Is the Doctrine of the Trinity Relevant Today?
By Joel Settecase / September 6, 2024
Understanding the Trinity: A Doctrine That Solves Life's Biggest Questions
Too many people think of God's triune nature as a hyper-unexplainable doctrine that causes more questions than it answers. However, the more you learn about it, the more problems it solves. In fact, the most essential questions of philosophy, society, and life are solved by God’s tri-unity. Here is a scatter-shot listing of some examples.
The Trinity’s Relevance to Philosophy
Why are there three laws of logic?
Because God is Triune.
Why are the three laws of logic all equally ultimate to one another?
Because God is Triune.
Why do things exist both in categories (manifesting oneness) and as individual instantiations (manifesting plurality)?
Because God is Triune.
Speaking of which, why have philosophers always struggled with the Problem of the One and the Many, but Christians can figure it out?
Because God is Triune.
The Trinity’s Relevance to Nature
Why are triangles the strongest shape?
Because God is Triune.
Why is a light "particle" best understood as a "wave" operating in a "field," and why are those three phenomena crucial to understanding how matter and energy function?
Because God is Triune.
The Trinity’s Relevance to Human Life
Storytelling and Family
Why are there three perspectives in storytelling—first person, second person, and third person—but not fourth person?
Because God is Triune.
Why is a family the uniting together of two distinct, but alike, kinds of person (i.e. man and woman), who love each other so much that their love results in a third kind of person (i.e. children)?
Because God is Triune.
Interaction and Morality
Why is it possible to interact with so many things in life from three perspectives—normative, situational, and existential?
Because God is Triune.
Why is the simplest group in which every possible kind of personal interaction exists (1st person singular (I), 1st person plural (us), 2nd person singular (thee), 2nd person plural (you), 3rd person singular (him), 3rd person plural (them), a group of 3?
Because God is Triune.
Why are there unchanging, absolute moral obligations that deal with both how one thinks, speaks and acts toward oneself and how one treats others?
Because God is Triune.
Society and Knowledge
Why do human societies, families, and companies constantly strive to accommodate both unity and diversity?
Because God is Triune.
Why are there three spheres of sovereignty in society—the family, the church, and the state?
Because God is Triune.
Why are there three truth-seeking faculties—reason, the senses, and intuition?
Because God is Triune.
Why are truth, goodness, and beauty the three criteria by which we judge civilizational achievements?
Because God is Triune.
Take Your Learning Further
So many aspects of life, from how we interact with life, to what we can interact with, to who we are as the ones doing the interacting , are all explained by the doctrine of the Trinity. Far from being some impractical boondoggle of a doctrine, the Trinity turns out to be incredibly practical and relevant to all of life.
If you want to do deeper dive into how the Christian worldview explains all of life, consider joining the Hammer & Anvil Society—the ultimate discipleship community for Christian men. This is where you can build your theological knowledge base, become more bold to share and defend your faith, and learn in community with like minded believers, all while building a Christian worldview legacy for your family. Explore more here.