January 12 - 3=1, Err, What?

January 12 – 3=1. Err, what?

I find it absolutely fascinating to see the development of doctrines that we find commonplace. As Orthodox Christians, we easily accept the doctrine of the Trinity, but there was a time, quite long ago, when they were still debating whether or not Jesus was actually divine.

In about 196 AD, a man named Tertullian began writing. However, he was very different than previous Christian writers. Most of them wrote in Greek. That language was nearly perfect for the philosophy side of Christianity. Then, Tertullian showed up. He was from Carthage – in Africa and though he was fluent in Greek, he wrote in Latin.

Now, I know that my writing style changes whether I’m typing or writing longhand. That’s nothing compared to the grand differences between Latin and Greek. Romans used Latin to teach in a practical way with strong morals as opposed to free-wheeling philosophy found in Greek.

Greeks were still trying to figure out how Christ and God worked in relationship to each other. Tertullian decided that it was time to bring things together. He is the one that clarified with the idea that God is one substance, consisting of three persons. The trinity.

He didn’t use philosophy to figure this out, he used the practicality of Roman law. God’s substance – Latin ‘substantia’, was God’s property – His ownership. The person – Latin ‘persona,’ doesn’t mean one single person, but a party in a legal action. So … it made sense that three personae could share one substantia.

Three persons (Father, Son and Spirit) share one substance (divine sovereignty).

Tertullian left the Roman church in 206 because he felt that Christian’s morality was not as pure as it should be. He felt that the bishops’ power was leading to this lax moral structure because they could pardon sins. Tertullian began emphasizing the teaching that all believers were priests and that the church should care for itself rather than just allow a priest to run everything.

His ideas weren’t accepted at all until Martin Luther came on the scene some twelve hundred years later.

Information taken liberally from:
Curtis, A. K., Lang, J. S., & Petersen, R. (1991). The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History. Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell.