Trinity Part II

[zunshynn]

Thanks, that helped alot. But I'm still having trouble understanding why Jesus was always saying that God sent him, and that the Father is greater than he is and stuff.

And would it be appropriate to say that they are all God, one and the same, but manifested in three different ways?

If it helps, I'm struggling with the Mormon understanding of God, because I realize outside the Trinitarian dogma, there are a number of conflicting heresies

Edited October 13, 2005 by zunshynn

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='zunshynn' date='Oct 13 2005, 05:30 PM']Thanks, that helped alot. But I'm still having trouble understanding why Jesus was always saying that God sent him, and that the Father is greater than he is and stuff.[right][snapback]757488[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]
Since Christ is God hypostatically united with a human nature, the Fathers often make a distinction between statements that apply to the Word in His Divinity and in His humanity. As St. Athanasius says, the Son or Logos is, "Equal to the Father in His Godhead; less than the Father in humanity".
The Word became subject to the Father by taking on a human nature and entering history. It was the plan of God from the beginning. He became true man and gave us an example. "While He was in the form of God, He did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at, but rather emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave", as St. Paul says. And slaves are subject to one greater than themselves. And it was for this that He came into the world; from the moment of His birth His life was a kenosis, or self-emptying, in offering to the Father. But the Word of God [i]ad intra[/i], is equal to the Father because they are of one essence. Equal but distinct in their relations and origins, the Father being unoriginate, the Son being begotten, and the Spirit spirated.

[quote name='zunshynn' date='Oct 13 2005, 05:30 PM']And would it be appropriate to say that they are all God, one and the same, but manifested in three different ways?[right][snapback]757488[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]
When one talks of the Persons of the Trinity as three manifestations of God, one risks modalism in my opinion. Rather than saying there are Three Persons in God, it may be better to say God is Three Persons.
This does not mean that there are three Gods, or that God has three personalities. It means that God's inner being is a Trinity of distinct Persons who are utterly one in being.
Basically the concept of the Trinity is synonymous with what the Divine is, in Christianity. As JP2 put it, "God is not a solitude, but a family". God is one, but that "one" happens to be a communion of Persons. This is why it can be said that God is Love. Love implies a communion of persons, and so it only makes sense that God is a communion of Persons if God truly is Love from all eternity and essentially. At least if you want to avoid pantheism or something of this sort.

[quote name='zunshynn' date='Oct 13 2005, 05:30 PM']If it helps, I'm struggling with the Mormon understanding of God, because I realize outside the Trinitarian dogma, there are a number of conflicting heresies[right][snapback]757488[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]
Here are a couple little links that might provide some interesting materials that avoid technical jargon and all that.
[url="http://www.catholic.com/library/god_christ.asp"]http://www.catholic.com/library/god_christ.asp[/url]
[url="http://www.catholic.com/library/Gods_of_the_Mormon_Church.asp"]http://www.catholic.com/library/Gods_of_th...rmon_Church.asp[/url]

And more comprehensive:
[url="http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ14.HTM"]http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ14.HTM[/url]

God bless you