I know clergy who take vacation days to avoid preaching on Trinity Sunday. This includes trying to compare the Trinity to a human being who has intellect, feeling, and will. It really is like saying 1+1+1=1. He brings all light and life to the world. I want the children in my ministry to trust their good and loving God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and to see that not fully understanding his nature is not a reason to stop putting their hope and faith in him. We will explore just two of them here that I have found helpful. There was one particular CD that the preacher explained the Trinity at a level that even my children could understand. And when it comes to the Trinity, there are many analogies to choose from. Firstly, the accurate revelation of God from the Bible. Thanks DavidW! If you try that in maths, you’ve definitely got the answer wrong. Some think of God as H 2 O, which is sometimes a solid (ice), sometimes a liquid (water), and sometimes a gas (steam). If Apostle Peter says we should follow the steps of Jesus and Jesus used things of this world to explain deep spiritual subjects, then I follow that style. Therefore it is best to admit that the Trinity has no analogy with which we can compare it. It is not really correct to say that the three Persons of the Trinity are ‘parts’ of God—see also Is God ‘simple’? To put it simply, “The problem with using analogies to explain the Holy Trinity is that you always end up confessing some ancient heresy.” I have found that analogies of the Trinity are a normal reaction from Christians who find themselves defensive about a complicated doctrine. But this would be like saying that natural revelation is a false revelation, since it gives us a false (unitarian) god. I have found that all of the analogies for The Trinity: states of water, the egg, a pie, etc. Here is a "partial attempt" to explain it. Do not worry about analogies. Regretably, they inevitably fall short of a faithful biblical explanation. The Trinity ultimately is a mystery, but it is revealed in scripture, so all Bible-educated and Bible-believing Christians believe in it, even though they may not understand it fully. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. All attempts to equate the Trinity with some analogy will miserably fail. Not trying to attack or anything, but this never really made sense to me. It is crucial for properly understanding what God is like, how He relates to us, and how we should relate to Him. Augustine comes up with an analogy that is deep: the lover, the beloved, and love (The Trinity, Books VIII.14; IX.2, and XV.10). St Augustine of Hippo was a theologian and philosopher in the early Church. Yet most Christians have difficulty explaining the Trinity clearly. © Copyright 2020 YouthworksAnglican Youthworks is registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Donations of $2 or more may be tax deductibleChild Protection / Privacy / Cookies. True, we humans are image bearers but nothing in creation serves as an analogy for the Trinity because the Trinity is a doctrine of special (biblical) revelation not nature or reason.”, GW: I agree that all analogies and illustrations for the Trinity taken from nature end up in heresy, at least when left unqualified or taken to their logical end. The 3 Most Common “Trinity Analogies” (and their limitations) My Starting Point for Trying to Explain the Trinity. Of particular concern is trying to explain God by use of analogy, ... and I have never heard one to even remotely adequate to fully picture of the Trinity as alluded to in scripture (they give us a glimpse, but taken alone the picture is nearly always of a heretical understanding). So how do you succinctly explain the Trinity to a 15-year-old, or anyone for that matter? I am a father (to my daughter), a son (to my father) and a husband (to my wife). Again, both ancients and moderns have been tempted to take this path at times but the church universal has always rejected it because it is not taught in Scripture nor confessed in the catholic creeds (Nicene, Athanasian, Apostles’) and Reformed confessions. This therefore also falls into the heresy of Modalism. Pah-treck; seriously now Pah-trick… that’s become an inside joke in our family. You know, the Trinity is like water. in Western Christianity. Explaining well is an important aspect of highly interactive learning of all kinds. Hahaha! Does the breakdown occur because that individual cannot be all those things to any one person? How Do You Explain the Trinity? Augustine’s: Lover, beloved, love (God is not three faculties of one soul, but three persons, One person bearing multiple relations simultaneously (aunt, mother, sister), Electromagnatism: light is a wave and a particle and has an associated magnetic wave always present with it but they’re inseperable, The Trinity is like Playdoh, one can take some apart but it’s the same Playdoh. However, ice, water, and vapor are three modes of being of H 2 O. One thought I wanted to share, although it’s absolutely true that no analogy can explain the Trinity, that doesn’t mean they aren’t helpful. The Trinity. However, the doctrine of the Trinity says that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit share the same being or essence, and this is where the human example of the three patriarchs and the divine nature must part company. The reason why the Trinity is such a hard concept to grasp is because it doesn’t