DOCSLIB.ORG

Making Sense of the Catholic Faith

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Making Sense of the Catholic Faith Making Sense of the Catholic Faith 5 Making Sense of the Creeds A. Maintaining “orthodoxy”. As the Jesus movement grew and expanded beyond Palestine, often to escape Jewish persecution, its understanding and preaching of the Gospel developed as it met Greek and Roman cultures and philosophies. The need was felt to ensure “orthodox” Christianity i.e., “right doctrine”, and to preserve unity and purity of belief among Christians. B. Early “heresies”. Heresy from Greek haeresis, “choice, selection” with rejection of a revealed truth, resulting in expulsion from Church, “excommunication”. “supermarket beliefs”: pick and choose. A false doctrine condemned by church: may be exaggeration of one aspect of truth to denial of rest e.g., humanity of Christ or divinity of Christ; need for grace or need for human effort; adaptation or continuance of beliefs; i.e., overemphasis to point of exclusion. Formal heresy: a knowing and deliberate denial of truth; Material heresy: inadvertent, in good faith, inherited. Has stimulated, helped church clarify its beliefs, make them more precise. Arianism: Jesus not really God; a divine being created and subordinate to Father. “The Father is greater than I” Jn 14.28. Arius Egyptian theologian in 3-4 cc. Arianism became deeply divisive in Roman empire, condemned in early councils. “The Father and I are one” Jn 10.30. Rejected in Nicene Creed. Docetism: Jesus not really human, just appears to be (dokei: seems). Attacked in 1 Jn 4.2, in apostolic writers and in Nicaea. “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” 1 Jn 4.2. Gnosticism: a secret spiritual and dualist knowledge (gnosis) imparting salvation only to elite initiates, condemning the material as evil. Attacked by Paul 1 Cor and John and Fathers. C. Protecting and developing belief. Preserving purity of belief, increasing understanding of the Gospel and maintaining church unity brought about in four major ways in early Church: Recognising Influence of authoritative leaders: “overseers” episkopoi, bishops; Forming a “Canon” of scripture: i.e., gradually officially accepting a list of apostolic writings, sometimes after hesitation, e.g., Apocalypse, Hebrews; sometimes rejecting them (Gospel of Judas, rediscovered 1970s). See Cat 120-30; Convening local and general Councils of bishops to define Church teaching and condemn errors; Composing creeds of beliefs (Credo = “I believe”): brief, memorable formulas of required beliefs; taught/explained to converts. From second century they became polemical, repressive, refuting deviations. “The advantage of credal statements was that almost anyone was capable of learning them quickly to standardise belief and put up barriers against speculation or what was likely to be a boundless set of disagreements about what the Christian scriptures actually meant”, MacCulloch, 129. Cat 185-97. D. Early Christian “creeds”. Paul, 1 Cor. 15:3-7; Phil. 2:6-11. Summary formulas preached on, instructed in, learned by heart. Two traditional forms: Declaratory creed: whole recited from memory, preparing for baptism, used in liturgy. Interrogatory creed: reply “I believe” to three Trinitarian questions; cf Easter Vigil renewal. Candidate immersed after each. Naturally, early stress on Christological events, but always in context of his Father, and accompanied by reference to the Spirit. Later rebutted current errors. The Apostles’ Creed. Claimed the authority of the apostles: piously believed from 4th century that composed by them to ensure unity after dispersing to preach the Gospel, contributing a clause each under inspiration of Holy Spirit. But based on Old Roman Creed. “The Creed of the Roman Church, the see of Peter, the first of the apostles,” Ambrose, 4th c., in cat. 194. Trinitarian to reflect baptismal formula Mt 28.19 or full preaching; earlier more Christological. Nicene Creed: Generally accepted by most Christian bodies since 4th c. “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen….” Against Manicheeism, principle of evil. “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, . .eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father… consubstantial, homousios”. Against Arianism. “He became incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man…“ Against docetism. “ascended into heaven and is seated…” 3-decker universe. Omits “he descended into hell:” = really died, and went to underworld to save the dead: (“he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison”, 1 Pet 3.19). Nicene- Constantinopolitan Creed. Arianism was surviving, alongside controversies about how Christ was both divine and human. Also controversy moved to whether the Holy Spirit was divine. Emperor summoned First Council of