalised?

A
  • Nicene Creed, 325 CE

* Son was “of one substance” w/ Father

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4
Q

What were the three contemporary heresies that Tertullian saw?

A
  • Adoptionism
  • Sabellianism
  • Arianism
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5
Q

What is Adoptionism?

A

Jesus = ordinary man; only became SoG after baptism

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6
Q

What is Sabellianism?

A

Jesus = divine, but not human

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7
Q

What is Arianism?

A

Jesus = highest of all created beings but not of same substance as God

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8
Q

What is the OT biblical foundation for the Trinity?

A
  • God the father is referred to in the plural

* Genesis 1:26-7 - “Let us make humankind in our image”

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9
Q

What is the NT biblical foundation for the Trinity?

A
  • Jesus is referred to as God

* John 20:28 - “My Lord and my God”

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10
Q

When is the HS referred to as God?

A

• Epistle to the Romans, 8:11 - tells readers of the Spirit of God

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11
Q

Give a quote for Christianity as monotheistic.

A

1 Corinthians 8:4 - “There is no God but one.”

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12
Q

Why has the church never been able to adequately explain the doctrine?

A
  • It is logically impossible
  • Regards it as a mystery
  • No human words can express the reality of God
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13
Q

When was the Council of Nicea?

A

325 CE

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14
Q

What was stated at the Council of Nicea?

A

Christians believe “in the Holy Spirit”

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15
Q

When was the Council of Constantinople?

A

381 CE

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16
Q

What was stated at the Council of Constantinople?

A
  • Modified the Nicean Creed
  • Christians believe “in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father”
  • This undermines the consubstantial nature of HS, yet all present churches agreed to the new wording.
17
Q

When was the Council of Toledo?

A

589 CE

18
Q

What was the order of the three councils?

A

1) Nicea
2) Constantinople
3) Toledo

19
Q

What was stated at the Council of Toledo?

A
  • Christians believe “in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.”
  • “and the Son” = ‘filioque’ in Latin
20
Q

Why did the addition of ‘filioque’ cause controversy?

A
  • It implies that the HS = subservient/inferior to the Father and Son, which should not be the case if the doctrine is to be upheld
  • It was added without agreement from the 5 patriarchs of the Church
21
Q

Whose thinking does the addition of filioque seem to reflect?

A
  • Augustine of Hippo
  • Hilary of Poitiers
  • Cyril of Alexandria
  • They all wrote about the HS proceeding “from the Father and the Son”
22
Q

Where was filioque accepted/rejected?

A
  • Accepted: Latin-speaking West

* Rejected: Greek-speaking East

23
Q

How did Pope Benedict VIII cause the Great Schism of 1054?

A
  • In 1014, he used ‘filioque’ for the first time in a Mass in Rome
  • Made the change to the Nicene Creed w/o agreement of an Ecumenical Council
  • Divided the Eastern/Western Churches to this day
24
Q

What is the view of the West regarding filioque?

A

The Eastern rejection denied the consubstantiality of the Father and Son ∴ is a form of crypto-Arianism

25
Q

What is the view of the East regarding filioque?

A

The interpolation of filioque indicated that the West was teaching a substantially different faith

26
Q

Give a quote from Siecienski about the filioque controversy.

A

It has “destroyed the purity of the faith”

27
Q

What is the Immanent Trinity?

A
  • Signifies what G is

* Three persons, one G

28
Q

What is the Economic Trinity?

A
  • Signifies what G does

* Father - creates; Son - redeems; HS - sanctifies

29
Q

What is Augustine’s view of the Trinity?

A
  • Humans can know the Trinity from their own exp. ∵ there are traces of the Trinity in the human soul
  • E.g. Triad of self-knowledge: memory, understanding, will
  • He does not differentiate between the immanent and economic trinity
30
Q

What did Schleiermacher try to do?

A
  • Reconcile Enlightenment theology w/ traditional C.tian beliefs
  • He dismissed the Trinity in his 1821 book ‘The Christian Faith’
31
Q

Who responded to Schleiermacher, and what did he argue?

A
  • Karl Barth
  • Tried to underline the central importance of the Trinity in C.tian theo.
  • “The doctrine of the Trinity us what basically distinguishes the C.tian doctrine of G as C.tian”
32
Q

Give more information on Karl Barth’s theory.

A

• The basis of the Trinity is how G has revealed himself to humans:
1) Son = objective “unveiling” of what G is
2) Spirit = subjective “imparting”
• Objective unveiling of G in J ≠ enough ∴ must also be a subjective recognition imparted by HS, which Barth illustrates by imagining two men witnessing J’s crucifixion:
a) “There is a common criminal being executed”; has not recognised the unveiling of G in J
b) “There is the Son of God dying for me”; HS has imparted the recognition of G in J

33
Q

Why does Barth endorse the use of filioque?

A
  • Humans = incapable of responding to the objective revelation of G in J, unless a recognition of that revelation is imparted to them by both the HS, which proceeds from the hidden F and the revealed S
  • Agrees w/ Aug. that the Imm. Trinity = reflected in the Eco. Trinity
34
Q

Barth: explain the first criticism and response.

A
  • Criticism (from the Eastern Orthodox Church): merging of Imm. + Eco., and endorsement of filioque = heresy
  • Response: The Western Church has accepted this for centuries
  • Not a strong response ∵ the issue still remains
35
Q

Barth: explain the second criticism and response.

A
  • Criticism (from Western theo.s inc, Moltmann): Barth’s use of ‘seinseweise’ (mode of being), instead of ‘person’ to refer to members of the Godhead = Modalism
  • Response: Barth used ‘seinsweise’ to avoid confusing ‘person’ with ‘personality’, as to say that G has three personalities = Tritheism
  • Not a strong response ∵ still Modalism
36
Q

Barth: explain the third criticism and response.

A
  • Criticism: Does not distinguish btwn F, S, HS.
  • Response: Distinguishes F from S by use of Greek, ‘Logos asarkos’ (‘the Word w/o flesh’) for S, i.e., G the Son as he lived in the Godhead before incarnation, distinct from the F
37
Q

Barth: explain the fourth criticism and response.

A
  • Criticism: Sees F, S, HS in one eternal repetition, they exist one after the other, which destroys the eternal unity of G
  • Response: Barth insists that “He is the one God in each repetition” and highlights the unchanging nature of the eternal Trinity. G = “unimpaired unity” + “unimpaired distinction” as Revealer (F), Revelation (S), and Revealedness (HS)