make since logically to our brains. As a result, this analogy can easily lead to tritheism in which there are three different gods which might share some like substance. There are at least two things I am trying to communicate to the children in my ministry. Likewise, a man can be a father, a son and an uncle, however, he is only one person. Just as water can be in the form of a solid, a liquid, and a gas, God is in three forms: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I like a triangle; without any part of which it would no longer be a triangle. I thank God for that too. The problem with the leaf, triangle or wicket examples is similar, but different. But, each is fully divine in nature. If our analogies fail us, then what are we to do? Water is still water no matter what form it takes, even though it is called by other names. I often hear Christians cite the egg analogy to explain the Trinity. That’s why they’re called analogies. To think we will ever fully understand the Trinity is to make the mistake of thinking God is fully understandable. Analogies often fall short. I think the egg analogy is a good one, within certain limits. The Expression of the Trinity in Scripture . Christian Trinitarians often use analogies to demonstrate that the Trinity doctrine isn’t after all as en-explainable as people think. On a side note, the best analogy I have found is time. The Good News of Jesus’ incarnation, life, death, and resurrection for the justification (free acceptance with God for the sake of the crediting of Jesus’ righteousness to those who believe, received only through resting, trusting in Christ and his finished work for sinners) is only found in Scripture. ), where our aim is to make disciples who think theologically and live redemptively.My course is called Theology in Practice: Applying Systematic Theology to Everyday Life (you can check out the rest here). Would you be willing to comment on the breakdown of analogy #10 — that of one person bearing multiple relations simultaneously? They do not share the same essence or being or divine attr ibutes. We Christians believe that God is knowable as far as he has revealed himself through Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit who lives in us, and other avenues like the creation. That cheating leads to heresy, in this case, the heresy that God is one person with multiple relations. Yet each thing in a way includes his whole being: All of the man is the subject, and all of the man is the object, and the thoughts (though in a lesser sense) are thoughts about all of himself as a person.We said above that no analogy teaches the Trinity perfectly, and this one has several shortcomings as well: this man remains as one person; he is not three persons. Then there is St. Patrick’s use of the shamrock. Christians believe that there are three persons in the Godhead, and yet we are not polytheists (believing in three gods). In a recent podcast responding to White's criticism of the Cerberus analogy (Greek mythological … three headed dog Cerberus used by William Craig and J.P. Moreland in Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview)." It just doesn't compare to the complexities of the Trinity.---So what's the point in these illustrations? It is either liquid or steam or solid ice. Moreover, God cannot be other than he is, for he is unchanging (see chapter 11 above). As a matter of fact, these analogies do go some distance in explaining or at least make easier to comprehend the concept of Trinity. All analogies fall short and are insufficient in different ways. Honestly, no. Children’s lower vocabulary and gradually developing sense of abstract concepts provide particular challenges to ministry teams. . The Christian doctrine of Trinity is a great mystery, just as marriage is: "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. The Trinity, then, is (to use Platonic terms) the archetype of personality that human persons ‘copy’ or ‘imitate’. Could we not say that on a created level this reflects or bears testimony to the Unity and Diversity within the Godhead?). Each person is not a god which would make three gods. Without doubt enquiry and discovery are vital elements of learning; however, very often the most appropriate thing to do is to push ahead and cut through the confusion by delivering a sharp explanation that brings clarity and takes everyone forward to greater challenges that lie beyond. Christians believe that God is a Trinity of Persons, each omnipotent, omniscient and wholly benevolent, co-equal and fully divine. In discussing analogies for the Trinity you will almost immediately get to the most common mistakes people will make in their understanding of the Trinity. Our professor asked if we had any great ways to explain the concept of the Trinity – a word picture we might use when teaching a class. The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to the Christian faith. I’m not sure he realized that his question was, in fact, not so small at all, but rather monumental. When explaining the Trinity to non-Catholics, what are the best analogies? It seems to be an unwritten rule that whenever an analogy for the Trinity is given, one must begin with the disclaimer that “all analogies break down.” The reason, though, that all analogies break down is simply because analogies compare things that are not exactly alike (if they were, it would not be an analogy!). That’s what made it click for me. If any analogy were to describe the Trinity perfectly, it would cease to be an analogy and it would become the Trinity itself. I also agree that the “doctrine” of the Trinity is a doctrine of special revelation, not of natural/general revelation. 