(Scripture Reading Exercise.) CORRUPTION OF THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF DEITY. ANALYSIS. I. Early Pagan Views of Deity. II. Adoption of Pagan Views by Early Christians. III. The Paganization of Christian Doctrine Expressed--Creed of St. Athanasius. REFERENCES. See Mormon Doctrine of Deity ch. iv; also authorities cited in the notes. NOTES. _Pagan Trinities:_ Christianity, as is well known, came in contact with other doctrines concerning Deity. It was almost immediately brought in touch with the mysticism of the Orient and also with the philosophies of the Greeks, who took so much delight in intellectual subtleties. In the Oriental philosophies, and in the Greek philosophy, there was conceived the idea of a trinity in Deity; an idea which possibly may have come down from the doctrines revealed to the patriarchs concerning the Godhead, but which had been corrupted and rendered unintelligible by the vain philosophizings of men. In some of the Oriental systems the trinity or Trimurti consisted of Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Preserver; and Siva, the Destroyer. It will be seen, however, that this trinity is not necessarily one of persons, or individuals, but may be one of attributes, qualities, or even a trinity of functions in one being; and in this way it is usually understood.[A] [Footnote A: See Shedd's History of Christian Doctrine, vol. i, p. 342, et seq. and note.] Plato's trinity is sometimes stated in the terms, "First Cause; Reason, or Logos; and Soul of the Universe;" but more commonly in these: "Goodness, Intellect, and Will." The nature of the Greek trinity has long been a matter of contention among the learned, and one indeed that is not settled to this day. Is there indicated in his system "a true and proper tri-personality, or merely a personification of three impersonalities," a trinity of attributes or functions? The answers to these questions are varied, and would require too much space for consideration here. Christians having been taught to accept the New Testament doctrine of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as constituting one Godhead, Christianity no sooner came in contact with the philosophies of the Greeks and Egyptians than there was an effort made to identify the Christian trinity with that of the Greek and other philosophies. The temptation to do this was very great. Christianity was a proscribed religion and its followers detested. Whenever it could be shown, therefore, that under new symbols the Church really taught the same doctrines that the old philosophers--who were held in esteem--did, it was regarded as a distinct gain to Christianity.