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Systematic theologyWhat does it teach as a whole?

Theology proper

What is theology proper?

Theology proper is the part of Christian theology that treats God himself: his existence and knowability, his names and attributes, his triune being and, in many works, his decrees and his works of creation and providence. The Fathers kept the word theologia for the doctrine of God, apart from oikonomia, God's works in creation and redemption.

  • 201Sources
  • 30Traditions
  • 16Dated entries
  • 20Minutes

Study v1.1, 15 October 2026

Theology proper

At a glance

Why it matters for reading Scripture

The doctrine of God: who God is, the attributes and the Trinity, beginning with the question "Who is God?"

What the study found

The study puts seven shared questions about God (who God is, how God is known, one and three, the attributes, God and the world) to about 25 traditions.

Where traditions divide

Traditions divide on how the divine attributes are described, between classical and newer accounts, and on the filioque.

How the traditions compare

  • Eastern Orthodox

    The Orthodox Church in America places the unity of God in the Father, "there is only one God because there is only one Father", with the Son born from and the Spirit proceeding from the Father, and holds that "Every action of God is the action of the Three".

    It calls the Filioque "a doctrinal addition unacceptable to Orthodoxy", and its speech about God is apophatic: God is "above being". Its distinctive emphasis is the teaching of Gregory Palamas that God's essence is "utterly unknowable and incomprehensible" while his energies are "uncreated and fully divine".

    Sources1–5

  • Coptic Orthodox

    The Church believes in "Father, Son and Holy Spirit (being one God)" and treats the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed "as a statement of Her Faith".

    Fr Abraam Sleman writes that "Christian's belief in the Holy Trinity is Monotheistic" and calls the Father "the fountain of life". Pope Shenouda III writes that "Surely, Divinity is not susceptible to suffering", yet "He suffered due to His humanity", and the Church confesses "One Incarnate Nature of the Logos", which it distinguishes from monophysitism.

    Sources6–9

  • Armenian Apostolic

    The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin names Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381) and Ephesus (431) as the Church's councils.

    The Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America states: "We believe in the one and true God, that is, the Most Holy Trinity", God "who has one nature but three persons". An Armenian educational text on the Creed uses "He suffered" of the incarnate Christ.

    Sources10–12

  • Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo

    The Church's doctrinal pages could not be read, and its teaching is given from a parish summary of the Church's own book: God is "three in name, in person (Akal), in deed and one in essence, in divinity, in existence, and in will", and the Trinity is the first of five "Pillars of Mystery".

    A monastery page says that the Spirit "proceeds from the Father". A Catholic agency's page glosses tewahedo as "being made one", referring to the union of Christ's natures.

    Sources13–15

  • Syriac Orthodox

    The Patriarchate's own pages carry no statement on God, and the Archdiocese of the Western United States states that God is "one God, subsisting in three separate persons called the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit", who have "one Will, one Work and one Lordship", with the Spirit "proceeding from the Father".

    It holds that after the union Christ "had but one Nature Incarnate", accepts the first three councils and rejects Chalcedon.

    Sources16

  • Assyrian Church of the East

    The Church's teaching "is based on the faith of the universal Church as set forth in the Nicene Creed", and the Diocese of Western Europe confesses "One Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit".

    Its distinctive emphasis is Christological: the divine and human natures are united in one Person, and the Diocese of California calls the Church "diaphysite". In the Common Christological Declaration of 11 November 1994 it and the Catholic Church each recognize "the legitimacy and rightness" of the other's expressions.

    Sources17–20

  • Roman Catholic

    The Fourth Lateran Council confesses "only one true God, eternal and immeasurable, almighty", and the Catechism holds that God "can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason", restating Dei Filius.

    It confesses "one God in three persons", distinct "in their relations of origin", with the Spirit proceeding "from the Father and the Son (filioque)", and calls the Eastern and Western formulas a "legitimate complementarity, provided it does not become rigid". Speech about God follows Lateran IV's rule that between creator and creature no similarity can be noted so great that a greater dissimilarity cannot also be noted.

    Sources21–25

  • Eastern Catholic (Ukrainian Greek Catholic)

    The Second Vatican Council asks that each Eastern Church "should retain its traditions whole and entire".

    The Ukrainian Greek Catholic catechism, Christ Our Pascha, holds that God "in his essence is unknowable" and that humanity may "come to share in the divine nature through Christ". In the Creed as the catechism prints it, the words "and the Son" stand in brackets.

    Sources26–27

  • Lutheran

    The Augsburg Confession confesses "one divine essence which is called and is God, eternal, without body, indivisible", and three persons "of the same essence and power, who also are co-eternal".

    The Formula of Concord makes Scripture "the only rule and norm" by which all teachers are judged. The Solid Declaration holds that "the divine nature can neither suffer nor die", yet "the Son of God Himself truly suffered", and this real communication of the attributes of the two natures is the distinctive Lutheran emphasis.

    Sources28–32

  • Reformed and Presbyterian

    The Belgic Confession confesses "a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God", and the Westminster Confession "one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions".

    "We know God by two means", creation and the Word, but the light of nature is "not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation". The distinctive emphasis is the eternal decree, by which God ordains "whatsoever comes to pass" without being "the author of sin".

    Sources33–34

  • Anglican

    The Thirty-Nine Articles confess "one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness".

    The three Persons are "of one substance, power, and eternity", and the Holy Ghost proceeds "from the Father and the Son". Article I holds God "without ... passions", while Article II confesses that Christ "truly suffered".

    Sources35

  • Anabaptist and Mennonite

    The Schleitheim Confession (1527) contains no article on God.

    The Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective (1995) begins: "We worship the one holy and loving God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit eternally". Its commentary links the Trinity to ethics: since the God who creates is the God who redeems, creation ethics and redemption ethics do not conflict, with peacemaking as the example.

    Sources36–37

  • Baptist

    The Second London Confession (1689) follows Westminster, confessing "but one only living and true God", "without body, parts, or passions", in "three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and Holy Spirit".

    The Baptist Faith and Message (2000) calls God "an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe".

    Sources38–39

  • Methodist and Nazarene

    The United Methodist Articles of Religion (1784) confess "but one living and true God, everlasting, without body or parts", and omit the words "or passions" found in Anglican Article I. The Church of the Nazarene's distinctive emphasis is holiness: "The God who is holy love and light is Triune in essential being, revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit".

    Sources3540–41

  • Pentecostal (Assemblies of God, Church of God)

    The Assemblies of God confess that "The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent 'I AM'", and that "The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are never identical as to Person".

    Their article calls it a transgression "to deny that the Father is a real and eternal Father, and that the Son is a real and eternal Son", a text written against the Oneness position without naming it. The Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) confesses "one God eternally existing in three persons" and adds Spirit baptism with tongues as "the initial evidence".

