The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Trinity Doctrine

1) You must understand the purpose/intent of the Athanasian Creed, in fact ALL of the Creeds and Confessions written by the Church and in doing so, that should satisfactorily answer your question. In regard to the Athanasian Creed, in particular, it was written to combat the influx of Arianism, i.e., the heretical teaching which denied the "faith once delivered unto the saints" and which doctrine the Church had always believed. In other words, the Creed simply put into writing as an official declaration which was previously unwritten but believed. You will find that most of the Creeds and Confessions came about for the exact same reason.

2) The Athanasian Creed therefore isn't usurping or substituting the Gospel as that which ONLY be believed unto salvation. Rather it is stating that one of the most basic doctrines/elements OF the Gospel is a right understanding of God. For how else can one be in a right relationship with the One True God if one is believing in a false god? This is something which the apostle Paul warned about when he wrote:

2 Corinthians 11:3-4 "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or [if] ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different gospel, which ye did not accept, ye do well to bear with [him]."

As you can clearly see, there are other/false Jesus', spirits and/or gospels which men will teach and embrace; none of which can save. The "Jesus" you are espousing is NOT the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible, which the Holy Spirit inspired men to write.

3) Since you reject the very nature of the economic Trinity; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, you of necessity also have to reject the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ, Who was fully God and fully man, i.e., one person with two distinct natures. God wasn't born of the virgin Mary, Jesus didn't create the universe, God didn't die on the cross, etc. And these errors were also dealt with in another document named "The Chalcedon Creed".

[color:"blue" size="4"]The Chalcedon Creed

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.

So, perhaps now you can understand why the Athanasian Creed says that to deny the Trinity is to deny salvation, for to deny the Trinity is to reject the very God Who is spoken of in the Gospel and Who saves. God the Holy Spirit, when He regenerates a sinner's soul, creating within him/her a new nature; a God-inclined disposition, also changes one's ability to comprehend the very nature of God so that the faith, also created in one's soul, reaches out to the One True God in the person of Jesus Christ. Consequently, that same "born-again" sinner, with the new disposition, desires to please God by walking in righteousness, confessing their sins and exalting God in all that they think, say and do. A sincere belief in a false God cannot save. And surely all the "good works" one could muster are fruitless if they are done for the benefit of a "god" who doesn't even exist. In fact, to do so only serves to add to one's condemnation.

In His Grace,