Saturday, December 19, 2009

Objection #2 - The Ante-Nicene Fathers Opposed the Trinity

Is the word "Trinity" found in the Bible?  Christians have never claimed this.  Anyone who has read the Bible from cover to cover will tell you, no, it is not.  That fact does not affect our theology any more than the fact that the ΙΧΘΥΣ "fish" anagram is not in the Bible.  Neither is the Nicene creed, the Apostles' Creed, or the song "Amazing Grace."  

But that does not make them any less Biblical in their ideas, which are founded on the principles of Scripture.  The term "Trinity" is simply the church's way of describing a reality that is supported by Biblical teachings.  

This is a fact that Watchtower magazine seems to overlook in its criticism of Trinitarian theology.  While quoting Christian sources, it conveniently glosses over the fact that idea that God consists in the persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has been recognized by the earliest Christian father.  In the Watchtower magazine, this quote appears: 

"The word Trinity is not found in the Bible... it did not find a place formally in the theology of the Church till the 4th century."

Below is the full quotation: 

"
The word Trinity is not found in the Bible, and, though used by Tertullian in the last decade of the 2nd century, it did not find a place formally in the theology of the Church till the 4th century. (New Bible Dictionary, J. D. Douglas & F. F. Bruce, Trinity, p 1298)

The text highlighted in red does NOT appear in the Watchtower publication.  It is conveniently left out because, on the preceding page, they claim that Tertullian did NOT support Trinitarian theology.  In fact, in the next paragraph they do employ another quote, this one undeniable citing Tertullian as one of the first to use the Latin word "trinitas" is his writings:  

The Catholic Encyclopedia also comments: "In Scripture there is as yet no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together. The word  [tri'as] (of which the Latin trinitas is a translation) is first found in Theophilus of Antioch about A. D. 180. . . . Shortly afterwards it appears in its Latin form of trinitas in Tertullian."  However, this is no proof in itself that Tertullian taught the Trinity.

No, in fact, his use of the word does not prove anything about his theology.  
But quotes such as this one do: 

"These three are one substance, not one person; and it is said, 'I and my Father are one' in respect not of the singularity of number, but the unity of the substance."  -Tertullian (Adversus Praxaem, ix).

This is about as clear an orthodox statement as you can get.  

In fact, in the work quoted by the Watchtower, Tertullian was taken completely out of context.  I have taken the time to read some sections of Adversus Praxeam, which is Tertullian's refutation of a contemporary writer of anti-Trinitarian heresy, Praxeas.  His peer argued that separating God into three persons means you are worshiping three Gods.  Tertullian argues vigorously for the orthodox Christian viewpoint. He clarifies the idea that the Persons are separate, yet of one substance - that is, in essence and quality, God. (Adv. Prax., ii)  He actually uses the word "trinitas," not to name his viewpoint, but merely as part of his statement about God: "The mystery of the dispensation is still guarded, which distributes the Unity into a Trinity, placing in their order the three Persons--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost...." (Adv. Prax., ii).

While we are on the subject of Anti-Nicene Fathers, let's break down the Watchtower's claims that other early Christian writers wrote against Trinitarian theology... 

Justin Martyr

>>Justin Martyr, who died about 165 C.E., called the prehuman Jesus a created angel who is "other than the God who made all things." He said that Jesus was inferior to God and "never did anything except what the Creator . . .willed him to do and say."<<

This sounds great.  Let's see what Justin Martyr actually said... In order to investigate this claim, I read relevant portions of Justin Martyr's Dialogue With Trypho, A Jew. 

Below is the context of the WT publication's first quote, from Chapter 56: 

[In reference to Christ:] "It is not on this ground solely," I said, "that it must be admitted absolutely that some other one is called Lord by the Holy Spirit besides Him who is considered Maker of all things; not solely [for what is said] by Moses, but also [for what is said] by David. For there is written by him: ‘The Lord says to my Lord, Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool,’ as I have already quoted. And again, in other words: ‘Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever." 

In this chapter, Justin is arguing FOR the Trinity, based on Old Testament evidence.  Justin actually says that not just God the Father, but Christ is called "Lord" by the Holy Spirit.  He does not insinuate that Christ is a separate, non-Divine being.  Rather, he is again clarifying Trinitarian theology with its separation of Persons.  

The WT also claims that Justin called Jesus a created angel.  This is not so, as this quote from Chapter 60 shows: 

"… even so here, the Scripture, in announcing that the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses, and in afterwards declaring him to be Lord and God, speaks of the same One, whom it declares by the many testimonies already quoted to be minister to God, who is above the world, above whom there is no other [God]." (ibid, ch. 60).

When Justin uses the word Angel here, he does so in the Biblical sense--αγγελος meaning "messenger" or "minister".  The bolded text clarifies that he means not a created angel, but "minister" at the same time as "Lord and God."  

As for the WT's second quote about Jesus doing the will of His Father, that idea is entirely Biblical, supported by the gospel of John and other New Testament writings, and is in no way at odds with the idea that God exists as three Persons in harmony.  

Clement of Alexandria

While Clement's theology began to lean a little toward the Gnostic side, he had no doubt as to who Jesus Christ was, as Paedegogus, chapter 2 begins: 

"Now, O you, my children, our Instructor is like His Father God, whose son He is, sinless, blameless, and with a soul devoid of passion; God in the form of man, stainless, the minister of His Father's will, the Word who is God, who is in the Father, who is at the Father's right hand, and with the form of God is God."

For a more detailed review of Clement's writings on the Trinity, click here.  This author has gathered a better selection of quotes than I have time and energy for.  He properly cites the ante-Nicene Fathers and puts their words in context, as well as giving sample statements from them about the Trinity and Christ's deity.  

Mike Licona, a Biblical scholar and key apologist for the Christian faith, has also written an extensive commentary addressing this section of the WT tract from a historical perspective: "The Early Church Fathers on Jesus".

In conclusion, I would recommend anyone questioning the ante-Nicene Fathers to actually READ the ante-Nicene Fathers in order to clear up the matter.  Below I have listed some recommended texts, which are all available in digital form.  Read them for yourself and draw your own conclusions.  

Justin Martyr, Dialogue With Trypho, A Jew, esp. chapters 56 & 60.  
Irenaeus, Against Heresies
Clement of Alexandria, The Paedegogus

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