Gregory An Answer To Ablabius Analysis

Theology 2 Extra Credit Assignment In Gregory of Nyssa’s letter “An Answer to Ablabius: That We Should Not Think of Saying There are Three Gods,” he exhorts and rebukes a young man, named Ablabius, who appears to have strayed from the sound doctrine that had been passed down to him. Gregory appears frustrated with Ablabius and the errors that he was spreading, but there seems to be an underlying tone of love and a desire for restoration that is woven into the rebukes and arguments given throughout the letter. The primary error that Gregory addresses is that God supposedly must exist either as one person or three; that is, that the concept of the Trinity is either impossible, or that it is, in fact, a polytheistic construct. Gregory makes four basic arguments in response to this heresy that are just as enlightening for us today as they were for the early church leaders of his time. Gregory’s first argument is that the word “Godhead” does not imply that there are three gods that together fulfill the role of “God.” This thought process, he says, reflects not a difficulty in the understanding of Scriptures, but rather our improper grammar. To clarify, he uses the phrase “many men” as an example. …show more content…
We need to remember that the God we are serving is beyond human understanding, so we necessarily cannot easily win arguments without appealing to the Scriptures as our authority. This truth also further illuminates the beauty of our faith: although Christianity is a monotheistic religion, our God is more beautiful and unique and powerful than any other god in any other monotheistic religion. Remembering this truth leads to deeper worship of God’s complexity and eternal