1. Christianity – Theme 2 – The Trinity
By the end of this lesson you will have:
Been introduced to the key words associated with the trinity
Understood the Biblical foundations of the doctrine of the trinity
Applied your understanding of the Trinity

2. Spec Check AO1 AO2 The Trinity
The need for the doctrine of the Trinity: the nature and identity of Christ (issues of divinity and pre-existence) and Christ’s relationship with the father (coequal and coeternal). The origin of the Holy Spirit: the filioque controversy
The monotheistic claims of the doctrine of the trinity
The extent to which the doctrine of the trinity is necessary to understand the God of Christianity

3. What is the trinity?
On your whiteboards, write or draw what you think the ‘trinity’ means in Christianity

4. What is the Trinity?
The basic understanding of the trinity, is that ALL parts of the trinity are God, despite them being wholly distinct from the other
You may want to compare the trinity to a clover – all leaves of the clover are distinct, yet they are all part of the same overall plant
Another example could be water – ice, water and steam are all the same element of H2O YET in different forms

5. Biblical Evidence for the Doctrine of the Trinity
Genesis 1:26-27 – ‘Let US make humankind in OUR image’
John 20:28 – ‘My Lord AND my God’
Matthew 28:18-20 – ‘Baptised in the name of the Father AND of the Son AND of the Holy Spirit’
Romans 8:11 – ‘If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you’
Phillipians 2:10 – ‘though he was in the form of God and all things were created through him’
ALL should remember 1 passage
MOST should remember 2 passages
SOME will remember 3 passages

6. History of Christianity re-cap
As with all parts of the Christianity spec, we need to analyse the doctrine of the trinity in its historical context. We need to ask questions such as ‘When did the doctrine of the trinity develop?’ ‘Who developed it?’ ‘What are seen as heretical views on the trinity?’
TASK: With the events below – place them in a historical timeline with chronological context on your whiteboard
Thomas Aquinas wrote Summa Theologica
The Gospels were written
Jesus was born
The baptism of Emperor Constantine
The council of Nicaea formed the Nicene Creed
Writings for the Old Testament began
The council of Constantinople
Saint Paul preached to various communities
Simon Peter was chosen as leader of Christianity
East and West Christianity splits

7. Writings for the Old Testament began
1500 B.C
Jesus was born
0 A.D
Simon Peter was chosen as leader of Christianity
33 A.D
Saint Paul preached to various communities
50 A.D
The Gospels were written
70 A.D
The baptism of Emperor Constantine
313 A.D
The council of Nicaea formed the Nicene Creed
325 A.D
The council of Constantinople
381 A.D
East and West Christianity splits
1054 A.D
Thomas Aquinas wrote Summa Theologica
1200 A.D

8. The need for a Doctrine of the Trinity
In the early stages of Christianity it was important to ‘officially’ develop the doctrine of the trinity. How can Christianity remain a monotheistic religion, yet claim that God has three parts? The early Christian followers needed clarity.
It was easier to start with what the Trinity isn’t, otherwise known as ‘heresies’
Adoptionism – the belief that Jesus was born ordinary, but became son of God at his baptism
Sabellianism – the belief that Jesus was Divine, but never human
Arianism – The belief that Jesus was the highest of all created beings, but still not God

9. Biblical Evidence
TASK: Biblical evidence gave the Church a need for a Doctrine of the Trinity
Using pages 48&49 of your textbook, create a mind map for the Biblical references of the Trinity

10. The official understanding of the Trinity
1. SCAN through ‘6.1 Irenaeus of Lyons on the Trinitarian faith’
2. Underline any words that you don’t understand – look them up and write the definitions next to them
3. READ through the text again and try and summarise any key points on the doctrine of the trinity
4. SKIM the text with your partner – is there anything you don’t understand that needs to be clarified

11. The Doctrine of the Trinity
The doctrine of the trinity was developed in the 3rd and 4th centuries of the Church
St Irenaeus of Lyons formulated a demonstration of the initial doctrine by linking the three bodies together as a “rule of faith”
In 325 ad the Doctrine was formalised by the Nicene council. It used Biblical testimony as support and claimed that the trinity as thus:
1. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons
2. Each person is fully God; the three are coexistent and coequal
3. There is only one God; the doctrine does not split God into three parts
The Nicene creed

12. The Filioque Controversy
Filioque means ‘and the son’ in Latin
The Filioque controversy occurred when high members of the Church disagreed about adding ‘the holy spirit, who proceeds from the father and the son’
Read the sheet in your pink booklets on the Filioque controversy and complete the task at the bottom of the sheet