    Sources42–43

  • Oneness Pentecostal

    The United Pentecostal Church International states: "There is one God, who has revealed Himself as Father; through His Son, in redemption; and as the Holy Spirit, by emanation".

    Its statements do not use the words "Trinity" or "persons", and "Jesus Christ is God manifested in flesh". David K. Bernard's The Oneness of God holds "both the indivisible oneness of God and the full deity of Jesus Christ" and rejects "Jesus Only" as a misleading label, and the distinctive practice is "Water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ".

    Sources44–46

  • Seventh-day Adventist

    The Fundamental Beliefs state: "There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three coeternal Persons".

    Its commentary says that Jesus is Son "not in the sense of having been created, but because He partakes of the same divine nature". Creation took place "in a recent six-day creation" of "six literal days", and the literal creation week is a distinctive emphasis.

    Sources47–49

  • Quaker

    Britain Yearly Meeting's Quaker faith & practice gives no confessional definition but names God through experience, "We may call His Spirit Love, Light, Truth or Way", and holds that "Creeds are milestones, doctrines are interpretations".

    Other Friends confess the Trinity: the Richmond Declaration of 1887 holds that Father, Son and Spirit "are one in the eternal Godhead", and Evangelical Friends Church International describes the Spirit as proceeding "from both Father and Son".

    Sources50–53

  • Evangelical statements

    The Lausanne Covenant (1974) confesses "the one eternal God, Creator and Lord of the world, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who governs all things", and holds that "Everyone has some knowledge of God through his general revelation in nature", which does not save.

    The Evangelical Theological Society states that "God is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory". The Cape Town Commitment (2010) makes mission distinctive: "the missionary Spirit sent by the missionary Father and the missionary Son".

    Sources54–56

  • Ecumenical statements (World Council of Churches)

    The Basis of the World Council of Churches, a threshold for membership rather than a doctrine of God, speaks of the glory of "the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit".

    Faith and Order's Confessing the One Faith (1991) holds that "Economic and eternal Trinity is but one reality" and names God the Father "the eternal source" of the Trinitarian communion. It states that "God has shared human suffering and death" and does not use the term impassibility.

    Sources57–58

  • Jehovah's Witnesses

    "We worship the one true and Almighty God, the Creator, whose name is Jehovah."

    The body states that "There is no Scriptural basis for the Trinity doctrine" and that "Jesus is not Almighty God", and that "The holy spirit is God's power in action, his active force".

    Sources59–60

  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

    The first Article of Faith states: "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost".

    "The members of the Godhead are three separate beings", "one in purpose and doctrine", and "God organized the universe out of existing elements". Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 holds that "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's".

    Sources61–64

  • Unitarian Christian positions

    The Unitarian Christian Alliance, formed in 2019 and described in a Christadelphian magazine article, affirms: "The one God is the Father alone, and Jesus is his human Messiah, who is now exalted as Lord and Savior".

    BiblicalUnitarian.com, the site of Spirit and Truth Fellowship International, teaches that "the Heavenly Father alone is God" and that holy spirit is God's gift and not a third person.

    Sources65–66

  • Jewish (for comparison)

    Chabad describes the Shema, "Hear, O Israel: the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is one", as "encapsulating the monotheistic essence of Judaism".

    Maimonides' first five principles, as Chabad gives them, affirm "G-d's absolute and unparalleled unity" and "G-d's non-corporeality". Maimonides reads positive attributes as negations.

    Sources67–69

  • Islamic (for comparison)

    Surah 112 states: "He is Allah, One and Indivisible; Allah, the Sustainer needed by all.

    He has never had offspring, nor was He born. And there is none comparable to Him". Surah 4:171 says "do not say, 'Trinity.' Stop!, for your own good", and Surah 42:11 adds "There is nothing like Him". Theodore Abu Qurrah, Abu Ra'ita and 'Ammar al-Basri explained the Trinity in Arabic using concepts from the Muslim debate on the divine attributes, according to a thesis abstract.

    Sources70–73

  • Classical theism

    Holds God to be perfect, a se, simple, immutable, impassible, eternal and necessary, and the creator of all from nothing.

    Brian Davies's list of classical theists, as Feser reports it, runs from Augustine, Anselm and Aquinas to Maimonides and Avicenna, and its recent revival includes James Dolezal's God without Parts (2011) and Steven Duby's Divine Simplicity (2016). The objections are Plantinga's claim that a God identical with properties would be an abstract object, the modal collapse argument, and conflict with contingent knowledge and freedom.

    Sources74–79

  • Theistic personalism and neo-classical theism

    Brian Davies uses "theistic personalism" for views, at least implicit in Swinburne, Plantinga and open theists, that reject simplicity and so tend to reject immutability, impassibility and timelessness as well, and asks, without settling it, whether the two camps worship the same God.

    Diller treats theistic personalism as a form of neo-classical theism. Mullins argues that a strongly immutable, timeless God cannot be Redeemer or incarnate, and Ganssle calls temporalism the majority view among philosophers today.

    Sources74–7580–81

  • Open theism

    Holds that God is omniscient but does not know future free choices, because these are not yet knowable truths; God takes risks, prayer can influence God, and middle knowledge is rejected.

    The Openness of God (1994), by Pinnock, Rice, Sanders, Hasker and Basinger, systematized it. Critics include Ware, Frame, Craig, Helm, Geisler, House and Erickson; in 2003 the Evangelical Theological Society tested Pinnock and Sanders against its doctrinal basis, and neither was removed.

    Sources82–84

  • Process theism

    Alfred North Whitehead distinguishes God's primordial nature, which envisages all possibilities, from God's consequent nature, which receives and saves the world.

    Charles Hartshorne developed "dual transcendence" or dipolar theism, in which God's existence and essence are necessary while God's actuality is contingent, and God's power is persuasive, not coercive. Classical theists object to its denial of creation out of nothing and to the loss of power to prevent suffering.

    Sources85–88

  • Panentheism

    Holds that the world is in God and God is in the world, so that the world affects God, though God is not identical with it.

    Defenders include Clayton, Peacocke, Moltmann, Griffin, McFague and Oord; critics include John Cooper, Tabaczek, who argues that it loses aseity, and Leidenhag. Laudato si' (2015), by contrast, speaks of "an infinite distance between God and the things of this world".