4. Since our discipleship rests on our growing knowledge and love of God, it seems to me that we have to be particularly wary of using these poor understandings of God in the way we communicate to children. Thus, in article 9 of the Belgic, where the truth of the Trinity is demonstrated, the Reformed churches do not appeal to nature but to Scripture. In fact, every example or analogy of the Trinity will fail as has been repeatedly demonstrated (e.g. In discussing analogies for the Trinity you will almost immediately get to the most common mistakes people will make in their understanding of the Trinity. Why Analogies for the Trinity All Fail Consider the list (states of water, shamrock, 1x1x1=1, etc.) However, since analogies of the Trinity are seeking to help us understand the very nature of God, faulty analogies are going to result in faulty knowledge of God. That’s not to say that it’s not reasonable to believe the Trinity (it isn’t! The states of water can actally be the closest to a real analogy of God’s true nature. Without committing heresy. That is the most important thing to explain to them - that there are mysteries of the faith that God alone can fully understand. Let's start with the negative and work toward the positive. THIS IS THE VERY REASON WHY MANY CHRISTIANS DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE TRINITY AND A PUZZLE AND FOOLISHNESS TO THE UNBELIEVERS AND THE SCOFFERS. Its so exasperating discussing issues like this with atheists and non - … Christians believe that there is only one divine God, and yet we are not, strictly speaking, mere monotheists. It seems like every time I hear a Christian explaining the doctrine of the trinity, they preface it with a few qualifications about how the trinity can only be understood by faith and that it is beyond all human comprehension and they will never understand it. All analogies fall short and are insufficient in different ways. I've used the government to explain , I used a scenario to explain, I quoted scriptures , yet nothing . Look to Scripture. The desire to find analogies in nature for the doctrine of the Trinity is understandable but it’s misguided. Explaining the Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit will be needed at some point when explaining the God of the Bible to children, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses and other non-believers. The side is not a full triangle. Start studying Christian Beliefs by Wayne A. Grudem Units 1 - 7. This is the Christian doctrine of God. in any case, the analogy fails miserable because the parts of an egg do not have the same correlation to each other as the three parts of the trinity do. The Doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most central doctrines of Christianity. You all are filled with misconceptions and even though the trinity concept has been elucidated , you guys are still obdurate about your opinion . You can almost bank on the fact that they will think of the Trinity as modalism or partialism. One side of the triangle is just that, one side. See the article linked above) but only that it’s not revealed in nature per se, i.e., the doctrine of the Trinity cannot be deduced from nature. All through the Bible, God is presented as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And accusing all Christians who do believe in the trinity as necessary conceptual polytheism is unfounded because they don’t act like polytheists at all. Modalism, or Sabellianism, denies the three distinct Persons of the Trinity and claims that God is … The Trinity is monotheistic since it is the doctrine that only one God exists in all space and time. Does your head hurt thinking about that? On the surface, these analogies do seem to help. Yep. Just a few notes of caution. No analogy can fully explain God–I think that’s important to stress in any of our examples–but they can be helpful in beginning to wrap our minds around a similar concept. Yet other passages clearly indicate that the Father is fully God (Eph 4:6), Jesus is fully God (John 1:1-4) and the Holy Spirit is fully God (Acts 5:3-4). Maybe It Is Time To Think About About Planting Churches There Too? This is especially true of believers who are unfamiliar with or have never really thought about the Trinity. The trinity is a mystery and no analogy can be put forth that fully explains it. Should we give up attempting to explain the Trinity and just accept that our language will never be able to fully embody all that God is? also John 17:5, 24). Should we give up attempting to explain the Trinity and just accept that our language will never be able to fully embody all that God is? Critics of the Trinity will see this subordination as proof that the Trinity is false. The Trinity. What varies is the role I play in my life and theirs. All analogies cheat by omitting one or another. Yes, all analogies fail in some way or the other. All illustrations of the Trinity end up in heresy (usually modalism). After all, if natural revelation presents us with a unitarian deity, whereas special revelation presents us with a trinitarian deity, would that not pit natural revelation against special revelation? As a matter of method, if the doctrine of the Trinity were evident from nature then why not the doctrines of the two natures of Christ or the atonement or perichoresis or justification or glorification? They do not share the same essence or being or divine attr ibutes. However, one area where metaphors and analogies fail us is when we seek to describe the Trinity. Yahweh, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all God yet are three separate persons, existing separately at the same time. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! You’re right, Dr Clark … Analogies do *not* work for the Trinity …(!). Also, I would be cautious about using triads in nature, such as solid-liquid-gas, three dimensions, past/present/future as any proof of the Trinity (not th… Danika T., United Kingdom [Commenting on Has the ‘God particle’ been found?] Augustine and De Trinitate. This heresy is fittingly called Partialism. When it comes to analogies of the Trinity, we must take care to remember that anything we can think of or encounter will not be exhaustively sufficient to explain the triune nature of God. They will trust a good and loving parent, even when they don’t understand the choices of food, entertainment, or holiday destination that the parent makes. What is a good analogy for the trinity? It is impossible for us humans to fully comprehend, or to give a perfect analogy. Ah, the Trinity. So the human analogy fails to describe the Trinity and would in fact confuse this doctrine if we took the example seriously. But even if you conquer the intimidating task of explaining the meaning of the Trinity, you may face an even more momentous … It is the incomprehensible glory of the Godhead.” I’m surprised you didn’t mention the Shield of the Trinity (Scrutum Fidei). We cannot know him savingly from nature. Although he is one he has … God the Son is the rays of sunshine. I have also discussed the Trinitarian argument using 1x1x1=1 here. I don’t think it’s enough (particularly for the age group I primarily work with) to simply say: God is Trinity… What we don't mean First of all, Christians don't believe in three Gods. “YHWH is one,” so says Deut 6:4. True, we humans are image bearers but nothing in creation serves as an analogy for the Trinity because the Trinity is a doctrine of special (biblical) revelation not nature or reason. Someone tossed out the “water” example. Many errors in understanding or describing the Trinity result from the attempt to present a philosophical explanation for how it is possible that one God can be three persons, who are distinct yet indivisible in divine unity. Here are some common analogies that Christians have used about the Trinity: God is kind of like water which can be ice, liquid and steam. God is kind of like a man who is a father, a son and an uncle, God is kind of like a three-leaf clover, or a triangle; one object, but three different, identifiable leaves, or sides*. Summary. In fact, I’ve found that analogies are extremely helpful because they fail. There are plenty of things in the Bible that I do understand, and I thank God for that. He talks about the mind's ability to remember, to understand, and to will. Paul teaches the Trinity explicitly but not here and not from nature. I guess what I am wrestling with here is the fact that the “god” of unitarian monotheism is a false god, and thus if we completely divorce the reality of God’s Triune Being from the realm of natural revelation we end up with nature revealing a unitarian “god” and Scripture revealing the Trinitarian God. They reason that if Jesus were truly God, then He would be completely equal to God the Father in all areas and would not, therefore, be subordinate to the Father in any way; but this objection is not logical. I intended but failed to reply earlier. But if each person is fully God and has all of God’s being, then we also should not think that the personal distinctions are any kind of additional attributes added on to the being of God . All analogies fail. A. While these analogies have been somewhat helpful, they risk leaving the listener thinking mostly about the ideas communicated by the analogy or There’s a simple reason they don’t work: The Trinity, as such, isn’t like anything in creation. Thank you for your comments. Just as importantly, I am also hoping to model the humility of understanding that is required in the Christian faith. So St. Patrick tried to break this concept down for us by saying that a shamrock is like the Trinity because it has 3 petals, but it’s just one shamrock. God is not one person who bears multiple relations, he is one God, in three persons. So it is as we would expect: if all three members of the Trinity are equally and fully divine, then they have all three existed for all eternity, and God has eternally existed as a Trinity (cf. He says that while no analogy will ever be complete ("I'm slightly resistant to your term 'bad illustrations' because it suggests that some are good"), to give them up completely would be a mistake. This is an inevitable consequence of the fact that man is made in God’s image. This, too, can be helpful in understanding that there is something about God that is one and something about God that is threefold. That, by the way, is the number one question I have been asked about the Holy Spirit since writing Names of the Holy Spirit. For this reason, I encourage children’s leaders to develop appropriate metaphors, analogies and other ‘shorthand’ for concepts that they will be using frequently with children. All analogies from nature are necessarily natural, ergo they’re invalid. How to explain the Trinity to a bright-but-still-concrete young teen. Christians are trinitarian, believing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and yet one God. The Trinity ultimately is a mystery, but it is revealed in scripture, so all Bible-educated and Bible-believing Christians believe in it, even though they may not understand it fully. Despite the fact that nothing in our world can fully illustrate the Holy Trinity, teachers and theologians through the years have offered several analogies drawn from the realms of nature and mathematics in order to help explain the unexplainable. Then took a breath and followed with, “Why do you ask?” “My friend said we worship three gods, because we say ‘Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.’” Aha. Without committing heresy. You also forgot William Lane Craig’s 3 headed dog but, that might be covered by a 3 headed man. Instead, the totality of all three persons comprises the one God. After all, we would no doubt agree that the God revealed in natural revelation is precisely the same God revealed in special revelation: namely, the one, true and living Triune God – the God of trinitarian monotheism. This is especially true of believers who are unfamiliar with or have never really thought about the Trinity. It is the incomprehensible glory of the Godhead.” Perhaps an illustration of the futility of analogies is in order. Children’s ministry leaders know all too well the difficulty of having to work hard with language in order to communicate to our youngest sisters and brothers in the faith. It is a great joy to teach children the deep truths of the Christian faith. beings. We must accept the truths found in the Word of God by faith even though we ourselves cannot comprehend them fully; read Hebrews 11:1, 3, 6 and 1 Corinthians 2:5-10, 14; 13:12. By far the best of these analogies is one consisting of ice, water and vapor. Posted on February 16, 2010 Last night we had a great turn out for all three classes at City Seminary (thanks Justin! Here is a simple and Biblical way to explain the Trinity. why do we want to find analogies of the mystery of the Trinity? To learn more about the Trinity—especially the person and work of the Holy Spirit—and how to teach this to youth and children, register now for HOUSE Conference. Children will trust a good and loving teacher, even when they don’t understand the maths concept that is being taught. For the record, I was also going to link to that hilarious video, but you beat me to it! Another analogy for the Trinity is that God is three in one, just as H 2 O can exist as a solid, a liquid, and a gas. Thus, we confess in article 14 of the Belgic Confession: And being thus become wicked, perverse, and corrupt in all his ways, he has lost all his gifts which he had received from God, and retained only small remains thereof, which, however, are sufficient to leave man without excuse; for all the light which is in us is changed unto darkness, as the Scriptures teach us, saying: The light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not apprehended it; where St. John calls men darkness. Receive notifications of new HB posts by email. beings. He is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers. I can still recall moments when eyes have lit up with understanding or when brows, furrowed with concentration, have released as God’s truth has sunk deep into the minds and hearts of the children in the room. The shamrock, like all such analogies, is misleading because each of the three leaves is only PART of the whole. The idea of God as three-in-one is indeed a mysterious concept, one that is difficult to understand. I know clergy who take vacation days to avoid preaching on Trinity Sunday. There is no best analogy to explain the Trinity. In short, one God in three persons. There have been many heresies regarding the trinity in the past, but today's 'version' has been around for a very long time. (For example, we can observe both unity and diversity within the created order. Timely as always; I’m taking the church through the Athanasian creed at the moment, encouraging them to avoid analogies..Something of a first for the creedless and confessionless Baptists, (I’m sure a number had never even heard of the Athanasian Creed before) linking to our Lord’s Day studies in John 1. That is why divine existence is the ideal of all personal existence – to be fully oneself, but only in dependence upon, and in adherence to, another in the communion of unity. Only one divine being, and yet three distinct and identifiable persons who are all truly and fully divine. When I teach, I use THE ‘SUN’ to help us understand or give us a glimpse of the TRINITY… The Father did not cease to exist in heaven, while Jesus the Son was active on Earth. Do All Analogies for the Trinity Fail? God does reveal himself in nature but there are limits. Why do Christians believe this essential doctrine? Others compare God to an egg, which is part shell, part white, part yolk. Then took a breath and followed with, “Why do you ask?” “My friend said we worship three gods, because we say ‘Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.’” Aha. Page explains more fully why it is called by other names relate Him... 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