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October 17, 2024 - Drew Golden
Does anyone else hear the voices of a couple fifth-century Irish peasants every time they study the Trinity?
Nope? Just me?
Well, if you’re like me, then the voices of Donal and Conal from the 2013 YouTube entitled “St. Patrick’s Bad Analogies” live rent-free in your head [1]. In it, two Irish peasants have a conversation with the patron saint of Ireland to wrap their “unlearned minds” around the doctrine of the Trinity.
Throughout the video, Patrick uses analogies to help Donal and Conal understand the Trinity. Yet they are quick to call him out every time he confesses an ancient heresy associated with the doctrine.
While the video’s comedic value is that the supposed “unlearned” peasants are correcting Patrick, it does well to illustrate the tension often caused by the Trinity.
In my own experience, attempting to understand the Trinity has been a daunting task. For a belief that is essential to the faith, it was definitely not an issue that I was ready to defend to people of other worldviews.
Having now found great joy from delighting in the doctrine of the Trinity there is a new fear. This is the fear of seemingly falling off the balance beam. Trying to explain the Trinity often feels like doing gymnastics [2]. The slightest misstep seems to lead to a fall into your heresy of choice.
The fear of failing to understand or getting something wrong can be paralyzing. They can keep you from even wanting to step up onto the bar in the first place.
Yet this fear is keeping you from great joy. Augustine said, “For to have the fruition of God the Trinity, after whose image we are made, is indeed the fullness of our joy, then which there is no greater.”
The Holy Trinity
The Holy Trinity
“We worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the divine being.
For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Spirit is still another.
But the deity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory, coeternal in majesty.
What the Father is, the Son is, and so is the Holy Spirit.”
-- Athanasian Creed [3]
St. Patrick gives up on his analogies after having been corrected on multiple occasions and declares that the Trinity is a mystery best confessed in the words of the Athanasian Creed.
The Trinity is an umbrella doctrine made up of many other assertions that make up the doctrine when fully assembled. Its function is to explain the tension caused by scripture’s teaching that God the Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, yet at the same time, there is only one God.
The Athanasian Creed provides us the language of “person” and “being” to help us wrestle with the tension in scripture. This has historically been illustrated using the diagram above.
Yet it is the person of Athanasius that you can find encouragement and instruction on delighting in the Trinity with confidence.
Athanasius
Athanasius
Historians today tend not to believe that St. Athanasius is the author of the creed which bears his name, but it is clear why his name adds credibility to it.
Athanasius is one of the most influential men in all of church history. He was born around 293, participated in the council of Nicaea, and became the Bishop of Alexandria.
He is best known for his staunch defense of the deity of Christ against the heresy of Arianism that claimed that the Son of God was not of the same substance as God the Father.
Athanasius was persecuted and exiled from his home in Alexandria on five separate occasions throughout his life for his defense of the divinity of Christ.
Yet for him, the defense of trinitarian Christianity was worth it.
Athanasius’ Encouragement
Athanasius’ Encouragement
Even as he refuted the attacks of the Arians or others, Athanasius’ heart for Christians to find joy in the Trinity was clear. He consistently sought to alleviate the anxieties that often plague believers.
He looks to the illustrations already provided by scripture instead of creating dubious analogies to find relief from the impossibility of understanding and explaining the Trinity.
“For divine Scripture, by way of relieving the impossibility of explaining and apprehending these matters in words, has given us illustrations of this kind; that it may be lawful, because of the unbelief of presumptuous men, to speak more plainly, and to speak without danger, and to think legitimately, and to believe that there is one sanctification, which is derived from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.”
-- Athanasius of Alexandria
In his letter entitled “Works on the Spirit,” Athanasius speaks of three illustrations specifically. The first illustration is the fountain and river, the next is light, and the final one is found in wisdom. I have laid out each illustration with its corresponding scripture references in the following graphic:
These illustrations are much different from the analogies we often hear today. No part is producing the other parts nor is any one element lesser than the others. But each illustration helps us understand how the Trinity functions across scripture.
In many cases, the closer we look at each scripture reference the harder it becomes to separate out each part of an individual illustration. Athanasius goes on to encourage that “We must not shrink from saying the same things about them many times” [4].
He often faced off against many who questioned how the Spirit, Son, Father, and Trinity all dwell within us yet are still one being. He responded by asking them to first try to divide radiance from light or wisdom from the “only wise.” And if you can’t divide these, how much more audacity do you need to try and divide the Trinity?
The Lord has given us illustrations like these to alleviate the pressure as we step up to the balance beam of the Trinity. We can step forward in confidence knowing that we can speak plainly, without danger, and think logically while putting our faith in the Trinitarian God of the bible.
By following the example of Athanasius, you can begin to delight in the Trinity without any anxiety as you use the illustrations and vocabulary that scripture has given us to better understand who God is.
[1] Lutheran Satire. (2013, March 14). St. Patrick’s Bad Analogies [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw
[2] I’ve never done gymnastics, but it looks really hard.
[3] Lutheran Book of Worship. (1978). Athanasian Creed (Quicunque vult). In Lutheran Book of Worship.
[4] Athanasius the Great, & Didymus the Blind. (2012). Works on the Spirit: Athanasius and Didymus. In St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press eBooks (p. 1).
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