Nontrinitarianism

Anti-Trinitarians or Nichttrinitarier ( gr αντί anti, ' trinitas and Latin, Trinity ' against ) are Christians who do not acknowledge God according to their understanding of the dogma of the Trinity of God, which was adopted at the Council of Nicaea (325 ), or reject it as heresy.

There can be several forms of antitrinitarianism differ, as the modalism that identifies the Father and Jesus together, or the Adoptionismus, therefore, Jesus and God are not the same nature. The latter position can be attributed to the Arians and Unitarians in modern times. Both views are from a trinitarian perspective heresies.

Theological arguments

Many arguments against the Trinity were put forward in the 4th century by the Arians, but they are mainly obtained as citations in the text of their opponents. Arius ( 260-330 ), after this theological school is named, looked at his son created by God. He argued more philosophical than biblical. He wanted to hold primarily to the unity and uniqueness of God. In the Bible, he relied mainly on the book of Proverbs 8, 22:

" 2 [ ... ] at the entrance to the houses she calls ( wisdom ), according to: 4 [ ... ] my voice is unto all men: 5 [ ... ] will be wise to [ ... ] take common sense! [ ... ] 12 I, wisdom, [ ... ] discover knowledge and good advice. [ ... ] 14 [ ... ] I am the insight for me is power. [ ... ] 16 by me provided the rulers of their office [ ... ] 18 Riches and honor are with me, respected property and happiness; 19 My fruit is better than gold and fine gold [ ... ] 22 The Lord created me at the beginning of his way, before his works in prehistoric times; 23 in earliest time I was formed in the beginning, before the earth. 24 The deep was not, when I was born, as it did not exist the sources, the water-rich. 25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was born. He had not made the earth and the hallways and all clods of mainland 26 yet. [ ... ] "

The personified wisdom says at this point about herself, she had been born of God before the works of ancient times. Arius interpreted the Old Testament wisdom as expression of Jesus Christ.

  • Nichttrinitarier lead to Bible passages that allegedly prove that God the Father, his son Jesus is superior, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Irenaeus ( 130-200 ) writes on Eph. 4.6: . "So there is a God the Father above all and through all and in all results Over all, namely, the Father, and he himself is the head of Christ. " Nichttrinitarier believe that God the Father is greater than Jesus Christ. Already because of the saying of Jesus: The Father is greater than I. (Jn 14:28) is an equality between the father and his son impossible. Irenaeus writes to John 14:28: "... that we by him ( Christ ) to learn that the Father is the Most High, the Father is greater than I. namely ' So why our Lord has taught that even in terms of its. . knowledge of the father is superior to all "God - the Father - has sent his son, but the son never sends his father This was a clear sign of subordination multiple testifies Jesus that the Father had sent him (John 5.36. ,. . 17.3, 17.18 ).
  • God is immutable, He is spirit (John 4:24). Justin Martyr ( 133 - ca.163 ) held at the time Jesus was not about to " consubstantial ", but recognized him only the second digit after the unchangeable and eternal God, the Creator of the world to. His son, who is his son alone in the strict sense, the Logos, who was before all things with him, has been begotten, when He created in the beginning everything through him and ordered; he is called Christ, because he was anointed and because God through him all things were arranged.
  • Jesus is God's word, which is also called the Logos ( John 1 ), and the mediator between God and men, because it is "a " God, " a " mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus ( 1 Paul's letter to Timothy 2:5 ). The mediator is one with the Father, but not one (John 10, 30). Novatian (ca. 200-258 ) said to John 10:30: "He goes on to say 'one', and the heretics should remember that he is not, a ' says. As a neuter called 'one' namely the harmony in a community and not the uniqueness of the person ... the statement 'one' but it should go on the line with each other and the conformity in thought and solidarity in love. Therefore, really make father and son a unit by their unanimity and love. "
  • Even with the Apostle Paul commands equating "father" and "son." He writes, "As soon as all things are subjected to him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him who has subjected everything to him, that God may be all in all". Paul speaks of "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" and calls God " the head of Christ " in the same sense as Christ is the head of the man is. Characteristically be, that Paul almost always the predicate of God reserves the Father alone. Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150-215 ) wrote John 17: 3 like this: "You have ... the largest and most important leading to eternal life teachings of the soul imprint, which consists in the knowledge that the eternal God of the donor eternal goods, and the first and highest and the one and God is good. Therefore the Lord the one who strives for true life warned to first learn to know that no one recognizes as the Son and he to whom the Son reveals ' (Matt. 11:27), then a second after God the size of the Saviour. to capture .. ".

Today nichttrinitarische positions often found that the Bible a triune God makes no mention of the Old or New Testament:

  • The Bible itself does not contain a doctrine of the Trinity; this was only developed later.
  • The doctrine of the Trinity can not be derived from biblical texts, because in the Bible it is " not even traces of a doctrine of the Trinity " give.
  • In the opinion of Nichttrinitariern neither the preaching of Jesus nor its related Palestinian Christianity contains any starting points for Trinity.
  • Karl Barth writes: " There is a lack in the Bible, the explicit statement that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are of equal essence. "
  • Regardless of their biblical omission Nichttrinitarier hold the doctrine of the Trinity illogical. Karl -Heinz Ohlig writes: " The biblical monotheistic faith appears in the light of the doctrine of the Trinity at least contradictory or even questioned God and two god -like beings? A capped tritheism, Three Gods faith? The Christian theological interpretations of, trinity ' appear almost always very complicated and incomprehensible. Also the picture of the water in three forms of little help and offers a (often Christian- theological as desired ) mysterienhaftem secret character of the doctrine of the Trinity free space. "

History

Antiquity

Even in ancient times the Trinity has been the subject of numerous debates within the church. In particular, representatives of Arianism rejected the doctrine of the Trinity. Arianism, however, died out in the 8th century.