Constantinople 381, which reaffirmed Nicene creed, and included clause on Holy Spirit, to become Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (cat 687-744). “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.” E. “Filioque” controversy between Eastern and Western Churches. Establishment of Byzantium as new capital Constantinople by Emperor Constantine in 4th c. began to divide Roman Empire into East and West; and as Christianity flourished, significant centres rose to become ruled by patriarch bishops as major successors of apostles: Jerusalem, Rome, Alexandria, Antioch; later, Constantinople, “the new Rome” in Council 381. Separate development of Eastern and Western theology, and Latin and Byzantine “Fathers”, and breakaway heretical groups, led to rivalries over status and disagreements on petrine jurisdiction, and notoriously the Filioque clause in Nicene Creed, resulting in mutual excommunication of Pope Leo IX and Antiochean patriarch in 1054 (removed in 1965) and the Great Schism. Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204. In Middle Ages, the Western churches starting from Spain added in liturgy the popular phrase "and from the Son“ (Filioque) to the Constantinopolitan Creed’s formal description of the procession of the Holy Spirit “from the Father”. Much influenced by Augustine, from Jn 16.14: “he will take what is mine and declare it to you”, and it strengthened the equality of Son and Father against Arianism. Earlier was “from the Father through the Son”. Double procession of Spirit and Filioque fiercely rejected by Eastern Churches as non-conciliar, but championed by Charlemagne in 8th c. against Eastern Empire, leading to Great Schism. Apparent reconciliation at Council of Florence rejected by Greeks. Still maintained. The Athanasian Creed “Quicumque vult” 4th c. Probably not composed by Greek St Athanasius. Concentrates on Trinity and Christology, emphasises equality of three persons in the Trinity and adds anathemas for denial. Repetitive, difficult to recite. Chalcedonian Creed 451: Two natures in Christ born of Mary theotokos (God-bearer: a Christological statement). F. Reformed professions of faith: statements of agreed differences from Rome. The Augsburg Confession Confessio Augustana, 1530. The Confession of the Diet of Augsburg marked breach with Rome and became primary confession of faith of the Lutheran church. Composed by Melanchthon from Luther, presented by Protestant cities to Emperor Charles V seeking peace, and unity against Turks. Rejected by papal theologians. Claimed to accept early church, councils and creeds; defended Luther on faith and bible alone; and listed Roman abuses (no chalice, enforced celibacy, Mass as sacrifice, detailed confession, merits, monastic life abuses, power of bishops). (Increasing modern reconciliation). Scots Confession 1560: The French Regent Mary of Guise died in 1560, and the Scottish Protestant nobles secured English support against France. Scottish Parliament agreed to make Scotland Protestant and commissioned John Knox and others to draw up Confession of Faith on Calvinist lines. New queen Mary opposed it, but it was later passed as law, and prevailed until Westminster Confession of Faith in 1648 replaced it. Follows early Councils and creeds on Trinity and Christology, but maintains Protestant principles on Fall and justification, sacraments real presence but no transubstantiation, rejects human inventions and Mass, refers regularly to “the elect”. True Kirk known by “the Word of God truly preached, the Sacraments rightly ministered, and discipline executed according to the Word of God” XXV. G. Creed of Council of Trent (Pius IV 1565): Summarising the teaching of the Council against Protestants, so concentrated on: Church authority to interpret Bible, legitimacy of apostolic traditions, Catholic interpretation of justification, seven sacraments, sacrifice of eucharist and transubstantiation, purgatory, images and saints, indulgences, authority of Rome and papacy. H. Concentration on Christ. Noticeable that most Creeds concentrate on Christ, less on the Father, and least on the Holy Spirit, for historical reasons. Two fundamental questions concern the incarnation, or God “becoming flesh” in Jesus Christ: (i) who is Jesus? (Christology) and (ii) what did Jesus do? (soteriology; soter = Gr saviour). The early Christian centuries concentrated on the first question, the being of Jesus, with less reference to what he did, i.e., his saving activity, or soteriology. “Who is Jesus?” was the focus of Christian reflection, controversy and definition in the earliest centuries, from the Council of
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi: the Doctrine of the Theotokos As a Liturgical Creed in the Coptic Orthodox Church
