Explaining the Trinity (or at least trying to)

[Tim_Kirchoff]

What about color? Would this work?

Visible color essentially appears as a single expression - we shall call it white. However, white consists of three equally distinct visible colors – three colors that are togther one. Or perhaps better still one color that can be seen in relationship as three equal yet distinct parts colors. Nevertheless none ever being separate from the other, and each equally existing and sharing in the full expression of white.

And interestingly, every other color emanates from these three that are one.

Perhaps, but we run into the same problem we saw with the atom. The three colors make up white, but can be expressed independently of each other and of white. Like so:




:bigyikes:

However, I once heard light used as a way to explain the Incarnation… Just as light is both a wave and a particle, Jesus is both God and man.

 

[Charlie_Zeaiter]

What is Sheed’s explanation? …

Frank Sheed’s book, Theology for Beginners is excellant. It’s the best explanation I’ve seen. I’ll have a go at summarising it…

The Father is the divine spirit. This means he is inifinte - all powerful and for all time. Like all spirits, he knows and he loves.

His knowledge and his love is infinite too. But, you can not have multiple beings with infinite nature, because that would mean that one being is limited by not being the other. So, The Father, his knowledge, and his love, all possess the exact same infinite nature. So, if the Father is a person, then the knowledge and the love are persons too. :twocents:]

The infinite knowledge is known and The Word. He is called The Son because He is in likeness to The Father. And He became man; Jesus.

The infinite love, which proceeds from The Father and Son, is known as the Holy Spirit.

The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit are three persons - but they possess the exact same divine nature; They know with the same intellect and love with the same will.
Anyway, Christians could never work this out. It was revealed to us in the bible and Theology is just trying to gain more light from it.

I strongly suggest you read Frank Sheed’s book, Theology for Beginners. It’s the best explanation I’ve seen - better than any analogy.