Podcast 10 Fundamental Questions about the Trinity

[Lori Jane]

Trinities Podcast

podcast 314 – 10 Fundamental Questions about the Trinity​

podcast 314 – 10 Fundamental Questions about the Trinity – Trinities

trinities.org

There are now a plethora would-be experts on “the doctrine of the Trinity” who offer to tell you the basics of what you need to know about the subject in a short paperback book, or in a lecture or three. Here are some questions which any actual expert should have ready and supportable answers for.

10 Basic or Fundamental Questions about “the Trinity”:

1. What is “the doctrine of the Trinity”?
2. Why is this doctrine not, as some allege, tritheism?
3. Why is this doctrine not, as some allege, incoherent?
4. Is this doctrine consistent with the common conception of God as a mighty, unique, and completely perfect self?
5. When, if ever, did God reveal this doctrine?
6. If this doctrine is “in” the Bible, how can one see this?
7. If this doctrine is not in the Bible, why should Bible-oriented Protestants accept it?
8. How does this doctrine relate to the so-called “ecumenical” councils?
9. Why have some Christians opposed any Trinity doctrine?
10. Is this doctrine, as the “Athanasian” creed asserts, something which one must believe in order to be saved?

I also suggest ten more advanced questions. If a source can give convincing answers to any of these harder questions, then it should get some bonus points, especially if it can also answer the ten more basic ones above.
10 Advanced Questions about “the Trinity”: bonus points for answering

1. Hypothetically, what would be required to show that the doctrine of the Trinity is false?
2. Does “the Trinity” either require or exclude a traditional doctrine of “divine processions”?
3. Is this doctrine “a mystery” and if so, what does that mean?
4. Is “the doctrine of the Trinity” consistent with divine simplicity?
5. What, if any, are the Jewish and/or Christian precursors to this doctrine of the Trinity? What are the stages by which this line of thinking about God developed?
6. What are the various competing ways of understanding the traditional Trinity-language, i.e. Trinity theories?
7. How can we rule out competing Trinity theories?
8. Why isn’t the prevalence of such disagreement among people who have a Trinity theory evidence that no such theory has been revealed by God?
9. If “the Trinity” is a salvation-required doctrine why is it not clearly spelled out in any biblical passage?
10. In what sense, if any, is “the Trinity” an essential doctrine? Essential to what exactly? In other words, we can’t truly have ____ until we have a doctrine of the Trinity.

At the end of this episode, I’ll very briefly tell you my answers; I’ve been researching and publishing on these things for more than two decades. But you can skip that ending part if you want, because my main point here is just to arm you with important questions as you start to find your way around this topic.

Links for this episode:

podcast 302 – The Stages of Trinitarian Commitment

2 Timothy 2:24-25

podcast 190 – What is the Trinity? A triad of book reviews

What is the Trinity?

The Standard Opening Move [of trinitarian apologists]

SEP: Trinity as incoherent

podcast 102 – Dr. Brian Leftow on perfect being theology

podcast 164 – On Counting Gods

podcast 260 – How to Argue that the Bible is Trinitarian

Westminster Confession of Faith

podcast 31 – Dr. William Hasker on the “Arian” Controversypodcast

podcast 30 – The Council of Nicea

podcast 29 – Arius

10 steps towards getting less confused about the Trinity – #6 get a date – part 2

podcast 248 – How Trinity theories conflict with the Bible

How Trinity theories conflict with the New Testament

podcast 2 – the “Athanasian Creed”

podcast 286 – Is the Trinity Essential? – Three Views

“Trinity,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Evolution of the Trinity – with Bill Schlegel on The One God Report

“When and How in the History of Theology Did the Triune God Replace the Father as the Only True God?”

This week’s thinking music is “The Dweller on Coyote Hill” by Little Glass Men

 

[Bvenski]

I'm on my lunch break, but here's my 2 cents on the 10 basic questions:

1. What is “the doctrine of the Trinity”?
Answer: Man-made doctrine (not of God) that was stamped, sealed and approved by Emperor Theodosius & some so-called bishops at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD.

2. Why is this doctrine not, as some allege, tritheism?
Answer: When you break it down, its actually the belief in 5 gods, with one of those gods having a god.

3. Why is this doctrine not, as some allege, incoherent?
Answer: It is incoherent. Once one goes beyond the belief that another person, (other than God the Father), is also God, then that person has entered the realm of polytheism.

4. Is this doctrine consistent with the common conception of God as a mighty, unique, and completely perfect self?
Answer: No, not even close.

5.When, if ever, did God reveal this doctrine?
Answer: Never.

6. If this doctrine is “in” the Bible, how can one see this?
Answer: Imagination, deception and/or following others without researching the scriptures for themselves.

7. If this doctrine is not in the Bible, why should Bible-oriented Protestants accept it?
Answer: They should not accept it. Protestants should protest against it.

8.How does this doctrine relate to the so-called “ecumenical” councils?
Answer: One can be buddies with other denominations who agree with 7 councils. Yay! Not.

9. Why have some Christians opposed any Trinity doctrine?
Answer: The multiple, different doctrines of the trinity all lead down to the same path, which is idolatry.

10.Is this doctrine, as the “Athanasian” creed asserts, something which one must believe in order to be saved?
Answer: No. Believing in this trinity filth is very dangerous.