History of Trinity concept

[robto]

Any suggestions for good books on the early development of the concept of the Trinity in Christianity?

[spin]

While we are here, can anyone say when Jn 1:1 kai Qeos hn o logos, "and the word was divine", started being read to mean kai o Qeos hn o logos, "and the word was (the) god"?


spin

[Roger Pearse]

Any suggestions for good books on the early development of the concept of the Trinity in Christianity?

Tertullian, Adversus Praxean (http://www.tertullian.org/articles/evans_praxeas_eng.htm), chapters 1-5.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

[douglas]

You might try Karen Armstrong's History of God. There's a chapter on the trinity that does a decent job, IMHO, of attempting to explain the concept.

[hatsoff]

While we are here, can anyone say when Jn 1:1 kai Qeos hn o logos, "and the word was divine", started being read to mean kai o Qeos hn o logos, "and the word was (the) god"?


spin

I think you have it backwards. The passage seems to have always been read "the Word was God," with "divine" being a later development.

[gstafleu]

While we are here, can anyone say when Jn 1:1 kai Qeos hn o logos, "and the word was divine", started being read to mean kai o Qeos hn o logos, "and the word was (the) god"?

Doesn't "kai Qeos hn o logos" mean "and God was the word"? That is logically equivalent to "and the word was God."

[spin]

Doesn't "kai Qeos hn o logos" mean "and God was the word"? That is logically equivalent to "and the word was God."
God, the noun, in Greek is preceded with an article. Just look at the Greek

en arxh hn o logos kai o logos hn pros ton Qeon kai Qeos hn o logos
In the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was divine.

Note the highlighted article in the previous clause?

----
ETA: while the rest of the NT tends to put an article before Qeos, the first verse, Jn 1:1b, is the only place in the logos hymn where we find the article with Qeos.


spin

[Malachi151]

http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/arianism.html

http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/out-of-egypt.html

http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/relics.html

[gstafleu]

Note the highlighted article in the previous clause?
I see. So theos can be an adjective as well? I went to the perseus project, and two dictionaries, LSJ and Middle Lidell, do indeed give theos as an adjective, as follows (Lidell):

III. as adj. in comp. theôteros, more divine

I didn't quite understand if it only occurs as adjective in the comparative though.

Gerard

[andrewcriddle]

Hanson's The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God might be relevant.

However
a/ it is 900 pages long
b/ It is about the Arian disputes in the 4th century and not really about the period before 300 CE.

Andrew Criddle

[mountainman]

Any suggestions for good books on the early development of the concept of the Trinity in Christianity?

Yes, my suggestion is to spend some time searching for the
post humously published articles of Sir Isaac Newton upon this
subject. His opinion is that it was introduced a millenium after
the Council of Nicaea, and by means of at least two notable
accounts of corruption of the NT scripture.

His opinions are to be separated from others, IMO, because he
was obviously gifted with insight into the fields of mathematics
and physics, and because his views have not been refuted in
the centuries since he formulated them.



Pete Brown

[robto]

Thanks to those who responded:

Armstrong's chapter doesn't really go into the early development of the idea. I'm looking for something much more in depth and focussed on the early years. (50-400 AD).

Tertullian is fascinating, but is only one data point.

Hanson apparently covers only the later part of the development.

Any other suggestions?

[Clivedurdle]

I'm not sure much exists on the web but i would seriously look at druidic use of three.