    Sources89–90

How the field developed

  1. Early church
    c. 180

    Theophilus of Antioch calls the three days before the creation of the luminaries "types of the Trinity, of God, and His Word, and His wisdom", which the Catholic Encyclopedia identifies as the first appearance of the Greek trias. About the same time Irenaeus writes Against Heresies, arguing that there is one God and that the world was made by the Father through the Word.91929394

  2. Late antiquity
    June 325

    The Council of Nicaea, with about 318 bishops, adopts homoousios as the test of orthodoxy. Its creed confesses the Son "begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousion) with the Father".9596

  3. Late antiquity
    381

    The Council of Constantinople confesses the Spirit as "the Lord and Giver-of-Life, who proceeds from the Father", worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son. The Cappadocian fathers had fixed the grammar of one ousia and three hypostaseis.9798

  4. Late antiquity
    c. 400 to 420

    Augustine writes De Trinitate, presenting the mind as an image of the Trinity in memory, understanding and will, "an inadequate image, yet an image".99100

  5. Late antiquity
    589

    After the Third Synod of Toledo the creed with the filioque is first sung in Spain, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia; it is introduced at Rome under Benedict VIII in 1014 to 1015.101

  6. Medieval
    1215

    The Fourth Lateran Council confesses three persons in one simple essence, rejects Joachim of Fiore's collective account of trinitarian unity, and states that between creator and creature no similarity can be noted so great that a greater dissimilarity cannot be seen.21

  7. Medieval
    1341, 1347 and 1351

    Councils at Constantinople confirm the teaching of Gregory Palamas, who led the defense of hesychasm against Barlaam the Calabrian. For Palamas, as the Orthodox Church in America gives it, God's essence is "utterly unknowable and incomprehensible" while his energies are "uncreated and fully divine".1021035

  8. Medieval
    6 July 1439

    The Council of Florence, in the bull Laetentur caeli, defines the Spirit's procession from both "as from one principle and by one spiration" and declares the filioque "lawfully and reasonably added" to the creed. It does not require the Greeks to insert the word, only to accept the doctrine.104105101

  9. Reformation
    1646

    The Westminster Confession, in the text consulted, confesses "one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions", and follows its chapter on God with chapters on the eternal decree, creation and providence.34

  10. Modern
    1781 and 1787

    Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason argues that existence is not a real predicate and that the cosmological argument rests on the ontological. For Kant God is a postulate of practical reason.106

  11. Modern
    1871

    Charles Hodge's Systematic Theology, volume I, follows its Introduction with "Part I. Theology Proper", whose chapters run from the origin of the idea of God through the attributes and the Trinity to the decrees, creation, providence, miracles and the angels.107

  12. Modern
    1934

    Karl Barth's "Nein!" to Emil Brunner rejects any natural point of contact for grace. Barth called the analogia entis "the invention of Antichrist" and grounded analogy instead in revelation.108109110

  13. Modern
    1970

    Karl Rahner's The Trinity is published in English, setting out the axiom that "the economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity and vice versa".111112

  14. Modern
    22 September 1994

    The Openness of God (InterVarsity Press) systematizes open theism, proposing to reconsider immutability, impassibility and foreknowledge while rejecting process theology.8382

  15. Modern
    1995

    At the request of John Paul II, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity issues "The Greek and Latin Traditions regarding the Procession of the Holy Spirit". It affirms that the Father is the sole source of the Son and the Spirit and accepts "through the Son" as complementary to the filioque.113114

  16. Modern
    3 June 2016

    Liam Goligher's posts accuse Bruce Ware and Wayne Grudem, who hold that the Son eternally submits to the Father's authority, of a "novel view of God". More than 150 posts appear in about five weeks.115116117

How to study theology proper

The questions it asks

  • Who is God, in each tradition's confessional definition?
  • How is God known: by natural reason, by revelation, through tradition or through experience?
  • How are God's unity and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit related, or why does a tradition not state God as one and three?
  • Which attributes are named, and what is said of God's nature and perfections?
  • How does God stand to the world in creation, providence and divine action?
  • Can God suffer or change, and how may God be spoken of?
  • What does each tradition or position stress that others do not?

Its method

Start

  1. Read the shared scriptural base: the Hebrew names of God, the self-disclosure texts of the Torah and the Prophets, and the Greek vocabulary of the New Testament118119120.

  2. Work exegetically: Augustine undertakes to show "according to the authority of the Holy Scriptures" that the Trinity is the one true God, and Berkhof prefers God's self-revelation in Scripture to the scholastic ways of causality, negation and eminence121122.

  3. Trace the doctrine historically and confessionally, through positive theology from Scripture and Tradition and through the confessional texts that fix the borders of the locus for the churches that hold them123341243339.

  4. Weigh the philosophical arguments: natural theology, the ontological, cosmological and Thomistic arguments, and the study of religious language, apophaticism and analogy125126127128129130.

  5. Order the doctrines systematically by the loci method, with God placed first as the logical starting point131122.

  6. Test the coherence of the attributes and the Trinity with the tools of analytic theology132133.

  7. Describe each tradition from its own texts, its confessions, catechisms, conciliar decrees and statements of faith, putting the same questions to every one13428135.

What to read

Its primary witnesses

  • The Hebrew names and titles of God, among them Elohim, El Shaddai, El Elyon, YHWH, Adonai and YHWH Sabaoth118136137119138139.
  • The self-disclosure texts Exodus 3:14 and 34:6 to 7, the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4 and Isaiah 40 to 48140141142143.
  • The Septuagint, whose ho ōn at Exodus 3:14 became a point of departure for later accounts of God as being itself144145.
  • The Greek New Testament terms theos, kyrios and patēr and key texts such as John 1:1, Matthew 28:19 and 1 Corinthians 8:6120146147148149150.
  • Inscriptions naming Israel's God outside the Bible, from the Mesha Stele and Kuntillet Ajrud to the Elephantine papyri151152153154.
  • The Aramaic Targums, which, according to Kaufmann Kohler, use memra, "the Word", in place of "the Lord" where an anthropomorphic expression is to be avoided155.
  • The creeds of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381)9697.
  • The Fathers, among them Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine's De Trinitate and John of Damascus's Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith156157158100159.
  • Aquinas's Summa Theologiae, which treats the one God in questions 2 to 26 and the Trinity in questions 27 to 43 of the First Part160.
  • The churches' confessions and catechisms, such as the Augsburg and Westminster Confessions, the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Confession of Dositheus and the Catechism of the Catholic Church29343513424.

Standard reference works

  • Charles Hodge's Systematic Theology, volume I (1871), Louis Berkhof's Systematic Theology and Francis Turretin's Institutes of Elenctic Theology (1679 to 1685)107161162.
  • Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics, volume 2, organized on the incommunicable and communicable attributes163164.
  • The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity, edited by Gilles Emery and Matthew Levering (2011), and The Cambridge Companion to the Trinity, edited by Peter C. Phan (2011)165166.
  • Gerald L. Bray's The Doctrine of God (1993) and John M. Frame's The Doctrine of God (2002)167168.
  • Dumitru Staniloae's The Experience of God, volume 1, a standard text in Orthodox schools169170.
  • Richard A. Muller's Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics, volume 3, an analysis of the doctrine of God from the twelfth to the early eighteenth century171.
  • Stephen R. Holmes's The Quest for the Trinity (2012)172.
  • Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen's The Doctrine of God: A Global Perspective (second edition, 2017)173.
  • The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entries on the Trinity, divine simplicity and eternity13378174.

