Holy Spirit Moves toward Person hood

Notice the very sparse wording of the third section: “And [we believe] in the Holy Ghost.” There was a reason for this. Many originally opposed longer draft versions of the Creed, which included more about Origen’s viewpoint concerning the Holy Spirit, because they could not go along with these strongly trinitarian views.

After the time of Nicaea, the theologians who advocated the trinity became bolder and more explicit in enforcing their belief within the empire—and that it meant that the Holy Spirit was a third person. By A.D. 381, the trinity, as accepted today, was largely in place.

(There have been numerous versions of the creed in circulation through the centuries. Recognize that a popular and far stronger creed, fraudulently attributed to Athanasius, was found to have been drawn up in the fifth century. Its language was much more explicit than could have been approved at Nicaea in A.D. 325. It is generally recognized that Catholic theologians and historians commonly modify history according to personal liking.)

The philosophies of Origen—one who lived an extremely unbalanced life and who had castrated himself in the presence of his students!—had prevailed because of the diligent lobbying of Athanasius and his faction. Astonishing, but true!

In the years following Nicaea, both Arius and Athanasius, at various times, were alternately in and out of favour with the church hierarchy and the Roman leaders.

This highly unpredictable atmosphere was polluted by political favoritism on the one hand, and betrayal and backstabbing on the other. Any shift in leadership could spell honour or ruin for one, depending on the political landscape at any given time. One could be elevated one year and banished the next. Even Origen, a devoted scholar, was subject to this—venerated for a time and then fleeing for his life soon thereafter.

With the seeds of the trinity cultivated at Nicaea, it took many years for this doctrine to become deeply ingrained in Catholic thought. Eventually it took hold and has stayed firmly in place. In fact, none of the Protestant sects that separated during the 1500s ever questioned its validity. It had become blindly accepted, despite its completely non-biblical origins. The Protestant acceptance of this doctrine is succinctly expressed in this way: “In regard to the Trinity, Protestantism has nothing very new to say…” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., vol. 26, p. 780).

The Long Road to Embracing a Triad Deity

In regards to the trinity, there is a distinct difference between the beliefs of the original first-century Church, as led by the apostles, and the church that developed later, as influenced by Greek philosophy and other schools of thought. Although historical evidence of this transition was deliberately shaded, sufficient details remain to confirm what actually happened.

Shortly before his martyrdom in A.D. 68, Paul admonished, “But continue you in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing of whom you have learned them” (II Tim. 3:14).

Paul was stressing to those of Christ’s true Church the vital importance of continuing in what they had already learned, and to remember the source of their teachings—the apostles and their loyal students. Paul knew that the apostles’ teachings and principles were timeless. They did not need to be updated, modified or allegorized by self-proclaimed teachers, philosophers, scholars, poets and “prophets.” That body of true knowledge—distinct from Greek philosophy or any other source—was to be retained and practiced.

The leading contributors to trinitarian thought were devoted to Platonism and other shades of human wisdom. They considered the Bible as of secondary importance, interpreting Scripture as allegories revealing philosophical principles they saw as infinitely more profound than God’s inspired Word. The philosophy of men appealed to the intellectual vanity of theologians who were Christian in name only. They created a system that emerged with growing momentum well before the time of Constantine.

When the Council of Nicaea convened, the Catholic movement had already purged most of the last vestiges of those labeled “Judaizers”—the faithful who upheld Scriptural authority. The way was now clear to implement the long-coveted speculative and creative ideas that Greek philosophy offered.

After Nicaea, emboldened theologians were free to upgrade and refine the trinity to its full definition, as taught by Origen. And they did this with little hesitation.

Origen had defined the theological boundaries of their playing field. Read and reread this stunning acknowledgement of Origen’s influence on the birth, development and entrenchment of the trinity: “Orthodox theology has never, in any of the confessions, ventured beyond the circle which the mind of Origen first measured out” (Encyclopedia Britannica 11th ed., vol. 20, p. 270).

He and his predecessors truly defined the god that millions—even billions!—would worship for the nearly seventeen centuries to present.

As Catholic influence spread in the middle ages across Europe and beyond, great numbers of people from many regions were forced to acknowledge acceptance of the trinity under pain of death. Like the spread of Islam by the edge of the sword, with infidels routinely being slashed to death, this enforcement and submission was by the point of the sword, where Christian infidels were generally pierced to death.

It is its own statement about the source of this triad “god” that its early “fruits” (Matt. 7:16,20) were so horrible.

While not the central purpose of this book, it should be noted that the history of the trinity is indeed one of blood, murder and vicious savagery. It is a history of intolerance and condemnation—of totally blind allegiance and conviction. Thousands who have lost their lives fighting for the cause of the trinity worshipped it in ignorance—never having been able to understand, let alone explain, it. If Hosius, the Spanish presiding bishop of the Nicaean Council in A.D. 325, failed to understand this philosophic confusion, so have most all other defenders of this doctrine since its inception.

Nevertheless, the trinity has survived as part of the trappings of a religious system that has sought to redefine God. To this end, this system and her wayward daughters have succeeded.

But there is more—much more—to consider!