Trinity - Revision history

Aschlafly at 17:56, November 5, 2026

2026-11-05T17:56:08Z

Aschlafly at 15:47, November 5, 2026

2026-11-05T15:47:14Z

Aschlafly at 06:14, November 5, 2026

2026-11-05T06:14:53Z

RoadtoEmmaus2: improved Trinity

2026-11-04T19:29:20Z

improved Trinity

DavidB4-bot: clean up, typos fixed: 145-220 → 145–220 (3)

2026-10-27T08:40:49Z

clean up, typos fixed: 145-220 → 145–220 (3)

Aschlafly: improved

2025-10-24T17:17:15Z

improved

Conservative at 03:40, August 26, 2025

2025-08-26T03:40:17Z

Aschlafly at 05:18, July 20, 2025

2025-07-20T05:18:56Z

Aschlafly: Augusting and the Trinity

2025-07-20T05:18:09Z

Augusting and the Trinity

Conservative: /* Filioque controversy */

2025-03-02T07:42:22Z

Filioque controversy

@@ Line 88: / Line 88: @@
 *[https://carm.org/monarchianism '''Monarchianism''', Matt Slick - CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (carm.org)]
 *[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10448a.htm '''Monarchians''' - Catholic Encyclopedia (newadvent.org)] ''Dynamists, Adoptionists, Modalists''
-*[http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Monarchianism '''Monarchianism''' - New World Encyclopedia (newadventencyclopedia.org)]
+*[http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Monarchianism '''Monarchianism''' - New World Encyclopedia (newworldencyclopedia.org)]
 *[https://www.watchman.org/articles/other-religious-topics/heresies_then-and-now/ '''Heresies: Then and Now''', Jason Barker (watchman.org)] ''Offers scriptural refutations''

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 In the Eastern Liturgies, it is commonly taken for granted that this was a Theophany (a visible manifestation of the invisible God). For, e.g., "God in Three Persons appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mambre, and through mercy he was given as reward for his hospitality Isaac. That God we now glorify him as God of our Fathers."<ref>Octoechos, Sunday, Tone 3, Midnight Office, Ode 7.</ref><ref>https://www.academia.edu/13190369/The_Early_Christian_Reception_of_Genesis_18_From_Theophany_to_Trinitarian_Symbolism</ref>
-St. Augustine comments: "But since three men appeared, and no one of them is said to be greater than the rest either in form, or age, or power, why should we not here understand, as visibly intimated by the visible creature, the equality of the Trinity, and one and the same substance in three persons?" ZZ<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130102.htm</ref>
+St. Augustine comments: "But since three men appeared, and no one of them is said to be greater than the rest either in form, or age, or power, why should we not here understand, as visibly intimated by the visible creature, the equality of the Trinity, and one and the same substance in three persons?" <ref>http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130102.htm</ref>
 ==Illustrations and analogies==

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 [[Genesis, Chapter 18|Genesis 18:1]] states, "And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,3 And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:"
-In the Eastern Liturgies, it is commonly taken for granted that this was a Theophany (a visible manifestation of the invisible God). For, e.g., "God in Three Persons appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mambre, and through mercy he was given as reward for his hospitality Isaac. That God we now glorify him as God of our Fathers." ZZ<ref>Octoechos, Sunday, Tone 3, Midnight Office, Ode 7.</ref> ZZ<ref>https://www.academia.edu/13190369/The_Early_Christian_Reception_of_Genesis_18_From_Theophany_to_Trinitarian_Symbolism</ref>
+In the Eastern Liturgies, it is commonly taken for granted that this was a Theophany (a visible manifestation of the invisible God). For, e.g., "God in Three Persons appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mambre, and through mercy he was given as reward for his hospitality Isaac. That God we now glorify him as God of our Fathers."<ref>Octoechos, Sunday, Tone 3, Midnight Office, Ode 7.</ref><ref>https://www.academia.edu/13190369/The_Early_Christian_Reception_of_Genesis_18_From_Theophany_to_Trinitarian_Symbolism</ref>
 St. Augustine comments: "But since three men appeared, and no one of them is said to be greater than the rest either in form, or age, or power, why should we not here understand, as visibly intimated by the visible creature, the equality of the Trinity, and one and the same substance in three persons?" ZZ<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130102.htm</ref>

