Comments on: Linkage: banning “trinitarian” (Dale)

By: Dale

Dale — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:24:37 +0000

Thanks, guys – just posted on what the OED says. May post again if I get my hands on that 17th c. source.

By: trinities - Heretical “trinitarians” - evolution of a word (Dale)

trinities - Heretical “trinitarians” - evolution of a word (Dale) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:21:28 +0000

[...] up on the previous post – the word “trinitarian” may be an adjective or a noun. The Oxford English Dictionary [...]

By: Brandon

Brandon — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:18:59 +0000

I've run across it once or twice; I didn't realize it was a general thing. On the subject of Trinitarian humor, have you seen the most recent xkcd?

By: Ben Myers

Ben Myers — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:41:03 +0000

Hi Dale. Sorry, your comment at my blog disappeared due to problems with Blogger. And I tried posting a reply, but that vanished too! So anyway, here’s my quick reply:

I’ve come across this early use of the term in my own reading of primary texts from the 16th and 17th centuries. But there’s also a good entry on this in the OED, under “Trinitarian” (you’ll need to consult the full version, not the Shorter Oxford). The OED traces the history of the word’s use, with examples from the 16th and 17th centuries (where “Trinitarians” are heretics), and from the early 18th century (where the orthodox become the “Trinitarians”).

Hope that helps!

By: Mike K

Mike K — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:27:45 +0000

Interesting you asked about the pejorative label; I know I’ve heard of it before, and it is peculiar if true.

Nonetheless, perhaps, Ben Myers and you can advance this 5-year ban for precisely the motivation advanced by Ben:
…the use of the word “trinitarian” in much contemporary theology – as a generic slogan, applied willy-nilly on any occasion – has become an obstacle to real theological thinking.