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Defense of The Trinity

Here is a draft outline for your essay on the coherence of the Trinity: I. Explanation of the doctrine of the Trinity - One God existing as three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) - Augustine's analogy of the mind (memory, intellect, will) to explain the tri-unity II. Common criticisms of the Trinity - It commits the heresy of partialism by suggesting each person is only partially God - The law of non-contradiction is violated by claiming God is both three and one III. Christian responses to the criticisms - The persons are not separate gods but three "whos" of one "what" - As a mystery of faith, the Trinity is

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70 views

Defense of The Trinity

Here is a draft outline for your essay on the coherence of the Trinity: I. Explanation of the doctrine of the Trinity - One God existing as three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) - Augustine's analogy of the mind (memory, intellect, will) to explain the tri-unity II. Common criticisms of the Trinity - It commits the heresy of partialism by suggesting each person is only partially God - The law of non-contradiction is violated by claiming God is both three and one III. Christian responses to the criticisms - The persons are not separate gods but three "whos" of one "what" - As a mystery of faith, the Trinity is

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k
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Starter

1. What is the role of the 1. Creator and


Father? sustainer
2. Son? 2. a) The Word at
3. Holy Spirit? creation (order)
4. Can you come up with
an analogy to explain b) The Incarnation
the tri-unity - one and saviour (lamb
essence, 3 persons, all of God)
fully God but not each
3. Purifier and
other. comforter (Purify
from sin, baptism)
2. Defense of the Trinity
1. The Trinitarian Heresies
2. Rebuttal of argument that the Trinity is Incoherent
Summary
Criticisms of the Trinity:
You can’t understand a tri-unity, it is an
incoherent concept.
Aristotle’s law of noncontradiction
Something cannot be a singularity and 3
persons.
Everytime you try to explain this doctrine,
you commit a heretical belief
Task
Can you name and explain 3
Trinitarian heresies?

CAn you give 3 analogies for the


trinity?
The Trinitarian Heresies (False beliefs)
• Tri-theism: That there are three separate different Gods; the Islamic view is regarded to be an
example of this.
• Modalism (Sabellianism): The persons of the Trinity are like the Hindu Trimurti; merely
different appearances, modes, aspects or “faces” of the One God from the human point of
view.
• Arianism: Christ was the first and greatest of the Father’s creations. He is the son of God, and
a divinely inspired teacher but not fully divine or God.
• Docetism: Christ is a purely divine being who only had the “appearance” of being human
• Partialism: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit together are components of the one God. This led
them to believe that each of the persons of the Trinity is only part God, only becoming fully
God when they come together.
• Irrationalism: Skeptical philosophers like Pierre Bayle (d. 1706) claim the Trinity is a logical
contradiction. The law of non-contradiction, as outlined by Aristotle, is a fundamental logical
assumption (postulate or axiom) that asserts that two contradictory statements cannot both
be true at the same time. Hence, the Trinity is contradictory as it claims that God is both one
& not one at the same time, & that God is three & not three.
What was your analogy?
H20? Do these commit one of the
heresies?
3 leaf clover?
Did yours?
You - son, brother, Tiffinian?
Augustine’s analogy of the Mind/Soul
Augustine gave classic expression to the psychological analogy of the Trinity in which
God’s unity of essence is likened to the rational part of the human soul, the mind. Does his analogy
The image of God in us (soul) consists of that part of the soul which the beasts do not commit any of the
have in common with us, i.e., the ability to contemplate the eternal forms and to make
Trinitarian Heresies?
judgments (know things) according to them.
• Tri-theism
The mind/soul is made up of
• Modalism
● memory - the metaphysical warehouse in which we not only store sense
(Sabellianism)
impressions, but in which we discover things we never knew we knew (present
illumination vs. Plato’s reminiscence). • Arianism
● intellect (understanding) - the mind’s eye, as it were, which takes on the form of
what it beholds in memory and conceives thought thereby. • Docetism
● will - that which directs the mind’s eye, as it does the bodily senses, to what it
loves and attaches it thereto. • Partialism