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 [[St. Augustine]] declared: "O Lord God, we firmly believe that You are a Trinity. For Truth (Jesus) would never have said, Be Baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, unless You were a Trinity. Nor would He have commanded us to be baptized into One Who was not Lord God." Augustine mentions the Trinity 24 times in his ''[[City of God]]''.<ref>E.g., Augustine wrote: "And this Trinity is one God; and none the less simple because a Trinity. For we do not say that the nature of the good is simple, because the Father alone possesses it, or the Son alone, or the Holy Ghost alone; nor do we say, with the Sabellian heretics, that it is only nominally a Trinity, and has no real distinction of persons; but we say it is simple, because it is what it has, with the exception of the relation of the persons to one another."</ref>
-The [[Book of Genesis]] also contains a wonderful Theophany of the Three Divine Persons appearing to men in visible forms, that of the Three Persons in Genesis 18. It is said the Lord God appeared to Abraham, then that he perceived The Three Persons of the Holy Trinity as Three Men. Finally, that he adored Them And yet spoke to Three Persons as to One Lord God, and thus the Holy Bible here clearly demonstrates that the Holy Trinity is One Lord God.
+The [[Book of Genesis]] also contains a wonderful Theophany of the Three Divine Persons appearing to men in visible forms, that of the Three Persons in Genesis 18. It is said the Lord God appeared to Abraham, then that he perceived The Three Persons of the Holy Trinity as Three Men. Finally, that he adored Them. And yet spoke to Three Persons as to One Lord God, and thus the Holy Bible here clearly demonstrates that the Holy Trinity is One Lord God.
 [[Genesis, Chapter 18|Genesis 18:1]] states, "And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,3 And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:"
-In the Eastern Liturgies, it is commonly taken for granted that this was a Theophany (a visible manifestation of the invisible God). For, e.g., "God in Three Persons appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mambre, and through mercy he was given as reward for his hospitality Isaac. That God we now glorify him as God of our Fathers."<ref>Octoechos, Sunday, Tone 3, Midnight Office, Ode 7.</ref><ref>https://www.academia.edu/13190369/The_Early_Christian_Reception_of_Genesis_18_From_Theophany_to_Trinitarian_Symbolism</ref>
+In the Eastern Liturgies, it is commonly taken for granted that this was a Theophany (a visible manifestation of the invisible God). For, e.g., "God in Three Persons appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mambre, and through mercy he was given as reward for his hospitality Isaac. That God we now glorify him as God of our Fathers." ZZ<ref>Octoechos, Sunday, Tone 3, Midnight Office, Ode 7.</ref> ZZ<ref>https://www.academia.edu/13190369/The_Early_Christian_Reception_of_Genesis_18_From_Theophany_to_Trinitarian_Symbolism</ref>
-St. Augustine comments: "But since three men appeared, and no one of them is said to be greater than the rest either in form, or age, or power, why should we not here understand, as visibly intimated by the visible creature, the equality of the Trinity, and one and the same substance in three persons?"<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130102.htm</ref>
+St. Augustine comments: "But since three men appeared, and no one of them is said to be greater than the rest either in form, or age, or power, why should we not here understand, as visibly intimated by the visible creature, the equality of the Trinity, and one and the same substance in three persons?" ZZ<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130102.htm</ref>
 ==Illustrations and analogies==
@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 The [[Arian]]s of the 4th century denied the Trinity. They were condemned as heretics and they died out, but Arian ideas reappeared in Europe after 1500. [[Isaac Newton]] was secretly an Arian.
-By the mid-18th century [[Unitarianism]] had emerged in England, and by 1800 it spread to the U.S.. By 1820 it dominated schools like [[Harvard University]].
+By the mid-18th century [[Unitarianism]] had emerged in England, and by 1800 it spread to the U.S. By 1820 it dominated schools like [[Harvard University]].
