This document provides an introduction to the doctrine of the Trinity. It discusses the importance of the Trinity in Christian life and worship. The Trinity is the central doctrine of Christianity, describing God as three divine persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who are distinct yet coeternal and share one divine essence. While difficult for humans to comprehend fully, studying the Trinity helps understand God's life with us and our life with each other. The source of the doctrine is God's self-revelation through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The document outlines the scope and objectives of studying the Trinity, focusing on its connection to salvation history rather than speculative understandings of God's inner nature.
This document provides an introduction to the doctrine of the Trinity. It discusses the importance of the Trinity in Christian life and worship. The Trinity is the central doctrine of Christianity, describing God as three divine persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who are distinct yet coeternal and share one divine essence. While difficult for humans to comprehend fully, studying the Trinity helps understand God's life with us and our life with each other. The source of the doctrine is God's self-revelation through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The document outlines the scope and objectives of studying the Trinity, focusing on its connection to salvation history rather than speculative understandings of God's inner nature.
This document provides an introduction to the doctrine of the Trinity. It discusses the importance of the Trinity in Christian life and worship. The Trinity is the central doctrine of Christianity, describing God as three divine persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who are distinct yet coeternal and share one divine essence. While difficult for humans to comprehend fully, studying the Trinity helps understand God's life with us and our life with each other. The source of the doctrine is God's self-revelation through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The document outlines the scope and objectives of studying the Trinity, focusing on its connection to salvation history rather than speculative understandings of God's inner nature.
This document provides an introduction to the doctrine of the Trinity. It discusses the importance of the Trinity in Christian life and worship. The Trinity is the central doctrine of Christianity, describing God as three divine persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who are distinct yet coeternal and share one divine essence. While difficult for humans to comprehend fully, studying the Trinity helps understand God's life with us and our life with each other. The source of the doctrine is God's self-revelation through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The document outlines the scope and objectives of studying the Trinity, focusing on its connection to salvation history rather than speculative understandings of God's inner nature.
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THE TRINITY
INTRODUCTION
Indispensibility of the Doctrine of the Trinity in the
Christian Life (1) As the Foundaton of the Liturgical Worship - The Greeting: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” - The doxology “Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours almighty Father, forever and ever Amen.” - The Benediction: “Almighty God, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.”
(2) As the basis of the Christian Faith
- Both the Nicean and Apostles’ Creed begin with a Trinitarian structure - God the Father as the creator, Jesus, the son as the incarnated redeemor and the Holy Spirit proceeds from both of them Etymology of the term “Trinity” - ‘Trinitas’ : a Latin abstract noun means> ‘threeness’, ‘the property of coccuring three at once’, ‘three are one’ - ‘Trias’ or ‘Triados’ (Greek) means> ‘a set of three’ or ‘the number three’ - English expression “Trinity” literally means ‘a unity of three’ The direct Theological meaning of the term “TRINITY” - No mention of the term ‘Trinity’ in the Old Testament and the New Testament - As the central doctrine of the Christianity it means “In the unity of the Godhead there are three Divine persons namely The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” - They are > distinct one from another > co-eternal > of one indivisable Divine essence Difficulty with the Doctrine - This concept is really an enigma - Priests find difficult to preach on the Trinity - Catechetists find difficult to explain the mystery of Trinity - For some it is meaningless to speak of this mystery as it is beyond human comprehension
- Central doctrine of salvation has become a distant
mystery The Importance of Studying the doctrine of Trinity - The Catechism of the Catholic Church number 234 recognizes the concept of the Holy Trinity as the basis for all the other revealed mysteries
The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith". The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men "and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin". • In the light of the Holy Trinity we understand the essence of the Christian life • It explain what does it mean to participate in the life of God through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit (incarnation of Jesus gave a value to personal, human and divine life) • It is an expression about God’s life with us and our life with each other (concept of Unity in the Trinity) • Trinitarian Theology is a help for the life in the faith (more we try to understand the doctrine more it will promote faith) The Source of the Trinitarian Doctrine - Trinitarian doctrine wells up from ‘revelation’ - Understanding of God as a ‘community of persons’ arise from Jesus’ birth, actions, teaching and preaching, death and resurrection and sending of the Holy Spirit - Jesus’ experience of God as ‘Abba Father’ becomes the launching pad for the doctrine - Jesus addresses Yahweh as ‘Father’> not in generation sense but in relation sense The Scope of the Course - The focus of the course is on the “Doctrine of the Trinity” and not on the “Trinity itself” - The doctrine is not a result of speculation of the inner dynamism of the Trinity - The scope of our study is very much clear in the words of St. Thomas Aquinas “The Trinity does not share the divinity of the Godhead but communicate with each other. The
relationship between three persons cannot be understood completely. The essence or nature of
the Trinity cannot be truely grasped. The Holy Trinity cannot be rationally demonstrated but it can
be ratonally discussed.”
- The doctrine is a result of the attempts to digest and assimilate
the first Christians’ experience of the Holy Trinity - Developments are connected with the doctrine and not with the concept ..... + Western Christianity has focused theology and faith on the person of Jesus and the doctrine of Trinity has no value at all + They use the doctrine in worship and rattle through the confession of faith but don’t see God’s connection with salvation (Two doctrines are poles apart) + The doctrine of Trinity is seperated from soteriology, ecclesiology and Christology. + Further it is separated from the Christian understanding of God + Does not integrate other doctrines into a whole + Does not affect other Christian doctrines + St. Augustine developed a doctrine but for him it was a received doctrine. he provided explanations for that . + It was not the central focus of his theology + He didn’t intergrate it to Christ and salvation. + This understanding continued with the tradition - The Eastern tradition maintained the connectedness between the Trinity and ecclessiology - The Eastern Church insists on the doctrine of the Trinity in order to witness to the Church - The Western Church needs a doctrine to reauthenticate the Trinity and to see its integration with soteriology and Christology - Again after Vatican II with the help of the theologians like J, Danielou, Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity, Karl Rahner , Lonergan and L, Hodgson Catholic Theology returned to the Trinitarian homeland - After Vatican II the theological route has shown that the understanding of the Christian faith as a historical redeeming event inevitably leads to placing the mystery of the Trinity at the center of the mediation starting with economic manifestations - Thus the creation of the world and man, the incarnation and the redemption of Christ and the Church as the fundamental sacrament are introduced with a Trinitarian accent Objectives of the Course - We would try to show that belief in God is not simply a speculation about inner Divine essence of God - But it is intimately connected with salavation - The fundamental arguement> We know God only from God’s salvific activity in the history of salvation - This helps us to show the link between Theology and life the link between the inner Trinity and Economic Trinity - The Divinity of the Godhead cannot be exchanged - The inner dynamism of the immanent Trinity is not equal to the manifestation of the economic Trinity but they are intimately connected - All what God did is intimately connected to who God is - What God is not equal to who God is Ad intra >>> incarnation >>> Ad extra immanent Economic
