Essay on "Holy Trinity Christianity Promotes the Image"

Essay 5 pages (1640 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Holy Trinity

Christianity promotes the image of God as being divided into three distinct forms: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In spite of the fact that each of these concepts is meant to put across particular attitudes, they are brought together under one form: God. Orthodox faith is primarily focused on presenting the church as one of the most important factors improving the connection between the divine and believers. The Father is the foremost concept in Orthodox Christianity and the Son and the Holy Spirit are considered to exist because of God. Even though it is difficult to reach solid conclusions with regard to the Holy Trinity, it is important to understand the connections between the three persons that are a part of it and of their special attributes.

Body

St. John's Prologue stands as one of the most intriguing texts that provides more information on the Holy Trinity. Information regarding this concept "direct our thought to the obligation of affirming, at the same time, the identity and the diversity of God" (Lossky 36). Most people are inclined to believe that there is only one individual in God, the Father, and that the Son and the Holy Spirit are simple emanations meant to provide the masses with a more complex understanding of the divine. However, one needs to look deeper than this and interpret the Bible in an attempt to realize that there is much more to the Holy Trinity than one might be inclined to believe. It would be normal to accept that one of the Holy Trinity suffered in flesh and that the other two bodies of the concept also suffered, but it would be wrong to believe that suffering occurred individually in the case of a single body (Saliba 53).

While the Holy Trinity acts independently and each of its branches put across distinct attitudes toward the world, it is always united. This does not mean that it is the same person and that, depending on the situation, it expresses behavior characteristic to the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit. This is one undivided being that holds three distinct personalities and it would be wrong for someone to confuse them or treat them separately. People need to comprehend that the Father is always present in the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Son is always in the Father and the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is always present in the Son and the Father. Each of these bodies is interconnected to each-other and their existence is beyond human logic, thus meaning that people should not use conventional strategies as they try to learn more about them.

Jesus emphasizes his connection with the father and relates to the idea of the trinity by saying that "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:8-9). Each of the persons in the Holy Trinity originates in a different conception. The Father is unborn, the Son is born, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the father. Even with this, neither of these bodies precedes the other as they are coexistent and as they have developed concomitantly.

Each of the individuals present in the Holy Trinity is infinite and it would be wrong to believe that they are each provided with a limited set of abilities and that they all contribute to making the trinity. The Orthodox Church promotes the idea that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father, as it does not proceed from the Son. Roman Catholics actually emphasize that the Holy Spirit also proceeds from the Son and this is one of the most important concepts differentiating between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. Orthodox Christians believe that the teaching of Christ actually stands as proof with regard to how the Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Son.

The Holy Trinity is a very complex matter and it is important for people to learn more about with by focusing on how humanity in general perceives it in particular situation. Creation, for example, made it possible for the masses to perceive the idea of God as the Father. "The Father is thus the aspect of a first phase of divine manifestation linked with the genesis and the paradisiacal man" (Lossky 37). However, sin played an essential role in changing God's image and the Holy Trinity thus introduced the idea of the Son. This enabled people to comprehend the interconnection between the idea of the Father and the idea of the Son. The Holy Spirit emerged during the moments when Christ rose to heaven consequent to his death. Although this is an example of a successive Trinity, it is nonetheless important in providing more information concerning how people perceive the idea of Holy Trinity in general.

An example of a successive Trinity is important because it serves as proof that humanity has slowly but surely become more familiar with this concept. However, this does not mean that each of the bodies present in the Holy Trinity emerged successively. There was no time that the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit did not exist. It was just that humanity was not familiar with these concepts for much of history and then had trouble understanding that they were all united under the Holy Trinity. One of the main problems with the masses is that they focus on adopting attitudes that they already acquainted with when trying to understand new concepts. This makes it difficult and almost impossible for some to comprehend complex matters. This is actually one of the reasons for which the Holy Trinity is a very divisive topic, given that many religious ideologies tend to express different opinions concerning this idea.

The relationship between the Father and the Son is eternal and this is best shown by the Prologue of St. John, as it says that "The Word was with God." St. John also provides information with regard to the Holy Spirit's relationship with the Father and the Son, as he claims that the Holy Spirit is yet another Comforter sent by the Father. This means that the Holy Spirit and the Son are independent bodies that act in diversified ways, but that they are both meant to deliver similar solutions to humanity's problems. The fact that the Father is responsible for creating both the image of the Son and of the Holy Spirit demonstrates that they share a communion. The Holy Spirit's "relation to the Son is then neither one of opposition or of separation, but of diversity and reciprocity -- thus, of communion with the Father" (Lossky 39).

Christ wanted people to understand that God was greater than him and by doing so he intended to make a reference to the Holy Trinity by displaying the fact that he wanted no recognition for his actions. "That means that the work accomplished on the earth by the incarnate Son is the work of the Holy Trinity, from whom Christ cannot be separated, since He shares the same essence and the same will as the Father and the Holy Spirit" (2Lossky 145).

When considering the Holy Trinity people need to take into account terms like undivided, inseparable, and united. Even with the fact that the Orthodox Church promotes all of these words as being characteristic to the Holy Trinity, it also speaks about the term distinct. This is done with the purpose of emphasizing that each of the bodies present in the Holy Trinity has the ability to work independently, but that it should not be recognized accordingly. People need to recognize work performed by any of the persons in the Holy Trinity as being owed to the Holy Trinity, a concept that can put one of its branches into play with the purpose of providing a solution to a given… READ MORE

How to Reference "Holy Trinity Christianity Promotes the Image" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

Analzying Christianity and the Torah Dissertation

This significance or relevance applies in new ways outside areas of theology and church such as in call for debt release for underdeveloped countries or as an ethic of nature… read more

Dissertation 150 pages (47287 words) Sources: 10 Style: MLA Topic:

---

Structures to Enhance Evangelistic Ministries Article Critique

However, less than a decade later, the attendance to Churches fell below what had existed before the liberalization. The Church had failed as never before.

That is a cause of… read more

Article Critique 10 pages (4446 words) Sources: 5 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Premodernism Is Defined as Possessed by Authority Term Paper

Premodernism is defined as possessed by authority and dominated by tradition. The term is broken down as having two other meanings which include: defined as a spirit of truth; the… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (2489 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Gospel of Christ to Hinduism Term Paper

Gospel of Christ to Hinduism. The writer explores the differences between the two faiths and relays the basic tenets of the Christian faith to the reader to convert someone to… read more

Term Paper 5 pages (1282 words) Sources: 3 Style: MLA Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Servant Leadership in a Conflicted Church Thesis

Applying Servant Leadership within a Conflicted Church: The Project as an Act of Ministry

My church, the South Iowa Chapel, like many modern churches, is a church in conflict. Conflicted… read more

Thesis 109 pages (30193 words) Sources: 58 Topic: Leadership / Mentoring

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>