Why New Catholic Encyclopedia declares trinity, a pagan and misleaded dogma?

Question

The New Catholic Encyclopedia states: “The formulation ‘one God in three Persons’ was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century. But it is precisely this formulation that has first claim to the title the Trinitarian dogma. Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective.”—(1967), Vol. XIV, p. 299.

Answer 1

Suzanne, it's too bad you get sick after learning the truth. But then again, most people prefer lies to the truth.

Also, you want people to listen to a man who blatantly disregards Jesus' express command to his TRUE followers NOT to call one another by religious titles like "Father"? That shows how much credibility you both have.

Other reference works that declare the trinity false:

A Protestant publication states: "The word Trinity is not found in the Bible . . . It did not find a place formally in the theology of the church till the 4th century." (The Illustrated Bible Dictionary) And a Catholic authority says that the Trinity "is not . . . directly and immediately [the] word of God."—New Catholic Encyclopedia.

The Encyclopedia of Religion admits: "Theologians today are in agreement that the Hebrew Bible does not contain a doctrine of the Trinity." And the New Catholic Encyclopedia also says: "The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught in the O[ld] T[estament]."

Similarly, in his book The Triune God, Jesuit Edmund Fortman admits: "The Old Testament . . . tells us nothing explicitly or by necessary implication of a Triune God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. . . . There is no evidence that any sacred writer even suspected the existence of a [Trinity] within the Godhead. . . . Even to see in [the "Old Testament"] suggestions or foreshadowings or 'veiled signs' of the trinity of persons, is to go beyond the words and intent of the sacred writers."

The New Encyclopædia Britannica observes: "Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament."

Bernhard Lohse says in A Short History of Christian Doctrine: "As far as the New Testament is concerned, one does not find in it an actual doctrine of the Trinity."

The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology similarly states: "The N[ew] T[estament] does not contain the developed doctrine of the Trinity. 'The Bible lacks the express declaration that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are of equal essence' [said Protestant theologian Karl Barth]."

Yale University professor E. Washburn Hopkins affirmed: "To Jesus and Paul the doctrine of the trinity was apparently unknown; . . . they say nothing about it."—Origin and Evolution of Religion.

Historian Arthur Weigall notes: "Jesus Christ never mentioned such a phenomenon, and nowhere in the New Testament does the word 'Trinity' appear. The idea was only adopted by the Church three hundred years after the death of our Lord."—The Paganism in Our Christianity.

Primitive Christianity did not have an explicit doctrine of the Trinity such as was subsequently elaborated in the creeds."—The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology.

"The early Christians, however, did not at first think of applying the [Trinity] idea to their own faith. They paid their devotions to God the Father and to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and they recognised the . . . Holy Spirit; but there was no thought of these three being an actual Trinity, co-equal and united in One."—The Paganism in Our Christianity.

"At first the Christian faith was not Trinitarian . . . It was not so in the apostolic and sub-apostolic ages, as reflected in the N[ew] T[estament] and other early Christian writings."—Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics.

In The Encyclopedia Americana we read: “Christianity derived from Judaism and Judaism was strictly Unitarian [believing that God is one person]. The road which led from Jerusalem to Nicea was scarcely a straight one. Fourth century Trinitarianism did not reflect accurately early Christian teaching regarding the nature of God; it was, on the contrary, a deviation from this teaching.”—(1956), Vol. XXVII, p. 294L.

According to the Nouveau Dictionnaire Universel, “The Platonic trinity, itself merely a rearrangement of older trinities dating back to earlier peoples, appears to be the rational philosophic trinity of attributes that gave birth to the three hypostases or divine persons taught by the Christian churches. . . . This Greek philosopher’s [Plato, fourth century B.C.E.] conception of the divine trinity . . . can be found in all the ancient [pagan] religions.”—(Paris, 1865-1870), edited by M. Lachâtre, Vol. 2, p. 1467.

John L. McKenzie, S.J., in his Dictionary of the Bible, says: “The trinity of persons within the unity of nature is defined in terms of ‘person’ and ‘nature’ which are G[ree]k philosophical terms; actually the terms do not appear in the Bible. The trinitarian definitions arose as the result of long controversies in which these terms and others such as ‘essence’ and ‘substance’ were erroneously applied to God by some theologians.”—(New York, 1965), p. 899.

Answer 2

To begin with, I don't see the word 'pagan' in there anywhere. Granted, I haven't had my first cup of liquid caffeine yet, but even so, I don't think I'm quite that far gone as to miss that term.

Ditto the word 'misleaded,' by which I assume you mean 'misled.' (That, or else you got a lower octane at the gas station this morning than you intended to.) Again, I can't find that term anywhere in the passage you're quoting. I'm assuming that you're quoting it accurately, which is something of a leap of faith, given the first two errors you've made.