Modern Times

Only against the background of humanism and the Reformation arose again antitrinitarian communities. Outstanding representative of the Anti-Trinitarians was Michael Servetus, who was arrested in 1553 during a trip to Geneva. Indicted for his rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity in his book " De trinitatis erroribus " of Catholic and Protestant theologians as heretics, he was burned alive in Geneva, at the instigation of the City Council. Also in the Reformation Anabaptist movement there were anti-trinitarian tendencies. As an example, the Mennonite preacher Adam Pastor was called. However, the vast majority of Baptist was Trinitarian. In Italy, Anti-Trinitarians were as Protestants persecuted by the Inquisition. The persecuted often gave way to Eastern Europe, as the doctor Giorgio Biandrata († 1585 ) to Transylvania, where he Sozzinis despite mediation attempts, the radical anti-Trinitarians Franz Davidis later accused of heresy. Influential was Fausto Sozzini († 1604), who created the movement of the Socinians. In Poland - Lithuania emerged from 1548 anti-Trinitarian churches that possessed from 1565 also has its own church structure. The Polish anti-Trinitarians were referred to as Polish brothers. A large role in the formation of the Polish Unitarians were among others Matteo Gribaldi and Peter Gonesius. In Hungary and Transylvania became established in the 16th century anti-trinitarian church. The Unitarian Church of Transylvania exists today.

The Polish Socinians but were expelled during the Counter-Reformation, and many wandered over the Netherlands and England to North America, which led to the construction of Unitarian churches in the UK (General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches ) and North America (American Unitarian Association) has. Under the influence of transcendentalism and after the merger with the Universalist Church Unitarian Universalist today emerged. A role may also emerging in the Enlightenment deism have played in England, as well as a liberal response to the Great Awakening in the U.S.. Some of the early statesmen and presidents of the U.S. were avowed Unitarians. Isaac Newton was also Unitarians and Anti-Trinitarians, which at times even his position at Cambridge vulnerable, since it was impossible for him to take the actually prescribed for its position ordinations. He owned extensive theological studies, but not published it and kept his secret setting.

Even in more recent times, many critics consider the doctrine of the Trinity as an old pagan concept (see below), which had, after a long dispute and without biblical foundation found its way into the Christian dogma. This leads, inter alia, Alexander Hislop made ​​in his book The Two Babylons (1858 ). Karl -Heinz Ohlig, Adolph Ernst Knoch et al see the Biblical basis to be non-existent or too weak to make the Trinity a binding dogma can. Do you mean that unnecessary confusion and misunderstandings have been created by the dogma of the Trinity: This simple message of the Almighty God and his only begotten son is obscured.

Nichttrinitarische faith communities

  • Arianism ( historical movement )
  • Christadelphian
  • Christian Science
  • Doukhobors
  • Ebionites (historical group)
  • Serious Bible Students
  • Free Bible Students
  • Ghost Christian Church
  • Church of God on the seventh day
  • Liberal Quakerism (not closed, but in parts of the community)
  • Church of Christ with the Elijah Message
  • Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormons)
  • Church of God (Korean, founded in 1964 )
  • Amateur home missionary movement
  • Molokans
  • Oneness Pentecostals
  • Reformadventisten
  • Socinians (historical group)
  • The Way International
  • Unitarian
  • Universal Life
  • Unification Church
  • United Church of God
  • Jehovah's Witnesses

In German-speaking countries there are also individual communities and groups representing nichttrinitarische teachings:

  • Modern Gospel Center
  • Friends of concordant proclamation of the word, e.V.
  • Unitarian Church in Berlin
  • Kahal.De - A community on the Internet

Renowned Trinitätsgegner

  • Theodotus of Byzantium, late 2nd century
  • Praxeas
  • Arius, 336
  • Constantius II 361
  • Aetius of Antioch 367
  • Wulfila 383
  • Michael Servetus, 1553
  • Fausto Sozzini, 1604
  • Isaac Newton, 1727
  • Joseph Priestley, 1804
  • Robert Hibbert, 1849
  • James Martineau, 1900
  • Paul Leon Samuel Johnson, 1950
  • Herbert W. Armstrong, 1986
  • Natalius, ~ 200
  • Sabellius early 3rd century
  • Eusebius of Nicomedia 341
  • George of Cappadocia 361
  • Eudoxius of Antioch 370
  • Ludwig Hatzer, 1529
  • Franz Davidis, 1579
  • John Biddle, 1662
  • William Whiston, 1752
  • William Ellery Channing, 1842
  • Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1882
  • Charles Taze Russell, 1916
  • Adolph Ernst Knoch, 1965
  • Noetus
  • Paul of Samosata, 269
  • Macedonius 346
  • Felix II ( antipope ), 365
  • Demophilus 371
  • Giordano Bruno, 1548
  • Giorgio Biandrata 1590
  • John Locke, 1704
  • Jonathan Mayhew, 1766
  • Joseph Smith, 1844
  • Robert Roberts, 1884
  • Neville Chamberlain, 1940
  • William Branham, 1965
Monarchianism Karl-Heinz Ohlig Classical antiquity Arian controversy Protestant Reformation Universalist Church of America Christadelphians Church of God (Seventh-Day) Laymen's Home Missionary Movement Constantius II. Paul S. L. Johnson Grace Communion International Antipope Felix II William M. Branham Helmut Fischer Integrated Authority File
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