From the excerpt of Chapter IV "The Divine Triad" from the work Early Christian Doctrines, J.N.D. Kelley speaks of the early Church Fathers and their apologies to uphold the relation between Jesus Christ and God the Father, and this was before the doctrine was revised and discussed at the Council of Nicaea and onwards. He primarily notes that there are two points in Apologists' writings that are common within many of them: the referral to God as just one Godhead or hypostases, and the dating of the generation and expression of the Logos. The first of the two recurring themes J.N.D. Kelley speaks of, the first one where the Apologists teach of "'God the Father' connoted, not the first Person of the Trinity, but [as] the one Godhead considered …show more content…
Church Father St. Hippolytus also falls into the misunderstanding of the Word and the Father, by saying, like Theophilus, that God is the sole creator, as well as that he does not distinguish the Father and the Son both as God, only instead the Father as God, and also, he is guilty of subordinating the Son to the Father, which by the Council of Nicaea, is considered heresy, as the early formed creed at the council states that the Son is a consubstantial Person equal to the Father. Within his work Contra Noetum, Hippolytus, like Theophilus, states that for us it is "enough for us to …show more content…
Athenagoras directly states within the excerpt of Pleas for the Christians that while there was no reason to deny that God indeed has a Son, he does not have the Son as a separate hypostases, clearly saying "the Father and the Son [are] one... The Son being in the Father and the Father in the Son, in oneness and power of spirit, the understanding and reason of the Father is the Son" (CP3 8). He's confusing the Son as simply the Father's creation power, making the Word sound like another "part" of the Father, which also with the idea of power in mind can be seen the excerpts taken from the works of Tatian and
Various people are devoted to numerous pursuits in their lives. A man in particular known as Thomas Jefferson was devoted to religion. Sworn on the Altar of God is a biography written by Edwin S. Gaustad that goes in depth about Jefferson’s unwavering religious beliefs throughout his life. The book exemplifies how Thomas Jefferson interacts with religious, political, and personal issues. The book follows a timeline from when he was first born into an Anglican family to when he broadened his horizons as a young adult to the impacts he made before, during, and after his Presidency to the aftermath of his death. Edwin S. Gaustad effectively argues that Thomas Jefferson used his religious beliefs to have a positive impact on the world around him.
The medieval theologian Julian of Norwich was a mystic, writer, anchoress and spiritual director for her time. She is gaining in popularity for our time as she provides a spiritual template for contemplative prayer and practice in her compilation of writings found in Revelations of Divine Love. The insightful meditations provide the backdrop and basis for her Trinitarian theology’s embrace of God’s Motherhood found in the Trinity. Her representative approach of the all-encompassing unconditional love of a mother who nurtures, depicts Christ as our Mother ascending to the placement of Second hood within the Trinity while giving voice to the duality of God.
One of the main principles of Christianity is the belief in both the divinity and humanity of Jesus, that these two natures are combined harmoniously in one being. In general, all modern Christians believe that Jesus was human, he was considered to be “The Word was made flesh” (John, I: 14). However, Jesus was more than just a human, despite being subjected to pain, suffering and death like all other human beings, he was sinless and also possessed the power to heal and to defy death in order to ascend, both body and spirit, into heaven. He was all man and all God, a combination of these two elements, remaining distinct but united in one being. The deity of Jesus is a non-negotiable belief in Christianity, which is referred to in many parts of scripture, “God was revealed in the flesh” (I Timothy, 3:16). The Christian faith does not perceive Jesus as God but rather a reincarnation of God, a mysterious deity who is the second person of the Holy Trinity. Throughout history, controversy has surrounded the issue of the humanity and divinity of Jesus, leading to the formation of Docetism, the belief that Jesus was fully divine but not fully human, Arianism, that Jesus was superior to all of creation, but less divine than God, and Nestorius, that there were two separate persons within Jesus. This the proportion of the divine and human within Je...
Hildebrand, S. M. (2007). The Trinitarian Theology of Basil of Caesarea a synthesis of Greek thought and biblical truth. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press.
However, the latter is the integral way toward humanity’s flourishing in God. In mythology, we ought to understand the different steps of the theogonical process in the light of the increasing truth of the symbols of God. In revealed religion, the concern is not so much around our images of God as in a sense they cannot be improved. Rather, we must care about how much these images are interiorized. In mythology the images of the divine become more and more spiritual as we better imagine God, where in revealed religion to do the same does not bring new images but rather deepen our relationship with them. In other words, Christians do not ever get to move past the image of God as the Holy Trinity, but can develop an ever better communion with the transcendent by deepening their understanding of this symbol of the divine. In other words, they can always re-imagine the Trinity, this way developing the metaphorical bridge between the symbol and God and renewing the life of their relationship with
Further complicating the matter is the fact that the word “trinity” is not found in the Bible whatsoever, however, that
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1: 14. The verse that has inspired and bewildered Christians for centuries. Since its occurrence, church members and theologians have marveled at the principle of the Incarnation. How could God, perfect, sinless, unable to suffer, become sinful, corruptible flesh, and suffer ultimate punishment for the sins of man? This is the same question that puzzled many early church fathers, and the one that most potently effected Cyril, bishop of Alexandria. It led to intense church controversy, leaving Cyril a legacy and a reputation still impressed upon him today, and leaving another church leader disgraced in the depths of heresy. But before studying Cyril’s main theological conflict, one must first understand the circumstances and experiences that lead him to that point.