The key terms in the section you're quoting are "solidly established" and "not fully assimilated." Far from denying the Trinity, the author is simply pointing out the obvious truth -- that doctrine wasn't a major part of Christian belief until the end of the 4th century. S/he isn't questioning its validity, but rather, making the statement that it wasn't very well known or accepted until that point.

I'm wondering how you feel about the Catholic church. If this is an innocent mistake on your part, then I hope my reply has helped clear it up. If, on the other hand, you're attempting to discredit Catholicism by misleading people, then I think you should be ashamed. An indirect lie is still a lie.

Answer 3

Trinity: The central doctrine of religions of Christendom. According to the Athanasian Creed, there are three divine Persons (the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost), each said to be eternal, each said to be almighty, none greater or less than another, each said to be God, and yet together being but one God. Other statements of the dogma emphasize that these three “Persons” are not separate and distinct individuals but are three modes in which the divine essence exists. Thus some Trinitarians emphasize their belief that Jesus Christ is God, or that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are Jehovah. Not a Bible teaching. What is the origin of the Trinity doctrine? The New Encyclopædia Britannica says: “Neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord’ (Deut. 6:4). . . . The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. . . . By the end of the 4th century . . . the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since.”—(1976), Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126. In The Encyclopedia Americana we read: “Christianity derived from Judaism and Judaism was strictly Unitarian [believing that God is one person]. The road which led from Jerusalem to Nicea was scarcely a straight one. Fourth century Trinitarianism did not reflect accurately early Christian teaching regarding the nature of God; it was, on the contrary, a deviation from this teaching.”—(1956), Vol. XXVII, p. 294L. According to the Nouveau Dictionnaire Universel, “The Platonic trinity, itself merely a rearrangement of older trinities dating back to earlier peoples, appears to be the rational philosophic trinity of attributes that gave birth to the three hypostases or divine persons taught by the Christian churches. . . . This Greek philosopher’s [Plato, fourth century B.C.E.] conception of the divine trinity . . . can be found in all the ancient [pagan] religions.”—(Paris, 1865-1870), edited by M. Lachâtre, Vol. 2, p. 1467. John L. McKenzie, S.J., in his Dictionary of the Bible, says: “The trinity of persons within the unity of nature is defined in terms of ‘person’ and ‘nature’ which are G[ree]k philosophical terms; actually the terms do not appear in the Bible. The trinitarian definitions arose as the result of long controversies in which these terms and others such as ‘essence’ and ‘substance’ were erroneously applied to God by some theologians.”—(New York, 1965), p. 899.

Answer 4

Just as I answered the first three times you asked this question, ...

I haven't the slightest idea what the 1967 edition of the New Catholic Encyclopedia has to say. It is not the official Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The Bible does not contain the word Trinity. However, the Holy Trinity is hinted at repeatedly in both the Old and New Testaments.

Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the early Christians prayed and struggled over these hints for a couple of centuries. The concept of the Holy Trinity (three persons in one God) was mainstream Christianity in 325 A.D. at the Council of Nicaea and our belief is expressed in the Nicene Creed from that council:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. ...

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified. ...

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

The text you quote says nothing of the sort but that when the God-given doctrine of the Trinity was attacked or undermuned by Arians,Sabellians,Gnostics,polytheists,etc,the doctrine needed to be articulated,defined and defended.
The first Hebrew Christians and others were not raising the questions and objections of the Greek World in the 3rd-7th Cent Ad. which then needed to be addressed.

Answer 6

The doctrine of the "trinity" is nothing more than a man-made effort at explaining the complexity of the issue of the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and how it is that He was both man and God simultaneously. I have created a website which will help any sincere seeker of truth to find the answers relative to these issues. It may be found at http://wayoftruth.homestead.com/index.html
Charles

Answer 7

Unfotunately, the catholic church is not bringing the gospel of Christ. God is giving them over to satan and stong delusions, this is evidenced by all the pedophile priests that have destroyed childrens lives, it would be better if they hung a millstone around their neck and tossed them into the Atlantic, shameless and effeminate:

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. - 1 Timothy 1:4:1-3.

JESUS said:

And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. - Matthew 23:9.

It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. - Luke 17:2.

Answer 8

Assuming that quote is accurate and not taken out of context....there is nothing in there that declares either "pagan" nor "mislead dogma".

Any Catholic theologian worth his salt would say the same thing. The key words are "solidly established" and "fully assimilated". Duh.

Church doctrine was wrestled-with, discussed, chewed-on and developed over time.

Why do you think there was a First Council called in the first place?? To combat Arianism, condemned as heresy.

Answer 9

I think you really should give Pastor Art a call on this one. He has a bunch of other points about it as well.
The Catholic encyclopedia is a surprising piece of work.

Answer 10

Good question. I'm Catholic, and the trinity is one of the hardest things to swallow. I would like to know more about the history of this doctrine.