If you know anything about following Jesus of Nazareth, then maybe you’ve thought the same thing as this graphic.
This position advanced here refers to something called the “Trinity”. It states that God, as He’s understood by serious Jesus followers, exists as three equal entities: God, Jesus (who many people believe is God’s divine Son) and the Holy Spirit.
If this leaves you scratching your head, you’re certainly not alone. It’s probably easier to explain nuclear fission.
But let’s think more about the “logic” of all this, since it’s the main point of the graphic. Just because it may not be logical doesn’t mean it can’t be true — especially when even the most logical people accept and live out all sorts of illogical things:
- Many professional athletes receive millions and millions of dollars per year while social workers, commercial pilots and nurses (who, let’s face it, do far, FAR more important work) sometimes need second jobs just to pay their bills.
- People still attempt to climb Mount Everest even though it’s long been proven to be enormously dangerous and there is no legitimate reason to bother trying.
- In Canada, elected politicians who want the province of Quebec to separate receive pensions paid for by all Canadians.
None of these things — and I’m sure you can think of many more without a lot of effort — are even slightly logical, and yet they continue to happen every day. Often without a peep of protest.
So if you are willing to accept the rampant illogic of the world we human beings have created, why aren’t you willing to accept what might seem illogical about the creator of time, space and the universe?
There’s something else to keep in mind here: God will never fit into a tidy box of what you and I consider “logical”. Like it or not, God will always be beyond our full comprehension.
But here’s something that’s easier to understand:
1. God LOVES every person on this planet, no matter their age, gender, sexual preference, place of residence, religious belief (or lack thereof), and behaviour.
2. Because every human being has fallen short of who God designed us to be (through the wrong things we’ve done and the good things we’ve failed to do), we separate ourselves from our creator.
3. God does the heavy lifting to bridge that gap, offering the life, sacrificial death and resurrection of His son Jesus to every person on this planet.
4. Anyone who accepts this gift can find his/her life transformed in the here and now, and in the life to come when our time on this planet ends.
I accepted that gift in my 40s, after many years of reading, pondering and debating with Jesus followers. I certainly don’t understand everything about my faith, but I also know that when this life is finished, all my questions simply won’t matter anymore.
Despite any questions you have, the gift of Jesus is offered to you too. Will you accept it? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
Frank's Cottage 
Only someone who does not understand Christianity could come up with something as ridiculous as the man in the meme.
Even if one chooses not to believe in something, the least they can do is have enough respect to keep his ridicule to himself.
Back in the day when I was a Roman Catholic altar boy (c. 1953), there was a pamphlet in the magazine rack titled “Between Heaven and Earth”. On the front was an illustration of God the Father (stereotypical old guy with long beard), Jesus to his right (he looked just like the Sacred Heart statue nearby), and the dove hovering overhead. All of this in the clouds over (where else?) the dome of St. Peters in Rome.
Needless to say, this imagery doesn’t work anymore (and hasn’t for a long time).
For many years now, the concept of “Trinity” has been something that must mean something for professional theologians who have a lot of time on their hands.
As I have aged, my theology has become radically Incarnational and Trinitarian.
God (Father) is totally “other” – totally unfathomable, totally unknowable.
At the same time, God (Son) is totally incarnate. Revealed perfectly in Jesus, but in fact, incarnate in His creation, and incarnate in a really special way as His Image and Likeness. In me, you, and even in the guy down the street that neither of us like very well. We may not realize it, acknowledge it, try to deny it, but it’s there.
And at the same time, God Spirit) is totally present in the “space” between the two realities – totally present in the communication and relationship.
If we think about the reality that we are dealing with an Incarnate God who works in us and through us to touch the world…what kind of implications does that have? In my mind, that makes us “Living Sacraments” or “Living Icons” or something similar…
If I say “Frank, God loves you”, you might just say “Nice, but isn’t that in his job description”?
If I say “Frank, I love you”, you might think “Sure – He’s a Christian. They all say that.”
But what if I say “Frank, God wants to love you through me”? What do you have to say to that??
In short, without expanding the notion of “Incarnation” beyond something that happened once a long time ago, we don’t (in my estimation) have a whole lot of “good news”. We become recipients of God’s work of redemption in Christ rather than participants in that great redeeming work.
RW in Kansas City
Great thoughts, RW. Thanks for contributing. 🙂
[…] Source: THE CONUNDRUM OF LOGIC […]
Whoa! Blown away by RW’s response. We all need to check ourselves, question and ponder: are we participants, or merely recipients? In my estimation, we need both in balance to secure our adherence to God, and then have the courage and valor to spread His Good News to the world. We all need to welcome God’s presence, working through us, to love others as He loves. May we all pray for that strength and resolve!
Blessings, Frank!
In defense of the man who is shown in the meme – at least he is being honest – that he doesn’t understand God. There is so much false teaching about God and Christianity, that it supports his position. If there were more Christians who were honestly asking God to reveal more of Himself, it would take care of the doubts in our own minds, and help to silence a lot of criticism that we face from unbelievers.
As Frank mentioned, we can never put God into a box built on human reasoning. The Bible itself declares that the godhead is a mystery. “Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.” But then it goes on to offer an explanation: “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
Who fits that description? Jesus.
Jesus, was God’s manifestation to the world. In chapter one of the book of Hebrews, it says that Jesus is “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” An “express” image is one that is a perfect representation. Jesus is God’s perfect representation of Himself to mankind.
So we need to pay attention to what Jesus says to us. But that goes into another topic! 🙂
The thing that bothers me most about the Jesus story is the following:
Christian theology differentiates between God as the supernatural being (God the Father) and God as Son (Jesus).
Looking at Jesus’ death I think it is a horrible story of torture and death and I cannot understand how one could think that bringing additional torture and death of an innocent and good man into this world should be a good thing, let alone send a strong message of love with this brutal and archaic blood sacrifice (with its abominable instrument, which by the way ISIS has now sadly brought back to its original usage, becoming the symbol of Christianity. If you ask me I like the fish a lot more!)
I honestly wish the life of this noble man would have been spared!
Yet looking at the story from the perspective of God the Father is was not even a sacrifice at all because He didn’t stop existing. In fact He is now sitting right and left to Himself (whatever that means) and Jesus is even supposed to come back some time (during the lifetime of Jesus’ followers as we learn e.g. in Matthew 16:28).
So both perspectives show that no real sacrifice happened, yet additional human suffering was brought into this world. I can see neither love nor glory in this story. A God whose best idea He could come up with is to have His only Son tortured and killed just to tell His creation that they are saved (from what?) is in my humble opinion not worthy of worship – even if He existed (which could of course be).
I sometimes wish the life of Jesus had been spared, too. In fact, so did Jesus. Just hours before he was arrested, The Bible records him asking God to spare him from what he knew was coming. But in the end, Jesus prayed that “not my will, but yours” be done.
Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is God’s gift to anyone willing to accept it. Accepting it means when I’m finished with this life and meet God, He won’t see all the wrong things I’ve done and the right things I’ve failed to do. He won’t see my selfishness, my self-centredness, my immaturity, my need for attention. He’ll see me as he sees His Son: perfect in every way. And he can see YOU that way, too. 🙂
Thank you, Frank, that is very nice of you.