13. Key Info - Summary
The trinity is one God with three ‘wholly other’ bodies
St Irenaeus demonstrated what the Trinity is in the 2nd century
Arius and Athansius disagreed about the nature of the Trinity – Arius believed Jesus was a ‘special’ creation higher than humans but not quite God. Athanasius believed that Jesus was indeed God embodied as a human.
The official understanding of the Trinity was initiated in the Council of Nicaea in 325 and was cemented/finalised in the Council of Constantinople in 381
The ‘filloque’ controversy was when ‘The holy spirit, who proceeds from the father and the son’ as added to the creed in 381. This led to many years of disagreement and finally split Eastern and Western Christianity.
The Catholic Church insist that the Trinity remains the greatest mystery of faith

14. Plenary
Make revision notes/mindmap on the following topics for revision:
Timeline of Christianity
Biblical justification for the Trinity
Iraneus of Lyons
3 concepts of the trinity seen as heresy
The official threefold doctrine of the trinity
The filioque controversy

15. Plenary - Questions Answer these questions individually:
1. What are the three ‘bodies’ of the Holy Trinity?
2. Which Saint set out a demonstration of how the Trinity should be viewed in the 2nd century?
3. Which 3 ideas on the trinity were viewed as heresy?
4. What are the 3 accepted understandings of the trinity?
5. What does ‘filloque’ mean in Latin?
6. How did the Eastern and Western Churches disagree with regards to the Trinity (particularly who the Holy Spirit proceeds from….)

16. Christianity – Theme 2 – The Trinity AO1
By the end of this lesson you will have:
Been introduced to the key words associated with the trinity
Understood the Biblical foundations of the doctrine of the trinity
Applied your understanding of the Trinity

17. By the end of this lesson you will have:
The Trinity - AO2
By the end of this lesson you will have:
Re-capped what knowledge you have on the trinity so far
Considered whether the Christian God is indeed ‘monotheistic’
Devised possible questions and responses to the Trinity

18. Spec Check AO1 AO2 The Trinity
The need for the doctrine of the Trinity: the nature and identity of Christ (issues of divinity and pre-existence) and Christ’s relationship with the father (coequal and coeternal). The origin of the Holy Spirit: the filioque controversy
The monotheistic claims of the doctrine of the trinity
The extent to which the doctrine of the trinity is necessary to understand the God of Christianity

19. Re-Cap Answer these questions individually:
1. What are the three ‘bodies’ of the Holy Trinity?
2. Which Saint set out a demonstration of how the Trinity should be viewed in the 2nd century?
3. Which 3 ideas on the trinity were viewed as heresy?
4. What are the 3 accepted understandings of the trinity?
5. What does ‘filloque’ mean in Latin?
6. How did the Eastern and Western Churches disagree with regards to the Trinity (particularly who the Holy Spirit proceeds from….)

20. The monotheistic claims about God
With your partner, write as many AO2 questions that you can devise from this bullet point.
Did you get?:
‘The Christian God is one God’. Discuss
‘The Christian God is 3 separate Gods’. Discuss
‘The Trinity represents just one God’. Discuss

21. The monotheistic claims about God
TASK 1: Individually read the ‘issues for analysis and evaluation’ on the Trinity
Make a table in your notes which compare ways in which the Trinity IS seen as one God, and ways in which the Trinity is seen as MORE THAN ONE God.
TASK 2: If you have a YELLOW card – write just ONE reason why the Trinity should be seen as 3 separate Gods
If you have a GREEN card – write just ONE reason why the Trinity should be seen as just 1 God
TASK 3: Explain your card to your partner
Next, EVALUATE your partner’s card – do they have a strong point?
Decide what conclusion you are going to draw with your partner

22. Is the Trinity necessary to understand the God of Christianity?
Trinity IS necessary
Trinity ISN’T necessary
The trinity is fundamental to Christian belief
The Trinity is just an abstract belief that makes no logical sense
The trinity plays an essential part of worship and practise in Chriches
The trinity has confused things
There are different views on the Trinity which means all denominations of the Church find it important
The very fact there are different opinions about the Trinity suggests it can’t be wholly necessary or a foundation – how can there be different views about something so essential?
Filioque controversy – all parts of the trinity are equal for western churches – the trinity is necessary
Filioque controversy – not all parts of the trinity are co-equal for Eastern Churches – the trinity is important but not all parts are equal
TASK: After you have copied this table in your notes – EVALUATE each point. What is your opinion?

23. Theme 2 – Christianity – The Trinity AO2
By the end of this lesson you will have:
Re-capped what knowledge you have on the trinity so far
Considered whether the Christian God is indeed ‘monotheistic’
Devised possible questions and responses to the Trinity