Let me begin with the disclaimer that I don’t profess to understand the trinity! It’s more than apparent that those who attended the earaly church councils like Nicea and Chalcedon were struggling as well. And, we still are. What words could define God? What concepts, that we as mortal and finite beings could come up with, can adequately explain infinite God? At best, the trinitarian concepts that the early councils came up with were their meager intellectual attempts to explain their experiences (or lack thereof) with God. And then there’s this problem.
Our language is not their language!
Not only is the English we speak today different than the Greek, Hebrew, Latin, or Aramaic that they spoke then, but with our increased consciousness has come a plethora of new concepts and intellectual breakthroughs not remotely imaginable by those who lived 2,000 years ago.
I see God (abba Father and transcendent) and the Spirit of God (immanent and active power) as two sides of the coin. Roger Haight comes close to my paradigm in this area when he wrote, “The Biblical symbol, the Spirit of God, is not other than God, but is materially and numerically identical with God. God as Spirit IS God. But God as Spirit refers to God from a certain point of view.”
There is but ONE God!
He is seen, described, and given different names by various cultures, but it’s one God nonetheless. God as Spirit refers to God, outside of the immanent selfhood of God. I applaud the Christian fathers attempts to explain and define God; however, I hold their conclusions lightly. I will always remain in the Christian faith community. It’s my home, even though I have done some remodeling, and repainted a few rooms.
Is your home in need of a little repair?
I understand that there is one God but doesn’t the “Trinity” describe the three different personalities of God? God the Father, Jesus the Savior and the Holy Spirit the comforter?
It is easier for me to understand the oneness of God as I further grasp my own oneness with God. We have dualism truly entwined in our very being after so many years of it being presented that way. If I through a very disruptive and yet contructive paradymn shift allow my theology to be torn down and rebuilt correctly, I can see that it is no more possible for three members of the God head (?) to be seperate than it is for me to be seperate from God. The idea of submission takes on a whole new meaning as I understand the level of respect,love and caring that they share. That I participate in that relationship is so humbling. Jesus said, “In my Fathers house are many mansions” God is the house and we are the mansions which exist within House of God. If tou can rap your brain around that.
More of this in my book, if you can wait a little longer. It is entitled “The Case Against Christianity”
Paulette