Do All Analogies for the Trinity Fail?
By Jonathan Dodson | February 16th, 2010 | Category: Gospel and Culture | 5 comments
Last night we had a great turn out for all three classes at City Seminary (thanks Justin!), 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) . We’re working through the Nicene Creed biblically, theologically, and practically. Our first night was The Trinity in a Fragmented World.
The course is a combination of lecture, community interaction, and personal study. We moved through the following topics:
- Immanent Trinity: The One & the Many
- Economic Trinity: Unity and Diversity
- God as Persons-in-Community
- Trinity as Practice: Love, Community, & Culture
It was a stimulating night. I thought one question that sparked some significant discussion was worth re-posting. It revolved around the use of analogies to explain the Trinity. For instance, some say the three-oneness of the Trinity is like the shared substance but different forms of water-gas-ice. Or another is that of the Father, Son and Brother relationships representing the person and roles of the Godhead. So here is the two-part question:
Do all natural/human analogies of the Trinity fail?
What if we found an analogy that adequately explained the Trinity? What would that say about God?
Whoa! Heavy stuff on first week. Great stuff, Jonathan. It feels a bit like a leading question, but I do agree that all analogies of the Trinity fail. I suppose it’s a trained response for me as I remember using that analogy a while back and being strongly rebuked by a pastor that taught that any analogy for God is blasphemous. Ouch. But, I can see that point.
On that note, and to your second question, I suppose a “working” analogy would suggest that God is quite definable and fully understanding Him this side of death is well within reach.
I’m looking forward to reading thoughtful responses on this one.
My primary role is working with children and youth. I’ve used the “hot apple pie” analogy with them. If you take a hot apple pie and cut it into three pieces, the crust is cut (the outside) but the apple filling inside flows back together (the inside). So even though God is in three representations on the outside for those that receive God, underneath God is one.
Not terribly theologically deep but works well.
Yeah, I could have stated the question more provocatively! I like the drift of your response Neal. Nothing can adequate illustrate the Trinity apart from the Trinity. Several points to keep in mind:
1. You can’t illustrate and Infinite God with finite things. As Mike pointed out in our class, there are, however, certain attributes that can be illustrated and reflected. There are also some that can not. Systematic theology divides them into the communicable and non-communicable attributes.
Non-communicable Attributes – trinitarianism, omnipotence, infinitude, omniscience.
Communicable Attributes – grace, mercy, love, compassion, kindness.
2. You can’t “know” the perfect triune God as an imperfect human. We don’t stumble into redemption. Redemption find us through God’s grace. We can’t really know God unless he chooses to reveal himself to us. If a natural analogy was enough to lead us into an intimate knowledge of God, then Jesus wouldn’t be necessary nor a Trinity.
3. Every Trinitarian analogy probably propagates a heresy. The water/ice/gas is called Modalism. It’s the idea that he’s just one God who takes on different forms, not one God who is at the same time three persons. In modalism, God puts on a different mask for each figure of the Godhead, “pretenting” to be different. This problematic when it comes to Jesus actually dying while the Father judges him. The pie analogy falls short too because each piece is only “part” of God, not fully God.
Does this mean we dispense with all analogies?
One issue that comes up is time. Since Gos is outside of time, anything we try to compare him with will fail.
Also remember an analogy isn’t used to define or describe something perfectly, but is used to compare things that are typically unalike. They help better understand an idea, and some analogies we use help better understand the Trinity, but will not give us a clear picture.
*God, not Gos.
iPhone fail.