Article published in The Watchtower 01/08/1992 Image: The Council of Nicaea
The first three articles of this series showed that neither Jesus nor his disciples, nor the early Church Fathers have taught the doctrine of the Trinity (The Watchtower November 1, 1991, February 1 and April 1 1992). This article will explain how the doctrine of the Trinity has developed, and what role the Council of Nicaea, held in the year 325, has played in this area.
in the year 325 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine convened a council in the city of Nicaea in Asia Minor. His intention was to settle a longstanding religious dispute which concerned the relationship of the Son of God Almighty. On the results of this council, we read in the Encyclopedia Britannica:
"It was Constantine who presided. He led an active discussion, and it was he who proposed the formula (...) capital that would express the relationship of Christ to God in the Creed adopted by the council, 'of the same substance [homoousios] that the Father' (...). Intimidated by the emperor, the bishops, with the exception of two, signed the creed, which many did gré1 their cons. "
The intervention of the chief pagan she was motivated by convictions based on Scripture? No. According to A Brief History of Christian Doctrine (German), "Constantine had virtually no understanding of the issues encountered grecque2 theology." This he understood, however, is that religious differences threatened the unity of his empire, and he wanted them to be resolved.
The doctrine of the Trinity was it established?
The Council of Nicaea he established or confirmed the Trinity as a doctrine of Christianity? Many people think. But the facts show he is different.
The Creed promulgated by this council has said concerning the Son of God, things that would allow various clerics consider it, somehow, as equal to God the Father. However, it is very interesting to see what is not in the Nicene Creed. Here, as it was presented at the time, the Creed in its entirety:
"We believe in one God, Father almighty, creator of things visible and invisible;
" And in one Lord Jesus Christ, Son God's only begotten of the Father, that is to say the substance of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, the same substance as the Father, by whom all things were created in heaven and on earth that came down from heaven for us and for our salvation became incarnate, became man, suffered, rose again the third day, ascended into heaven, and he will judge the living and the dead.
"And the Holy Esprit3."
According to this creed, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit they are one God in three persons? The three are they equal in eternity, power, position and wisdom? No. We find no formula indicating that three would be one. Originally, the Nicene Creed has neither established nor confirmed the Trinity.
At best, this creed is the Son equal with the Father in that it would be "same substance" as him. But it says nothing about such holy spirit. Everything he says is: "(...) We believe the Holy Spirit." We do not find here the doctrine of the Trinity taught by Christianity.
Even the term "same substance" (homoousios) does not necessarily mean that the council believed a numerical equality of the Father and the Son. We read in the New Catholic Encyclopedia (Eng.):
"It is doubtful that the council had intended to confirm digital identity of the substance of the Father and Fils4."
Even if the council had wanted to say that Father and the Son were numerically one, it still would not make a Trinity. It was a matter of God in two persons, not of God in three persons required by the doctrine of the Trinity.
"The view of a minority"
At Nicaea, the bishops as a whole they believed that the Son was equal to God? No, because there were divergent views. Thus, there was the current represented by Arius, who taught that the Son had a beginning and is not equal to God, but is subordinate in all. Athanasius, by cons believed that the Son is in some way equal to God. And there were still other designs. At
About the decision of the council to consider the Son to be the same substance (consubstantial) God, Martin Marty says: "Nice actually represented the views of a minority, and the agreement has not been without evil, it was unacceptable to many who were not arienne5 trend. "Similarly, the book selected Library of Nicene and postnicéens Fathers of the Christian Church (Eng.) noted that" a doctrinal position clearly articulated and contrary to Arianism was adopted by only a minority, but this emporté6 minority has. " In addition, we read in A Brief History of Christian Doctrine:
"What seemed particularly unacceptable amount of bishops and theologians oriental concept was introduced into the Creed by Constantine himself, the homoousios [ 'of the same substance] which, in the struggles that have later opposed orthodoxy and heresy, became the subject of désaccord7. "
After the council, the debate has continued for decades. Those would be considered as equal to the Son of God Almighty even for some time, was in disgrace. Thus, Martin Marty said of Athanasius: "His popularity is rising and then lowered, and he was exiled so often [in the years that followed the council] that he kept going and venir8." Athanasius spent years in exile because of political and religious leaders did not agree with his idea of a Son equal with God.
Therefore, it is not true to say that in 325 the Council of Nicaea established or confirmed the doctrine of the Trinity. Which later became the teaching of Trinity did not exist at the time. The concept that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are each God and are truly equal in eternity, power, position and wisdom, yet one God - one God in three persons - not was developed by the council or by the Fathers of the early Church. One can read in the Church of the first three centuries (Eng.):
"The doctrine of the Trinity which is widespread in our time (...) finds no support in the language of Justin and this observation may be extended to all the Fathers anténicéens; that is to say to all Christian writers for three centuries after the birth of Jesus. They speak, indeed, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit or prophetic, but not as co-equal, not as one numerical essence, not as Three in One, in any sense that the 'now recognize the Trinity. Exactly the opposite they do. The doctrine of the Trinity, as explained in the Fathers, was essentially different from the modern doctrine. What we say can be proved in the same way as any other fact owned the history of human ideas. "
" We challenge anyone to name one famous writer who, during the first three ages, have believed in the Trinity in the modern sense of term.9. "
Nicaea but represented a turning. This council has ensured that, later, formally accepted the idea of a Son equal to the Father, which paved the way for the concept of Trinity. Orthodoxy in the second century (Eng.), J. Buckley noted:
"At least until the late second century, the Church Universal has remained united in a fundamental sense: all accepted the supremacy the Father. All saw God the Father Almighty as the only Supreme Being, immutable, ineffable and without beginning. (...)
"Once these writers and religious leaders of the second century have disappeared, the Church has seen (...) slip imperceptibly but inexorably, to reach (...) at the Council of Nicaea, the culmination of this gradual erosion of the original faith. A minority are exalted his heresy imposed by a majority consent and, supported by the political authorities, has used pressure, intimidation or seduction to those who struggled to keep spotless the purity of their faith immaculée10. "
The Council of Constantinople in the year 381 the Council of Constantinople confirmed the Nicene Creed. And it added. He called the Holy Spirit "Lord (...) makes alive." The expanded that Creed was adopted in 381 (that is, in essence, that which is used today in churches and is called "Nicene Creed") shows that Christianity was about to formulate a dogma of the Trinity completed. Yet even this council is not finalized. Here's what the New Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges:
"We note that 60 years after Nicaea I, the Council of Constantinople I [381] homoousios avoided in its definition of the divinity of the Holy Esprit11."
"The theologians are very surprised by this credo appears moderate in its expression, the Indeed, for example, that there is not the word used to describe a homoousios Holy Spirit who is consubstantial with the Father and the Fils12. "
The same Encyclopedia acknowledges that" homoousios does not appear in the Écriture13. No, the Bible does not use that word, she does not speak of the Holy Spirit or the Son as consubstantial with God. This is a non-biblical expression that led to the doctrine itself unbiblical, unscriptural or rather, Trinidad.
Even after Constantinople, it took centuries for the teaching of the Trinity is accepted throughout Christendom. New Catholic Encyclopedia says about this: "In the West, it seems that silence (...) General has welcomed and Constantinople I Credo14." This book shows that the Creed adopted at the Council has not been widely recognized in the West before the seventh or eighth century.
experts also admit that the Athanasian Creed, often cited as the benchmark for defining and defending the Trinity, was not written by Athanasius, but much later, by a stranger. Thus we read in the New Encyclopaedia Britannica:
"The Eastern Church had no knowledge of the symbol before the twelfth century. Since the seventeenth century, biblical scholars agree that this symbol is not due to Athanasius (d. 373), but it was probably written in the fifth century in southern France. (...) The influence of the symbol seems first to have felt, in the sixth and seventh centuries, in the southern France and Spain. The Church of Germany in the ninth century, and later that of Rome, integrated it with their liturgie15. "
How it developed the doctrine of the Trinity has been a slow development which spanned several centuries. Trinitarian ideas of Greek philosophers such as Plato, who lived several centuries before Christ, were gradually introduced in the teachings of the Church. We read in The Church of the first three centuries
"(...) We argue that the doctrine of the Trinity appeared gradually and relatively late, that its origin is totally alien to Jewish and Christian scriptures, it developed and was introduced into Christianity with the assistance of Fathers Platonists; at Justin's time and long after, the inferiority of the Son and the distinct nature were universally taught, and that the Trinity was then that state ébauche16. "
Before Plato, the triad, or trinity, were common in Babylon and Egypt. Also, in their efforts to attract unbelievers that had the Roman Empire, the clergy have come to incorporate some just some of these ideas to Christianity. Thus it has come to accept the belief that the Son and the Holy Spirit would be the equal of the Father.
He also took time for the word "Trinity" is accepted. In the second half of the second century, Theophilus, bishop of Antioch in Syria, who wrote in Greek, introduced the word trias, which meant "triad" or "trinity". Then, the Latin writer Tertullian, who lived in Carthage in North Africa, has made use of the word in his writings Trinitas, meaning "trinity." However, we find not the word trias in the Christian Greek Scriptures, written under divine inspiration, and the word Trinity does not appear in the Latin translation of the Bible called the Vulgate. Neither of these expressions is the Bible. However, the word "Trinity", derived from pagan concepts, was introduced in ecclesiastical literature, and after the fourth century, it has come to be part of the dogma of the churches.
