The Trinitarian Paradox

By: Adrian Gibb

Hello again everyone,

Often people ask me how I can be so passionate about the unique place that I believe Jesus holds in our collective history but still hold to a pluralistic mindset. I have, over the years, realized that a possible answer to this question, or at least a tantalizing opportunity to reflect on it, can be found in what I call The Trinitarian Paradox!

Like many Christians, the doctrine of the Trinity has been to me, at times, confusing and contradictory. I would say, gladly, that one can be a Christian and NOT be a Trinitarian. But for me, the Trinity is something I accept in this sense, I believe that when Jesus walked the earth he did so as a reflection of, or a revelation of, the limitless Divine. The Divine showed his/her/it's face then, so I accept that whatever the limitless Divine is, Jesus is part of that make-up. Once this acceptance is made, that Jesus and the limitless Divine are inexorably linked, then one reaches the conclusion, well at least I do, that WHENEVER the limitless Divine has revealed itself throughout the history of humankind, in whatever form and to whatever degree, then Jesus, too, was so revealed. A pluralistic outlook follows on from this for me. Each and every faith, each like the blind man reaching out and touching the famous Brahmic elephant, is interpreting and developing a faith to reflect their truth of their encounter with the Divine, yes, but also their encounter with Jesus. 

So is this a possible paradox? If you are Trinitarian then you must accept that, if the Divine has revealed itself to all people, then Jesus has been revealed too. Exclusivists would then argue that all humakind has an obligation then to be an adherent of the Christian Church. But this Church is a faith built up around the figure of Jesus. The paradox then is this, all faiths, as reflections of a Trintarian Divine, are, in a way, followers of Jesus!

This is how I can hold that Jesus was the ultimate revelation of the Divine, but that every faith's truth should be as respected and validated as the Christian Church.

What do you think? Does the Trinitarian Paradox exist?

Comments

[JRL]

An interesting post: and the trinity concept has had cause to make me think hard in he past !

As for the argument above, the flaw is that it does not follow at all that, given that Jesus is part of the Divine, there is an OBLIGATION to be an adherent of the Christian Church.

There is not only no obligation to be a part of the church, nor is there an obligation for non Christians to recognise Jesus as co-terminous with the Divine. The church, after all, is a human creation.

[Adrian Gibb]

Hi JRL,
I agree with everything you say above. Indeed, my point was that for exclusivist Christians to say there IS an obligation could be considered to be flawed, not only via the basic concepts of inclusiveness and compassion, but also by the Trinitarian position. As most exlusivist Christians tend to be also Trinitarian, it is an interesting paradox to pursue.
You are absolutely right that the Church is a human creation, as I said in the above post, the Christian church, along with all faiths, are human beings attempting to interpret and cope with an interaction with that great mystery that is the Limitless Divine. For me, (leaving aside the interesting intellectual exercise of seeing how the Trinity affects pluralism), whether non-christians, whether non-theists even, recognise Jesus as co-terminus (great word by the way) with the Divine is irrelevant. My belief is that Jesus IS a part of that mystery, bound up in it, over and above the Christian or any other faith. Hence my attitude, when people of ANY faith interact with the Divine, I belive they are, knowingly or not, interacting with Jesus (again, that does NOT mean the Christian church). This is merely a personal epiphany of course, but one which I find quite comforting. I should say too, that one could mount a similar argument to say that when one interacts with the divine, no matter what faith, one is interacting with Buddha! However, as I have stated in a previous post, for me, Jesus was the ultimate revelation of the Divine, and Buddhism, it follows, has a groovy touch of Jesus within it.

[tarvid]

Peace, Love and Compassion

Paul wasn't too far off.

[KJV] I Corinthians 13:13
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

[Tarvid's Nible] Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Love.

I asked my daughter once, "Can my Jesus come to your church?"

[Denise]

A study of Church History unveils the secret of the Trinity. After doing so I felt quite comfortable discarding the belief that really makes no sense. One cannot be monotheistic and believe in the Trinity they are contradictory.

[Ron Starbuck]

Well, almost a year late I'm discovering this post. ;-)

But, I agree that there is such a paradox, and that we need to view other traditions with new eyes, or perhaps I should say through the eyes of Christ.

As a lifelong Christian, I have been taught my whole life that "the way of Christ" is a way that calls me to love others unconditionally with great compassion and loving-kindness. For myself, this is a call that I must answer by loving others in all their diversity of beliefs and ethnicity, and in showing them through that love, how Christ lives and dwells within my own being. It is certainly an approach that I think all Christians should apply when engaged in an interfaith dialog with other spiritual traditions. It is the approach I know, not believe, that Christ wishes me to take; it is also a path marked by great humility, with no hint of hubris.

When someone from another tradition sees this humility and love working in me and other Christians, then they have an opportunity to come to know Christ as the Incarnate Word, as I have. So, for me this is a dialog we must always engage in with mutual respect. By loving them (accepting them) as I believe Christ does; I am living the Way, the Truth, and the Life of Christ. I am living a life of Christ, and of Christ as my personal savior; I am discovering the Way, the Truth, and the Life, in great abundance by being in relationship with others, with all of creation.

http://ronstarbuck-poet.blogspot.com/2009/08/god-as-verb-response-to-without-buddha_13.html