Middle Ages

Scholastic disputes on the Trinity: Roscelin, Gilbert of Poitiers, Abelard

Berkhof describes three medieval attempts to interpret the Trinity through philosophical theories. Roscelin applied the nominalist understanding of universals as subjective concepts: the three Persons are three essentially distinct individuals, one only in origin, name, will and power; Anselm objected that this logically leads to tritheism. Gilbert of Poitiers, from the standpoint of moderate Aristotelian realism, distinguished the divine essence from God – the essence is the "form" of God, common to the three Persons – and was accused of "quaternity". Abelard apparently identified the Persons with power (the Father), wisdom (the Son) and goodness (the Spirit) and was accused of Sabellianism.