Ethan Walker
The concept of the Trinity is a central doctrine of the Christian faith, referring to the belief that God exists as three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While this doctrine is widely accepted by Catholics and other Christian denominations, there are also non-Catholic Christian groups who reject the Trinity as a non-scriptural idea, believing it to be a synthesis of Christianity with Greek Platonic philosophy. These nontrinitarian Christians, including Unitarians, Modalists, and others, argue that the Trinity is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible and that it was forcibly imposed on the churches as Catholic doctrine. The debate around the Trinity has led to inter-religious disagreements with Judaism and Islam, with the former rejecting the doctrine entirely and the latter accepting Jesus as a prophet but not as the son of God.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Nontrinitarian belief | Nontrinitarians believe that the Nicene Creed and Chalcedon Council are political documents, and that the Catholic Church is an extension of the Roman Empire. |
| Nontrinitarians believe that Athanasius and others at Nicaea adopted Greek Platonic philosophy and concepts into their views of God and Christ. | |
| Nontrinitarians believe that the traditions of mainstream Christianity are incorrect, and that the true doctrine has been obscured. | |
| Nontrinitarianism includes Unitarianism, Binitarianism, Modalism, Tritheism, Arianism, and other belief systems. | |
| Nontrinitarians are considered non-Christian by most mainline groups. | |
| Nontrinitarian belief systems reject the doctrine of the Trinity as found in the Nicene Creed, and do not believe it has a scriptural origin. | |
| Nontrinitarianism has been renewed in various movements, including Gnosticism, the Enlightenment, and the Second Great Awakening. | |
| Nontrinitarian beliefs have been compared to Judaism and Islam, as all three reject the Trinity doctrine. | |
| Nontrinitarians argue that the three persons of the Trinity have their own consciousness and will, united in a loving relationship. | |
| Critics of Nontrinitarianism argue that it risks becoming Tritheism by overemphasizing the distinctness of the persons. | |
| Nontrinitarians argue that the Trinity is a barrier to knowing and loving God, as it is incomprehensible. | |
| Trinity doctrine | The Trinity doctrine is central to Christianity, signifying the unity of Godhead with three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. |
| The three persons of the Trinity are co-eternal and co-equal, uncreated and omnipotent, and possess the same divine nature. | |
| The Trinity doctrine helps explain how God is not just loving, but love itself. | |
| The Trinity is not explicitly stated in the Bible, but Catholics believe it has been carefully developed from biblical teachings. | |
| The Trinity is not easily explained, but Christians employ analogies to help understand the concept, such as the family unit. |
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What You'll Learn
Nontrinitarianism and anti-trinitarianism
The doctrine of the Trinity is central to most Christian denominations and faith groups, though not all. The term "Trinity" is not found in the Bible, and the concept is not easy to explain. The doctrine holds that God is one being made up of three distinct persons who exist in co-equal essence and co-eternal communion as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Nontrinitarianism refers to the belief that the doctrine of the Trinity, as held in mainstream Christianity, is incorrect. While most nontrinitarians identify themselves as Christian, many trinitarians disagree, believing that the doctrine of the Trinity is so central to the Christian faith that to deny it is to reject Christianity entirely. The dispute revolves around the issue of whether belief in Jesus as a distinct personage still reveres Jesus as divine and whether this belief can confer salvation. Nontrinitarians point out that John 3:16 says nothing about belief in the Trinity. They also note that Jesus rejected being called "good", disavowed omniscience as the Son, and referred to "my God, and your God", indicating that "the Father is the only true God".
Nontrinitarians claim that the roots of their position go back further than those of their trinitarian counterparts. They see the Nicene Creed and the results of the Council of Chalcedon as essentially political documents, resulting from the subordination of true doctrine to state interests by leaders of the Catholic Church. They assert that Athanasius and others at Nicaea adopted Greek Platonic philosophy and concepts, incorporating them into their views of God and Christ. They also find a direct link between the doctrine of the Trinity and the Egyptian theologians of Alexandria, suggesting that Alexandrian theology infused Egypt's pagan heritage into Christianity.
