Difference between revisions of "Trinity"

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===Difficulties in Understanding===
 
===Difficulties in Understanding===
  
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Throughout the history of the church objections have been raised to the teaching of the Trinity, but the doctrine has stood as a central feature of orthodox Christianity despite this.  
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Throughout the history of the church objections have been raised to the teaching of the Trinity, but the doctrine has stood as a central feature of orthodox Christianity despite this.
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The following folk story illustrates the difficulties in understanding the Trinity.
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: ''It has been said that when the church father [[Augustine]] wrote a treatise about the Trinity he encountered a little boy walking along the seaside. The boy appeared to be scooping water from the sea in a little basin at the beach and Augustine asked him what he was doing. The boy answered: "I want to sccop the sea in my pond," to whicch Augustine responded: "You will never succeed." But the boy replied: "I'm doing the same thing as you: You want to understand the mystery of the triune God with your human mind."''
  
 
The teaching of the Trinity was clearly articulated in the [[Nicene Creed]] of [[325 AD]].  
 
The teaching of the Trinity was clearly articulated in the [[Nicene Creed]] of [[325 AD]].  
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It is said that when the church father [[Augustine]] wrote a treatise about the Holy Trinity he encountered a little boy when he was taking a walk along the seaside. The boy was constantly scooping water from the sea in a little basin at the beach. Augustine asked what he was up to and the boy answered: "I want to sccop the sea in my pond." Augustine answered: "You will never succeed." There the boy replied: "I'm doing the same thing as you: You want to understand the mystery of the triune God with your human mind."
 
  
 
Historically many religions have been critical of the doctrine of the Trinity. The [[Quran]] has numerous quotations questioning and denying the Trinity and it is an issue that many Muslims exploring Christianity find to be barrier.
 
Historically many religions have been critical of the doctrine of the Trinity. The [[Quran]] has numerous quotations questioning and denying the Trinity and it is an issue that many Muslims exploring Christianity find to be barrier.

Revision as of 19:26, 17 July 2008

Trinity
RELATED TOPICS
SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OPINIONS
CONTENTS

The Trinity is the unique teaching of Christianity about the three-yet-one nature of God. It is one of teachings that makes Christianity unique among other religions, and although impossible to fully comprehend, the doctrine can be summarised by the following:

  • There is one and only one God
  • The one God eternally exists in three distinct persons
  • The Father is God, Jesus, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit are God

The word "Trinity" is not found in the Bible. It was first used in writing by Theophilus of Antioch around 180 A.D. as a way of expressing the triune (three-yet-one) nature of the one God that is revealed in the Bible, which does use the words Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Scriptural References To The Trinity

A number of passages in the Bible refer directly to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

A number of verses also show that Jesus was God.

Etymology

The word trinity is derived from the Latin tri-unitas which literal means "three unity".

Difficulties in Understanding

Throughout the history of the church objections have been raised to the teaching of the Trinity, but the doctrine has stood as a central feature of orthodox Christianity despite this.

The following folk story illustrates the difficulties in understanding the Trinity.

It has been said that when the church father Augustine wrote a treatise about the Trinity he encountered a little boy walking along the seaside. The boy appeared to be scooping water from the sea in a little basin at the beach and Augustine asked him what he was doing. The boy answered: "I want to sccop the sea in my pond," to whicch Augustine responded: "You will never succeed." But the boy replied: "I'm doing the same thing as you: You want to understand the mystery of the triune God with your human mind."

The teaching of the Trinity was clearly articulated in the Nicene Creed of 325 AD.

Historically many religions have been critical of the doctrine of the Trinity. The Quran has numerous quotations questioning and denying the Trinity and it is an issue that many Muslims exploring Christianity find to be barrier.

Recently numerous off-shoot religions related to Christianity have formed that deny the Trinity. These includes religions such as the Jehovah's Witnesses.

This article is a stub. You can help WikiChristian by expanding it. For help please read the WikiChristian Tutorial and our writing guide.

Quotes

Justin Martyr

"We will prove that we worship him reasonably; for we have learned that he is the Son of the true God himself, that he holds a second place, and the Spirit of prophecy a third. For this they accuse us of madness, saying that we attribute to a crucified man a place second to the unchangeable and eternal God, the Creator of all things; but they are ignorant of the mystery which lies therein" (First Apology 13:5–6 [A.D. 151]).

Links


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