    Journal of Coptic Studies 14 (2012) 47–62 doi: 10.2143/JCS.14.0.2184687 LEX ORANDI, LEX CREDENDI: THE DOCTRINE OF THE THEOTOKOS AS A LITURGICAL CREED IN THE COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH BY BISHOY DAWOOD 1. Introduction In the Surah entitled “The Table Spread” in the Quran, Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, proclaimed a long revelation from God, and in a part that spoke of the role of Mary and teachings of Jesus, the following was mentioned: “And behold! Allah will say: ‘O Jesus the son of Mary! Did you say to men, ‘worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah’?’” (Sura 5:116).1 It is of note here that not only the strict mono- theistic religion of Islam objected to the Christian worshipping of Jesus as God, but it was commonly believed that Christians also worshipped his mother, Mary, as a goddess. This may have been the result of a mis- understanding of the term Theotokos, literally meaning “God-bearer”, but also means “Mother of God”, which was attributed to Mary by the Christians, who used the phrase Theotokos in their liturgical worship. Likewise, in Protestant theology, there was a reaction to the excessive adoration of the Virgin Mary in the non-liturgical devotions of the churches of the Latin West, which was termed “Mariolatry.” However, as Jaroslav Pelikan noted, the Eastern churches commemorated and cel- ebrated Mary as the Theotokos in their liturgical worship and hymnology.2 The place of the Theotokos in the liturgical worship of the Eastern Chris- tian churches does not only show the spiritual relation between the Virgin Mother and the people who commemorate her, but it is primarily a creedal affirmation of the Christology of the believers praying those hymns addressed to the Theotokos.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nicene Creed
    THE NICENE CREED A MANUAL jfor tbe use of ~anlJilJates for }ilol!} ®tlJets BY J. J. LIAS, M.A. RECTOR OF EAST BERGHOLT, COLCHESTER ; CHANCELLOR OF LLANDAFF CATHEDRAL, AND EXAMINING CHAPLAIN TO THE BISHOP OF LLANDAFF; AUTHOR OF ''PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL CRITICISM," ''THE ATONEMENT," ETC, LONDON SW AN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., LIM. NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN CO. 1897 tto SIR GEORGE STOKES, BART., LL.D., D.Sc., F.R.S. LUCASIAN PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE THIS LITTLE BOOK IS DEDICATED WITH A FEELING OF ADMIRATION FOR HIS GREAT ATTAINMENTS AND OF RESPECT FOR HIS HIGH CHARACTER AND GENUINE AND ENLIGHTENED ATTACHMENT TO THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF ttbe lE>octrtne of <Ibtlst PREFACE T is, perhaps, necessary that I should explain my reasons I for adding one more to the vast number of books which pour forth in so continuous a stream in the present day. Four reasons have mainly weighed with me. The first is, that my experience as an examiner of candidates for Holy Orders has convinced me that many of them obtain their knowledge of the first principles of the religion which they propose to teach, in a very unsatisfactory and haphazard way. This is partly due to the absence, at least until lately, of satisfactory text books. Few candidates attempt to read Pearson's great standard work on the subject, and most of those who have attempted it find him very abstruse and difficult to follow. Moreover, it must be admitted that in a good many respects, in spite of the still inestimable value of the work, Pearson's manner and matter are out of date.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nicene Creed in the Church David R
    Concordia Journal Volume 41 | Number 1 Article 3 2015 The iceN ne Creed in the Church David Maxwell Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.csl.edu/cj Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Maxwell, David (2015) "The icN ene Creed in the Church," Concordia Journal: Vol. 41: No. 1, Article 3. Available at: http://scholar.csl.edu/cj/vol41/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Concordia Journal by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Maxwell: The Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed in the Church David R. Maxwell Pastors often introduce the recitation of the Nicene Creed with the phrase, “Let us confess our Christian faith in the words of the Nicene Creed.” But what do we mean when we identify the content of the faith with the words of the creed? And how does that summary of the faith actually function in the church? After all, if we are to be creedal Christians in any meaningful sense, we would like to see the creed play a more profound role in the church than merely as a text to be recited. But, from the position of one sitting in the pew, it is not always clear what that role would be. Therefore, I will identify and explore three of the ways the creed has functioned and still functions in the church.
