The Authorities

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica

Neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament... The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. It was not until the 4th century that the distinctness of the three and their unity were brought together in a single orthodox doctrine of one essence and three persons. New Encyclopedia Britannica.1985 edition. Micropaedia. Vol. 11. p928.

The Encyclopedia Americana

Christianity derived from Judaism and Judaism was strictly Unitarian [believing that God is one person]. The road which led from Jerusalem to Nicea was scarcely a straight one. Fourth century Trinitarianism did not reflect accurately early Christian teaching regarding the nature of God; it was, on the contrary, a deviation from this teaching. The Encyclopedia Americana Vol. XXVII. p294. (1956)

The Columbia Encyclopedia

Trinity ... the doctrine is not explicitly taught in the New Testament. Legasse P. (Ed.) (2000). The Columbia Encyclopedia p2885.

Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics

In the New Testament we do not find the doctrine of the Trinity in anything like its developed form, not even in the Pauline and Johannine theology. Hastings, J. (1951). Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics Vol. XII. p458.

New Bible Dictionary

The word Trinity is not found in the Bible, and, though used by Tertullian in the last decade of the 2nd Century, it did not find a place formally in the theology of the Church till the 4th century. Douglas. J.D. (1962). The New Bible Dictionary p1298.

The Oxford Companion to the Bible

Because the Trinity is such an important part of later Christian doctrine, it is striking that the term does not appear in the New Testament. Likewise, the developed concept of three coequal partners in the Godhead found in later creedal formulations cannot be clearly detected within the confines of the canon. Metzger. B.M & Coogan. M.D. (1993). The Oxford Companion to the Bible p782.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia

The formula [one God in three Persons] itself does not reflect the immediate consciousness of the period of origins; it was the product of 3 centuries of doctrinal development. The formulation 'one God in three Persons' was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century. The New Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. XIV. p295 & 299. (1967)

Martin Luther

It is indeed true that the name 'Trinity' is nowhere to be found in the Holy Scriptures, but has been conceived and invented by man. Reproduced in The Sermons of Martin Luther. John Lenker. Editor. Vol. 3. 1988. p406.

Professor Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology

Many doctrines are accepted by evangelicals as being clearly taught in the Scripture for which there are no proof texts. The doctrine of the Trinity furnishes the best example of this. It is fair to say that the Bible does not clearly teach the doctrine of the Trinity... In fact, there is not even one proof text, if by proof text we mean a verse or passage that 'clearly' states that there is one God who exists in three persons. Basic Theology. Charles Ryrie. p89. 1999.

Shirley Guthrie Jr., Columbia Theological Seminary

The Bible does not teach the doctrine of the Trinity. Neither the word 'trinity' itself nor such language as 'one-in-three,' 'three-in-one,' one 'essence' (or 'substance'), and three 'persons,' is Biblical language. The language of the doctrine is the language of the ancient church taken from classical Greek philosophy. Christian Doctrine. 1994. p76-77.

Thomas Jefferson

The Athanasian paradox that one is three, and three but one, is so incomprehensible to the human mind, that no candid man can say he has any idea of it, and how can he believe what presents no idea? He who thinks he does, only deceives himself. Thomas Jefferson: Letter to James Smith, Dec. 8, 1822.