Thread: The Holy Trinity

Someone well versed in Christian Theology....can you explain to me the essence of the holy trinity? What is The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit?

How do they relate to humanity?

[quote name='kmiller1610' date='28 August 2009 - 01:39 PM' timestamp='1251481178' post='12684']

God in three persons. All God. Separate, but United. It's a theological construct meant to inspire and mystify.



Apart from the theology (Lakeman can probably give you a detailed theological explanation) and on more of a poetical basis,



God the Father: The Creator



God the Son: God's representative to mankind who took human form and bridged the gap between God and Man through his sacrifice.



God the Holy Spirit: God's agent, doing his work in mankind.



In the Old Testament, we see God the Father. In the New Testament, we see Jesus until his ascension, then the Holy Spirit at work from the book of Acts looking forward.



But those images and roles are simplifications. We pray to God the Father through the redemption of the son and the power of the holy spirit.



In other words, it's like trying to explain baseball to a complete novice.



You get a lot of questions and blanks looks.

[/quote]



So if I understand this correctly;

There is God who is divine, infinite, and utterly beyond our comprehension.

There is Jesus, who is the conduit on a daily basis for humanity to be able to reach out to God.

There is The Holy Spirit, who is the conduit on a daily basis for God to reach out to humanity.



How close?



So how specifically does Jesus act as a 'conduit'?

[quote name='The_Bear' date='28 August 2009 - 11:49 AM' timestamp='1251478145' post='12668']

Someone well versed in Christian Theology....can you explain to me the essence of the holy trinity? What is The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit?[/quote]



I do not presume to add to kmiller's explanation since it is theologically accurate.



I merely wish to remind you that the idea of 'three persons in one being' is quite common. In fact, we use the idea all the time -- the three main branches of a single government, the political association being one sovereign entity comprising the individual wills of its citizens, an individual person being a father, a son, a husband, a professional, a friend,...all at once, etc., etc.



The metaphysical 'essence' of the trinity is unknown -- hence a mystery.



[quote name='The_Bear' date='28 August 2009 - 11:49 AM' timestamp='1251478145' post='12668']How do they relate to humanity?

[/quote]



This is the more relevant question -- since the central person of the trinity (as far as christianity is concerened) is jesus.



It is relevant because this is the point of departure between ontology and christian theology. Christian theology starts from 'god who is love' while ontology depicts 'god who is intellect'.



A 'god who is intellect' has no place in a world that is transparent to the powers of science. The world is self-sufficient hence has no need for salvation. A 'god who is love', on the other hand, points to the opposite – since only love would compel the creator to bridge the immense gap between the divine and the mortal.



That is how the trinity relates to humanity -- god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son…..