• Irrationalism
Augustine’s mind analogy for the Trinity
• Tri-theism: That there are three separate different Gods; the Islamic view is
regarded to be an example of this. I might accuse this
• Modalism (Sabellianism): The persons of the Trinity are like the Hindu of the heresy of
Trimurti; merely different appearances, modes, aspects or “faces” of the One
God from the human point of view. partialism as they
• Arianism: Christ was the first and greatest of the Father’s creations. He is the
son of God, and a divinely inspired teacher but not fully divine or God.
are not fully the
• Docetism: Christ is a purely divine being who only had the “appearance” of
mind on their own.
being human
• Partialism: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit together are components of the
one God. This led them to believe that each of the persons of the Trinity is
only part God, only becoming fully God when they come together.
• Irrationalism: Skeptical philosophers like Pierre Bayle (d. 1706) claim the
Also, is the mind a
Trinity is a logical contradiction. The law of non-contradiction, as outlined by mystery thus using
Aristotle, is a fundamental logical assumption (postulate or axiom) that
asserts that two contradictory statements cannot both be true at the same a mystery to
time. Hence, the Trinity is contradictory as it claims that God is both one &
not one at the same time, & that God is three & not three. explain a mystery?
Christian defense/rebuttal responses:
1. The Trinitarian God is supported by scripture and by the personal
mystical and religious experience of Christian believers e.g. the Holy
Spirit at baptism and prayer/worship (This is all
testimony/mysticism/fideism)

2. Strict monotheistic doctrines like Tawhid in Islam result in a god that


is too impersonal (as god is not a person). Deism.
It is claimed that such a god cannot personally relate to or account for
the many things in nature.
The Trinitarian God is very personal, experiences our experiences and
acts in the world (Doesn’t address the coherency problem)
Christian responses:
3. To suggest that the Trinity is irrational is to commit a straw man
fallacy.
The Trinity doctrine is not contradictory because the doctrine merely
states that God is one in essence (God is one what or one in being)
yet three in person (God is three whos – Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

The Trinity as one “What” (God) and three “Whos” (persons) is


therefore not a formal logical contradiction.
(bit like you - son, Tiffinian and brother, one you, three persons. But
can’t be three modes and one singularity - is this modalism?)
Christian responses:
4. Mystical theologians argue that many of the above heresies
erroneously discuss the Trinity in literal via positiva language.

Instead, the Trinity is an article of faith that is a true divine mystery and
incomprehensible to the human mind, logic and ordinary language (i.e.,
it is ineffable to use William James’s term).
It is not irrational but rather above reason and cannot be discussed of
meaningfully in literal empirical language because we cannot
comprehend the transcendent. Hence, following the mystic Dionysius,
we need to move from the via positiva to the via negativa – as the
Trinity can be only understood mystically. Cataphatic theology causing
problems again - father, son holy spirit -he isn’t literally these things.
Can we speak about God at all? Is it incoherent in its logic and its
language?
Task: Plan your essay for timed closed book
conditions next lesson
5. “The Trinity is an incoherent doctrine.”
Refer to Christian teachings, give developed arguments to support this
statement, give developed arguments to support a different point of view and
reach a justified conclusion and evaluation.
Three paragraphs
i. Explanation of the doctrine of the Trinity from a Christian perspective (Special
revelation in the Bible/Baptism account, who the three are/what do, Tri-unity
explained, plurality within unity.)
ii. Criticisms of the Trinity – Islamic criticism (Tawhid and divinely simple). Can’t
explain without either committing heresy or appealing to faith because it is
contradictory.
iii. Analysis and rebuttals of criticisms (e.g. Islam commits Tri-Theism heresy and
Straw man fallacy, The Trinity is a Special revelation therefore some divine
mystery and faith involved). Atheist incoherency criticisms and your persuasive
view and conclusion.
Your essay:
1. Explain the Doctrine of the Trinity, include
Augustine's analogy of the mind.
2. Explain the most common heresies committed
when explaining the Trinity (analysis)
3. What are the rebuttals and are they sufficient
justification of the coherency of the doctrine of
the Trinity? (Christian defense and judgement
of/conclusion)

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