Scholarship referenced in this study

The works below shaped the field and are cited in this study, from the earliest to the most recent. Hover over a book, or select it, to see its author and the sources behind it.

  • 1929Process and RealityAlfred North WhiteheadProcess and Reality (1929)Alfred North Whitehead (15 February 1861 to 30 December 1947)Sources85–86
  • 1944Essai sur la théologie mystique de l'Église d'OrientVladimir LosskyEssai sur la théologie mystique de l'Église d'Orient (1944)Vladimir Lossky (1903 to 7 February 1958)Sources175
  • 1962Olódùmarè: God in Yoruba BeliefE. Bolaji IdowuOlódùmarè: God in Yoruba Belief (1962)E. Bolaji Idowu (28 September 1913 to 1993)Sources176
  • 1970The TrinityKarl RahnerThe Trinity (1970)Karl Rahner (5 March 1904 to 30 March 1984)Sources111–112
  • 1975Theological Pitfalls in AfricaByang H. KatoTheological Pitfalls in Africa (1975)Byang H. Kato (23 June 1936 to December 1975)Sources177–178
  • 1981The Trinity and the KingdomJürgen MoltmannThe Trinity and the Kingdom (1981)Jürgen Moltmann (8 April 1926 to 3 June 2024)Sources179–180
  • 1985Being as CommunionJohn ZizioulasBeing as Communion (1985)John Zizioulas (10 January 1931 to February 2023)Sources181–182
  • 1991Systematic Theology, volume 1Wolfhart PannenbergSystematic Theology, volume 1 (1991)Wolfhart Pannenberg (2 October 1928 to 4 September 2014)Sources183–184
  • 1991God for UsCatherine Mowry LaCugnaGod for Us (1991)Catherine Mowry LaCugna (6 August 1952 to 3 May 1997)Sources185–186
  • 1994The Experience of God, volume 1Dumitru StaniloaeThe Experience of God, volume 1 (1994)Dumitru Staniloae (16 November 1903 to 5 October 1993)Sources169187
  • 2009Analytic TheologyOliver D. CrispAnalytic Theology (2009)Oliver D. Crisp, with Michael ReaSources132
  • 2015Systematic Theology, volume 1: The Doctrine of GodKatherine SondereggerSystematic Theology, volume 1: The Doctrine of God (2015)Katherine SondereggerSources188

Listed because this study draws on their published work; no association with or endorsement of Numa Verse is implied. Suggest a correction.

Key terms

The words that carry the most weight in this field, each defined from the sources of this study. Turn a card over to read its definition.

The patristic distinction between theologia, the mystery of God's inmost life within the Trinity, and oikonomia, all the works by which God reveals himself; the Catechism of the Catholic Church holds that each illuminates the other12324.

The Latin headings under which Catholic usage treats the one God and the triune God; on Hungerford's reading, Rahner held that "the isolation of De Deo Trino is inappropriate"123189.

The term the Council of Nicaea adopted in 325 as the test of orthodoxy, confessing the Son "of one substance (homoousion) with the Father"9596.

The words "and from the Son" added to the creed's clause on the Spirit, a principal dispute between East and West; the Orthodox Church in America calls it "a doctrinal addition unacceptable to Orthodoxy"1903.

The distinction taught by Gregory Palamas between God's essence, "utterly unknowable and incomprehensible", and his energies, "uncreated and fully divine"; Lossky made it central to modern Orthodox theology5175.

Theology that holds God's nature to be beyond conception and expression; in Dionysius the divine names are affirmed, then denied, and the denials are themselves negated130191.

The teaching that God has no parts of any kind and is identical with God's nature, attributes and existence; Aquinas concludes that God is "altogether simple"78192.

The denial of passions in God, stated in the confessions by the words "without passions": the Westminster Confession and Article I of the Thirty-Nine Articles call God "without body, parts, or passions", and the debate is now usually framed as four positions, from strong impassibility to strong passibility3435193.

The persons' dwelling in one another: John of Damascus writes that the subsistences "dwell in one another, in no wise confused"; Karen Kilby's critique is aimed at inflated uses of the term159194.

The rule that the external works of the Trinity are undivided (opera trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa): Father, Son and Spirit act by "one will, one power, one energy", and only the relational properties belong to one person195.

Where it sits

Builds on

Theology proper

Leads to

Questions people ask

No: Britannica notes that neither the word "Trinity" nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament196. The Catholic Encyclopedia places the first Greek trias in Theophilus of Antioch, about 180, and the first Latin trinitas in Tertullian92. It treats Matthew 28:19, which baptizes into the singular name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as decisive for the doctrine14992.

The confessions say it in different ways. The Westminster Confession, the Thirty-Nine Articles and the 1689 Confession call God "without body, parts, or passions"343538. The Lutheran Solid Declaration holds that "the divine nature can neither suffer nor die", yet "the Son of God Himself truly suffered"31. The publisher of Moltmann's The Crucified God describes it as holding that suffering belongs to God's being because love involves suffering, and Confessing the One Faith says that "God has shared human suffering and death"19758. The debate is now usually framed as four positions, from strong impassibility to strong passibility193.

It concerns the addition of the words "and from the Son" to the creed's clause on the Spirit, which Britannica calls one of the major causes of the schism between East and West190. The creed of 381 confesses the Spirit "who proceeds from the Father"; the filioque was first sung in Spain after the Third Synod of Toledo in 589 and introduced at Rome in 1014 to 1015, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia97101. In 1995 the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity affirmed the Father as the sole source of the Son and the Spirit and accepted "through the Son" as complementary to the filioque113114.

The churches' texts deny it while keeping the names: the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that God "transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God", and Confessing the One Faith holds that "we may not surrender the names Father and Son"2458. A counter-position, whose named figures include Mary Daly, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Sallie McFague and Elizabeth Johnson, holds that male language for God underwrites patriarchy; McFague proposes God as mother, lover and friend198199.

The traditions differ. The First Vatican Council affirms that God can be known with certainty from created things by the natural light of reason, and the Catechism restates it20022. The Westminster Confession holds that the light of nature leaves people "unexcusable" but is "not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation"34. Barth rejected any natural point of contact for grace, and Plantinga and Wolterstorff deny that belief in God needs inferential evidence to be rational108201.

