The Religions Book

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as three Gods pulling in three
different directions. Augustine
(p.221) explained that it is this love
that binds the Trinity together.

Metaphors of the Trinity
Over the centuries, many people
have tried to identify metaphors
for the Trinity in order to explain
how three can be one, and one
three. For instance, St. Patrick—a
5th-century CE missionary who took
Christianity to Ireland—used the
image of a three-leaf shamrock.
Others have used the analogy

of speech to explain the Trinity:

the Father is the one who speaks,

the Son is the word that is spoken,

and the Spirit is the breath by

which the word is spoken. By far

the most influential Christian

theologian of the 20th century was

Karl Barth (1886–1968), a Swiss

pastor and professor. He came up

with a helpful guide for trinitarian

thinking, which has been embraced

by much contemporary theology.

The doctrine of the Trinity means

that whatever is said about the

Christian God, has to be said

A DIVINE TRINITY

Red rose petals fall inside the

Pantheon, Rome, at the end of

Pentecost Mass, commemorating the

descent of the Holy Spirit onto the

disciples on the day of Pentecost.

three times, as if telling the

same story from three different,

but complementary, perspectives.

This repetition, maintains Barth,

reflects what God’s existence is

really like—whatever God does,

he does as Father, Spirit, and Son.

Defining principle

The doctrine of the Trinity is

often considered one of the most

obscure and complicated aspects

of Christian theology. Nonetheless,

Christians hold to the doctrine

because they believe it reflects a

vital characteristic of God. Just as

in the debates with the Arians and

Sabellians in the 4th century CE, the

idea of the Trinity is essential to

orthodox Christian faith. Groups,

such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and

the Unitarians, who hold conflicting

views on this issue are generally not

considered authentically Christian

by the mainstream Church.

One interesting development in

recent times has been the notion

of the social Trinity, in which the

cooperation of the three persons of

As Father, Son, and Spirit

are three, they are three

agents of what the one

God does with creatures.

Robert Jenson