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The anecdote of Augustine and the Trinity.
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The Trinity (derived from latin ''tri-unitas''', i.e. Three-unity) is the unique teaching of Christianity about the three-yet-one nature of God. It is one of teachings that makes Christianity unique among other religions, and although impossible to fully comprehend, the doctrine can be summarised by the following:
* There is one and only one God
* The one God eternally exists in three distinct persons
Throughout the history of the church objections have been raised to the teaching of the Trinity, but the doctrine has stood as a central feature of orthodox Christianity despite this.
The teaching of the Trinity was clearly articulated in the [[Nicene Creed]] of [[325 AD]].
It is said that when the church father [[Augustine]] wrote a treatise about the Holy Trinity he encountered a little boy when he was taking a walk along the seaside. The boy was constantly scooping water from the sea in a little basin at the beach. Augustine asked what he was up to and the boy answered: "I want to sccop the sea in my pond." Augustine answered: "You will never succeed." There the boy replied: "I'm doing the same thing as you: You want to understand the mystery of the triune God with your human mind." Historically many religions have been critical of the doctrine of the Trinity. The [[Quran]] has numerous quotations questioning and denying the Trinity and it is an issue that many Muslims exploring Christianity find to be barrier.
Recently numerous off-shoot religions related to Christianity have formed that deny the Trinity. These includes religions such as the [[Jehovah's Witnesses]].
