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| Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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| The Scutum Fidei, a diagram frequently used by Christian apologists to explain the Trinity. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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| Trinity's drawing of our Snow Day (Photo credit: oregongirl!) |
According to this
central mystery of
most Christian
faiths,[8] there is only one God in three
persons: while distinct from one another in their relations of origin (as the Fourth Lateran
Council declared, "it is the Father who generates, the Son who is
begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds") and in their relations with
one another, they are stated to be one in all else, co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial, and
"each is God, whole and entire".[9] Accordingly, the whole work of
creation and grace is seen as a single operation common to all three divine
persons, in which each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, so
that all things are "from the Father", "through the Son"
and "in the Holy Spirit".[10]
The term
"trinity" is not found in the Bible, nor is the doctrine specifically
developed in the Scripture.[11] The closest use of the term is:
(Matthew 28:19) "Goe ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them
in the Name of the Father, and of the Sonne, and of the holy Ghost."[12] The doctrine of the trinity
develops logically from the New Testament's idea of the incarnation of the Holy
Spirit, which is essential for underpinning the doctrine of Atonement in
Christianity.[13] Thus, Christian theology,
"bears witness to" the activity of a God who can only be logically
understood in trinitarian terms.[14]
The doctrine did not
take its definitive shape until late in the fourth century.[15] During the intervening period,
various tentative solutions, some more and some less satisfactory were
proposed.[16] Trinitarianism contrasts with nontrinitarian positions
which include Binitarianism
(one deity in two persons, or two deities), Unitarianism (one deity in
one person, analogous to Jewish interpretation of the Shema
and Muslim belief in Tawhid), Oneness
Pentecostalism or Modalism
(one deity manifested in three separate aspects).
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