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  1. 1One God, One Father (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/the-holy-trinity/one-god-one-father (opens in a new tab)
  2. 2One God: One Divine Action and Will (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/the-holy-trinity/one-god-one-divine-action-and-will (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3Holy Spirit (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/the-symbol-of-faith/holy-spirit (opens in a new tab)
  4. 4God (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/the-symbol-of-faith/god (opens in a new tab)
  5. 5Saint Gregory Palamas (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/church-history/thirteenth-century/saint-gregory-palamas (opens in a new tab)
  6. 6The Coptic Orthodox Church (Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles)https://lacopts.org/orthodoxy/coptic-orthodox-church/ (opens in a new tab)
  7. 7The Meaning of the Holy Trinity, Fr Abraam Sleman (CopticChurch.net)https://www.copticchurch.net/pdf/theology/the_Meaning_of_the_Holy_Trinity_fr_abraam_sleman.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  8. 8The Nature of Christ, Pope Shenouda III (CopticChurch.net)https://www.copticchurch.net/pdf/theology/nature_of_christ.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  9. 9The Coptic Orthodox Church (Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States)https://suscopts.org/coptic-orthodox/church (opens in a new tab)
  10. 10Armenian Church: Overview (Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin)https://www.armenianchurch.org/en/Overview (opens in a new tab)
  11. 11Christianity 101: Back to the Basics (Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America)https://wdacna.com/en/news/2683/christianity-101-back-to-the-basics (opens in a new tab)
  12. 12Basics of our Faith: The Nicene Creed (Armenian Church educational text)https://arak29.org/gotoroot/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/04/007Ourfaith.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  13. 13Five Pillars of Mystery (Debre Selam parish)https://www.debreselam.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Five-Pillars-of-Mystery1.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  14. 14The Most Holy Trinity (Nine Saints Ethiopian Orthodox Monastery)https://ninesaintsethiopianorthodoxmonastery.org/docs/doctrine/holy-trinity/ (opens in a new tab)
  15. 15The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Ronald Roberson (CNEWA)https://cnewa.org/eastern-christian-churches/oriental-orthodox-churches/the-ethiopian-orthodox-tewahedo-church/ (opens in a new tab)
  16. 16Our Faith (Syriac Orthodox Church, Archdiocese of the Western US)https://soc-wus.org/ourchurch/ourfaith.htm (opens in a new tab)
  17. 17About Us (Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East)https://www.assyrianchurch.org/about-us/ (opens in a new tab)
  18. 18Faith (Assyrian Church of the East, Diocese of Western Europe)https://acote.church/faith (opens in a new tab)
  19. 19FAQ (Assyrian Church of the East, Diocese of California)https://acoecalifornia.org/faq (opens in a new tab)
  20. 20Common Christological Declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1994/november/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19941111_dichiarazione-cristologica.html (opens in a new tab)
  21. 21Fourth Lateran Council, 1215 (Papal Encyclicals Online)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum12-2.htm (opens in a new tab)
  22. 22Catechism of the Catholic Church 36 to 38 (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PB.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  23. 23Dei Filius (Papal Encyclicals Online)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum20.htm (opens in a new tab)
  24. 24Catechism of the Catholic Church 232 to 267 (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P17.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  25. 25Catechism of the Catholic Church 39 to 43, How Can We Speak about God? (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PC.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  26. 26Orientalium Ecclesiarum (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_orientalium-ecclesiarum_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  27. 27Christ Our Pascha: Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (Eparchy of Edmonton)https://eeparchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ugcc-catechism-english-20200924-2nd-ed-final-for-print.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  28. 28Augsburg Confession, Schaff, Creeds vol. III (CCEL)https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds3.iii.ii.html (opens in a new tab)
  29. 29Augsburg Confession, Article I (Concordia Publishing House)https://bookofconcord.cph.org/en/augsburg-confession/chief_articles/article_i (opens in a new tab)
  30. 30Epitome of the Formula of Concord, Schaff, Creeds vol. III (CCEL)https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds3.iii.iv.html (opens in a new tab)
  31. 31Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration VIII (Concordia Publishing House)https://bookofconcord.cph.org/en/formula-of-concord-solid-declaration/viii_the_person_of_christ (opens in a new tab)
  32. 32Formula of Concord, Epitome VIII, The Person of Christ (Concordia Publishing House)https://bookofconcord.cph.org/en/formula-of-concord-epitome/viii_the_person_of_christ/ (opens in a new tab)
  33. 33Belgic Confession (Christian Reformed Church in North America)https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/confessions/belgic-confession (opens in a new tab)
  34. 34Westminster Confession of Faith (Orthodox Presbyterian Church)https://www.opc.org/wcf.html (opens in a new tab)
  35. 35Articles of Religion (Church of England)https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion (opens in a new tab)
  36. 36Schleitheim Confession (GAMEO)https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Schleitheim_Confession (opens in a new tab)
  37. 37Article 1, God (Mennonite Church USA)https://www.mennoniteusa.org/who-are-mennonites/what-we-believe/confession-of-faith/god/ (opens in a new tab)
  38. 38Second London Confession, ch. 2 (the1689confession.com)https://www.the1689confession.com/1689/chapter-2 (opens in a new tab)
  39. 39Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (Southern Baptist Convention)https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/ (opens in a new tab)
  40. 40Articles of Religion (The United Methodist Church)https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion (opens in a new tab)
  41. 41Articles of Faith (Church of the Nazarene)https://nazarene.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/ArticlesOfFaith%28English%29.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  42. 42Statement of Fundamental Truths (Assemblies of God USA)https://ag.org/Beliefs/Statement-of-Fundamental-Truths (opens in a new tab)
  43. 43Declaration of Faith (Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee)https://www.churchofgod.org/beliefs/declaration-of-faith (opens in a new tab)
  44. 44Our Beliefs (United Pentecostal Church International)https://www.upci.org/about/our-beliefs (opens in a new tab)
  45. 452023 Articles of Faith (United Pentecostal Church International)https://dmc.upci.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-UPCI-ARTICLES-OF-FAITH.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  46. 46D. K. Bernard, The Oneness of God (Internet Archive)https://ia903005.us.archive.org/24/items/OnenessOfGod_201906/oneness%20of%20god.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  47. 47Fundamental Belief 2, Trinity (Seventh-day Adventist Church)https://www.adventist.org/trinity/ (opens in a new tab)
  48. 48Belief 4: The Son (Seventh-day Adventist Church)https://www.adventist.org/son/ (opens in a new tab)
  49. 49Fundamental Belief 6, Creation (Seventh-day Adventist Church)https://www.adventist.org/creation/ (opens in a new tab)
