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PROTO-TRINITY: the Development of the Doctrine of the Trinity in the First and Second Christian Centuries

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PROTO-TRINITY: the Development of the Doctrine of the Trinity in the First and Second Christian Centuries PROTO-TRINITY: The Development of the Doctrine of the Trinity in the First and Second Christian Centuries THOMAS EDMUND GASTON MPhil(b) History of Christianity School of Historical Studies UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM 2007 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ω̉ Θεός, ‘ιλασθήτι µοί τω γραµµατει 2 Abstract The search for the ‘historical Jesus’ has resulted in the view that Jesus never was, nor claimed to be, any more than a mere man. A conservative theologian still hold that the doctrine of the Trinity, later made explicit in the creeds, is implicit within the New Testament texts and was Jesus’ most controversial claim. But what did the early Christians believe about their Lord and Master? In this study I review the early Christian texts, their content and background, to ascertain the earliest forms of Christological thought. My thesis is that one of the earliest understandings of Jesus’ nature is found in the infancy narratives and that this understanding is presupposed by the earliest Christian writers (including the writers of the New Testament texts). From this basis I trace the development of Christology to the end of the second century, demonstrating how Christian thought moved from its primitive understanding of Jesus to the foundations of the doctrine of the Trinity. 3 Contents Contents......................................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... 5 Dissertation....................................................................................................................6 D1 - Introduction....................................................................................................... 6 D2 - Sonship............................................................................................................ 10 D2.1 - Adoptionism............................................................................................. 10 D2.2 - The Virgin Conception ............................................................................ 13 D3 – Pre-existence .................................................................................................. 21 D3.1 - Foreknowledge......................................................................................... 21 D3.2 - Pneumatic Christology............................................................................. 22 D3.3 - Wisdom .................................................................................................... 26 D3.4 - Logos........................................................................................................ 32 D3.5 – Further Development............................................................................... 35 D4 - Middle Platonism ............................................................................................ 38 D4.1 - The Second Century Milieu ..................................................................... 38 D4.2 - Platonism.................................................................................................. 40 D4.3 - The Influence of Platonism on Christianity............................................. 47 D4.4 - Further Development ............................................................................... 54 D5 - Unity................................................................................................................ 56 D5.1 - Judeo-Christian Monotheism and the Shema........................................... 56 D5.2 - Gnosticism ............................................................................................... 63 D5.3 – Further Development............................................................................... 67 D6 - Triadic Formula............................................................................................... 69 D6.1 - II Corinthians (c.56)................................................................................. 69 D6.2 - Baptismal Formula................................................................................... 70 D6.3 - Sub-Apostolic Triadic Formulas.............................................................. 71 D6.4 - Justin Martyr (c.150)................................................................................ 72 D6.5 - Theophilus of Antioch (c.180)................................................................. 74 D6.6 - Irenaeus .................................................................................................... 75 D6.7 - Further Development ............................................................................... 77 D7 - Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 79 Appendices.................................................................................................................. 81 A1 - Titles................................................................................................................ 81 A1.1 - Tetragrammaton....................................................................................... 81 A1.2 - Periphrasis................................................................................................ 83 A1.3 - Nomina Sacra........................................................................................... 84 A1.4 - Θεός ......................................................................................................... 84 A1.5 - Κύριος ...................................................................................................... 93 A1.6 - The Son of God........................................................................................ 94 A2 - Subordinationism ............................................................................................ 97 A2.1 - Early Epistles (c.45-70)............................................................................ 97 A2.2- The Synoptic Tradition (c.70-90).............................................................. 99 A2.3 - Sub-Apostolic Literature (c.90-110)...................................................... 100 A2.4 - The Gospel of John (c.100).................................................................... 101 A2.5 - The Later Epistles (c.110)...................................................................... 102 A2.6 - Early Apologists (c.120-150)................................................................. 103 A2.7 - Justin Martyr (c.150).............................................................................. 104 A2.8 - Irenaeus (c.180)...................................................................................... 104 4 A2.9 - Further Development ............................................................................. 105 A3 - Possessionism ............................................................................................... 107 A3.1 - Ebionites................................................................................................. 107 A3.2 - The Epistle of Barnabas (c.90+) ............................................................ 108 A3.3 - The Shepherd of Hermas (c.100+)......................................................... 109 A3.4 - The Possessionist Phenomena................................................................ 111 References ................................................................................................................. 113 Translations ....................................................................................................... 113 Bibliography...................................................................................................... 114 Acknowledgements Special thanks are due to my supervisor, Dr Philip Burton, for his invaluable support and advice throughout my research, and course convenor Professor Hugh McLeod. I would also like to thank the following academics who aided my research: Dr Charlotte Hempel (Birmingham), Professor Max Kölbel (Birmingham), Professor John Dillon (Trinity College Dublin), and Professor Simon Swain (Warwick). Thanks are also due to my family and friends who offered non-academic support. 5 Dissertation D1 - Introduction In contemporary theology views on the origin of the doctrine of the Trinity range between two extremes: that the Trinity is explicit in the New Testament, on the one hand, and that the Trinity has no foundation in the Bible, on the other.1 A review of the tertiary literature demonstrates that the former position, though still represented by conservative theologians,2 is generally surrendered (in the face of historical considerations) for the middle position that the doctrine of the Trinity was implicit in the Scriptures and was made explicit by the developments of the Church Fathers.3 Historians have generally concluded that the doctrine of the Trinity was not original.4 The interconnectedness
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