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Unlock This CourseUltimate Reality: One God, Many Gods or None gave the general ideas. Remember, monotheism is belief in one God. Christians are monotheists, yet they describe God in a way no other religion does: as the Trinity.
The Trinity is the belief that there is one God who exists as three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Christians believe that:
The word 'Trinity' is not in the Bible. Christians say the idea is. At the baptism of Jesus, the Son comes up out of the water, the Spirit of God comes down on him like a dove, and a voice from heaven says, 'This is my Son, whom I love' (Matthew 3:16-17). Jesus later told his followers to baptise 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' (Matthew 28:19).
Key terms:
Jesus was a Jew, and he repeated the central Jewish teaching about God: 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one' (Mark 12:29, quoting Deuteronomy 6:4). Christians have never given this up.
They explain it like this. God is one in being (what God is) and three in person (who God is). The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not three gods who work as a team. They share one divine being. So a Christian who prays to the Father, to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit believes they are praying to the same one God.
Two creeds matter most.
An early statement of faith, long used at baptisms in Western churches. It begins, 'I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth', goes on to 'Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord', and then says, 'I believe in the Holy Spirit'.
Agreed by church leaders at the Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381), after arguments about whether Jesus was truly God. It begins, 'We believe in one God'. It calls the Son 'of one Being with the Father' and the Holy Spirit 'the Lord, the giver of life'. Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and many other Protestant churches say it in worship.
Both creeds are built in three sections: Father, Son and Spirit. Their shape is the Trinity.
Both creeds name God as Father first. Jesus spoke to God as 'Abba', a close family word for father (Mark 14:36), and taught his followers to pray, 'Our Father in heaven' (Matthew 6:9). For Christians, 'Father' means God gives life, loves, provides and has authority. It does not mean God is male: most Christians say God is beyond gender.
The creeds call the Father 'creator' or 'maker of heaven and earth'. Christians see all three persons at work in creation. In Genesis 1:2 'the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters'. John's Gospel says of the Son, 'Through him all things were made' (John 1:3).
Both creeds say Jesus will come 'to judge the living and the dead'. John 5:22 says the Father 'has entrusted all judgment to the Son'. Christians believe God's judgement is fair, because God knows everything, and merciful, because God is loving. The judgement itself is covered in Heaven, Hell, Judgment and Resurrection.
You already know the words omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent. Here is what Christians say about each, and about the creeds' word 'Almighty'.
This is the title the creeds use. It stresses God's rule and authority over everything. In the Bible God says, 'I am God Almighty' (Genesis 17:1).
All-powerful. Jesus said, 'with God all things are possible' (Matthew 19:26). Christians point to creation and to the resurrection of Jesus as signs of this power. Many add that God cannot act against his own nature: the Bible says 'it is impossible for God to lie' (Hebrews 6:18).
All-knowing. Jesus taught that 'even the very hairs of your head are all numbered' (Matthew 10:30) and that 'your Father knows what you need before you ask him' (Matthew 6:8). This is why Christians trust God as a judge who cannot be fooled.
All-loving. 'God is love' (1 John 4:8). Christians see the greatest proof in Jesus: 'While we were still sinners, Christ died for us' (Romans 5:8). Many link this to the Trinity: God has always been love, because Father, Son and Spirit have always loved one another.
These beliefs shape daily life. Christians pray because they believe God is able to help, knows their needs and cares. They are baptised in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Do not write that Christians believe in three gods, or that the Father, Son and Spirit are three 'parts' of God. Do not say God swaps between three forms. The creeds teach one God who is three persons at the same time, each fully God.
Paper 1 style. (a) and (b) test AO1; (c) and (d) test AO1 and AO2.
(a) Identify three qualities that religious believers say God has. [3 marks]
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two roles of God in this religion. [4 marks]
(c) Choose one religion. Explain beliefs about the nature of God in this religion. [6 marks]
(d) 'A God who is three persons cannot be one God.' Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]
(a) 1. Omnipotent (1). 2. Omniscient (1). 3. Benevolent (1).
(b) Christianity. God is Creator (1), which means Christians believe he is the 'maker of heaven and earth', as the Nicene Creed says (1). God is Judge (1), because the creeds say Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead (1).
(c) Christianity. Christians believe God is the Trinity: one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is because the Nicene Creed begins 'We believe in one God' and then describes each person as fully God, so Christians are monotheists.
Christians believe God is Almighty and omnipotent. Jesus said 'with God all things are possible', which means believers trust that God is able to answer prayer.
God is also omniscient. Jesus taught that God knows what people need before they ask, so Christians believe his judgement will be fair.
Finally, God is benevolent. The Bible says 'God is love', which leads Christians to trust God as a loving Father.
(d) Plan. For: three and one seem to contradict each other; Unitarians and Jehovah's Witnesses say the Bible teaches that God is one person and the word 'Trinity' is not in it; a non-religious person may say that calling the Trinity a mystery avoids the contradiction and does not answer it.
Against: the Nicene Creed opens with 'one God', and Jesus himself said 'the Lord is one'; Christians say God is one in being and three in person, which is not the same as saying 1 = 3; Catholic and Orthodox Christians say it is a mystery, so being hard to picture does not make it false.
Possible conclusion: pick a side. For example: I disagree. The statement treats 'person' and 'God' as the same kind of thing, but the creeds say God is one being in three persons, so it is hard to understand without being a contradiction.
In part (d), use the words 'being' and 'person' and quote the first line of the Nicene Creed. That shows the examiner you know exactly how Christians answer the charge of believing in three gods.