  50. 50Quaker faith & practice, ch. 1, Advices and queries (Britain Yearly Meeting)https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/chapter/1/ (opens in a new tab)
  51. 51Quaker faith & practice, ch. 27, Unity and diversity (Britain Yearly Meeting)https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/chapter/27/ (opens in a new tab)
  52. 52Declaration of Faith, Richmond Conference, 1887 (QuakerInfo.com)https://www.quakerinfo.com/rdf.shtml (opens in a new tab)
  53. 53Statement of Faith (Evangelical Friends Church International)https://efc-international.org/statement-of-faith/ (opens in a new tab)
  54. 54The Lausanne Covenant (Lausanne Movement)https://lausanne.org/statement/lausanne-covenant (opens in a new tab)
  55. 55Constitution, Doctrinal Basis (Evangelical Theological Society)https://www.etsjets.org/about/constitution (opens in a new tab)
  56. 56The Cape Town Commitment (Lausanne Movement)https://lausanne.org/statement/ctcommitment (opens in a new tab)
  57. 57Constitution and Rules of the WCC (World Council of Churches)https://www.oikoumene.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/Constitution-and-Rules-of-the-WCC-June%202023.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  58. 58Confessing the One Faith, Faith and Order Paper 153 (World Council of Churches, via Internet Archive)https://ia600403.us.archive.org/28/items/wccfops2.160/wccfops2.160.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  59. 59What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe? (jw.org)https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jehovah-witness-beliefs/ (opens in a new tab)
  60. 60What Is the Holy Spirit? (jw.org)https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-the-holy-spirit/ (opens in a new tab)
  61. 61Articles of Faith 1 (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng (opens in a new tab)
  62. 62Gospel Topics: Godhead (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/godhead?lang=eng (opens in a new tab)
  63. 63Gospel Topics Essay: Becoming Like God (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/becoming-like-god?lang=eng (opens in a new tab)
  64. 64Doctrine and Covenants 130 (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/130?lang=eng (opens in a new tab)
  65. 65Unitarian Christian Alliance, D. Jennings (Tidings)https://tidings.org/articles/unitarian-christian-alliance/ (opens in a new tab)
  66. 66What Do Biblical Unitarians Believe?, J. Wierwille (BiblicalUnitarian.com)https://www.biblicalunitarian.com/articles/what-do-biblical-unitarians-believe (opens in a new tab)
  67. 67The Shema (Chabad.org)https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/705353/jewish/The-Shema.htm (opens in a new tab)
  68. 68Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith (Chabad.org)https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/332555/jewish/Maimonides-13-Principles-of-Faith.htm (opens in a new tab)
  69. 69Maimonides, Kenneth Seeskin (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/maimonides/ (opens in a new tab)
  70. 70Qur'an, Surah 112 (Quran.com)https://quran.com/112 (opens in a new tab)
  71. 71Qur'an 4:171 (Quran.com)https://quran.com/4/171 (opens in a new tab)
  72. 72Qur'an 42:11 (Quran.com)https://quran.com/42/11 (opens in a new tab)
  73. 73Early Christian explanations of the Trinity in Arabic in the context of Muslim Theology, Sara Leila Husseini (University of Birmingham eTheses)https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/2799 (opens in a new tab)
  74. 74God and Other Ultimates, Jeanine Diller (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/god-ultimates/ (opens in a new tab)
  75. 75Davies on classical theism and divine freedom, Edward Feser (blog, Goodreads mirror)https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/23167546-davies-on-classical-theism-and-divine-freedom?tab=book (opens in a new tab)
  76. 76God without Parts, J. E. Dolezal (Wipf and Stock)https://wipfandstock.com/god-without-parts.html (opens in a new tab)
  77. 77Review of Duby, Divine Simplicity, B. Underwood (EFAC Australia)https://efac.org.au/index.php/2016/summer-2016/book-review-divine-simplicity-steven-j-duby (opens in a new tab)
  78. 78Divine Simplicity, William F. Vallicella (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/divine-simplicity/ (opens in a new tab)
  79. 79Divine Freedom, Klaas Kraay (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/divine-freedom/ (opens in a new tab)
  80. 80Review of R. T. Mullins, The End of the Timeless God, Emily A. Bennett (Reading Religion)https://readingreligion.org/9780198755180/the-end-of-the-timeless-god (opens in a new tab)
  81. 81God and Time, Gregory E. Ganssle (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://iep.utm.edu/god-time/ (opens in a new tab)
  82. 82Open Theism (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://iep.utm.edu/o-theism/ (opens in a new tab)
  83. 83The Openness of God (InterVarsity Press)https://ivpress.com/the-openness-of-god (opens in a new tab)
  84. 84The Openness of God, author page (J. Sanders)https://drjohnsanders.com/books/the-openness-of-god/ (opens in a new tab)
  85. 85Alfred North Whitehead (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-North-Whitehead (opens in a new tab)
  86. 86Process Theism, Donald Viney (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/process-theism/ (opens in a new tab)
  87. 87Charles Hartshorne (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Hartshorne (opens in a new tab)
  88. 88Charles Hartshorne, Dan Dombrowski (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hartshorne/ (opens in a new tab)
  89. 89Panentheism, John Culp (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/panentheism/ (opens in a new tab)
  90. 90Laudato si', Pope Francis (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html (opens in a new tab)
  91. 91Theophilus, To Autolycus, Book II (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/02042.htm (opens in a new tab)
  92. 92The Blessed Trinity (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15047a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  93. 93Saint Irenaeus (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Irenaeus (opens in a new tab)
  94. 94Irenaeus, Against Heresies, index (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103.htm (opens in a new tab)
  95. 95Arianism, W. Barry (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01707c.htm (opens in a new tab)
  96. 96The Creed of Nicaea and synodal letter (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3801.htm (opens in a new tab)
  97. 97First Council of Constantinople: creed and canons (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3808.htm (opens in a new tab)
  98. 98History of Trinitarian Doctrines, D. Tuggy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/trinity/trinity-history.html (opens in a new tab)
  99. 99Saint Augustine (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Augustine (opens in a new tab)
  100. 100Augustine, On the Trinity, Book X (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130110.htm (opens in a new tab)
  101. 101Filioque, A. Maas (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06073a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  102. 102Saint Gregory Palamas (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Gregory-Palamas (opens in a new tab)
  103. 103Hesychasm (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hesychasm (opens in a new tab)
  104. 104Bulla Laetentur caeli, 6 July 1439 (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/eugenius-iv/en/documents/bulla-laetentur-caeli-6-iulii-1439.html (opens in a new tab)
  105. 105Council of Florence, Session 6 definition (University of Oregon course text)https://pages.uoregon.edu/sshoemak/325/texts/florence.htm (opens in a new tab)
  106. 106Kant's Philosophy of Religion, C. Fugate (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-religion/ (opens in a new tab)
