Dogmatic Theology Vol 1 - Shedd - XVI - Chapter 4 Trinity in unity commenced

Required reading

Dogmatic Theology Vol 1 by William G.T. Shedd (Available from Amazon or free here) - Commence Chapter 4 Trinity in unity by reading up to the paragraph beginning 'The rational proofs of the Divine unity are the following:' (page 258 in my edition).

My summary

Today we begin a lengthy chapter on the Trinity.

This week's reading is primarily an affirmation of the doctrine that God is one essence that is simultaneously three persons and the three persons are one essence.

Shedd spends most of the reading briefly contrasting the doctrine of the trinity with that of false religions and cults, including Arianism, Semi-Arianism, Deism, Socinianism, Mohammedanism, Sabellianism.

Shedd also demonstrates the consistency of the trinity with Christian experience.

What grabbed me

I liked the comments about Christian experience of the trinity: 'The argument for the truth and reality of the Trinity from the characteristics of the Christian experience, is conclusive. There must be trinality in the Divine unity, in order to the exercise of the peculiar affections in the Christian consciousness. The Christian experience as portrayed in the New Testament, and as expressed in St. Paul's case, for example, is both impossible and inexplicable, without the three persons in the one God. St. Paul is continually alluding, in his hopes and joys, to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Abstract the Father, Son, and Spirit, and leave merely a bare untrinal substance as the object of love, hope, and worship, and St. Paul's religious experience cannot be accounted for. If, from the common Christian consciousness, those elements should be eliminated which result from the intuition of the Divine being as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, little would remain. Let any one think away all of bis religious experience that relates to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and retain only what relates to the Divine essence as a monad and untrinalized, and he will perceive how very much of his best religious experience grows out of trinitarianiem, and cannot grow out of unitarianism. Men cannot and do not love, pray to, and adore a mere abstract infinite nature. They love, address, and worship certain persons in that nature. Upon this point, Frank (System of Christian Certainty, § 33) remarks as follows: "God is the unity, the one Being, who is the originating author and agent in the Christian experience. But this unity has trinality in relation to this experience. God in judgment causes the sense of sin and guilt; God in atonement expiates sin and guilt; God in regeneration and conversion removes sin and guilt. Here are three modes or forms of God. Yet it is one absolute personal God, to whom the Christian owes all this. In such way, and to this extent, the Christian is assured, by means of redemption and the objects of faith implied in it, of God as the triune God."'

When we relate to the one God, we relate to three persons.

Next week's reading

Continue Chapter 4 Trinity in unity by reading up to the paragraph beginning 'The technical term "trinity" is not found in Scripture; and neither is the term "unity". (page 267 in my edition).

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.