Chapter 3 – Belief in the Trinity
Some Key Terms:
ousia (oủoía) / hypostasis (inóơtaơi)
Greek: "essence" / "person" - the two key terms used by the early church to define the Trinity
Modalism
The heresy that God is one person appearing in three different modes - Father, Son, and Spirit as roles, not distinct persons
Tritheism
The heresy that Father, Son, and Spirit are three separate gods working in harmony - fails to hold the unity of God
The Shema
Hebrew: "Hear" - Deuteronomy 6:4, the foundational confession of Jewish and Christian monotheism