I'm sure there's many competing explanations of the Trinity, as there are of God generally.
I wouldn't contend that all explanations are the same, or that one version is correct, or anything about, like, the ontology of God, but I think people can have deeply held beliefs, and can articulate them even if they can't give the most, best coherent description of them, and that these articulations aren't just attempts to brainwash or whatever.
Mostly I think Catholic kids could give an explanation of Trinity, and certainly it wouldn't be like you were talking to Aquinas, it would be as good an explanation as a kid could give for anything else
I guess that's the issue for me, because that lay-explaination of the Trinity isn't really satisfying to me because I could probably give one too,
but I'm also aware that there's competing explainations, and I don't know the exact one whose team I'm 'supposed' to be on as a Catholic.
This is probably all moot because I don't think anyone converts from one Christianity to another based on their Holy Trinity explaination, but it is part of the many things that made me agnostic after going to state-funded Catholic school.
Was raised Catholic. Yes, Im not sure I could give a very nourishing description of the Trinity, other than God having three constitutive aspects, none being more essential than another.
And i'm not well versed enough theologically to explain why that is seen as a more powerful explanation than alternatives, but generally my feeling is that any of these are attempts to speak upon what seemingly definitionally can't be spoken upon, so it's hard to read the statements themselves or the speakers as wedded to ontological commitments, but rather at gestures at something broadly valuable or true.
But the particular idiom or specific language that attempts to describe that truth seems valuable to me (here the Catholic language of the Trinity). Fwiw, I find the redemption aspect of Christianity very attractive; Catholicism perhaps too, but maybe only because of cultural/traditional reasons.
I'm sure there's many competing explanations of the Trinity, as there are of God generally. I wouldn't contend that all explanations are the same, or that one version is correct, or anything about, like, the ontology of God, but I think people can have deeply held beliefs, and can articulate them even if they can't give the most, best coherent description of them, and that these articulations aren't just attempts to brainwash or whatever.
Mostly I think Catholic kids could give an explanation of Trinity, and certainly it wouldn't be like you were talking to Aquinas, it would be as good an explanation as a kid could give for anything else
I guess that's the issue for me, because that lay-explaination of the Trinity isn't really satisfying to me because I could probably give one too,
but I'm also aware that there's competing explainations, and I don't know the exact one whose team I'm 'supposed' to be on as a Catholic.
This is probably all moot because I don't think anyone converts from one Christianity to another based on their Holy Trinity explaination, but it is part of the many things that made me agnostic after going to state-funded Catholic school.
Was raised Catholic. Yes, Im not sure I could give a very nourishing description of the Trinity, other than God having three constitutive aspects, none being more essential than another.
And i'm not well versed enough theologically to explain why that is seen as a more powerful explanation than alternatives, but generally my feeling is that any of these are attempts to speak upon what seemingly definitionally can't be spoken upon, so it's hard to read the statements themselves or the speakers as wedded to ontological commitments, but rather at gestures at something broadly valuable or true.
But the particular idiom or specific language that attempts to describe that truth seems valuable to me (here the Catholic language of the Trinity). Fwiw, I find the redemption aspect of Christianity very attractive; Catholicism perhaps too, but maybe only because of cultural/traditional reasons.
lol, vibes-based redemption