-In the 20th century [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] do not believe in the Trinity, and see it as contradicting the commandment to have no god but the one God.<ref>Watchtower, July 2008</ref>  Jehovah Witnesses disparage the Trinity by depicting it as a three-headed creature and claim the doctrine as a corrupt addition by [[Satan]] to Christianity. See [[Great Apostasy]].
+In the 20th century [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] did not believe in the Trinity, and saw it as contradicting the commandment to have no god but the one God.<ref>Watchtower, July 2008</ref>  Jehovah's Witnesses disparage the Trinity by depicting it as a three-headed creature and claim the doctrine as a corrupt addition by [[Satan]] to Christianity. See [[Great Apostasy]].
 The doctrine of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]] teaches that God the Father and Jesus as God the Son are two separate physical beings of flesh and bone, and that the Holy Spirit is not a physical Person but a Spirit Personage with influence of guidance and holiness.<ref>The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints General Conference, April 1974. The Holy Ghost,
@@ Line 78: / Line 78: @@
 See the following '''Christian Monarchian''' articles against Trinitarianism:
-*[http://www.jesus-messiah.com/apologetics/catholic/trinity.html '''The Trinity Doctrine Is Pagan: The Trinitarian Heresy of the Council of Nicaea'''", By Pastor G. Reckart, Pastor  (jesus-messiah.com)]
+*[http://www.jesus-messiah.com/apologetics/catholic/trinity.html '''The Trinity Doctrine Is Pagan: The Trinitarian Heresy of the Council of Nicaea''', By Pastor G. Reckart, Pastor  (jesus-messiah.com)]
 *[http://jesus-messiah.com/apologetics/catholic/creeds.html '''The Trinity Doctrine Is Pagan: The Creeds''', by G. Reckart, Pastor (jesus-messiah.com)]
 :—"''The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God in three manifestations.  There is one God and one Spirit and this God and this Spirit as to time and eternity is Father in creation, Son in redemption, and Holy Spirit in regeneration.''" ...
@@ Line 88: / Line 88: @@
 *[https://carm.org/monarchianism '''Monarchianism''', Matt Slick - CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (carm.org)]
 *[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10448a.htm '''Monarchians''' - Catholic Encyclopedia (newadvent.org)] ''Dynamists, Adoptionists, Modalists''
-*[http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Monarchianism '''Monarchianism''' - New World Encyclopedia (newworldencyclopedia.org)]
+*[http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Monarchianism '''Monarchianism''' - New World Encyclopedia (newadventencyclopedia.org)]
 *[https://www.watchman.org/articles/other-religious-topics/heresies_then-and-now/ '''Heresies: Then and Now''', Jason Barker (watchman.org)] ''Offers scriptural refutations''
@@ Line 94: / Line 94: @@
 *[http://my.raex.com/~obsidian/eccnonch.html Ecclesiarchs - Non-Chalcedonian Churches (my.raex.com)]
-Read '''[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A10-23&version=KJV John 14:10-23 (KJV)]'''; '''[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+15%3A26&version=KJV 15:26]'''; and '''[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+16%3A7-15&version=KJV 16:7-15 (KJV)]'''. <br> [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1%3A26&version=KJV Genesis 1:26]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+11%3A7&version=KJV 11:7]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+48%3A16-17&version=KJV Isaiah 48:16-17]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+61%3A1&version=KJV 61:1]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+3%3A16-17&version=KJV Matthew 3:16-17]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+28%3A19&version=KJV 28:19]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A35&version=KJV Luke 1:35]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+3%3A21-22&version=KJV 3:21-22]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+10%3A38&version=KJV Acts 10:38]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A9&version=KJV Romans 8:9], [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A11&version=KJV 8:11]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+15%3A30&version=KJV 15:30]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+12%3A4-6&version=KJV 