DEVELOPMENT OF THE DOCTRINE OF GOD IN THE THEOLOGICAL TRADITION:

Time Period Issue Opposing View Development Outcome

2^ndcentury	Relation of Christ to Father (God)	Gnosticism	One God who reveals distinctions in salvation history (Irenaeus)	Use of logos theology
3^rd century	Monarchianism	Adoptionism Sabellianism	Distinction of three in economy (Tertullian) & in eternal being (Origen)	Triad, trinity
4^th century	Relation of Son to Father Divinity of Spirit	Arianism	Son is homoousios with Father (Athanasius)	Council of Nicaea – Nicene Creed
5^th century	Unity of God and diversity of persons	Subordinationism	3 hypostases a one ousia (Cappadocians) One essence a 3 persons (Augustine)	Council of Constantinople Council of Chalcedon
6^th century	How Trinitarian persons are related	Monophysitism	Perichoresis (Maximus Confessor)	Clarification of creedal tradition
8^th century	Iconoclastic controversy	Iconoclasts	Triumph of Orthodoxy	Division of Eastern and Western traditions
11^thcentury	Procession of Spirit	East	God is one except where there are relations of opposition (Aquinas)	“filioque” upheld
14^th century	Hesychast controversy	West	Uncreated energies of God (Palamas)	Affirmation of Eastern tradition
16^th century	Reformation view of God based on sola scriptura	Antitrinitarians - Socinians	Separation of doctrine of God from philosophy (Luther, Calvin)	Affirmation of creedal tradition
18^th century	Enlightenment rationalism	Deism	Phenomenological approach (Schleiermacher)	Anthropocentrism
19^th century	Modern historical critical approach to Bible	Atheism	New look at Jesus’ proclamation (Weiss, Schweitzer)	Eschatological interpretation of doctrine of God