Somebody to Love … Trinity III

Note: It would be useful to read The Trinity and The Trinity II.

Perichoresis is a Greek word which means “mutual indwelling”. It is used to describe the way in which the three elements of the Trinity relate to each other. The Latin word circumincessio is also used to describe the same thing.

Image taken from: http://www.lyrics007.com

When thinking about the Triune God, it would be good to remember that God is Love. One person, as far as I am aware, cannot love without someone to love. It was the band Queen who sang “Can anybody fine me someone to love?”

So, Perichoresis is the relationship of love between the three persons of the Triune God.

If you remember in The Trinity, I used the analogy of the Triune God as a note on an acoustic piano which is produced by a single hammer striking three individual strings. Each string has its own uniqueness which relates (through vibrations) to the other two strings. These strings are of equal importance and three strings are required to produce the characteristic sound of the piano. The relationship of these strings to each other is Perichoresis.

After all, it was William Shakespeare in Twelfth Night who wrote: “If music be the food of love, play on.”

Because Perichoresis refers to the inner workings on the Trinity, it comes under the discussion of the Immanent Trinity.

Builders and Boardrooms … The Trinity II

Before reading this entry, please read The Trinity first.

When discussing the Trinity, people often over emphasize the ways the Trinity can be seen.

Firstly we have the Economic Trinity, this has nothing to do with money or savings. This is all about what the Triune God has done, or is doing in the world. This covers things including Creation (see also: In the beginning), Salvation and the daily lives of Christians. This view of the Trinity does not consider the relationship between the Trinity.

This is the Trinity doing stuff, a bit like a builder on site. The building site being our world.

The other way the Trinity is often viewed is as the Immanent Trinity. This refers to the inner relationship between God The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. This does not have any reference to God’s relationship with the world.

This is a bit like a behind closed doors meeting in a boardroom of a building company. Lots of discussions are had, but they show no relation to the work on the building site.

A good view of the Trinity will see a balance between the work of the Triune God in the world and the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A balance between the Economic Trinity and the Immanent Trinity.

Another issue we face when looking at the Trinity is the balance between the elements of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and the One Triune God

Relational or Social Trinitarianism over emphasizes the three persons of the Trinity and not the one Triune God. If you go too far down this road, you end up with Tritheism (again see: The Trinity).

Classical Trinitarianism  over emphasizes the oneness of God at the expense of the three elements of the Trinity. If you go too far down this road, you end up with Modalism (again see: The Trinity).

Was William Webb Ellis a heretic?

Othodoxy comes from two Greek words: 1. Ortho – which can mean ‘right’, and 2. Doxa – which can mean ‘belief’. So, you put them together and you get ‘Right Belief.’

In Christianity, Othodoxy is a set of beliefs or ‘Doctrine’, which is considered right or true by the majority of the Christian faith. These were not decided by a simple democratic vote, but some have been passed down from Jesus’ Apostles. Others have been worked out through biblical study, with others being discussed, argued and agreed upon by the early church. The important thing with Orthodoxy is that these beliefs can stand up to scrutiny, even though some beliefs might not be explicitly mentioned in the Bible, there is enough evidence to show that they are true.

Many of these orthodox beliefs can be found in the Creeds. The creeds are statements of faith which usually begin with “I (or we) believe in…”.

Beliefs which are not consistent with Orthodox beliefs are known as heresy. It was important during history to denounce heretics, as had this not happened the Christian Church may have ended up believing in and worshiping a god who is not the Triune God  (see The Trinity) who created our universe In the beginning.

Throughout history is was not unknown for heretics to be killed for holding heretical (or unorthodox) beliefs. Edward Wightman of Burton-on-Trent was the last person to be executed by burning at the stake for heresy in England in 1612.

To allay any confusion, here is an example:

Image taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Webb_Ellis

The orthodoxy of football hold that the ball should not be picked up by any player, with the exception of the goalkeeper. William Webb Ellis held unorthodox beliefs. He felt it was okay for any player to pick up the ball during play. During a football match at Rugby School, where Webb Ellis was a pupil, it is said he caught the ball and ran with it during play. This move could be considered heresy by football fans and Webb Ellis could be denounced as a heretic.

As it happens, Webb Ellis’ move was to spark the beginning of Rugby Union, arguably one of the world’s finest sports. Webb Ellis went on to become an evangelical Anglican priest at St. Clement Danes, London, now the Central Church of  the Royal Air Force. It was a good thing that he wasn’t burned at the stake by the Football Association!

