(Some rambling thoughts today.)
1. I like
the concept of panentheism. That is, all
that exists has its beingness within God, but with God still being
distinct. (This is different than pantheism
in which all that exists is “God.”)
2. I like the concept of the Trinity being like an eternal system, in which the “parts” exist only in relationship in the whole (systems theory).
a. There are
many analogies for trying to comprehend the incomprehensible relationship of
the Trinity, but one I like most I find/infer in John 1:1 and Genesis 1. (Background: in this oral culture, what one
uttered was by one’s breath/spirit. Therefore,
words had a vitality to them such that they could bless or curse.)
The Father, is the one who utters the Word/Logos (Son) by his Spirit/Breath.
The Spirit is of the Father and expresses the Word/Son.
The Word, through the Spirit, is of the being of the Father and communicates the
Father.
3. Since God “speaks” by God’s Breath/Spirit all that exists into creation (Genesis 1), and through God’s Logos/Word all such things were made (John 1:3), a panentheistic way of looking at creation makes sense to me. Moreover, that leads me to think about how creation as I know it seems to exist and develop in a similar “systems-theory” approach as the Trinity.
4. It seems to me that consciousness of our being-ness and consciousness of God are aspects of our nature as emergent systems. As I mentioned in a note in the previous post, an experience of the Presence of God could be a real neurological event initiated by God in whom we all exist (panentheism).
5. This leads me to be comforted about the death of ones I love. I believe I picked up in a writing by John Polkinghorne the idea that who we each were in our consciousness at death exists in the “memory” of God, awaiting to be restored at the resurrection of the dead. I like that idea but would extend it to saying that who we are exists within the “memory” of God throughout our lives as well as after our physical deaths. Thinking about how I and my loved ones exist in the “memory” of God, then, comforts me with the promise that I will continue to have relationship with them at the resurrection of the dead.
Application: Thoughts like this fill me with wonder.
Praise you LORD! I will extol you with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly. Great are your works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. (adaptation of Psalm 111:1 – 2). Amen!
Not all recognize the underlying power of words. Or "the Word" for that matter. Good job. soggy
ReplyDeleteThe Trinity is something that I am trying to learn more about, although I know that I will never fully comprehend this until I die. This post helps to add more understanding and gives me something to ponder. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYes, the Trinity is beyond my comprehension. No analogy works perfectly, and no doctrinal statement expresses the Trinity completely. The early Church inferred the nature of a Triune God through verses like John 14:26, which speak of the Holy Spirit and the Father in the context of Jesus. (In Greek, the noun for "spirit" is a neuter noun, yet when Jesus speaks of the activity of the Holy Spirit here, "That one will teach you," Jesus uses a masculine form.) The Church Fathers, as true of theologians today, struggled to come up with propositional (doctrinal) statements that sought to capture the essence of biblical statement without miscommunicating some aspect. For example, one well-known early formula, stated in Latin, but translated into English, used the concept of God as three Persona. A problem for English speakers is that "persona" lies behind our word "person," so we think of three Persons, but the two words are not the same. Persona ("mask") had the sense of a character portrayed by an individual in a drama.
ReplyDeleteOne analogy that I like for the trinity is that God the father is like the sun. Jesus is the light that we see and the Spirit is the warmth we receive. I’m not sure this is a good analogy but I like it! 🤷♀️
ReplyDeleteI like that analogy, too. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDelete