Metaphysics of the Trinity by Augustine
In order to try to grasp the Doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity Saint Augustine presents to us it’s Metaphysics.
The Catholic Church believes that God reveals Himself to us in three ways: Sacred Scripture, Creation and Tradition. Scripture: “Then God said…” (Genesis 1:3) and “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…All things came to be through Him without Him nothing came to be (John 1:1-3) and “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” (John 1:14) Creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky proclaims its builder’s craft (Ps 19:2). Let the heavens and the earth sing praise, the seas and whatever moves in them!” (Ps 69:35) Tradition: “I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions, just as I handed them on to you.” (1 Cor 11:12) and “For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread… (1 Cor 11:23)
Saint Augustine began his work On the Trinity in approximately 419. This was after the Church has solemnly declared the doctrine of the Trinity. Many people were attempting to deny the doctrine of the Trinity by declaring it to be unbounded in Sacred Scripture. The great challenge came from the idea of the Trinity as presented by Arius. Arianism was very concerned with the authority of the Father. Arius promoted this so far as to make the Son lesser than the Father. The Son was begotten and since He was begotten, He must have been created. As something created, there was a time before He was created. This heresy was so prevalent in the Church that Saint Jerome said: “The whole world groaned and marve ...