1&nbsp;Corinthians 12:4-6]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A21-22&version=KJV 2&nbsp;Corinthians 1:21-22]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+13%3A14&version=KJV 13:14]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+4%3A6&version=KJV Galatians 4:6]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+4%3A4-6&version=KJV Ephesians 4:4-6]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus+3%3A4-6&version=KJV Titus 3:4-6]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+9%3A14&version=KJV Hebrews 9:14]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+1%3A2&version=KJV 1&nbsp;Peter 1:2]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jude+1%3A20-21&version=KJV Jude 20-21]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+3%3A21-22&version=KJV Revelation 3:21-22].
+Read '''[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A10-23&version=KJV John 14:10-23 (KJV)]'''; '''[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+15%3A26&version=KJV 15:26]'''; and '''[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+16%3A7-15&version=KJV 16:7-15 (KJV)]'''. <br> [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1%3A26&version=KJV Genesis 1:26]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+11%3A7&version=KJV 11:7]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+48%3A16-17&version=KJV Isaiah 48:16-17]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+61%3A1&version=KJV 61:1]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+3%3A16-17&version=KJV Matthew 3:16-17]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+28%3A19&version=KJV 28:19]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A35&version=KJV Luke 1:35]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+3%3A21-22&version=KJV 3:21-22]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+10%3A38&version=KJV Acts 10:38]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A9&version=KJV Romans 8:9], [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A11&version=KJV 8:11]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+15%3A30&version=KJV Romans 15:30]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+12%3A4-6&version=KJV 1&nbsp;Corinthians 12:4-6]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1%3A21-22&version=KJV 2&nbsp;Corinthians 1:21-22]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+13%3A14&version=KJV 13:14]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+4%3A6&version=KJV Galatians 4:6]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+4%3A4-6&version=KJV Ephesians 4:4-6]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus+3%3A4-6&version=KJV Titus 3:4-6]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+9%3A14&version=KJV Hebrews 9:14]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+1%3A2&version=KJV 1&nbsp;Peter 1:2]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jude+1%3A20-21&version=KJV Jude 20-21]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+3%3A21-22&version=KJV Revelation 3:21-22].
 *'''[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+4%3A24&version=KJV John 4:24]''' and '''[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+3%3A17&version=KJV 2&nbsp;Corinthians 3:17]'''
@@ Line 147: / Line 147: @@
 * [http://www.angelfire.com/space/thegospeltruth/trinity/articles/abandon.html The Trinity Delusion: Why I abandoned the Trinity, by Brother Kel, servant of Jesus (angelfire.com)] ''written by a former Lutheran''
-;Trinitarian Apologetics
+; Trinitarian Apologetics
 * [http://capro.info/Cults_and_Isms/Unitarianism/Unitarianism.html Unitarianism: The Close-Minded & Intolerant Religion, Paul Derengowski, ThM]
 * [https://carm.org/trinity CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry. Trinity Chart, by Matt Slick (carm.org)]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{trinity}}The Christian '''Trinity''' consists of [[God the Father]], [[Jesus Christ|God the Son]], and God the [[Holy Spirit]], as established by the [[Nicene Creed]] of A.D. 325. The Trinity refers to the three Persons in a single unity who are the one God, all coequal, and all with one undivided divine nature forming one God.