  107. 107Systematic Theology, vol. I, table of contents, Charles Hodge (CCEL)https://ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology1/theology1.toc.html (opens in a new tab)
  108. 108A Capacity for Ambiguity? The Barth-Brunner Debate Revisited, Trevor Hart (Tyndale Bulletin 44.2)https://tyndalebulletin.org/article/30462-a-capacity-for-ambiguity-the-barth-brunner-debate-revisited.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  109. 109Review of Przywara, Analogia Entis, Christopher J. Malloy (Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews)https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/analogia-entis-metaphysics-original-structure-and-universal-rhythm/ (opens in a new tab)
  110. 110Review of T. J. White (ed.), The Analogy of Being, Jeffrey Skaff (Center for Barth Studies, Princeton Theological Seminary)https://barth.ptsem.edu/the-analogy-of-being/ (opens in a new tab)
  111. 111Karl Rahner (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Karl-Rahner (opens in a new tab)
  112. 112Trinity: Economic and Immanent, J. A. Bracken (Horizons 25.1, Cambridge University Press)https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/horizons/article/abs/trinity-economic-and-immanent/3D01744DDD8F15E04C4B9DCE82B3D80F (opens in a new tab)
  113. 113The Greek and Latin Traditions regarding the Procession of the Holy Spirit, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (EWTN Library)https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/greek-and-latin-traditions-regarding-the-procession-of-the-holy-spirit-29259 (opens in a new tab)
  114. 114The Father as the Source of the Whole Trinity, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (Catholic Culture)https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=1176 (opens in a new tab)
  115. 115Gender, Trinity, proxy war, civil war: eternal subordination, Caleb Lindgren (Christianity Today)https://christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/june-web-only/gender-trinity-proxy-war-civil-war-eternal-subordination.html (opens in a new tab)
  116. 116The Eternal Subordination of the Son Controversy: The Debate so Far, Alastair Roberts (Reformation21)https://reformation21.org/the-eternal-subordination-of-t-php/ (opens in a new tab)
  117. 117Behind the Trinity tussle (Christianity Today)https://christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/september/behind-trinity-tussle.html?start=2 (opens in a new tab)
  118. 118Strong's H430, Elohim (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/hebrew/430.htm (opens in a new tab)
  119. 119Strong's H3068, YHWH (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3068.htm (opens in a new tab)
  120. 120Strong's G2316, theos (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/greek/2316.htm (opens in a new tab)
  121. 121On the Trinity, Book I, Augustine (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130101.htm (opens in a new tab)
  122. 122Systematic Theology, plain text, Louis Berkhof (CCEL)https://www.ccel.org/ccel/b/berkhof/systematictheology/cache/systematictheology.txt (opens in a new tab)
  123. 123Theology (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14580a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  124. 124Westminster Shorter Catechism (Orthodox Presbyterian Church)https://www.opc.org/sc.html (opens in a new tab)
  125. 125Natural Theology and Natural Religion, Chignell and Pereboom (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/natural-theology/ (opens in a new tab)
  126. 126Ontological Arguments (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ontological-arguments/ (opens in a new tab)
  127. 127Cosmological Argument, Bruce Reichenbach (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cosmological-argument/ (opens in a new tab)
  128. 128Thomas Aquinas, Robert Pasnau (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aquinas/ (opens in a new tab)
  129. 129Philosophy of Religion, Charles Taliaferro (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/philosophy-religion/ (opens in a new tab)
  130. 130Religious Language, Michael Scott (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/religious-language/ (opens in a new tab)
  131. 131Loci of Systematic Theology (Tabletalk)https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2025/03/loci-of-systematic-theology/ (opens in a new tab)
  132. 132On Analytic Theology, O. D. Crisp (University of Bristol)https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/on-analytic-theology/ (opens in a new tab)
  133. 133Trinity, Dale Tuggy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/trinity/ (opens in a new tab)
  134. 134Confession of Dositheus, Decrees of the Synod of Jerusalem, Schaff, Creeds of Christendom vol. II (CCEL)https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds2.vi.ii.html (opens in a new tab)
  135. 135Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, Schaff, Creeds vol. III (CCEL)https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds3.iv.xi.html (opens in a new tab)
  136. 136Strong's H7706, Shaddai (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7706.htm (opens in a new tab)
  137. 137Strong's H5945, Elyon (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5945.htm (opens in a new tab)
  138. 138Strong's H136, Adonai (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/hebrew/136.htm (opens in a new tab)
  139. 139Strong's H6635, tsaba (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6635.htm (opens in a new tab)
  140. 140Exodus 3:14 interlinear (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/interlinear/exodus/3-14.htm (opens in a new tab)
  141. 141Exodus 34:6 interlinear (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/interlinear/exodus/34-6.htm (opens in a new tab)
  142. 142Deuteronomy 6:4 interlinear (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/interlinear/deuteronomy/6-4.htm (opens in a new tab)
  143. 143Isaiah 45:5-7, JPS 2023 (Sefaria)https://www.sefaria.org/api/v3/texts/Isaiah.45.5-7?version=english (opens in a new tab)
  144. 144Exodus 3:14 LXX (Blue Letter Bible)https://www.blueletterbible.org/lxx/exo/3/14/ (opens in a new tab)
  145. 145Jehovah (Yahweh), Anthony Maas (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08329a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  146. 146Strong's G2962, kyrios (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/greek/2962.htm (opens in a new tab)
  147. 147Strong's G3962, pater (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/greek/3962.htm (opens in a new tab)
  148. 148John 1:1 interlinear (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/interlinear/john/1-1.htm (opens in a new tab)
  149. 149Matthew 28:19 interlinear (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/interlinear/matthew/28-19.htm (opens in a new tab)
  150. 1501 Corinthians 8:6 interlinear (BibleHub)https://biblehub.com/interlinear/1_corinthians/8-6.htm (opens in a new tab)
  151. 151Stèle de Mesha, AO 5066 (Musée du Louvre)https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010120339 (opens in a new tab)
  152. 152Moabite Stone, c. 840 BCE (Center for Online Judaic Studies)https://cojs.org/moabite_stone-_c-_840_bce/ (opens in a new tab)
  153. 153Kuntillet ʿAjrud (Ḥorvat Teman), Z. Meshel (Israel Exploration Society)https://www.israelexplorationsociety.com/product-page/kuntillet-ajrud-ḥorvat-teman-an-8th-century-bce-religious-site-on-the-judah (opens in a new tab)
  154. 154Elephantine, Bezalel Porten (Jewish Women's Archive)https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/elephantine (opens in a new tab)
  155. 155Memra, Kaufmann Kohler (Jewish Encyclopedia)https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10618-memra (opens in a new tab)
  156. 156Athanasius, Discourse I Against the Arians (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/28161.htm (opens in a new tab)
  157. 157Basil, Letter 214 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3202214.htm (opens in a new tab)
  158. 158On "Not Three Gods", Gregory of Nyssa (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2905.htm (opens in a new tab)
  159. 159Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book I, John of Damascus (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/33041.htm (opens in a new tab)
  160. 160Summa Theologiae, First Part, index, Thomas Aquinas (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/summa/1.htm (opens in a new tab)
  161. 161Systematic Theology, table of contents, Louis Berkhof (CCEL)https://ccel.org/ccel/berkhof/systematictheology/systematictheology.toc.html (opens in a new tab)
  162. 162Institutes of Elenctic Theology, Third Topic, Francis Turretin (Monergism)https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/turretin/Turretin%20-%20One_True_God.html (opens in a new tab)
  163. 163Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 2 (Baker Publishing Group)https://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/reformed-dogmatics-volume-2/266360 (opens in a new tab)
  164. 164Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 2, excerpt (Baker Academic)https://cdn-static.supadu.com/baker-academic-us/pdf/Excerpt_9780801026553.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  165. 165The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity (Oxford Academic)https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/34341 (opens in a new tab)
  166. 166The Cambridge Companion to the Trinity (Cambridge Core)https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-companion-to-the-trinity/4760BA2A52D71290D220D9A01BCBE5EE (opens in a new tab)
  167. 167Bray, The Doctrine of God (Westminster Books)https://www.wtsbooks.com/collections/theology-proper/products/doctrine-of-god-gerald-bray-9780830815319 (opens in a new tab)
  168. 168Frame, The Doctrine of God (Westminster Books)https://www.wtsbooks.com/products/the-doctrine-of-god-a-theology-of-lordship-volume-2-9798887792019 (opens in a new tab)
  169. 169Staniloae, The Experience of God, vol. 1 (Holy Cross Bookstore)https://holycrossbookstore.com/products/the-experience-of-god-vol-1 (opens in a new tab)
  170. 170The Trinity, unit outline 2022 (St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College)https://www.sagotc.edu.au/ckfinder/userfiles/files/2022%20CUB%20T9213A%20The%20Trinity.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  171. 171Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 3, Richard A. Muller (Logos)https://logos.com/resource/LLS$PSTRFMREFDG03 (opens in a new tab)
  172. 172Holmes, The Quest for the Trinity (IVP Academic)https://academic.ivpress.com/the-quest-for-the-trinity (opens in a new tab)
  173. 173Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, faculty page (Fuller Seminary)https://www.fuller.edu/faculty/veli-matti-karkkainen/ (opens in a new tab)
  174. 174Eternity in Christian Thought, Natalja Deng (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/eternity/ (opens in a new tab)
  175. 175The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church (St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary)https://www.svots.edu/blog/mystical-theology-eastern-church (opens in a new tab)
  176. 176Idowu, Bolaji, M. L. Ogunewu (Dictionary of African Christian Biography)https://dacb.org/stories/nigeria/idowu-bolaji/ (opens in a new tab)
  177. 177Kato, Byang, F. Manana (Dictionary of African Christian Biography)https://dacb.org/stories/nigeria/kato-byang/ (opens in a new tab)
  178. 178Review of Kato, Theological Pitfalls in Africa, Paul Bowers (Themelios)https://thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/review/theological-pitfalls-in-africa (opens in a new tab)
  179. 179Jürgen Moltmann (Gifford Lectures)https://giffordarchives.org/node/278 (opens in a new tab)
  180. 180Remembering Jürgen Moltmann (Candler School of Theology, Emory University)https://candler.emory.edu/remembering-jurgen-moltmann (opens in a new tab)
  181. 181Brief Biographical Note (zizioulas.org)https://www.zizioulas.org/person/biography/brief-biographical-note (opens in a new tab)
  182. 182John Zizioulas, Elder Metropolitan of Pergamon (Greek News Agenda)https://www.greeknewsagenda.gr/john-zizioulas-elder-metropolitan-of-pergamon/ (opens in a new tab)
  183. 183Nachruf auf Wolfhart Pannenberg, F. W. Graf (Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften)https://badw.de/fileadmin/nachrufe/Pannenberg%20Wolfhart.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  184. 184Review of Pannenberg, Systematic Theology vol. 1, F. Canale (Andrews University Seminary Studies)https://www.andrews.edu/library/car/cardigital/Periodicals/AUSS/1994-1/1994-1-29.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  185. 185Catherine LaCugna, burials of interest (Notre Dame Cemetery)https://cemetery.nd.edu/locate-and-honor/burials-of-interest/catherine-lacugna/ (opens in a new tab)
  186. 186The Dimensions of God's Life, Ted Peters (Christian Century, via Religion Online)https://www.religion-online.org/?p=6088 (opens in a new tab)
  187. 18730th anniversary of Father Dumitru Stăniloae's blessed repose (Basilica.ro, Romanian Patriarchate)https://basilica.ro/en/30th-anniversary-of-father-dumitru-staniloaes-blessed-repose/ (opens in a new tab)
  188. 188Systematic Theology, Volume 1: The Doctrine of God, Katherine Sonderegger (Fortress Press)https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781451482843/Systematic-Theology (opens in a new tab)
  189. 189An Assessment of Rahner's Revitalization of Trinitarian Theology, Dustin Hungerford (Church Life Journal)https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/an-assessment-of-karl-rahners-revitalization-of-trinitarian-theology/ (opens in a new tab)
  190. 190Filioque (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/filioque (opens in a new tab)
  191. 191Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Harrington and Corrigan (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-dionysius-areopagite/ (opens in a new tab)
  192. 192Summa Theologiae I q.3, Aquinas (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/summa/1003.htm (opens in a new tab)
  193. 193Divine Impassibility: Four Views of God's Emotions and Suffering, Matz and Thornhill (eds) (IVP Academic)https://ivpress.com/divine-impassibility (opens in a new tab)
  194. 194Perichoresis and Projection: Problems with Social Doctrines of the Trinity, Karen Kilby (New Blackfriars, Cambridge Core)https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-blackfriars/article/abs/perichoresis-and-projection-problems-with-social-doctrines-of-the-trinity/ABD0150EF5CB7E8F506FC869FF909705 (opens in a new tab)
  195. 195Review of Vidu, The Same God Who Works All Things, K. J. Drake (Modern Reformation)https://www.modernreformation.org/resources/book-reviews/the-same-god-who-works-all-things-inseparable-operations-in-trinitarian-theology (opens in a new tab)
  196. 196Trinity (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trinity-Christianity (opens in a new tab)
  197. 197The Crucified God, 40th anniversary edition (Fortress Press)https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506402956/The-Crucified-God (opens in a new tab)
  198. 198Feminist Philosophy of Religion, Mary-Jane Rubenstein (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminist-religion/ (opens in a new tab)
  199. 199McFague, Models of God (Fortress Press)https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9780800620516/Models-of-God (opens in a new tab)
  200. 200Dei Filius, Latin text (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/i-vatican-council/documents/vat-i_const_18700424_dei-filius_la.html (opens in a new tab)
  201. 201Epistemology of Religion, Peter Forrest (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/religion-epistemology/ (opens in a new tab)

Page record

Reviewed and approved by Duane Herholdt, BA (Theology), Chief Executive Officer, Numa Verse

Study version: v1.1, 15 October 2026 (theology map v1.27)

Last reviewed: 9 November 2026

How these pages are made

  • 9 November 2026: First draft from the approved study v1.1.