Three persons, three minds?

[feltmeanings23]

Does God have three minds, three centers/contexts of self-awareness? When I think of what makes a person a person, it’s that the entity has a mind. So if there are multiple minds, there are multiple persons, and vice versa.

Yet it’s “three persons in one divine essence,” and God’s essence is His will, so these three minds have the same will. They have the same values. They are all love; they are all God.

God the Son had/has two wills, a human one and His divine one, which makes sense in light of this verse: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Or am I mistaken?

Also, do the three minds share the same spirit, or is each mind its own spirit? (Does spirit=mind, is mind separate from spirit, is mind part of spirit?) As humans we talk of having a soul and a mind, but isn’t the mind (part of) the soul?

Thanks for any clarifications or corrections.

 

[z_0101]

You ask about the mystery of the Holy Trinity, and I dare say you’ll not find a truly satisfying answer; thus, the mystery.

Start here: The Holy Trinity - CA-Tracts

and in particular here The Holy Trinity
partially quoted:

The doctrine of the Trinity is encapsulated in Matthew 28:19, where Jesus instructs the apostles: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
The parallelism of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is not unique to Matthew’s Gospel, but appears elsewhere in the New Testament (e.g., 2 Cor. 13:14, Heb. 9:14), as well as in the writings of the earliest Christians, who clearly understood them in the sense that we do today—that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three divine persons who are one divine being (God).

…<<<
“And at the same time the mystery of the oikonomia is safeguarded, for the unity is distributed in a Trinity. Placed in order, the three are the Father, Son, and Spirit. They are three, however, not in condition, but in degree; not in being, but in form; not in power, but in kind; of one being, however, and one condition and one power, because he is one God of whom degrees and forms and kinds are taken into account in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (ibid.).

 

[GEddie]

Yes, one could say there are three minds, in the sense of three thought-processes going on.

But not in the sense of there ever being a conflict. Those three minds, if they can be called that, are more intimately linked than your own mind and body!

(I hope I didn’t just commit heresy)

ICXC NIKA

 

[feltmeanings23]

(I hope I didn’t just commit heresy)

That’s what I’m here to find out. Is it heresy to say God has three minds, or would that be akin to saying there are three deities who share the same values, the same will?

I don’t think it is heresy, but I come here to find out if it is.

 

[dmar198]

Does God have three minds, three centers/contexts of self-awareness? When I think of what makes a person a person, it’s that the entity has a mind. So if there are multiple minds, there are multiple persons, and vice versa.

Yet it’s “three persons in one divine essence,” and God’s essence is His will, so these three minds have the same will. They have the same values. They are all love; they are all God.

God the Son had/has two wills, a human one and His divine one, which makes sense in light of this verse: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Or am I mistaken?

Also, do the three minds share the same spirit, or is each mind its own spirit? (Does spirit=mind, is mind separate from spirit, is mind part of spirit?) As humans we talk of having a soul and a mind, but isn’t the mind (part of) the soul?

Thanks for any clarifications or corrections.

It is my understanding that the divine nature has one intellect and one will, and these two faculties are utilized by three persons. Therefore, if my understanding is correct, there are not three minds, but one mind, and this mind is used by three persons.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

Does God have three minds, three centers/contexts of self-awareness? When I think of what makes a person a person, it’s that the entity has a mind. So if there are multiple minds, there are multiple persons, and vice versa.

Yet it’s “three persons in one divine essence,” and God’s essence is His will, so these three minds have the same will. They have the same values. They are all love; they are all God.

God the Son had/has two wills, a human one and His divine one, which makes sense in light of this verse: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Or am I mistaken?

Also, do the three minds share the same spirit, or is each mind its own spirit? (Does spirit=mind, is mind separate from spirit, is mind part of spirit?) As humans we talk of having a soul and a mind, but isn’t the mind (part of) the soul?

Thanks for any clarifications or corrections.

All you have to believe about the Trinity is in Part 1, Chapters 1-4 of the Catechism ( linked at the bottom of this page ). Anything less or more is pure speculation and should not be entertained in discussions, teaching, blogs, etc.

Since the Church teaches that all three persons possess the entire essence/nature/substance of the Godhead ( the essence of the one God ) we should not think of three minds, three wills, three actions, etc. Rather, we should think of the Persons as the three ways God expresses his one mind. will - his nature and essence.

God Bless You for a very good question.
Linus2nd

 

[GEddie]

Also, do the three minds share the same spirit, or is each mind its own spirit? (Does spirit=mind, is mind separate from spirit, is mind part of spirit?) As humans we talk of having a soul and a mind, but isn’t the mind (part of) the soul?

As I understand it, the human soul does not have “parts,” however one could say that the spiritual soul (produced by the spirit, which is breathed by God) generates our minds.

ICXC NIKA

 

[JimG]

It is my understanding that the divine nature has one intellect and one will, and these two faculties are utilized by three persons. Therefore, if my understanding is correct, there are not three minds, but one mind, and this mind is used by three persons.

That’s my understanding. God is one divine nature with one intellect (mind) and one will. The Persons of the Trinity are distinct from one another as persons, but not distinct in nature, which is one.