-Although not explicit in the [[Bible]],<ref>Many Christians teach that the [[Johannine Comma]] in I John 5:7 supports the view of the Trinity; however, others believe that the Comma was added by later scribes.</ref> the concept of the Trinity is embraced by the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the [[Orthodox Church]], and nearly all [[Protestantism|Protestant]] denominations, but denied by all [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]]s and "Oneness [[Pentecostal]]s" (such as the United Pentecostal Church).  The name "Trinity" was coined by the Church Father [[Tertullian]] (A.D. 145-220). It is based on inferences from texts emphasizing the closeness of God-the-Father and Jesus (such as [[Romans, Chapter 8|Romans 8:31-34), the role of the [[Holy Ghost]], and especially the baptismal formula in [[Matthew, Chapter 28|Matthew 28:19]]: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."<ref>The word "name" in this passage is singular. The plural word "names" is not said. Semitic peoples understood that the name of something or someone was not merely a label, a sound, but an expression of the very nature of the subject as the referent. God is Trinity, but God's nature is unity, having one name, one nature. Christians who accept the Trinity -- which is the vast majority -- are called Trinitarians, believing in Trinitarianism.</ref>
+Although not explicit in the [[Bible]],<ref>Many Christians teach that the [[Johannine Comma]] in I John 5:7 supports the view of the Trinity; however, others believe that the Comma was added by later scribes.</ref> the concept of the Trinity is embraced by the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the [[Orthodox Church]], and nearly all [[Protestantism|Protestant]] denominations, but denied by all [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]]s and "Oneness [[Pentecostal]]s" (such as the United Pentecostal Church).  The name "Trinity" was coined by the Church Father [[Tertullian]] (A.D. 145–220). It is based on inferences from texts emphasizing the closeness of God-the-Father and Jesus (such as [[Romans, Chapter 8|Romans 8:31-34), the role of the [[Holy Ghost]], and especially the baptismal formula in [[Matthew, Chapter 28|Matthew 28:19]]: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."<ref>The word "name" in this passage is singular. The plural word "names" is not said. Semitic peoples understood that the name of something or someone was not merely a label, a sound, but an expression of the very nature of the subject as the referent. God is Trinity, but God's nature is unity, having one name, one nature. Christians who accept the Trinity -- which is the vast majority -- are called Trinitarians, believing in Trinitarianism.</ref>
 [[St. Augustine]] declared: "O Lord God, we firmly believe that You are a Trinity. For Truth (Jesus) would never have said, Be Baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, unless You were a Trinity. Nor would He have commanded us to be baptized into One Who was not Lord God." Augustine mentions the Trinity 24 times in his ''[[City of God]]''.<ref>E.g., Augustine wrote: "And this Trinity is one God; and none the less simple because a Trinity. For we do not say that the nature of the good is simple, because the Father alone possesses it, or the Son alone, or the Holy Ghost alone; nor do we say, with the Sabellian heretics, that it is only nominally a Trinity, and has no real distinction of persons; but we say it is simple, because it is what it has, with the exception of the relation of the persons to one another."</ref>
@@ Line 77: / Line 77: @@
 Oneness Pentecostals (such as the United Pentecostal Church) also deny the Trinity, and believe that any person baptized "in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" (which is commonly done in most churches) must be baptized again in "Jesus name only".  (The vast majority of those in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements support the Trinity.)  Another false teaching on the Trinity is Modalism, which claims the three Persons are actually manifestations of one Person; this view is believed to be the one held by [[T.D. Jakes]] (who refuses to specifically state his views on the Trinity, some argue he does so deliberately so as to pass himself off as orthodox on the Trinity when he is not).
-See the following '''Christian Monarchian''' articles against [[Trinity|Trinitarianism]]:
+See the following '''Christian Monarchian''' articles against Trinitarianism:
