The trinitarian New Bible Dictionary teaches: Irenaeus and Origen share with Tertullian the responsibility for the formulation [of the trinity doctrine] which is still, in the main, that of the Church .... - p. 1222, Tyndale House Publ., 1982. Not only do most trinitarian scholars credit Origen as being one of the co-founders of Christendoms trinity doctrine, but most historians also credit him for his great scholarship, intellect, and Christian integrity. Origen was the greatest scholar and most prolific author of the early church. He was not only a profound thinker but also deeply spiritual and a loyal churchman. - p. 107, The History of Christianity, A Lion Handbook. Origen, the greatest and most influential Christian thinker of his age, whose work won him the grudging respect even of such a radically anti-Christian philosopher as the Neoplatonist Porphyry. - p. 89, A History of the Christian Church, Williston Walker, Scribners, 1985. Origen was the greatest scholar of his age, and the most learned and genial of all the ante-Nicene fathers[the greatest divine and one of the noblest characters of his age - The Creeds of Christendom, Vol. II, p. 21]. - Prof. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, I, p. 54. Origen was probably the most accomplished Biblical scholar produced by the early Church - p. 6346, Vol. 17, Universal Standard Encyclopedia (Funk and Wagnalls), 1956. The character of Origen is singularly pure and noble; for his moral qualities are as remarkable as his intellectual gifts. - The Ante-Nicene Fathers, p. 229, Vol. IV, Eerdmans. ___________________ Origen was a great scholar as well as a great theologian. His work on the words of Scripture has a value quite independently of his theological views. Some of the most important qualifications of the worthy interpreter of Scripture he possesses in a supreme degree. His knowledge of Scripture is extraordinary both for its range and its minute accuracy. He had no concordance to help him; but he was himself a concordance. Whatever word occurs he is able to bring from every part of Scripture the passages in which it is used...a knowledge of all parts of the Bible as is probably without parallel. It has to be added that he is strong in grammar, and has a true eye for the real meaning of his text; the discussions in which he does this often leave nothing to be desired. - p. 293, Vol. 10, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Eerdmans, 1990 printing. Yes, even respected trinitarian scholars admit not only the stellar scholarship and knowledge of Origen, but also his outstanding moral qualities and pure character. This man simply would not lie nor distort. Origen taught: The agent of redemption as of all creation is the Divine Logos {the Word} or Son of God, who is the perfect image or reflection of the eternal Father. Though a being distinct, derivative, and subordinate. - p. 551, An Encyclopedia of Religion, Ferm (ed.), 1945. Origen believed that the Son can be divine only in a lesser sense than the Father; the Son is [theos] (god), but only the Father is [autotheos] (Absolute God, God in Himself). - p. 1009, The Oxford Dictionary of the ChristianChurch (trinitarian), ed. F. L. Cross (trinitarian), Oxford University Press, 1990 printing. Ardent trinitarian Murray J. Harris likewise admits: Origen, too, drew a sharp distinction between [theos - a god] and [ho theos - the god or God]. As [theos], the Son is not only distinct from (numerically distinct) but also inferior to the Father who is [ho theos] and [autotheos] (i.e. God in an absolute sense). - p. 36, Jesus as God, Baker Book House (trinitarian), 1992. The trinitarian The Encyclopedia of Religion says: Origen himself will downgrade the Logos [downgraded in relation to God only] in calling it second god (Against Celsus, 5.39, 6.61, etc.) or again in writing god (theos) without the article, whereas he calls the Father ho theos, the God [with the article]. - p. 15, Vol. 9, Macmillan Publ., 1987. In fact, Origen specifically commented on John 1:1c which modern English-speaking trinitarians often translate as: And the Word was God. Yes, Origen, whose knowledge of NT Greek (the language of the New Testament was his mother tongue) was probably greater than any other Bible scholar (and certainly quantum levels above the speculations of any modern scholar), shows us that this verse should be properly rendered: And the Word was a god. - ANF, 10:323. (The earliest existing Manuscript for Origens Commentary on John appears to be from the 13th century.) Remember, this man is not only the best expert on NT Greek, but his great honesty and Christian character were not questioned even by his severest opponents! Trinitarian Latourette also says that Origen held that God is one, and is the Father - p. 49, Christianity Through the Ages, Harper Chapel Book, 1965. Trinitarian Bernhard Lohse also concedes that Origen taught that the Son was a creature of the Father, thus strictly subordinating the Son to the Father and,Origen is therefore able to designate the Son as acreature created by the Father. - pp. 46, 252, A Short History of Christian Doctrine, Fortress Press (trinitarian), 1985. For example, Origen writes: there are certain creatures, rational and divine, which are called powers [spirit creatures, angels]; and of these Christ was the highest and best and is called not only the wisdom of God but also His power. -ANF 10:321-322. Yes, Origen calls the Son of God a created angel, the highest of the angels, the Angel of God. He calls Jesus, the Word: the Angel of God who came into the world for the salvation of men- p. 568, vol. 4, ANF. These creatures were also called gods (in a proper, scriptural sense but clearly subordinate to God himself - ANF, 10:323. Like Irenaeus (and most, if not all, Ante-Nicene Fathers), Origen considered Wisdom speaking at Prov. 8:22-30 to be Christ, the Son of God. He wrote: we have first to ascertain what the only-begotten Son of God is, seeing He is called by many different names, according to the circumstances and views of individuals. For He is termed Wisdom, according to the expression of Solomon: The Lord {YHWH in the ancient Hebrew Old Testament manuscripts} created me {Wisdom, the only-begotten Son of God} - the beginning {see Rev. 3:14} of His ways, and among His works, before He made anyother thing; He founded me before the ages. In the beginning, before He formed the earth, before He brought forth the fountains of waters, before the mountains were made strong, before all the hills, He brought me forth. {Prov. 8:22-25} He is also styled First-born, as the apostle has declared: who is the first-born of every creature. {Col. 1:15} - ANF 4:246, De Principiis. So once again we find clear non-trinitarian statements in Origens writings. (c. 185-254 A. D.)
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