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Scriptural support

Critics of the Trinity doctrine argue that, for a teaching described as fundamental, it lacks direct scriptural support. Proponents of the doctrine assert that although the doctrine is not stated directly in the New Testament, it is instead an interpretation of elements contained therein that imply the doctrine that was later formulated in the 4th century.

William Barclay, a Church of Scotland minister, stated that:

It is important and helpful to remember that the word Trinity is not itself a New Testament word. It is even true in at least one sense to say that the doctrine of the Trinity is not directly New Testament doctrine. It is rather a deduction from and an interpretation of the thought and the language of the New Testament.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia states:

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught in the The formulation 'one God in three Persons' was not solidly established prior to the end of the 4th century.

Similarly, Encyclopedia Encarta states:

The doctrine is not taught explicitly in the New Testament, where the word God almost invariably refers to the Father. The term trinitas was first used in the 2nd century, by the Latin theologian Tertullian, but the concept was developed in the course of the debates on the nature of Christ In the 4th century, the doctrine was finally formulated.

Encyclopædia Britannica says:

Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4). The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. by the end of the 4th century, under the leadership of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus (the Cappadocian Fathers), the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since.

The Anchor Bible Dictionary states:

One does not find in the NT the trinitarian paradox of the coexistence of the Father, Son, and Spirit within a divine unity.

Catholic historian Joseph F. Kelly, speaking of legitimate theological development, writes:

The Bible may not use the word 'Trinity', but it refers to God the Father frequently; the Gospel of John emphasized the divinity of the Son; several New Testament books treat the Holy Spirit as divine. The ancient theologians did not violate biblical teaching but sought to develop its implications. potent arguments forced other Christians to refine their thinking about the Trinity.At two ecumenical councils, Nicea I in 325 and Constantinople I in 381, the church at large defined the Trinity in the way now so familiar to us from the Nicene Creed. This exemplifies development of doctrine at its best. The Bible may not use the word 'Trinity', but trinitarian theology does not go against the Bible. On the contrary, Catholics believe that trinitarianism has carefully developed a biblical teaching for later generations.