Abstract
This article does not have in mind to persuade its readers in a specific direction. What it has in mind is to make the reader think, and in this way, to rethink the ontology of the Trinity, as a Christian in a post-Christian, fourth revolution era. To significantly reason about the Trinity is a challenge, having the potential to easily be labelled as a heretic or part of a sect. However, to just accept all the ‘facts’ about the Trinity in the Bible, which are, in fact, interpretations by the Ecumenical Councils and Church Fathers of the early church era, is not in line with the 21st-century environment. In this article, we discuss the Trinity in light of the Bible, as well as the Councils and early Church Fathers, and (once again) conclude that the Trinity can best be explained in light of God’s omnipresence. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article covers different disciplines like theology, philosophy and history, as well as different disciplines within theology, namely church history, systematic theology and practical theology. This is a follow-up of an article written in 2019 and focuses on the Trinity from another angle. We hope that this will be the beginning of a discussion group on the different ways in which the Trinity can be interpreted.
Highlights
Soon after the ascension of Jesus Christ – during the 1st century CE – the books and letters of the New Testament (NT) were written
The church of God has held the views of these Councils as true, re-affirming it in the days of the Reformation with the Belgic Confession (1561) and the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) and keeping it till this very day
One of the challenges to this point of view held by die Creeds above and by Christianity in general is that when the Creeds refer to the property of the divinity, they claim that it is shared by three Gods
Summary
Soon after the ascension of Jesus Christ – during the 1st century CE – the books and letters of the New Testament (NT) were written. We see the use of anthropomorphic terms (cf Horrell 2020:2) – revealing the ‘one God, the Father Almighty’ (Nicene Creed 325) to his people – something which was very familiar to the Jews, with titles like ‘Father’ and ‘Son’, while the Holy Spirit (Spirit of God) was already mentioned in the OT and was just added.
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