    [Show full text]
  • 21.05.30 the Holy Trinity
    TRINITY SUNDAY 135 NE Randolph Avenue, Peoria, Illinois 61606 Online: www.trinitypeoria.com ~ (309) 676-4609 The Holy Trinity May 30, 2021 Sunday Worship 8:00, 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. WELCOME IN THE NAME OF OUR RISEN LORD Welcome to Trinity! Today in the Divine Service God proclaims to us through Word and Sacrament the forgiveness, love, and salvation that He has won for us through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. LARGE PRINT BULLETINS are available from an usher for persons with vision difficulties. WORSHIPPING WITH OUR CHILDREN This week we celebrate God as the Trinity. The word “Trinity” means “three.” For Christians the word helps us understand that God shows Himself to us as “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” He is three persons in one God. Only He can do that! It is hard for us to understand exactly how God works but the one thing we know for sure is that God the Father loves us so much that God the Son, Jesus, was sent to give His life to pay for our sins and then rose to life again so that we could live forever. God the Holy Spirit, many times shown as a dove, gives us faith to believe that God loves us this much! See how many triangles you can find in church. Ideas adapted from Kids in the Divine Service by Christopher I. Thoma. ©2000 by the Commission on Worship of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. All rights reserved. Divine Service - Setting Two + We Come Into God’s Presence + In celebration of Trinity Sunday, we will confess the Athanasian Creed separated into four parts throughout our liturgy.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nicene Creed
    THE NICENE CREED [TEXT] The Nicene Creed In the first three centuries, the church found itself in a hostile environment. On the one hand, it grappled with the challenge of relating the language of the gospel, developed in a Hebraic and Jewish-Christian context, to a Graeco-Roman world. On the other hand, it was threatened not only by persecution, but also by ideas that were in conflict with the biblical witness. In A.D. 312, Constantine won control of the Roman Empire in the battle of Milvian Bridge. Attributing his victory to the intervention of Jesus Christ, he elevated Christianity to favored status in the empire. “One God, one Lord, one faith, one church, one empire, one emperor” became his motto. The new emperor soon discovered that “one faith and one church” were fractured by theological disputes, especially conflicting understandings of the nature of Christ, long a point of controversy. Arius, a priest of the church in Alexandria, asserted that the divine Christ, the Word through whom all things have their existence, was created by God before the beginning of time. Therefore, the divinity of Christ was similar to the divinity of God, but not of the same essence. Arius was opposed by the bishop, Alexander, together with his associate and successor Athanasius. They affirmed that the divinity of Christ, the Son, is of the same substance as the divinity of God, the Father. To hold otherwise, they said, was to open the possibility of polytheism, and to imply that knowledge of God in Christ was not final knowledge of God.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nicene Creed: the Niceno- the Apostles’ Creed: Caesarea: Constantinopolitan Creed
    Jonathan J. Armstrong, Ph.D. Moody Bible Institute The Creed of Eusebius of The Nicene Creed: The Niceno- The Apostles’ Creed: Caesarea: Constantinopolitan Creed: We believe in one only God, We believe in one God, the We believe in one God, the I believe in God the Father Father almighty, maker of all things Father almighty, creator of things Father almighty, maker of heaven almighty, maker of heaven and earth; visible and invisible; and earth, and of all things visible And in Jesus Christ his only Son visible and invisible; And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the and invisible; our Lord, who was conceived by the And in the Lord Jesus Christ, for he Son of God, the only-begotten of his And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, is the Word of God, God of God, light Father, of the substance of the only begotten Son of God, begotten of light, life of life, his only Son, the Father, God of God, light of light, of his Father before all worlds, light suffered under Pontius Pilate, was first-born of all creatures, begotten very God of very God, begotten, not of light, very God of very God, crucified, dead, and buried; he of the Father before all time, by made, being of one substance begotten not made, being of one descended into hell; the third day he (ὁμοούσιον) with the Father, by whom also everything was created, substance with the Father, by whom rose again from the dead; he whom all things were made, both all things were made, who for us men who became flesh for our ascended into heaven, and sits on which be in heaven and in earth, who and for our salvation came down the right hand of God the Father redemption, who lived and suffered for us men and for our salvation from heaven and was incarnate by among men, rose again the third day, came down from heaven and was the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary, almighty; from thence he shall come returned to the Father, and will come incarnate and was made man.
    [Show full text]
  • The Great and Holy Synod and Why It Is Important for Orthodoxy
    The Great and Holy Synod And Why It is Important for Orthodoxy Background Information—The Ecumenical Councils In the year 325, the Emperor Constantine convened the First Ecumenical Council in Nicea. Why? To put order where there was chaos. In the first three centuries of Christianity, the church was underground and persecuted. When Christianity became the legal religion of the Roman Empire in the early 4th century, as the churches of the various cities began communicating openly, there was disagreement, even scandal and heresy, because there was not agreement on basic tenets of the faith. The First Ecumenical Council gathered all the bishops of all the churches together, and after deliberation and prayer, the result of this Council was the Nicene Creed (our confession of faith) and the Canon of Scripture. Between 325 and 787, seven such Councils were held, which have given us the backbone of our Orthodox theology and praxis. For a Council to be truly “Ecumenical”, it means that all the churches are involved. Following the Great Schism in 1054, and now the further fracturing of Christianity into thousands of denominations, it is not possible to have a Council that is truly “Ecumenical.” The Autocephalous Churches In the Ancient Church, there were five “Patriarchates”—Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria. It is not the Orthodox “tradition” to have one “pope” who speaks infallibly for the whole church. Rather, our system of governance is “collegial” or “synodical.” There were, in the beginning, five autocephalous, or self- governing churches, each being led by a “Patriarch.” The Patriarch of Constantinople is recognized as the “Ecumenical Patriarch.” While he does not have administrative authority over the “Autocephalous” Churches, when all the churches gather together, he sits as the “first among equals.” The Seven Ecumenical Councils, or Synods, were convened under the “synodical” system that was the “tradition” among the ancient Patriarchates.
    [Show full text]
  • The Athanasian Creed
    The Athanasian Creed So likewise the Father is almighty, For the right faith is that we believe the Son almighty, and the Holy and confess that our Lord Jesus Christianity constantly struggles to keep the Faith free from false Spirit almighty. Christ, the Son of God, philosophies. And yet They are not three is God and man; In Fourth Century Alexandria, Egypt, a persuasive preacher with a logical almighties but One Almighty. God of the substance of the Father, mind used a philosophical concept foreign to the Scriptures in order to explain So the Father is God, the Son is begotten before the worlds; the connection between Jesus and his Father. Arius borrowed from the popular God, and the Holy Spirit is God. and man of the substance of His And yet They are not three mother, born in the world. Greek concept that a “god,” by nature, had to be high, distant and almighty; Gods but one God. Perfect God and perfect man, of a reason- and that humans, consequently, had to be low, spatial and inferior. So likewise the Father is Lord, the able soul and human flesh subsisting. Arius taught that only the Father was really a proper God. Because Jesus Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord. Equal to the Father as touching was human, he was therefore only a creature (created by God) and therefore And yet They are not three His Godhead and inferior to the did not really possess any divine qualities. Lords but One Lord. Father as touching His The problem: when Arius denied the divinity of Christ, he destroyed God’s For as we are compelled by the manhood; role in accomplishing our salvation.
    [Show full text]
  • John W. Welch, “'All Their Creeds Were an Abomination':A Brief Look at Creeds As Part of the Apostasy,”
    John W. Welch, “‘All Their Creeds Were an Abomination’:A Brief Look at Creeds as Part of the Apostasy,” in Prelude to the Restoration: From Apostasy to the Restored Church (Provo, UT and Salt Lake City: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University and Deseret Book, 2004), 228–249. “All Their Creeds Were an Abomination”: A Brief Look at Creeds as Part of the Apostasy John W. Welch John W. Welch is a professor of law at Brigham Young University and editor-in-chief of BYU Studies. On October 15, 1843, the Prophet Joseph Smith commented, “I cannot believe in any of the creeds of the different denominations, because they all have some things in them I cannot subscribe to, though all of them have some truth. I want to come up into the presence of God, and learn all things: but the creeds set up stakes, and say, ‘Hitherto [1] shalt thou come, and no further’; which I cannot subscribe to.” While Latter-day Saints gladly and gratefully recognize that all religious creeds contain some truth, the problem is that those formulations of doctrine also contain errors or impose limits that are “incompatible with the gospel’s inclusive commitment to truth and continual [2] revelation.” Such mixing of truth and error is reminiscent of the parable of the wheat and the tares, the Lord’s most [3] salient teaching on the nature of the Apostasy (Matthew 13:24–30, 37–43; JST Matthew 13; D&C 86:1–11). Thus, the creeds themselves, as vessels of mixed qualities, become metaphors or manifestations of the Apostasy itself.