Nontrinitarian faith groups include several denominations within Mormonism, which accept the divinity of Jesus but believe the three persons of the Trinity to be more clearly distinct entities than the conventional trinitarian conception. Other nontrinitarian groups include the Polish Brethren, who split from the Calvinists in 1565, and the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, founded in 1568.
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The Holy Spirit
Non-trinitarian Christians, who reject the doctrine of the Trinity, have significantly different beliefs about the Holy Spirit. They see the Nicene Creed as a political document resulting from the subordination of true doctrine to state interests by leaders of the Catholic Church. They believe that the Trinity is a synthesis of Christianity with Platonic philosophy, which was forcibly imposed on the churches as Catholic doctrine.
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The Nicene Creed
> "I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man."
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Inter-religious disagreements
The doctrine of the Trinity is a central tenet of Christianity, stating that there is only one God, but that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each God. This is distinct from the Muslim belief that Allah is a single person, and the Jewish rejection of Jesus as the Son of God. Nontrinitarian Christians, such as Unitarians, Modalists, and Arians, reject the doctrine of the Trinity, believing that the traditions of mainstream Christianity are incorrect. They argue that the Trinity is not based on scripture, but rather on Greek Platonic philosophy, and that it was forcibly imposed on the churches as Catholic doctrine.
A second point of contention lies in the understanding of God's nature. Trinitarians maintain that the three persons of the Trinity are distinct relationally but share the same divine nature, forming a loving community within the Godhead. This view is reflected in St. Augustine's understanding of relational distinctions within a single being. Critics, however, argue that emphasizing the distinctness of the persons leads to tritheism, or the belief in three separate gods. They find this notion incomprehensible and at odds with monotheism.
A third disagreement pertains to the role of Jesus. Muslims, for instance, accept Jesus as a prophet and Messiah but reject his divinity. This divergence results in different interpretations of authoritative texts and methods of worship in Islam and Christianity. Additionally, some nontrinitarians, such as Arians, have been accused of believing in a variant of Islam, as they deny the divinity of Christ.
Finally, ecumenical efforts within Christianity are impacted by Trinitarian disagreements. Ecumenism, which seeks unity based on shared essential beliefs, is often built on trinitarian baptism, excluding nontrinitarian practices. This makes it challenging for trinitarian and nontrinitarian churches to recognize each other's sacraments and worship together.
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The Apostles' Creed
The present form of the Apostles' Creed is dated no later than the 4th century. It is shorter than the full Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, but it is still explicitly trinitarian in structure, with sections affirming belief in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The text most likely originated in southern Gaul around the midpoint of the 5th century. The earliest appearance of the creed was in the De singulis libris canonicis scarapsus of St. Pirminius, written between 710 and 714.
> I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
The creed does not address some Christological issues defined in the Nicene Creed, such as the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Thus, it was held to predate the Nicene Creed in medieval Latin tradition. The phrase "descendit ad inferos" ("he descended into hell") is also not found in the Nicene Creed.
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Frequently asked questions
The Trinity is the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence. The three persons are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the orthodox Christian theology of the Trinity. Non-Catholic Christians who are nontrinitarians include anti-trinitarian Protestant denominations that emerged during the Protestant Reformation, as well as non-denominational Christians.
The concept of a co-equal trinity is rejected in Islam, with Quranic verses calling the doctrine of the Trinity blasphemous. Judaism traditionally rejects the doctrine of the Trinity, although some Jewish mystical texts have expressed ideas that bear a resemblance to trinitarian concepts.
Nontrinitarians believe that the traditions of mainstream Christianity are incorrect. They see the Nicene Creed and the results of the Council of Chalcedon as political documents, resulting from the subordination of true doctrine to state interests by leaders of the Catholic Church. Nontrinitarians also believe that Athanasius and others at Nicaea adopted Greek Platonic philosophy and incorporated it into their views of God and Christ.
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