Editing Trinity (section)

=== Judaism ===
While [[Judaism]] traditionally rejects the doctrine of the Trinity, certain Jewish mystical texts have expressed ideas that bear a resemblance to trinitarian concepts. For example, the ''[[Zohar]]'' (AD 1286), a foundational work of [[Jewish mysticism]], states that "God is they, and they are it." This passage has been interpreted by some as referencing a kind of "kabbalistic trinity," describing "three hidden lights" within "the root of all roots"—a unified essence and origin. The parallels between these mystical notions and Christian Trinitarianism were striking enough that some medieval Jewish thinkers suggested the Christian Trinity may have arisen from a misinterpretation of Kabbalistic teachings. However, some recent Jewish scholars instead view the Zohar as being influenced by Christian trinitarianism. Nevertheless, we also find some later Jewish Aristotelians borrow from the trinitarian analogies of [[Augustine of Hippo]], making the claim that God is thinker, thinking and thought.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trinity > Judaic and Islamic Objections (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/trinity/judaic-islamic-trinity.html |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=plato.stanford.edu |language=en}}</ref>

According to [[Philo|Philo of Alexandria]] (20 BC – c.&nbsp;AD 50), the Logos—or divine reason—was the instrument through which God created the world. For Philo, the ultimate Being possesses two primary attributes: goodness and authority. The Logos represents the union of these two powers. As pure being, this ultimate source is called the Father; in relation to goodness, he is called God; and in his rule over creation, he is called Lord. The Logos is sometimes portrayed not only as the combination of goodness and authority within the Father but also as existing above and between them, thereby being identified with the Supreme Being itself. In this way, Philo presents a kind of trinitarian view of the divine, though it differs from the Christian concept of the Trinity. Scholars continue to debate whether Philo viewed the Logos as a distinct person or as an impersonal force.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WSMIAQAAIAAJ&dq=Philo+the+Jew+trinity&pg=PA614 |title=The Jewish Quarterly Review |date=1895 |publisher=Macmillan |language=en}}</ref>