The Holy Trinity Explained...(Well, not really)

"Father, Son and Holy Spirit... "

If you've grown up in or around any Christian religion you've heard those words spoken at least once in your life. If you're like me, you're often confused by this vision and no amount of explanation can really help a person to truly understand exactly what comprises this Holy Trinity. For me, it's become somewhat easier to understand this concept, as I researched biblical topics that ultimately shaped my book, In The Breath of God. While this wasn't my intent, I can honestly say I managed to develop a much deeper relationship with my savior through the very secular process of researching for this very secular suspense book. In that deepening relationship, I came upon a revelation that has helped me better understand the true nature of the Holy Trinity in my own finite human mind. Is it accurate? I don't know. To claim such would be blasphemous in my mind. It would be to claim I know the mind of God or, worse, to claim that I am God (or better than Him.) As neither would be true, I will stop short of saying that I am offering truth.

What I am offering is opinion plain and simple. But it is an opinion about which I feel very passionate. It is an opinion I feel carries with it much weight and much intense study, speculation and scrutiny. At no time am I trying to convince people that I am right. I am a finite human who is struggling to find the words to articulate an infinite concept to other finite beings. Under the weight of this daunting task, I must say I'm finding it very difficult to find the courage to carry onward. Still, it's been on my mind for some time now. I've prayed about it and I've reached the realization that God wants me to share this opinion. Perhaps He wants others to know the truth. Perhaps He wants others to read my thoughts and help me shape this idea and discover what the truth really is. Maybe he just wants me to put this out there so that the world can tell me what a complete blithering idiot I am and we can all move forward, each wiser in his own way. Whatever the case, here's my theory.

When I was a kid, I basically thought of the trinity as three separate beings. God was The Father. This was being number one. Just as my dad exists independent of me -- and I of him -- God existed (in my childish mind) separately from his son, Jesus Christ. As for the Holy Spirit? The best way I could explain this to myself as a child was that this guy was kind of like my dad's twin brother, Mike. That weird uncle nobody really understands but everybody knows is there. (Keep in mind I was a kid trying to figure God out. I wasn't trying to be disrespectful.) In my mind, it was the only way it could be. They were three beings. How else can they exist?

Then I got older. I took biology classes, anatomy classes, health classes, math classes, you name it. I took writing classes and even religion and philosophy classes. Above all, I merely took LIFE classes. That is to say I observed things. I talked to people. I watched certain preachers and I read my Bible, all in an attempt to really know God better. At times I discovered a golden nugget I had not possessed before. At other times, I went spiritually bankrupt, unable to find some unimportant detail that was probably right in front of my face the whole time. It's safe to say that God and I have had our ups and downs.

In the end, it did not come slowly, through research, study or life lessons. It came in a moment of unexpected, unplanned inspiration. It came as a culmination of everything, but manifested in one quick eureka moment that was as powerful as a bolt of lightning from Heaven itself. I've worked with it, sat with it, contemplated it, shaped it and labored to make sense of it for as long as I'm physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually able. The time has come for me to reveal my thoughts to you, my readers, and risk the judgment, disagreement and possible ridicule you may feel lead to lay at my feet.

First let's start with God. God the Father. God is THE Creator. He is THE essence from which all life springs. He is not only the Creator, but in a very real sense he IS the creation in living form. He breathed life into Adam according to The Word. Hence the creation and Creator became One.
This brings us to The Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was man. He was made flesh. When I think of Jesus, I think first of the fact he was made man. He then died like any other man and what happened? His SOUL rose again. See, in making him HUMAN, we often forget that he had not only a SPIRIT inside him but a SOUL just like every other human creature. His soul rose from the grave, fought Satan in Hell and ultimately joined with The Father in Heaven, to sit at his right side. But again, in death, Jesus Christ RETURNED to The Father and became One with Him. Two creatures essentially becoming one.

From the father comes the son but they are linked because the father gives life to the son. In humans, this is seen through DNA and genetic code. Half of who I am, I owe to my dear old daddy. We all know that story. Sperm Cell + Egg = Eddie. It's the same equation for you, really. Sperm Cell + Egg = (Insert your name here.) On a much more SUPERNATURAL plane, the equation went a bit more like this: God's spirit + Mary's womb = Jesus Christ. Either way it took both a mother and father for Jesus to be born. From a scientific standpoint, I would have loved to have some of Jesus' DNA so we could see how closely it matched Mary's. My theory on this is wherever there are differences in Jesus' DNA and Mary's you would essentially be looking at the DNA of God Almighty! Isn't that an interesting tangent for my mind to wander onto?
So, let's now consider the Holy Spirit. That's a bit more complicated to explain, because I'm starting to see this as more of a concept than an actual person so to speak. (Though that's not entirely accurate as to how I see it either. Stick with me.)

The holy spirit is, in a sense, God's spirit. It is the spirit that dwells within all mankind, including Jesus Christ, and compels him toward a certain course of action. it is the spirit that, when heeded, ultimately saves you from sin and guaranties your entrance into heaven. It is God's voice. It is God's breath of life. The same breath he first breathed into Adam all those years ago. The same spirit that dwelled within Jesus Christ's finite human body. The difference between JESUS and us is that Jesus possessed God's DNA and originated FROM God's spirit, whereas I think we possess our earthly parents DNA and are so many generations' removed from God's breath that we have lost the connection we once had with this magnificent power. (That whole 6 degrees of separation thing.) Jesus was one step removed from God, The Father. There was a direct link, an intimate connection. In us, there's so much genetics, biology and what not that we've lost that connection first given to Adam. God didn't come down and impregnate each of our virgin mothers. (Though I'm firmly of the opinion my mother is a virgin, despite giving birth to two children, and don't bother arguing with me on this because the alternative is just plain oogey!)

So what do we have at the end of the day? First we have God, The Father, from which all things stem. Second, you have Jesus Christ, The Son, in whom God entrusted his spirit to dwell WITHIN the soul of the finite human shell of His Infinite Son. (Make sense there?) Then we have the Holy Spirit, which is best described as our conscience. It is the spirit that teaches us right from wrong and gives us a sense of guilt when we do wrong. It is the spirit that compels us to love one another and do right unto our fellow man. It is a very powerful force that, when heeded, grants us a return ticket to God The Father.

So, if we are granted a RETURN ticket, doesn't that wash out my argument that DNA and all that stuff separates us from God more than it did Jesus? No. Because of one very simple fact. We were not born of a virgin. Like Jesus we possess a soul and we also have the Holy Spirit within us to GUIDE us. But God created us through "natural, human" means. He created Jesus in a very supernatural way and therein lies the difference.

Our soul is what returns to God. Our Spirit IS a part of God. In each of us, God plants a tiny part of himself, entrusting us to nurture it and, hopefully, help it grow and develop into something that will glorify the giver of this most special gift. God can not MAKE us cherish this gift anymore than He can MAKE us cherish the sacrifice His son made on the cross, but it's worth it to try.

So I'm not sure if that makes sense to anyone. Again, I'm not even sure how accurate it is. I just know that it's how I saw it and felt such a strong weight under this realization that I finally had to relent. I finally had to admit that something about this train of thought was important. Something herein needed to be verbalized. Even as I wrap this up, I have felt a tremendous weight lift from me. And I know that even if my theory on this wasn't entirely accurate, so begins another journey of discovery between God and me. I pray that this one is fruitful. I pray that God truly reveals Himself to me and, maybe, to anyone else who has ever pondered the things discussed herein.

Until that time, this blog is brought to you by the letters W, E and H and by the number 2.