Unitarianism in Christianity : An Historical and Textual Analysis

Abstract

Jesus was a Jew, following the teachings of Moses who came to re-affirm the Mosaic teachings. Thus the concept of monotheism was one of the fundamentals of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus’ mission was only for the house of Israel. He never preached the Gospel to non-Israelities and definitely not to the world at large. However the concept of monotheism was then replaced by the doctrine of Trinity when Paul preached Christianity to the Gentiles. This dissertation attempts to analyze the concept of monotheism in the Christian Church and explain the transformation of the concept of monotheism in Jesus’ teaching to the concept of Trinity in Pauline Christianity. With the doctrine of Trinity, which is neither stated in the Old Testament nor in the New Testament, Christianity alienated itself from its roots, Judaism, because it contradicted the doctrine of Oneness of God which is the faith of the Jews. Arius who resisted the paradigm shift of the Christian doctrine realized that the Trinity is subtle polytheism, since it involves a plurality in the Godhead. Thus he rejected the Trinity and made an attempt to return Christianity to its Jewish monotheistic background. His effort and the movement was later known as Unitarianism. The dispute between the Unitarians led by Arius and the Trinitarians led by Alexander of Alexandria with strong support from Athanasius, made the Emperor, Constantine, to call an ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. The Council of Nicaea confirmed the doctrine of Trinity and enshrined it as the basic foundation for the Church. The Unitarians were condemned and Arius together with those who refused to sign the proclamation of the Council were excommunicated. Despite all the persecutions and bloodshed, the Unitarian faith continued to spread among the Christians up till the present. Ultimately, this analytical study explores the re-emergence of Unitarianism in the modern times and how it became separated from Christian Sect.