A pitch to explain the Trinity

[MarcoPolo]

Being in advertising, I’ve noticed some double-meaning phrases, like the old ad for Close Up toothpaste that said: “Get Close Up.” And the phrase meant both that you would have nice breath, and that you should go out and get the toothpaste. I thought this idea could be used to explain the Trinity.

My example is one with 3 meanings:Let’s say a baseball agent approaches a baseball scout and says, “Hey, how would you like to sign my pitcher? He throws so fast, you can hear the whiz of the ball go past.” The agent says, “Ok, let’s hear it.” So the pitcher throws the ball and it whistles by. The agent, impressed by the display says, “Nice pitch.”“Nice pitch” in this instance has 3 meanings at once. The type of throw was a pitch. The sound of the ball whizzing was a nice high pitch. And the purpose of the throw was to sell the agent on his skills, i.e. he was given a sales pitch which was nice.

I like this kind of analogy to explain the Trinity better than water/ice/vapor, because those are all independently in those modes, whereas the “Pitch” example maintains all 3 characteristics at once.

What do you think? I bet Abbott and Costello would have been good at this too.

 

[Agatina]

How about this for an explanation of Three In One?
I am myself.
I am my mother’s daughter.
I am my children’s mother.

 

[jamil_joseph02]

Yes, Trinity… I would like to expand my understanding of Trinity.

 

[danaemariejoan]

How about this for an explanation of Three In One?
I am myself.
I am my mother’s daughter.
I am my children’s mother.

a slight flaw with that one, Agatina.
you can’t be the Son of the Father when you are the Father too.
Just something for you to think about because some people will exploit it.
I understand what you are trying to say, but it is not the best explanation for the Trinity.

I still like St. Patrick’s three leaf clover one the most.

 

[jamil_joseph02]

I still like St. Patrick’s three leaf clover one the most.

could you share to us this St. Patrick’s three leaf clover?

 

[Agatina]

a slight flaw with that one, Agatina.
you can’t be the Son of the Father when you are the Father too.
Just something for you to think about because some people will exploit it.
I understand what you are trying to say, but it is not the best explanation for the Trinity.

I still like St. Patrick’s three leaf clover one the most.

Oh, I see your point. But it still helps my finite brain to realize that if I can be 100% myself and yet also be childrens’mom & mom’d daughter and that sounds like three people but it’s only three roles for the same person then why can’t God do it on a grander scale. There are layers & layers for what God has done, I admit, but it helps me relate to the “idea” of the Trinity.
A agree though that you can’t be the Son when you are actually the Father.
We have an amazing faith, don’t we.
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the word was God. Amen
Agatina; Interested to hear more on this subject.

 

[danaemariejoan]

I knew I should have explained it.

as you know there are three leaves on a clover (unless you are lucky and find a four-leaf clover. good luck with that one. ). Anyway, they are connected at the base by a stem. So you have three parts of one whole.
The Trinity is three parts of one Whole. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is possible for something to be three different things (the leaves of the clover) but part of one thing (the stem of the clover).

I certainly hope I didn’t confuse you anymore. I haven’t heard that one since elementary school. And it is 2:30 in the morning where I am.

 

[Tsuwano]

I often use the image of a lover who has a genuine feeling of love for the beloved which must be expressed. The Father is the lover. The genuine feeling of love he feels and desires to share is the Holy Spirit. The expression of his love (his word of love) is the Son. Genuine love does not fully exist unless there is a lover who experiences the emotion of love and expresses his love to a beloved. You can’t have genuine or realized love if one of the three aspects of love is missing.

 

[danaemariejoan]

Oh, I see your point. But it still helps my finite brain to realize that if I can be 100% myself and yet also be childrens’mom & mom’d daughter and that sounds like three people but it’s only three roles for the same person then why can’t God do it on a grander scale. There are layers & layers for what God has done, I admit, but it helps me relate to the “idea” of the Trinity.
A agree though that you can’t be the Son when you are actually the Father.
We have an amazing faith, don’t we.
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the word was God. Amen
Agatina; Interested to hear more on this subject.

I thought that you were using it for yourself. I was just warning you that there are some that would jump on that theory, and basically tell you what I have said except in a much more “violent” way. If you understand what I’m trying to say.
Yes, I know that in a personal way that being more than one person (i.e. I am my mother’s daughter, a child of God, and … (pick something else here. I should be asleep but oh well) ). I have read many books (mostly fantasy so you don’t have to take this in any real way) with the theory of being more than one person. In other words, you have more than one name (your eveyday name that everyone knows, the name of your actual soul, and the name that God will always know you as) maybe I am just a little nuts over here, but maybe someone else will understand.
Do you mind me asking how long have you been Catholic? You have a strong faith.

 

[danaemariejoan]

I often use the image of a lover who has a genuine feeling of love for the beloved which must be expressed. The Father is the lover. The genuine feeling of love he feels and desires to share is the Holy Spirit. The expression of his love (his word of love) is the Son. Genuine love does not fully exist unless there is a lover who experiences the emotion of love and expresses his love to a beloved. You can’t have genuine or realized love if one of the three aspects of love is missing.

I like that one. very true.

 

[jamil_joseph02]

Where does the word Trinity came anyway? What council of the Church taught that?

 

[MarcoPolo]

Where does the word Trinity came anyway? What council of the Church taught that?

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:*The word trias (of which the Latin trinitas is a translation) is first found in Theophilus of Antioch about A.D. 180. He speaks of "the Trinity of God [the Father], His Word and His Wisdom (To Autolycus II.15). The term may, of course, have been in use before his time. Afterwards it appears in its Latin form of trinitas in Tertullian (On Pudicity 21). In the next century the word is in general use.*The consubstantiality of the Trinity was forumlated at the council of Nicea in 325 when the battle was on versus the Arians, who denied the Trinitarian nature of God.

 

[MarcoPolo]

Ok, another 3-way word analogy to add to this thread.

Let’s say there’s a golfer who can win the Master’s Tournament if he eagles a par 5. He gets a decent drive on 18, and it might be tough to get it to the green on the next shot. When someone wins the Master’s, they get a lot of money and also are awarded the coveted “green jacket.” So the crowd shouts “GO FOR THE GREEN!” You see here how the phrase embodies 3 meanings at once. He’s going for the green on the course. He’s going for the “green” money prize. And he’s going for the “green” in reference to the jacket.