The external actions of the Trinity are not just similar, but numerically identical.
), these statements violate the transitivity of identity. If must equal
The Son and the Spirit are equally called "God" because they share fully in the one divine nature that originates eternally from the Father. 3. Dissolving the Contradiction Branson(2022)
By applying this distinction, Branson neatly avoids the trap of the LPT. The statement "The Father is God" uses the word "God" as a proper name (identity). The statements "The Son is God" and "The Spirit is God" are predicative (attributing a nature or status).
Branson's breakthrough is primarily a linguistic and hermeneutical shift rather than a heavy metaphysical invention. He argues that Western theologians have mistakenly adopted an "Egalitarian" view. This view assumes that the word "God" uniformly refers to the divine nature or to the Trinity as a whole. The external actions of the Trinity are not
Because the "is" in these statements does not mean the same thing, the logical contradiction vanishes without having to rewrite the rules of standard logic. There is no violation of transitivity because the Son is not being claimed as identical to the specific entity that the Father is. 4. Gregory of Nyssa and Action Theory
Gregory’s ancient theology perfectly anticipates modern ontological discussions regarding how actions and events are individuated in contemporary metaphysics. The statements "The Son is God" and "The
Instead, Branson argues for a return to , the prevailing view of the Greek Church Fathers. In this model: