Trinitarian theology is the belief that God is three beings in one: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It was systematized at the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 to address the relationship between Jesus and God. While historically dominant, some criticize it for not being strictly monotheistic or biblical. Alternative theories include Oneness theology and the belief that the Trinity is central to Christian faith and salvation.
In general, Trinitarian theology is any Christian theology that accepts the doctrine that God is “triune” or three beings in one. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, according to Trinitarian theology, are three separate beings, eternal, but one in nature. This doctrine has roots in very early church history, but does not have universal acceptance among Christians. Trinitarian theology” may also refer specifically to movements beginning in the 20th century that view the doctrine of the Trinity as the central doctrine of Christian belief and practice.
The doctrine of the Trinity was systematized at the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 as an attempt to deal with several doctrines concerning the relationship between Jesus and God. The most important of these doctrines was Arianism, which held that Jesus was somewhere between the human and the divine, but did not share the divine nature of God. A key result of the First Council of Nicaea was what has come to be known as the Nicene Creed, which affirms the divinity and unity of all three persons of the Trinity and is recited as part of the liturgy of many Christian worship services.
While trinitarianism has historically been the dominant viewpoint of major branches of Christianity, many theological traditions reject it for one reason or another. The most common criticism leveled at trinitarian theology is that it is not strictly monotheistic, in the sense that it is a logical contradiction to say that there is only one God, while also saying that God is three persons. Trinitarians, however, respond that the claim that the three persons constitute one being makes their doctrine monotheistic.
Trinitarian theology is also criticized by some, especially conservative evangelicals, for being unbiblical in both its terminology and conclusions. No word used in either the Old or New Testaments can be translated as “Trinity,” nor does the Bible explicitly teach the personality of members of the Trinity. Conservatives may argue that the use of non-biblical terms will necessarily lead to non-biblical doctrine, but trinitarians believe there is sufficient scriptural support to justify the use of the terms anyway.
A number of alternative theories have been proposed to address the perceived weaknesses of trinitarian theology. For example, Oneness theology claims that Jesus was a prophet and possibly a supernatural being of some sort, but not God. Oneness Pentecostals, on the other hand, hold that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three separate persons. , but rather three different roles played by the same person.
The term “trinitarian theology,” often capitalized when used in this sense, can also refer to the view that the doctrine of the Trinity cannot be separated from any other Christian faith. Theologians and movements holding this view see the Trinity as the means by which God came to earth, and thus the means by which human beings are saved. One such movement is the Grace Communion International Church.
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