Eternal generation of the Son

[2][3] To avoid anthropomorphistic understandings of the doctrine, theologians have defined it as timeless, non-bodily, incomprehensible and not as a communication without but within the Godhead.

The doctrine has been an important part of Nicene Trinitarianism, however some modern theologians have proposed different models of the Trinity, wherein eternal generation is no longer seen as necessary and thus rejected.

[24] However, Alexander of Alexandria (died 326) drew arguments from the doctrine of eternal generation to critique the claims of the Arians.

[25] Often wrongly cited is the claim that the Reformer John Calvin (1509 – 1564) denied the doctrine of eternal generation.

[26] The doctrine was often disputed by the non-trinitarian Socinians, arguing that the sonship of Christ is not derived from his eternal begetting.

[27][28] Eternal Generation was also rejected by the antitrinitarian Michael Servetus (1509 or 1511), who was burned at the stake for his views on the trinity.

[29] The view has also been disputed by some modern theologians, including a number of Social Trinitarians, such as William Lane Craig.

[30][31] Other trinitarian theologians to have criticized the view include Charles Ryrie,[32] John MacArthur (although later recanting of his position)[33] and J. Oliver Buswell among others.

All such people have left is an abstract deistic concept of God, or to compensate for this sterility, in pantheistic fashion they include the life of the world in the divine being.