It is also a good thing that in civilised society we don’t burn people at the stake anymore.

Unitarianism and Andrew Lloyd Webber

Unitarianism  is a version of Subordinationism (see The Trinity for more details). It is the belief that God is one person, that God is not Triune (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). This belief holds that Jesus is the Son of God, but not God himself. Unitarianists hold that Jesus was fully human, not Divine. At best Jesus is seen as a demigod (or lesser God). They do not believe that Jesus was physically resurrected from the dead. Because Unitarianism does not recognise the Trinity, it is not compatible with mainstream Christianity.

Image taken from: http://www.linktalent.co.uk

One way of looking at this is as God as Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber. Imagine He wrote Jesus Christ Superstar especially for Jesus in the leading role. Jesus was an ordinary actor, who would have otherwise spent the rest of his life waiting on tables in London, just like most other actors waiting for their big break. Jesus gave a “For one life only” performance. The musical finishes on Good Friday, with no resurrection. Lloyd Webber and the actor called Jesus never met before the performance, nor have they met since. Whilst there will never be another performance of the musical, people still study the script as they feel they can learn a lot about Lloyd Webber.

Image taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Lloyd_Webber

Please note: This is an illustration – I don’t actually believe that Lord Lloyd Webber is God!

The Trinity, Pianos and Punch & Judy

WARNING: This post will be written as simply as possible. BUT you probably still won’t understand what I’ve written!

Trinitarianism is the Christian understanding of God as three persons, known as the Trinity. These persons are: 1. God the Father, 2. God the Son (Jesus Christ) and 3. God the Holy Spirit. So, Christians believe that God is one being , who is worshiped as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each of these are equally God.

It could be said that: God is one “What” and three “Whos” (Olsen, 2002, Pg. 147)

It is worth pointing out that there is no one illustration which does the concept of the Trinity justice. However:

Just before playing the Rachmaninov 2nd Piano Concerto in C minor, a concert pianist sits at the grand piano on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall in London. The pianist plays the note “A” on the piano for the orchestra to tune to.  The pianist plays the note just once, so the orchestra hear just one sound.

Image taken from: http://www.sagerssohne.com/piano-tuning.html

Before the concert, the piano was tuned. The tuner, having stripped back the piano to its workings went to tune each individual note. He gets to the “A” note, like he has the 87 previous notes and finds three strings, each he tunes to the correct pitch. When the pianist plays the key on the piano, one hammer strikes three strings. These strings are of equal importance and three strings are required to make the characteristic sound of the piano.

Each string is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the one note sounded is God.

Christians often refer to the Triune God to represent that the one God is made up of the Trinity. It is this Triune God who created In the beginning and who’s character is described in previous posts: Immutability and Impassibility, It is ‘all’ about the ‘Omni’ and Transcendence and Immanence. Monotheism is the belief in one creator God.

Other views on the Trinity:

Image taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_and_Judy

Modalism is the belief that the Trinity are not three distinct persons, but is one person acting in different roles. God can only be in one role at a time. Image watching a Punch and Judy show; the audience see, Punch, Judy and the Crocodile, but they are just played by one puppeteer. The puppeteer can only give voice to one puppet at a time.

Subordinationism is the belief that God is the Father and that the Son and the Holy Spirit are Subordinate (or of lower rank) to the Father, but are still divine. The Father is the Field Marshall, whilst the Son and the Holy Spirit are both Generals. Christian understanding of the Trinity holds the view that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are equal, i.e. all hold the rank of Field Marshall.

Adoptionism is a version of Subordinationism; it is the belief that Jesus was not the true Son of God, rather he was a mere prophet and Messiah.

Image taken from: http://showbizgeek.com

Jesus was adopted by God as His Son. Picture the scene: God is Daddy Warbucks in Annie and Jesus is Annie. Warbucks is not Annie’s true father, but Warbucks adopts her and she becomes his heir and lives with him. Christians believe that Jesus, the Son was with God from the beginning, known as The Word; therefore Adoptionism is not compatible with Christianity.

Arianism is also a version of Subordinationism. It is the belief that Jesus Christ is not God, or equal with God. Arianism holds that Jesus was created to live on earth and that He has not been since the beginning. Arianism is not compatible with Christianity for similar reasons as Adoptionism.

Tritheism is the belief the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three separate Divine beings or gods. This is not compatible with Christianity which believes in monotheism.