    [Show full text]
  • Mary, Mother of God
    MARY, MOTHER OF GOD I. Mary, the Mother of Jesus Mariology is based upon the intimate bond that links Jesus with Mary: she is his mother. The NT testifies to this fact. She is first mentioned in the Bible not by name, but as the mother who gives Jesus his earthly life. Through her he becomes our brother, shares our life, and makes us share in the son ship of God” “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law that we might receive the full rights as sons.” -Mary’s life is hidden in the humility of Nazareth. The exalted language of our liturgical celebrations should not estrange her from our human world. We encounter her first as the maid of Nazareth who is called to a task totally beyond her understanding: to share in God’s design for the renewal of our human family. Her greatness lies in the silent faith with which she surrenders herself to a vocation which was hidden in God’s love: “Blessed is she who believed!” -According to modern biology, Mary is more closely related to Jesus than in the older view. Through her, and through her alone, Jesus becomes heir of the lineage of inheritance which leads back to the origin of the human family, to “Adam, who is from God” (Lk 3:38). This is the significance of Luke’s genealogy. -The psychological dependence of the child on the mother leads to the psychological bond, the intimate communion between mother and child.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Trinity, Filioque and Semantic Ascent Christians Believe That The
    Trinity, Filioque and Semantic Ascent1 Christians believe that the Persons of the Trinity are distinct but in every respect equal. We believe also that the Son and Holy Spirit proceed from the Father. It is difficult to reconcile claims about the Father’s role as the progenitor of Trinitarian Persons with commitment to the equality of the persons, a problem that is especially acute for Social Trinitarians. I propose a metatheological account of the doctrine of the Trinity that facilitates the reconciliation of these two claims. On the proposed account, “Father” is systematically ambiguous. Within economic contexts, those which characterize God’s relation to the world, “Father” refers to the First Person of the Trinity; within theological contexts, which purport to describe intra-Trinitarian relations, it refers to the Trinity in toto-- thus in holding that the Son and Holy Spirit proceed from the Father we affirm that the Trinity is the source and unifying principle of Trinitarian Persons. While this account solves a nagging problem for Social Trinitarians it is theologically minimalist to the extent that it is compatible with both Social Trinitarianism and Latin Trinitarianism, and with heterodox Modalist and Tri-theist doctrines as well. Its only theological cost is incompatibility with the Filioque Clause, the doctrine that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son—and arguably that may be a benefit. 1. Problem: the equality of Persons and asymmetry of processions In addition to the usual logical worries about apparent violations of transitivity of identity, the doctrine of the Trinity poses theological problems because it commits us to holding that there are asymmetrical quasi-causal relations amongst the Persons: the Father “begets” the Son and “spirates” the Holy Spirit.
    [Show full text]
  • The Principles of Theology an Introduction to the Thirty
    THE PRINCIPLES OF THEOLOGY AN INTRODUCTION TO THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES BY W. H. GRIFFITH THOMAS 1 CONTENTS Article Introduction I. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity II. Of Christ the Son of God III. Of His Going Down into Hell IV. Of His Resurrection Articles 4-10 V. Of The Holy Spirit VI. Of the Sufficiency of the Scriptures VII. Of the Old Testament VIII. Of the Three Creeds IX. Of Original or Birth-Sin X. Of Free-Will XI. Of Justification Articles 11-21 XII. Of Good Works XIII. Of Works before Justification XIV. Of Works of Supererogation XV. Of Christ Alone without Sin XVI. Of Sin after Baptism XVII. Of Predestination and Election XVIII. Of Obtaining Salvation by Christ XIX. Of the Church XX. Of the Authority of the Church XXI. Of the Authority of General Councils XXII. Of Purgatory Articles 22-25 XXIII. Of Ministering in the Congregation XXIV. Of Speaking in the Congregation XXV. Of the Sacraments XXVI. Of the Unworthiness of Ministers Articles 26-35 XXVII. Of Baptism XXVIII. Of the Lord’s Supper XXIX. Of the Wicked Which Eat Not the Body of Christ XXX. Of Both Kinds XXXI. Of Christ’s One Oblation XXXII. Of the Marriage of Priests XXXIII. Of Excommunicate Persons XXXIV. Of the Traditions of the Church XXXV. Of the Homilies XXXVI. Of Consecrating of Ministers Articles 36-Appendix XXXVII. Of Civil Magistrates XXXVIII. Of Christian Men’s Goods XXXIX. Of a Christian Man’s Oath 2 INTRODUCTION Revelation [This section is summarised from the writer’s article “Revelation,” in Hastings’ One Volume Bible Dictionary.
    [Show full text]