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just some info for reference
The truth of the matter is the doctrine was evident biblically among the first church in a scriptural manner – by that I mean Paul, Peter, and John etc…. then to their successors and so on – in fact you’ll find incredible historical documentation supporting the doctrine of the Trinity - and or the doctrine of distinction for the weak at heart LOL!!
From the apostles to the church fathers, and to modern day – this history is very helpful in aiding us to understand the thought process alive in the early church. – and the doctrine it espoused….
When I say early church I mean times as early as 50 AD to 70 AD to 200 AD very early Christianity –
Lets start with the church fathers first – these where post apostolic leaders of the church- they are demonized by some as being pagan, and corrupt and so on, there is little documentation to show that – it is worthy however to note that if every bible in the world was destroyed totally – we could reconstruct the entire word of GOD from the letters and writings of the Church Fathers – that’s how much they used and respected the WORD
I know some dislike these guys - I am not validating them as much as I am showing that we cannot blame the catholics of the Nicea men for the trinity
Polycarp (70-155/160). Bishop of Smyrna. Disciple of John the Apostle.
"O Lord God almighty...I bless you and glorify you through the eternal and heavenly high priest Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, through whom be glory to you, with Him and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever" (n. 14, ed. Funk; PG 5.1040).
Next is some early instruction on baptism
Justin Martyr (100?-165?). He was a Christian apologist and martyr.
"For, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing with water" (First Apol., LXI).
Irenaeus (115-190). As a boy he listened to Polycarp, the disciple of John. He became Bishop of Lyons.
"The Church, though dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: ...one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed through the prophets the dispensations of God, and the advents, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, ……. (Against Heresies X.l)
Tertullian (160-215). A major apologist and theologian. He wrote much in defense of Christianity. Very respected and influential
"We define that there are two, the Father and the Son, and three with the Holy Spirit, and this number is made by the pattern of salvation...[which] brings about unity in trinity, interrelating the three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are three, not in dignity, but in degree, not in substance but in form, not in power but in kind. They are of one substance and power, because there is one God from whom these degrees, forms and kinds devolve in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit." (Adv. Prax. 23; PL 2.156-7).
Origen (185-254). Alexandrian theologian. Defended Christianity and wrote much about Christianity.
There can be no more ancient title of almighty God than that of Father, and it is through the Son that he is Father" (De Princ. 1.2.; PG 11.132).
"For if [the Holy Spirit were not eternally as He is, and had received knowledge at some time and then became the Holy Spirit] this were the case, the Holy Spirit would never be reckoned in the unity of the Trinity, i.e., along with the unchangeable Father and His Son, unless He had always been the Holy Spirit." (Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975 rpt., Vol. 4, p. 253, de Principiis, 1.111.4)
Origen
"Moreover, nothing in the Trinity can be called greater or less, since the fountain of divinity alone contains all things by His word and reason, and by the Spirit of His mouth sanctifies all things which are worthy of sanctification..." (Roberts and Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4, p. 255, de Principii., I. iii. 7).
Of great interest is this – because anti-trinitarians attest that the doctrine of the trinity was the molding of Emperor Constantine’s pagan theologies, with a politically motivated Catholicism, and that is a lie – Constantines Nicean Counsel was in 325 AD - these quotes date some 200 plus years before this counsel.
Anti-Trinitarians maintain, the Trinity is not a biblical doctrine and was never taught until the council of Nicea in 325. However history vehemently disagrees.
Anti – Trinitarians assess that the doctrine developed in the bowels of paganism – history shows that the doctrine was common place discussion and teaching in the church by church leaders, early AD 70, early AD 100 through to the 200’s and beyond!
This history is not supposition and propaganda but credible, scholarly accepted documentation, of early church view.
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