KCU/04/Knights

Topic 4: Doctrine of the Trinity—essential or pointless?

Question: Do you think that it is important to believe in the doctrine of the Trinity? Why or why not? (Be sure to do more research into the issue. If the group cannot come to a consensus, feel free to have different group members each express their own opinions.)

Doctrine of the Trinity-essential or pointless?

What is the Trinity- This is a term that is used to represent the unity of three persons in one god. Facts on the Trinity- 1. The word Trinity does not appear in the bible 2. The word Trinity was first used by Tertullian (155-230) Past and present Faiths view the Doctrine of the Trinity- 1. Arianism (4th Century) - Arianism is the name given to an anti-Trinitarian belief system taught by Arius, an elder in the Alexandrian church, in the early fourth century AD. Arius affirmed the uniqueness of God and denied the complete divinity of the Son (Christ). He taught instead that Christ was a created and changeable being, who, while superior to humans, is not of the same order as the one God. 2. Jehovah’s Witness- Explain the Trinity as being three gods and believe that it is not biblical. They have a different understanding concerning the doctrine of the Trinity and have twisted what Christians believe. They believe that only the father is god, and that Jesus was the first creation of the father, and that the Holy Spirit is neither god nor a person. According to their beliefs Jesus is a created god and the Holy Spirit is his source of energy 3. Mormonism- Explain the trinity as being three gods, but their meaning is different than the Jehovah’s Witness. Mormons believe that there are many gods and that men can become gods. Mormons believe that god the father was once a man who became a god, and that the Holy Spirit has always been god. Merman leaders describe the trinity as being three gods. 4. Unitarianism- Is the belief that god exists in one person, not three. It is a denial of the Doctrine of the Trinity as well as the full divinity of Jesus. Therefore it is not Christian. Another term for this belief is Monarchianism. History on the Doctrine of the Trinity- The Doctrine of the Trinity took centuries to develop, but the roots of the Doctrine can be seen from the first century. The word "Trinity" is not found in the New Testament, nor is the doctrine explicitly taught there. However, foundations of the concept of the Trinity can be seen in the New Testament, especially in the Gospel of John, one of the latest and most theologically developed of the New Testament books. Reasons for rejecting the Trinity – 1. It is not mentioned in the bible. 2. It does not make philosophical since. 3. It is not compatible with monotheism. 4. It is not necessary to explain the specialness of Jesus Christ. Reasons for accepting the Trinity- 1. It is taught indirectly various times in the bible 2. It explains the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit while affirming monotheism. 3. It would not be expected that the nature of god would make since to the human mind.

Group’s response to the information we found on our topic- While maintaining all of our original beliefs that there is indeed one god made up of three separate beings (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) the group agreed that this topic was much deeper than any of us had ever realized. While discussing whether or not the belief in this was essential or pointless, we came to the conclusion that, while yes there are plenty of reasons to go against this belief, there are just as many for believing in it, and we felt the reasons for believing in it far outweighed the reasons for not. When making our group decision, one argument really swayed our judgment. The word trinity is not actually mentioned in the bible so why should it be a belief. It seemed obvious to us that the bible in all cases is not meant to be taken literally and it can be inferred that when it says God that it actually saying “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”