“The Trinity” has long been a point of confusion and contention. A simple description of the term might be that it is “the unique way that Christians traditionally describe God”.

The word used to describe this concept by Christian theologians is ‘Trinity’, a tri-unity of three in one. The term 'Trinity' appears nowhere in the Bible. Rather, it is a concept that emerges from a range of Biblical statements about God, and is then affirmed and refined by various thinkers and over generations of Christian councils. A notable basis for belief in the concept lies within the Fourth Gospel (Gospel of John). In this text, Jesus is declared to be God. In turn, Jesus both declares God's greatness and acknowledges God to be his Father, so in this sense God is a different person (John ref.). Jesus also states that he and the Father are one, and that if we’ve seen Jesus then we have seen the Father. Further, Jesus also talks of the Spirit, that will only come in his absence. This led to the broad understanding that God is Father, God is Son, God is Spirit and God is One. In other words, Christians see God at work in three distinct yet connected beings. And so according to the ancient notion, there is one substance in the universe we may call 'God'. But that substance is encountered through three different persons, and none of the three are God by themselves.

At least, that’s one opinion…

The above paragraphs outline how the Trinity has been described over the past two millennia, and this definition became a test case for Christian orthodoxy (or 'correct belief’). In other words, if you didn’t agree with this understanding of the Trinity, then you were not considered a ‘real Christian’, particularly in the western European tradition. To enforce this belief, dissenting groups were threatened, excommunicated (kicked out of the church), and even executed as the church gained power. However, this didn’t stop numerous groups from disagreeing. Historically, early Christians like Sabellius, Montanus and Arius challenged Trinitarian thinking, with Arianism in particular gaining substantial support. These were declared ‘wrong’ by church consensus. In the Protestant Reformation, Michael Servetus was executed for his opposition to Trinitarianism. In more religiously tolerant modern times, networks of Unitarian churches have developed, but are often regarded as suspiciously ‘fringe’ by Trinitarian counterparts. It would be valuable for self-reflective Trinitarian Christians to recognise that the historical process of theological definition was often a deeply political process, with the victor in debates claiming the authority of God and the correctness of their own position. A critical reading of our Christian heritage must allow for the fact that, in many cases, honourable, honest and devout Christian people were judged and treated unjustly on the basis of their different understanding of something that is not clearly expressed in the Bible.

Is the Trinity really that important?

Why did Christians go to such lengths to maintain this belief? In its early history, internal unity was probably one of the reasons. Christian leaders, desperate to preserve the faith handed on to them, wanted to keep the church as true to its origins as possible. Literacy and education was limited, and so creating definitions and creeds - and pushing away those who seemed to disagree - was probably out of an intent to maintain integrity. Unity was also important for strength to defend against the accusations of external groups, such as pagan Roman persecutors. Christian apologists aimed to present Christianity as a rational belief, and a divided Christianity could not present as rational.

A further development took place under the formal reunification under the emperor Constantine in the early fourth century. As Constantine began to take a personal interest in the Christian faith, he demanded unity that earlier Christians had only aspired toward. Dissenters were declared illegal, setting a precedent for harsh treatment of heretics that would only escalate in later years.