Someone Explain the Trinity to Me!

[Godwynn]

I'm honestly confused by this concept.

There is one God, but God is the Father and the Father sent his Son, who is also God to Earth, after filling Mary (the mother of God the Son) with the Holy Spirit that is also God.

Could someone please explain this in the simplest terms possible? They are three different things, but together they make up one God, but are also independently God?

 

[History_Buff]

While I have long since forgotten what the actual distinctions are, I do remember that the answer to this varies widely depending on which sect of Christianity you subscribe to. It's a question so old it actually caused the first big divisions within The Church.

 

[cardgame]

Jesus is God

Jesus is not God

Both of these statements are true.

This is the simplest explanation of it.

 

[Bill3000]

While I have long since forgotten what the actual distinctions are, I do remember that the answer to this varies widely depending on which sect of Christianity you subscribe to.

there's no division within the non-heretical sects

 

[Joecoolyo]

This has always confused me too...

How can they all be god, but at the same time not?

Is Christianity polytheistic religion, or a monotheistic religion?

 

[Miles Teg]

there's no division within the non-heretical sects

Unfortunately, that stupid Peace of Westphalia came along in the 17th century, and got everyone confused. These days, I don't think people properly understand that there is only only true church, and that rest of Christendom is composed of violent heretics and schismatics. They keep saying something about "denominations".

 

[Heretic_Cata]

God is the user
Jesus is the user's avatar
Holy Ghost is the user's post

That's the jist of it basicaly.
(think about it!)

 

[Bei1052]

God is the user
Jesus is the user's avatar
Holy Ghost is the user's post

That's the jist of it basicaly.
(think about it!)

This is the best explanation I've ever heard.

 

[Whiskey_Lord]

You mean that Blade movie that fans don't talk about? Yeah, I don't understand either.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Don't ask questions, they'll lead you straight to Hell

 

[Souron]

The Orthodox answer is that the true meaning is inconceivable to humans.

But the concept of one God being many faces in not unique to Christianity. Kelts were particularly fond of triple-gods. Hinduism has it too, and the parallels between this and the trinity are what lead some Christians to believe Hinduism is sufficiently monotheistic for salvation.

 

[Bill3000]

Unfortunately, that stupid Peace of Westphalia came along in the 17th century, and got everyone confused. These days, I don't think people properly understand that there is only only true church, and that rest of Christendom is composed of violent heretics and schismatics. They keep saying something about "denominations".

let me clarify: even the mainline heretical sects, the so-called "Protestants," are non-heretical in this matter

 

[Gogf]

let me clarify: even the mainline heretical sects, the so-called "Protestants," are non-heretical in this matter

What about the Catholics?

 

[Lillefix]

I'm honestly confused by this concept.

There is one God, but God is the Father and the Father sent his Son, who is also God to Earth, after filling Mary (the mother of God the Son) with the Holy Spirit that is also God.

Could someone please explain this in the simplest terms possible? They are three different things, but together they make up one God, but are also independently God?

You can go to the source. The Nicene creed. Most churches use this creed, even the protestant ones.

I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of His Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures
and ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead,
whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified,
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy catholic[note 1] and apostolic Church,
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
and I look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

So Jesus has the same substance of God, but is separate from him and the holy ghost proceed from the father and son. You just have to interpret these sentences as best as you can.

 

[FriendlyFire]

I'm honestly confused by this concept.

There is one God, but God is the Father and the Father sent his Son, who is also God to Earth, after filling Mary (the mother of God the Son) with the Holy Spirit that is also God.

Could someone please explain this in the simplest terms possible? They are three different things, but together they make up one God, but are also independently God?

basicly it was a political compromise between the coptic christians and the byzentiumn (greek) christians over the divinity of christ.

One faction believe Jesus was born human made divine with the power of God
One faction believe that Jesus was born with power of god
One faction believe jesus being God didnt really die at all on the cross cause a God cannot be simply killed by humans
One faction believe that jesus did die and was ressurrected

Thus in the end.

The Holy spirit left jesus the human, jesus the human died, the holy spirit re-entered and ressurrected the human. Thus Jesus, holy spirit and God became a trinity, equal to each other.

Lets see Mobboss try to explain it otherwise.

 

[Thlayli]

basicly it was a political compromise between the coptic christians and the byzentiumn (greek) christians over the divinity of christ.

One faction believe Jesus was born human made divine with the power of God
One faction believe that Jesus was born with power of god
One faction believe jesus being God didnt really die at all on the cross cause a God cannot be simply killed by humans
One faction believe that jesus did die and was ressurrected

Thus in the end.

The Holy spirit left jesus the human, jesus the human died, the holy spirit re-entered and ressurrected the human. Thus Jesus, holy spirit and God became a trinity, equal to each other.

Lets see Mobboss try to explain it otherwise.

Tridentine theology was actually articulated much earlier than this. Most of the debates you are referencing were on the nature of Jesus Christ himself, not his position within the Trinity, though the Arian heresy certainly diminished Jesus' role and emphasized the Father.

Here is my best attempt to explain the Trinity to the uninformed:

The Father exists as the Creator of the universe, and all within it. From a modern conception, he can be considered invisible, intangible, the most "distant" of the Trinity. He is the Prime Mover in Aquinas' terminology, the pure conception of infinite divinity, and the motive force for all that is.

The Son exists as the physical incarnation of that divinity. He is the necessary intermediary between a God and His creation, having a substance at once human and divine. Jesus affirms the humanity of God and the divinity of humanity, and makes the message of the Father accessible to humanity through a living example of perfect compassion and humility.

The Holy Spirit exists as the non-incarnate divine force by which God's will is made manifest on Earth. When individuals talk about the "works of God through man," it is the Holy Spirit which allows them to occur. The Holy Spirit is what Christ leaves behind Him as a sign of His presence. Things such as miracles and grace occur by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

To summarize the roles of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one can compare them to parts of the human body: Head, heart, and hands. The Father is the generative force, the Son is the emotive force, and the Holy Spirit is the mechanical force by which the Father and Son are connected to humankind and work through them. The human body is one organism, but it has highly specialized organs which serve differing functions, so too with God.

 

[_random_]

"Gregory (of Nyssa) argues that the three Persons of the Trinity can be understood along the model of three members of a single class: thus, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three in the same way that Peter, Paul, and Timothy are three men. So why do we not say there are three Gods? Gregory answers that, normally, we can distinguish between different members of the same class by the fact that they have different shapes, sizes, and colours. Even if they are identical, they still occupy different points in space. But none of this is true of incorporeal beings like God. Even lesser spiritual beings can still be distinguished by their varying degrees of goodness, but this does not apply to God either. In fact, the only way to tell the three Persons apart is by their mutual relations — thus, the only difference between the Father and the Son is that the former is the Father of the latter, and the latter is the Son of the former. As Gregory puts it, it is impossible to think of one member of the Trinity without thinking of the others too: they are like a chain of three links, pulling each other along."

This is probably the best explanation I've read, even though Social Trinitarianism can lead to polytheism if you go too far, just as Latin Trinitarianism can lead to modalism.

@Lillefix: There seems to be a typo around line 25.

 

[Newbunkle]

Its like a shamrock - small, green, and split three ways.

 

[Lillefix]

There. One less spelling error on wikipedia.

What sources do these theologians have? Is it just the bible they use, or are there other texts they study in order to figure out this mystery?

 

[BuckyRea]

How many Christians does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Three, but really one. Only it's three. Which is really one...