...ipture it is specifically shown that God has a one-ness, that though it is not directly stated, it is implied that there is a Trinity, and it is also specifically stated that Christ was fully human (his humanity) and fully God (his deity) at the same time.
This functions as an introduction to a broader theme found throughout the letter of Galatians: Fatherhood (Gal 1:3, 4, 4:2, 6). The purpose of doing such is to indicate a developing understanding of the relationship that the Father has with Jesus as His Son; and with the Galatians, who are sons in the Son. The nature of this sonship is confusing to the Galatians and is clarified by Paul through the example of Abraham (3:7, 15-18, 4:22-31). The introduction of the theme of Divine Paternity and the argumentation to clarify the stance of the Galatians with God the Father indicates that the identification goes beyond describing the action of God, but specifies the nature of one Divine Person in relation to Another. Essentially, the first verse of Galatians in consideration with the whole of the letter is identifying God the Father in relation to Jesus, God the
The idea that the Holy Trinity can be directly allegorized by a dysfunctional, Unholy Trinity is not applicable. The two may be structured in the same general manner; however, according to Webster's definition of "allegory" the two are not a true form because the "secondary subject" does not express to the reader the "primary subject's...properties and characteristics.
Plantinga’s (2002) book Engaging God’s World consists of five parts: “Longing and Hope,” “Creation,” “The Fall,” “Redemption,” and “Vocation in the Kingdom of God.” Throughout the work, Plantinga references public speakers and activists, lyricists, philosophers, saints, and authors to help his audience connect to his perspective.
In Blessed Unrest, Paul Hawken illustrates to the reader how groups of organizations with similar principles and ideals are coming together to form what Hawken defines as a “movement.” In the chapter “Blessed Unrest,” Hawken explains the vast problems that plague the globe, such as loss of water for agriculture or theft of resources from third-world countries by government and corporations. He writes that due to these problems the world today is facing a task exponentially more difficult than the abolition of slavery, the restoration of the planet. However, Hawken also describes in the chapter those who are eager to address and protest against these dilemmas. Individuals who are willing to come together under common goals in order to necessitate environmental and social change in the world. Hawken, as his primary point, illustrates how groups of organizations and individuals are coming together to form a “movement,” which Hawken describes as a new form of community and story focused on three basic ambitions: environmental activism, social justice initiatives, and indigenous culture’s resistance to globalization.
In this opening chapter, Paul begins with a formal introduction of himself. He asserts the source from whom he obtained his apostolic call and ministry from- the risen Christ and “God the Father” (v.1). He follows with a stern rebuke of the Galatian Christians who have allowed themselves to be duped into to embracing the heretical teachings promulgated by the Judaizers. A. Salutation 1:1-5
His book presents three main perspectives on Christology (biblical, historical, and contemporary). He attempts to combine classical views and contextual views of Christology.
Four movements, now heresies, of the past each adopted one of these four views mentioned previously. They are: Nestorianism, Eutychianism, Apollinarianism, and Arianism. Nestorianism and Eutychianism fall under the controversy of the relationship between the two natures. The controversy of Nestorianism arose over the propriety of the term theotokos (“God-bearing”) as a description of Mary. At the Council of Chalcedon in 428 Nestorius gave his view of theotokos to which he held and overly dividing view of the two natures of Christ. Nestorius felt that the term was of doubtful propriety unless the term anthropotokos (“human-bearing”) was also used. Nestorius was later condemned when Cyril of Alexandria; who held the belief in Christ having one nature got involved. Nestorius’ pronouncement towards the birth of Christ caused Cyril to oppose him. Nestorius said that God cannot have a mother; no woman can give birth to God. Cyril of Alexandria suggested that Nestorius was proposing that Jesus has two natures joined in a purely moral union. After Nestorianism came Eutychianism. Eutyches who was repeatedly summoned to the standing Synod of Constantinople in 448, finally appeared and stated his position whereas Christ has two natures before the incarnation, that was but one afterwards. The result of the Synod was the Eutyches was deposed and excommunicated and the one- nature doctrine rejected.