The Religions Book

214

I

n a math test, it is safe to
assume that 1 + 1 + 1 = 3, but
not so in a theology exam. One
of the most notorious conundrums of
the Christian faith is that to describe
God, 1 + 1 + 1 = 1, not 3. Some of
the greatest Christian theologians
have struggled to explain how
God can be three distinct persons
(Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) yet
remain only one God. However,
this idea, which is known as the
doctrine of the Trinity, is a central
plank in Christian theology,
setting its understanding of
God apart from other religions.

A standardized way of speaking

about God, known as the doctrine

of the Trinity, was settled upon by

members of the early Church some

300 years after the death of Jesus.

A range of ideas had emerged as

the faith spread across the Roman

Empire and beyond, so Church

leaders articulated the doctrine

as a response.

Rooted in Judaism

The roots of Christianity are in

Judaism—the religion into which

Jesus was born and of which he

claimed to be the Messiah. Just as

A DIVINE TRINITY

IN CONTEXT

KEY TEXT

The Nicene Creed

WHEN AND WHERE

4th century CE, Nicea

and Constantinople

BEFORE

500 BCE Jewish daily prayer

includes the Shema, affirming

that God is one (monotheism).

1st century CE Christians

worship Jesus and the Holy

Spirit with the God of Israel.

c.200 CE Tertullian explains

the Trinity as “three persons

of one substance.”

AFTER

c.400 CE St. Augustine’s The

Trinity (De Trinitate), gives an

analogy of the Trinity based on

three elements of human life:

mind, knowledge, and love.

20th century Trinitarian

theology, starting with the

doctrine of the Trinity, thrives

with theologian Karl Barth.

Judaism is monotheistic, so is

Christianity—Christians, like Jews,

believe in just one God. But how

could the first Christians claim to

be monotheistic if they worshipped

both Jesus as God and the God

whom Jesus called Father? And

how did this relate to the Spirit,

whom Jesus said he would send, so

that God’s presence would remain

with Christians? Since the Spirit

was also worshipped as God, did

this mean that Christians were

tri-theists (believing in three gods)

rather than monotheists?

The doctrine of the Trinity is an

God, the Father

of Jesus, who

sent him to the

world that he

had created.

Jesus, the Son

of God, who

came to the

world to bring

God’s kingdom.

The Holy Spirit,

who is with

Christians now

that Jesus has

returned to

his Father.

There is only one God.

But Christians experience God in three ways.

God is both three and one—a trinity of divinity.

These three (Father, Son, and Spirit) are completely united in

what they do, even though each one has a particular role.