Thus, we can not say that Bible scholars have examined in depth to see if there was taught the Trinity. Rather, the political as well as that of the Church that states, which has largely shaped this doctrine. In Christian tradition (Eng.), Jaroslav Pelikan points out "the factors of the debate are not of theology, many of whom have repeatedly appeared close to determine its outcome, but there were forces equivalent to were counterbalanced. This doctrine often seemed to be the victim, or the proceeds of the policy of the Church and conflicts personnalité17. Washburn Hopkins, Yale professor, wrote about it: "The orthodox definition of the Trinity who eventually won was mostly the result of political concerns Église18."
How the doctrine of the Trinity is unreasonable when compared to simple biblical teaching that God is supreme and has no equal! As God says, "to which you assimilate, or do you provide equal, or compare me up, so we were like? - Isaiah 46:5. What she has shown
What represented the progressive development of the Trinitarian idea? One aspect of the abandonment of true Christianity that Jesus had said (Matthew 13:24-43). The apostle Paul also spoke of the apostasy to come:
"A time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine, but rather according to their passions and itching ears, they give teachers in quantity and ears away from truth and turn to fables. "- 2 Timothy 4:3, 4, Jerusalem, Catholic version.
teaching of the Trinity is one of those fables. But the number of foreign Christian fables, which have also developed gradually include the inherent immortality of the human soul, purgatory, limbo and the eternal torments of hell fire.
What, then, that the doctrine of the Trinity? It is a pagan doctrine disguised as Christian teaching. It was launched by Satan to deceive people, so they have a confused idea of God and mysterious. As a result, they are willing to accept other false religious concepts and other evil practices.
"by their fruits" Matthew 7:15-19 In
, Jesus said that we could distinguish the false from the true religion in this way:
"Be on your guard with the false prophets which come to you in clothes sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. In their fruits ye shall know them. Do we pick grapes from thorns or figs of thistles? Likewise every good tree produces good fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit. (...) Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "
Consider an example. In John 13:35, Jesus said: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves." Similarly, in 1 John 4:20 and 21, we read in the Word of God
"If someone says 'I love God' but hates his brother is a liar. Indeed, the who does not love his brother whom he has seen can not love God whom he has not seen. And here is the command we have from him: that he who loveth God love his brother also. "
apply this fundamental principle that true Christians should have love between them, what happened during the two world wars of the twentieth century and in other conflicts. Practitioners of the same religion of Christianity clashed on the battlefields and were massacred because of nationalist disputes. Each side claimed to be a Christian and was supported by members of his clergy, who said that God was on their side. The massacre of "Christians" by other "Christians" is a rotten fruit. It is a violation of Christian love, a negation of God's laws. - See also 1 John 3:10-12.
One day he will be accountable
Thus, the abandonment of Christianity was not the only consequence of the introduction of ungodly beliefs, such as the doctrine of the Trinity: it also leads to unholy practices. However, one day will come when he will be accountable, because Jesus said: "Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." That is why we read this exhortation in the Word of God:
"Get out of her [the false religion], my people, if you do not want to participate with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive a share of his wounds. For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her acts of injustice. "- Revelation 18:4, 5.
Soon, God 'will in the heart' of the political thought of turning against the false religion. They "make the (...) devastated and eat her flesh, and burn it with fire, completely." (Revelation 17:16, 17.) False religion and its pagan conceptions of God will be destroyed forever. Yes, God will say to the practitioners of false religion as Jesus said in his day: "Your home is abandoned." - Matthew 23:38.
True religion will survive the judgments of God, so that eventually all honor and glory be rendered to the one Jesus called "the one true God." It is mentioned by the Psalmist when he said: "You, whose name is Jehovah, you are, you alone, Most High over all the earth." - John 17:3, Psalm 83:18.
Bibliography:
1. Encyclopædia Britannica, 1971, Volume 6, page 386.
2. Epochen der Dogmengeschichte Bernhard Lohse, according to the English translation of Ernest Stoeffler, 1963, page 51.
3. History of councils, Charles Joseph Hefele, Volume I, Part I, page 445.
4. New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, Volume VII, page 115.
5. A Short History of Christianity, Martin Marty, 1959, page 91.
6. A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, 1892, Volume IV, page xvii.
7. Epochen der Dogmengeschichte, page 53.
8. A Short History of Christianity, page 91.
9. The Church of the First Three Centuries, Alvan Lamson, 1869, pages 75, 76, 341.
10. Second Century Orthodoxy, J. Buckley, 1978, pages 114, 115.
11. New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, volume VII, page 115.
12. Ibid. volume IV, page 436.
13. Ibid. page 251.
14. Ibid. page 436.
15. The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 1985, 15e édition, Micropædia, volume 1, page 665.
16. The Church of the First Three Centuries, page 52.
17. The Christian Tradition, Jaroslav Pelikan, 1971, page 173.
18. Origin and Evolution of Religion, Washburn Hopkins, 1923, page 339.
[Notes]
Pour de plus amples renseignements, consulter la brochure Doit-on croire à la Trinité? published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc..
As shown in previous articles in this series, although these words were used by Theophilus and Tertullian, they did not refer to the Trinity taught by Christianity Today.
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