The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the core beliefs of Christianity. It is also an aspect of our faith that is very confusing and one that atheists take great issue with. So, how can we effectively defend one of Christianity’s most important beliefs?
Something that a lot of people will say is that the Trinity doesn’t make any sense – after all, how can there be three people in one when one plus one plus one obviously equals three and not one?
There are many ways people try to describe the Trinity. A lot of people try to explain it using analogies. For example, the analogy that the Trinity is like an apple is a very popular one. It goes something like this: An apple has skin, flesh, and seeds. Each part of the apple is separate, but they are still part of the same apple. However, analogies like this are actually partialism. Partialism is the belief that all three members of the Trinity are each “100 percent God,” but not, “100 percent of God.” In other words, each part of the Trinity makes up ⅓ of God. This is obviously a false belief, as each part of the Trinity is both 100% God and 100% of God.
So, how can we explain the Trinity without accidentally using false analogies? We can’t explain it perfectly, as the Trinity is something that our human minds simply can’t understand, but we can at least get a vague idea.
One important distinction to make is that the Trinity is not three persons in one person. The Trinity is three persons in one essence. A person is who you are, and essence is what you are. For instance, humans are one person and one essence. God, however, is three persons in one essence. To try to explain this through an analogy is impossible because there’s nothing in the physical world that can equal the Trinity. If we’ve never seen or experienced anything like the Trinity here on earth, how can we hope to explain it through an analogy? There are many aspects of God that we can’t even come close to being able to comprehend, and the Trinity is one of them. However, we shouldn’t let this discourage us. God is an infinite being and the fact that we can’t even come close to understanding Him makes sense. We shouldn’t expect to be able to understand an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent being when we are none of those things. Instead of discouraging us, the doctrine of the Trinity should encourage us. It shows just how amazing and supreme God is, and demonstrates once again how undeserving of his unconditional love we are.
Marie Birkmann – 9th Grade