 *[http://www.jesus-messiah.com/apologetics/catholic/trinity.html '''The Trinity Doctrine Is Pagan: The Trinitarian Heresy of the Council of Nicaea'''", By Pastor G. Reckart, Pastor  (jesus-messiah.com)]
 *[http://jesus-messiah.com/apologetics/catholic/creeds.html '''The Trinity Doctrine Is Pagan: The Creeds''', by G. Reckart, Pastor (jesus-messiah.com)]
@@ Line 158: / Line 158: @@
 [[File:El Greco The Holy Trinity 1577.jpg|thumb|left|340px|''The Holy Trinity'' by [[El Greco]]]]
-[[File:Murillo Two Trinities.jpg|thumb|left|340px|''The Two Trinities'' by [[Bartolomé Esteban Murillo]], about 1675-1682.]]
+[[File:Murillo Two Trinities.jpg|thumb|left|340px|''The Two Trinities'' by [[Bartolomé Esteban Murillo]], about 1675–1682.]]
-[[File:Vicente Castello Coronación de la Virgen por la Trinidad.jpg|thumb|left|340px|''Coronación de la Virgen por la Trinidad'' (Coronation of the Virgin by the Trinity) by Vicente Castello (c. 1586-1640).]]
+[[File:Vicente Castello Coronación de la Virgen por la Trinidad.jpg|thumb|left|340px|''Coronación de la Virgen por la Trinidad'' (Coronation of the Virgin by the Trinity) by Vicente Castello (c. 1586–1640).]]
 [[Category:Bible]]
 [[Category:Christian Theology]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Christianity}}
-{{trinity}}The Christian '''Trinity''' consists of [[God the Father]], [[Jesus Christ|God the Son]], and God the [[Holy Spirit]], as established by the [[Nicene Creed]] of A.D. 325. The Trinity refers to the three Persons in a single unity who are the one God, all co-equal, and all with one undivided divine nature forming one God.
+{{trinity}}The Christian '''Trinity''' consists of [[God the Father]], [[Jesus Christ|God the Son]], and God the [[Holy Spirit]], as established by the [[Nicene Creed]] of A.D. 325. The Trinity refers to the three Persons in a single unity who are the one God, all coequal, and all with one undivided divine nature forming one God.
-Although not explicit in the [[Bible]],<ref>Many Christians teach that the [[Johannine Comma]] in I John 5:7 supports the view of the Trinity; however, others believe that the Comma was added by later scribes.</ref> the concept of the Trinity is embraced by the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the [[Orthodox Church]], and nearly all [[Protestantism|Protestant]] denominations, but denied by all [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]]s and "Oneness [[Pentecostal]]s" (such as the United Pentecostal Church).  The name was coined by the Church Father [[Tertullian]] (A.D. 145-220). It is based on inferences from texts emphasizing the closeness of God-the-Father and Jesus (such as Rom. 8:31-34), the role of the Holy Ghost, and especially the baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19.
+Although not explicit in the [[Bible]],<ref>Many Christians teach that the [[Johannine Comma]] in I John 5:7 supports the view of the Trinity; however, others believe that the Comma was added by later scribes.</ref> the concept of the Trinity is embraced by the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the [[Orthodox Church]], and nearly all [[Protestantism|Protestant]] denominations, but denied by all [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]]s and "Oneness [[Pentecostal]]s" (such as the United Pentecostal Church).  The name "Trinity" was coined by the Church Father [[Tertullian]] (A.D. 145-220). It is based on inferences from texts emphasizing the closeness of God-the-Father and Jesus (such as [[Romans, Chapter 8|Romans 8:31-34), the role of the [[Holy Ghost]], and especially the baptismal formula in [[Matthew, Chapter 28|Matthew 28:19]]: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."<ref>The word "name" in this passage is singular. The plural word "names" is not said. Semitic peoples understood that the name of something or someone was not merely a label, a sound, but an expression of the very nature of the subject as the referent. God is Trinity, but God's nature is unity, having one name, one nature. Christians who accept the Trinity -- which is the vast majority -- are called Trinitarians, believing in Trinitarianism.</ref>
-Matthew 28:19: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."<ref>The word "name" in this passage is singular. The plural word "names" is not said. Semitic peoples understood the name of something or someone was not merely a label, a sound, but an expression of the very nature of the subject as the referent. God is Trinity, but God's nature is unity, having one name, one nature.</ref>
+[[St. Augustine]] declared: "O Lord God, we firmly believe that You are a Trinity. For Truth (Jesus) would never have said, Be Baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, unless You were a Trinity. Nor would He have commanded us to be baptized into One Who was not Lord God." Augustine mentions the Trinity 24 times in his ''[[City of God]]''.<ref>E.g., Augustine wrote: "And this Trinity is one God; and none the less simple because a Trinity. For we do not say that the nature of the good is simple, because the Father alone possesses it, or the Son alone, or the Holy Ghost alone; nor do we say, with the Sabellian heretics, that it is only nominally a Trinity, and has no real distinction of persons; but we say it is simple, because it is what it has, with the exception of the relation of the persons to one another."</ref>
-This doctrine is Trinitarian and is called Trinitarianism. Christians who believe the Trinitarian Christian doctrine of the Trinity are called Trinitarians, those who believe in Trinitarianism.
+The [[Book of Genesis]] also contains a wonderful Theophany of the Three Divine Persons appearing to men in visible forms, that of the Three Persons in Genesis 18. It is said the Lord God appeared to Abraham, then that he perceived The Three Persons of the Holy Trinity as Three Men. Finally, that he adored Them And yet spoke to Three Persons as to One Lord God, and thus the Holy Bible here clearly demonstrates that the Holy Trinity is One Lord God.
-[[St. Augustine]] said: "O Lord God, we firmly believe that You are a Trinity. For Truth (Jesus) would never have said, Be Baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, unless You were a Trinity. Nor would He have commanded us to be baptized into One Who was not Lord God." Augustine mentions the Trinity 24 times in his ''[[City of God]]''.<ref>E.g., Augustine wrote: "And this Trinity is one God; and none the less simple because a Trinity. For we do not say that the nature of the good is simple, because the Father alone possesses it, or the Son alone, or the Holy Ghost alone; nor do we say, with the Sabellian heretics, that it is only nominally a Trinity, and has no real distinction of persons; but we say it is simple, because it is what it has, with the exception of the relation of the persons to one another."</ref>
+[[Genesis, Chapter 18|Genesis 18:1]] states, "And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,3 And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:"
-The Book of Genesis also contains a wonderful Theophany of the Three Divine Persons appearing to men in visible forms, that of the Three Persons in Genesis 18. It is said the Lord God appeared to Abraham, then that he perceived The Three Persons of the Holy Trinity as Three Men. Finally, that he adored Them And yet spoke to Three Persons as to One Lord God, and thus the Holy Bible here clearly demonstrates that the Holy Trinity is One Lord God.
+In the Eastern Liturgies, it is commonly taken for granted that this was a Theophany (a visible manifestation of the invisible God). For, e.g., "God in Three Persons appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mambre, and through mercy he was given as reward for his hospitality Isaac. That God we now glorify him as God of our Fathers."<ref>Octoechos, Sunday, Tone 3, Midnight Office, Ode 7.</ref><ref>https://www.academia.edu/13190369/The_Early_Christian_Reception_of_Genesis_18_From_Theophany_to_Trinitarian_Symbolism</ref>
 St. Augustine comments: "But since three men appeared, and no one of them is said to be greater than the rest either in form, or age, or power, why should we not here understand, as visibly intimated by the visible creature, the equality of the Trinity, and one and the same substance in three persons?"<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130102.htm</ref>

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 ==Filioque controversy==
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 [[File:Dove blue background.jpg|thumbnail|350px|right|In the Bible, a [[dove]] is often a symbol of the [[Holy Spirit]].<ref>[https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holy-spirit/why-is-the-dove-often-a-symbol-for-the-holy-spirit.html Why Is the Dove Often a Symbol for the Holy Spirit?], Christianity.com</ref>]]