Warning. Theology ahead.
I just finished listening to an eleven part discussion of the trinity lead by William Lane Craig on his Defender’s podcasts. It was part of an ongoing discussion of Christian theology. I found it at times stimulating and at times boring as watching paint dry.
For the general public the trinity is an orthodox Christian doctrine that is an attempt to put together two Bible teachings. The Bible makes it clear there is only one God. Then it goes on to call the Father God, Jesus God and the Holy Spirit God. They are presented as individual persons who can interact with each other. Confusing? Yes, but so is quantum theory.
Philosophy and theology are vital parts of our lives. Whether you are aware of it or not, you have philosophical and theological positions. Many would deny that, not because it is not true but because they have never thought about it. Refusing to think about philosophy is a philosophical position.
These areas of study are vital but that does not keep them from being boring. The reason they get boring is because the experts take over and start nit picking on minutia. It is similar to the mention in school of the medieval scholars that argued how many angels could dance on the head of a pin. It is possible that the discussion actually happened but I doubt it if was a major event with a large attentive audience. It was probably late at night when everyone had forgotten to bring a book and they were looking for something to do.
I remember a professor in seminary who said something to the effect, “If you ever come to feel you understand the trinity, you have probably drifted into heresy.” After eleven episodes I am convinced he was on to something. Some of the points that were being brought up and discussed made me want to scream, “So what?” Others made my day.
I believe in the trinity because I see it in the Bible. Do I understand it? On a gut level I feel I do but on an intellectual level I am still working on it.
Welcome to life. Everything is not neat and tidy, is it?
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.