All Christians believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. However, the doctrine is about the relationship between these 3, more than their existence. The doctrine states:<ul><li>All 3 beings are equally God. There is no form of hierarchy in between them.</li><li>It is so because the Bible says so, even if we can't grasp the mechanics of it using Aristotelian logic</li></ul>

The doctrine of the Trinity 

A major issue of early Christianity was:How could Jesus be God, when the Father was also God?There were competing theories at the time:<ul><li>the most popular early belief (the Arian view) was that the Father was the original God, but at some point during his infinite existence he made a son, that got elevated to the position</li><li>there is one God, but with 3 modes. The same way in which a man can be a father, a son and a husband at the same time. However this didn't catch on because it meant God actually died on the cross ... and you can't kill God.</li></ul>

How did we came up with the Trinity doctrine as the orthodox view?

When Constantine converted to Christianity he had no interest into this theological discussion. Nor did most of the early Christians. However most of the bishops in Alexandria (considered the cultural centre of the empire) were Arian, meaning they believed Jesus was somehow subordonate to the Father. But the head of Alexandian branch did not and Constantine had to intervene.The council of Nicaea in 325AD was called to settle the issue. Based mostly on politics the Aerian position lost and it was decreed that God and Jesus are of the same substance.100 years later than the Holy Spirit joined.

How did the Trinity got decided?

Bart Ehrman, my favourite Christian scholar, shares some key ideas about the history of the Trinity.

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The idea of the Trinity - that God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are different from each other and are all God, but there is only ONE God, is a central tenet of Christianity.  But most Christians don't actually know what the doctrine really says, let alone where it came from (is it in the Bible?). In this episode we explain the factors that led to the formulation of the doctrine and see why it became so important to Christian thinking.  But does it matter that the math doesn't work?  (The three are one!) Or that it doesn't make logical sense?

-What exactly is the doctrine of the trinity?

-Does the idea of the Trinity appear anywhere in the Bible?

-The idea of the Trinity came about as an answer to a theological question - namely, if God e-plicitly states that he is the only god, how do we reconcile that with Jesus’ divinity and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Is that a fair understanding, or does it need nuancing?

-The Trinity was just one answer to this particular question - how did non-orthodo- Christian groups deal with this problem? Did they all see it as a problem?

-Are there other solutions that answer this question?

-What makes the Trinity different from polytheism?

-Who can we credit with the idea of the Trinity?

-How was it received at the time? 

-How did it come to be orthodo- teaching, and how does it go from there being this really popular idea to just being the Trinity?

-What role did the Council of Nicea play?

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Where Did the Trinity Come From?

The doctrine of the Trinity

How did we came up with the Trinity doctrine as the orthodox view?

How did the Trinity got decided?

Other curated ideas on this topic: