Trinity

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==Pre-Christian origins==
 
==Pre-Christian origins==
 
Triads of complementary gods were a common theme in pre-Christian mythology.  One such example is Zeus, Poseidon and Hades in Greek mythology.  The Romans had the additional concept of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva which they developed from Tinia, Uni, and Menerva, an ancient Babylon and obtasined from through Greece.  The [[Greco-Roman religion|Greco-Roman religion]] was not one unified whole and included more than one trinity.  Meanwhile the Ancient Egyptians had the trinity of Isis, Osiris and Horus, they also had Re, Ptah, and Amun which were three pates of the one god Amun.  Cynics may argue that the early [[Roman Catholic Church]] copied the concept of the Trinity from the many current examples in the Roman world round them. <ref>[http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/Contents/doctrine/The%20Origin%20of%20the%20Trinity.htm The Origin of the Trinity: From Paganism to Constantine]</ref>
 
Triads of complementary gods were a common theme in pre-Christian mythology.  One such example is Zeus, Poseidon and Hades in Greek mythology.  The Romans had the additional concept of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva which they developed from Tinia, Uni, and Menerva, an ancient Babylon and obtasined from through Greece.  The [[Greco-Roman religion|Greco-Roman religion]] was not one unified whole and included more than one trinity.  Meanwhile the Ancient Egyptians had the trinity of Isis, Osiris and Horus, they also had Re, Ptah, and Amun which were three pates of the one god Amun.  Cynics may argue that the early [[Roman Catholic Church]] copied the concept of the Trinity from the many current examples in the Roman world round them. <ref>[http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/Contents/doctrine/The%20Origin%20of%20the%20Trinity.htm The Origin of the Trinity: From Paganism to Constantine]</ref>
Another possible source is the philosophy of [[Plato]].  [[Judaism]] in the Zohar also has some concept of God as three, ''"secret, hidden 'Wisdom'; above that the Holy Ancient One; and above Him the Unknowable One"'.' <ref>http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Zohar.html#Influence</ref>  This is not in the [[Tanakh]] and people who have not studied Judaism very thoroughly may not know how to interpret it.
+
Another possible source is the philosophy of [[Plato]].  [[Judaism]] in the Zohar also has some concept of God as three, ''"secret, hidden 'Wisdom'; above that the Holy Ancient One; and above Him the Unknowable One"'.'' <ref>http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Zohar.html#Influence</ref>  This is not in the [[Tanakh]] and people who have not studied Judaism very thoroughly may not know how to interpret it.
  
 
==Christian origins==
 
==Christian origins==

Revision as of 10:17, 24 March 2012

Christ died so we could write articles on

Christianity

link=:category:
Christianity
Random examples
Resources
“THE DOGMA OF THE TRINITY: The Trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion-the truth that in the unity of the godhead there are Three persons, the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three persons being truly distinct from one another.” --The Catholic Encyclopedia[1]

The Trinity is a central concept in Christianity, describing the relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These are, according to Christian doctrine, three distinct manifestations of the one thing. Defining the trinity is like defining the outside of a Mobius strip, and many attempts have been made to clarify the matter. After two thousand years of effort, it is fair to say that none have fully succeeded. Even when their single God is actually a triumvirate, the fact remains that none of the deities are female, as the Holy Spirit is genderless. Apparently, God is not an Equal Opportunity deity.


Christ died so we could write articles on

Christianity

link=:category:
Christianity
Random examples
Resources
“THE DOGMA OF THE TRINITY: The Trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion-the truth that in the unity of the godhead there are Three persons, the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three persons being truly distinct from one another.” --The Catholic Encyclopedia[2]

The Trinity is a central concept in Christianity, describing the relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These are, according to Christian doctrine, three distinct manifestations of the one thing. Defining the trinity is like defining the outside of a Mobius strip, and many attempts have been made to clarify the matter. After two thousand years of effort, it is fair to say that none have fully succeeded. Even when their single God is actually a triumvirate, the fact remains that none of the deities are female, as the Holy Spirit is genderless. Apparently, God is not an Equal Opportunity deity.

Contents

Pre-Christian origins

Triads of complementary gods were a common theme in pre-Christian mythology. One such example is Zeus, Poseidon and Hades in Greek mythology. The Romans had the additional concept of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva which they developed from Tinia, Uni, and Menerva, an ancient Babylon and obtasined from through Greece. The Greco-Roman religion was not one unified whole and included more than one trinity. Meanwhile the Ancient Egyptians had the trinity of Isis, Osiris and Horus, they also had Re, Ptah, and Amun which were three pates of the one god Amun. Cynics may argue that the early Roman Catholic Church copied the concept of the Trinity from the many current examples in the Roman world round them. [3] Another possible source is the philosophy of Plato. Judaism in the Zohar also has some concept of God as three, "secret, hidden 'Wisdom'; above that the Holy Ancient One; and above Him the Unknowable One"'. [4] This is not in the Tanakh and people who have not studied Judaism very thoroughly may not know how to interpret it.

Christian origins

The Bible does not contain any explicit mention of the doctrine of Trinity, though there are several fragments claimed to indirectly support it. There are also several fragments that appear to explicitly deny it, but this does not appear to be a problem. The only explicit trinitarian passage, known as Comma Johanneum (1 John 5:7-8), was deliberately added to the Bible sometime during the 4th century - around the time when the doctrine itself was officially formed. That's actually a grave sin in Christianity.[5] Oops.

There are several possible origins for Trinity. It might have developed from the phrase used during baptism: "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Some interpretations

Scutum Fidei

St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the trinity to the people of Ireland: one shamrock, three leaves. The Jesus at the Holy Land Experience theme park used the analogy of water; which can be ice, liquid water and steam, three different properties of the same thing. This even managed to impress Bill Maher. (although if you think about it that would simply make it a monotheistic religion with a polymorphic God)

Christian thinkers have debated, fought and killed over the matter, especially during and after the reign of Constantine. The differences between the various forms of (from one end of the spectrum to the other) Arianism, Semi-Arianism, orthodoxy and Gnosticism are so minute that one's head spins. Thus, understandings of the nature of the Trinity have historically been grounds to excommunicate and exile opponents. The Roman Catholic Church observes a middle ground in this matter between the rather logical and clear three extremes (the three are perfectly equal and separate; the three are perfectly equal and the same; God created the other two to feel less lonely).

The Shield of the Trinity or Scutum Fidei [6] is a traditional Christian symbol which is supposed to explain the trinity. The problem is that the symbol itself is a classic logic error.


Some attempts at formal logic

???
(now, this is just for fun, remember...)

This derivation assumes that the word "is" is used as the subset relator.
Essentially the shield presents the following 12 statements simultaneously:

  1. "The Father is God"
  2. "The Son is God"
  3. "The Holy Spirit is God"
  4. "God is the Father"
  5. "God is the Son"
  6. "God is the Holy Spirit"
  7. "The Father is not the Son"
  8. "The Son is not the Father"
  9. "The Father is not the Holy Spirit"
  10. "The Holy Spirit is not the Father"
  11. "The Son is not the Holy Spirit"
  12. "The Holy Spirit is not the Son"

Without loss of generality, The statements 1-6 can be restated as the following statements:

B \subseteq A
C \subseteq A
D \subseteq A
A \subseteq B
A \subseteq C
A \subseteq D

while the statements 6-12 can be restated as:

B \neq C
C \neq B
B \neq D
D \neq B
C \neq D
D \neq C

Since A \subseteq B \and B \subseteq A \Rightarrow A = B,

A = B
A = C
A = D

Since A = A = A, conventional logic (where equality is transitive) implies that:

B = C (because A = B and A = C)
C = D (because A = C and A = D)
D = B (because A = D and A = B)

Yet at the same time the following condition applies:

B ≠ C
C ≠ D
D ≠ B

Essentially saying that two opposite and self-excluding statements (ie: B = C and B ≠ C) are True at the same time.

It requires a "special" kind of brain to hold on to beliefs like this. The exercise is reminiscent of the Orwellian "logic test" 2+2=5[7], which signified to the party that someone has been "broken", since anyone capable of accepting that could accept anything.

Further reasoning

If human logic is so seriously flawed that blatant contradictions can be true simultaneously then human reason cannot in principle prove the existence of God either. This leads to the agnosticism of Thomas Huxley.

See also

Footnotes

  1. [1]
  2. [2]
  3. The Origin of the Trinity: From Paganism to Constantine
  4. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Zohar.html#Influence
  5. Revelation 22:18 - "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book." Note that it's unclear whether this is the punishment for tampering with the Book of Revelation or any portion of the Bible.
  6. See the Wikipedia article on Shield of the Trinity.
  7. See the Wikipedia article on 2+2=5.

Some interpretations

Scutum Fidei

St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the trinity to the people of Ireland: one shamrock, three leaves. The Jesus at the Holy Land Experience theme park used the analogy of water; which can be ice, liquid water and steam, three different properties of the same thing. This even managed to impress Bill Maher. (although if you think about it that would simply make it a monotheistic religion with a polymorphic God)

Christian thinkers have debated, fought and killed over the matter, especially during and after the reign of Constantine. The differences between the various forms of (from one end of the spectrum to the other) Arianism, Semi-Arianism, orthodoxy and Gnosticism are so minute that one's head spins. Thus, understandings of the nature of the Trinity have historically been grounds to excommunicate and exile opponents. The Roman Catholic Church observes a middle ground in this matter between the rather logical and clear three extremes (the three are perfectly equal and separate; the three are perfectly equal and the same; God created the other two to feel less lonely).

The Shield of the Trinity or Scutum Fidei [1] is a traditional Christian symbol which is supposed to explain the trinity. The problem is that the symbol itself is a classic logic error.


Some attempts at formal logic

???
(now, this is just for fun, remember...)

This derivation assumes that the word "is" is used as the subset relator.
Essentially the shield presents the following 12 statements simultaneously:

  1. "The Father is God"
  2. "The Son is God"
  3. "The Holy Spirit is God"
  4. "God is the Father"
  5. "God is the Son"
  6. "God is the Holy Spirit"
  7. "The Father is not the Son"
  8. "The Son is not the Father"
  9. "The Father is not the Holy Spirit"
  10. "The Holy Spirit is not the Father"
  11. "The Son is not the Holy Spirit"
  12. "The Holy Spirit is not the Son"

Without loss of generality, The statements 1-6 can be restated as the following statements:

B \subseteq A
C \subseteq A
D \subseteq A
A \subseteq B
A \subseteq C
A \subseteq D

while the statements 6-12 can be restated as:

B \neq C
C \neq B
B \neq D
D \neq B
C \neq D
D \neq C

Since A \subseteq B \and B \subseteq A \Rightarrow A = B,

A = B
A = C
A = D

Since A = A = A, conventional logic (where equality is transitive) implies that:

B = C (because A = B and A = C)
C = D (because A = C and A = D)
D = B (because A = D and A = B)

Yet at the same time the following condition applies:

B ≠ C
C ≠ D
D ≠ B

Essentially saying that two opposite and self-excluding statements (ie: B = C and B ≠ C) are True at the same time.

It requires a "special" kind of brain to hold on to beliefs like this. The exercise is reminiscent of the Orwellian "logic test" 2+2=5[2], which signified to the party that someone has been "broken", since anyone capable of accepting that could accept anything.

Further reasoning

If human logic is so seriously flawed that blatant contradictions can be true simultaneously then human reason cannot in principle prove the existence of God either. This leads to the agnosticism of Thomas Huxley.

See also

Footnotes

  1. See the Wikipedia article on Shield of the Trinity.
  2. See the Wikipedia article on 2+2=5.
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