Was Paul a Trinitarian?

Elijah John · Post by **Elijah John** » Thu May 16, 2019 1:01 pm

polonius · Post by **polonius** » Thu May 23, 2019 8:56 am

Paul was not a Trinitarian since there was no (claim) of the existence of a Trinity until 382 AD and Paul had died in 64 AD.

Who actually asked if Paul was a Trinitarian???

polonius · Post by **polonius** » Thu May 23, 2019 9:28 am

"Every single author in the New Testament, from Paul to Peter to James and Jude to each of the Gospel writers, all identified Jesus as God. This was the universal belief of all the New Testament churches and a revealed truth that was foundational to anything else that any Apostolic writer had to say. Thus, any author in the New Testament, whatever they were writing about, nevertheless could not help but allude to the divinity of the Lord Jesus. This belief ought to be just as foundational today as was then, at least for anyone who seeks to call themselves a New Testament believer."

RESPONSE: Not true. In chapter 2 of Acts of Apostles Peter describes Jesus as "a man" favored by God through whom God, not Jesus, worked miracles. And Jesus had to be "raised" from the dead (passive). He didn't rise from the dead (active).

polonius · Post by **polonius** » Thu May 23, 2019 10:44 am

JehovahsWitness

polonius wrote:

Hurtado LW. Lord Jesus Christ, Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. William B. Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, 2003, pp. 52-53.

Interestingly, his book, (which at least one University of Notre Dame scholar calls "A fantastic work! Larry Hurtado has written what may well prove to be one of the more important works on Jesus in this generation"), demonstrates that there was a binitarian view in Christianity that can be proven from the early first century (from about the time of Christ's death) and that Professor Hurtado concludes that the trinitarian view came to be dominant later (Ibid, p.651).

Binitarian from about the time of Jesus death.

I havent read the book so could you briefly outline what PROOF the author presents to support his views,

Thanks

JW

RESPONSE:

â€œ...there are a fairly consistent linkage and subordination of Jesus to God "the Father" in these circles, evident even in the Christian texts from the latter decades of the first century that are commonly regarded as a very 'high' Christology, such as the Gospel of John and Revelation. This is why I referred to this Jesus-devotion as a "binitarian" form of monotheism: there are two distinguishable figures (God and Jesus), but they are posited in a relation to each other that seems intended to avoid the ditheism of two gods, and the devotional practices show a similar concern...In my judgment this Jesus-devotion amounts to a treatment of him as a recipient of worship at a surprisingly early point in the first century, and is certainly a programmatic inclusion of a second figure unparalleled in the monotheistic tradition of the time

(Hurtado LW. Lord Jesus Christ, Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. William B. Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, 2003, pp. 52-53).

Debating Christianity and Religion

Was Paul a Trinitarian?

Was Paul a Trinitarian?

Paul was not a Trinitarian

Peter says Jesus in only" a man"

Re: What did Larry W. Hurtado really say?