I asked the ChatGPT AI app (v4o) to assess the following for accuracy.
The Father Himself does have essence, hypostasis, being, ontological existence. Everything which is essentially true about Him - His combined attributes. All represented in Christ. That is true of course. You do not have to be Trinitarian to accept this. But Trinity takes it further, making it into a thing in itself, homoousios. Then it calls the essence ‘God’ and says it is shared between three and is an entity in itself beyond the Father. I get why it does this. It is tempting to get clever by combining the two parts of Heb 1:3 and making a new doctrine out of the way you logically, philosophically combine them. It might be Neoplatonistic. To look at essence of the Father and the image representation of that essence in Jesus (see Plato's Theory of Forms and Allegory if the Cave where he cleverly distinguishes form and representation) and say they have essence as something common to both, skipping the fact it is form owned by the Father and only represented in the Son. They say it is common to both. Well not really. It is a trick. Yes Father has essence, but Son does not have it, he represents it. Not the same. Not shared. You see the philosophical technique at play though in Tertullian and his Neoplatonist successors. Zeal to apply Plato and they miss the detail, hoping it does not matter. But it takes them and their follows away from truth, as was later, it seems, pointed out when people charged them with ignoring distinctiveness of person. They had to add personas later, after schisms.
Here is its response.
Your statement involves a mix of theological and philosophical perspectives on the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Here's a detailed assessment:
1. Essence, Hypostasis, and Ontological Existence
Essence and Hypostasis: The distinction between "essence" (ousia) and "hypostasis" (personhood) is a crucial aspect of Trinitarian doctrine. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are considered distinct hypostases sharing one essence.
Ontological Existence: This refers to the being or existence of God. The Father, as part of the Trinity, has ontological existence along with the Son and the Holy Spirit.
2. Representation in Christ
Attributes of God in Christ: The statement correctly notes that attributes of God are represented in Christ. According to Trinitarian doctrine, Christ is the "exact representation" (Heb 1:3) of God's being.
Non-Trinitarian Views: Non-Trinitarians might accept that Christ represents God’s attributes without affirming the same essence.
3. Trinity and Homoousios
Doctrine of Homoousios: The Nicene Creed affirms that the Son is "homoousios" (of the same essence) with the Father. This means the same divine nature is shared between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Essence as 'God': Trinitarianism posits that the one essence (God) is shared among the three persons.
4. Philosophical Influence
Neoplatonism: The influence of Greek philosophy, including Neoplatonism, is often noted in the development of early Christian doctrines. The distinction between form and representation in Platonic thought can be seen as analogous to discussions on essence and person in Trinitarian doctrine.
Hebrews 1:3: The passage describes the Son as the "radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being." Trinitarians interpret this as affirming the shared essence.
5. Critique of Trinitarian Logic
Essence and Representation: The critique argues that while the Father has essence, the Son only represents it. This challenges the Trinitarian view that essence is shared rather than merely represented.
Philosophical Technique: The critique suggests that early Church Fathers like Tertullian may have been influenced by Platonic thought, potentially obscuring the distinctiveness of the persons in favor of a shared essence.
6. Development of Doctrine
Personas and Schisms: Historical development of the doctrine did involve controversies and clarifications, such as the nature of Christ and the relationship between the persons of the Trinity. Terms like "persona" were refined to address these issues.
Summary
Your statement reflects a deep engagement with both theological and philosophical issues surrounding the doctrine of the Trinity. It accurately highlights key points of Trinitarian doctrine and raises valid questions from a non-Trinitarian perspective. Here are the main points:
The essence-hypostasis distinction is central to Trinitarian doctrine.
Non-Trinitarians may view Christ as representing God's essence without sharing it.
Trinitarianism posits a shared essence (homoousios) among the three persons.
Neoplatonic influence is significant in the historical development of the doctrine.
The critique of shared essence versus representation is a common non-Trinitarian argument.
The development of Trinitarian doctrine involved significant philosophical and theological debates.
Understanding these complexities is essential for a nuanced discussion of the Trinity and its historical and philosophical underpinnings.
