"The Trinity is not clearly or explicitly taught anywhere in Scripture, yet it is widely regarded as a central doctrine, indispensable to the Christian faith. In this regard, it goes contrary to what is virtually an axiom [that is a given and self-evident truth] of biblical doctrine,
namely, that there is a direct correlation between the scriptural clarity of a doctrine and its cruciality to the faith and life of the church. In view of the difficulty of the subject and the great amount of effort expended to maintain this doctrine, we may well ask ourselves what might justify all this trouble....
Another difficulty stems from the categories used by those who worked out the doctrine of the Trinity that the church adopted. They used Greek categories such as substance, essence, and person...[and] Over the years, questions have been raised regarding these concepts.
One contention is that the Trinity is simply a product of those ancient categories. It is not present in biblical thought, but arose when biblical thought was pressed into this foreign mold. Thus the doctrine of the Tinity goes even beyond and even distorts what the Bible says about God. It is a Greek philosophical, not a Hebraic biblical concept."
This doctrine in many ways presents strange paradoxes...It was the very first doctrine dealt with systematically by the church, yet is still one of the most misunderstood and disputed doctrines. Further, it is not clearly or explicitly taught anywhere in Scripture, yet it is widely regarded as a central doctrine, indispensable to the Christian faith" (p. 11-12).
"God In Three Persons"):
Another difficulty stems from the categories used by those who worked out the doctrine of the Trinity that the church adopted. They used Greek categories such as substance, essence, and person...[and] Over the years, questions have been raised regarding these concepts.
One contention is that the Trinity is simply a product of those ancient categories. It is not present in biblical thought, but arose when biblical thought was pressed into this foreign mold. Thus the doctrine of the Tinity goes even beyond and even distorts what the Bible says about God. It is a Greek philosophical, not a Hebraic biblical concept."
This doctrine in many ways presents strange paradoxes...It was the very first doctrine dealt with systematically by the church, yet is still one of the most misunderstood and disputed doctrines. Further, it is not clearly or explicitly taught anywhere in Scripture, yet it is widely regarded as a central doctrine, indispensable to the Christian faith" (p. 11-12).
"God In Three Persons"):
How can Erickson go on claiming belief in the doctrine of the Trinity after making such statements?
