When I think of the great philosophical and religious traditions of monotheism, I eventually feel a little cold – especially regarding the monism of Hinduism and Buddhism. When I think of polytheistic traditions – well, that’s just silly. This is not to say that these various traditions do not have magnificent expressions of beauty. Nor that they do not have incredible insights into the human condition. They are rich because humanity itself is rich. However, in the end, they fall short of the desires of the human heart and the demands of the human mind.
Christianity is different. At the heart of Christianity is the man, Jesus Christ, who reveals, above all in his death, resurrection, and ascension, that God is both one and three. It is an absolute affirmation of monotheism and plurality. It is only such affirmation that can satisfy the human being. Why?
Human reason demands monotheism. One most certainly needs to be religious to affirm a plurality of gods, but one need not be religious at all to affirm one Supreme Being. As for the religious, all of the greatest and most influential religions are monotheist. This even includes Hinduism, which while professing 100,000s of gods affirms the one divine monad, Brahman, above them all – something that is wholly other, of which all the varied gods are unlike. Jesus Christ proposes a radical monotheism – one which affirms the absolute transcendence of God, His absolute otherness, and the absolute dependency of creation on God.
While human reason demands monotheism, human affectivity demands plurality. Man needs relationships: family, friendship, romance, marriage, fellowship, community. We need relationships in our so-called private lives and our so-called work lives. (We divide our lives into different spheres; no wonder insanity is pervasive!) Monotheism without intimacy is unpalatable. Jesus Christ proposes a radical plurality – one which affirms the absolute distinction of the three while also affirming the absolute inseparability, unity, and oneness of the three; communion unlike any conceived by the mind of man.
The unity of the Holy Trinity meets and surpasses the demands of human reason. The plurality of the persons meets and surpasses the desires of human affectivity. These two aspects of man, reason and affectivity, seemingly irreconcilable, find their mingling in the truth of the Holy Trinity. The Good News of Jesus Christ, however, is not mere knowledge, but life. Jesus Christ proposes the radical imminence of God – three and one. There is no religion more panentheistic than Christianity. All is created through the Word, and the Word became flesh that man may become divine. The Good News of Jesus Christ radiating in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is that we may enter into this divine communion, this perfect oneness, this perfect relation, this love beyond all loves.
the theological beard 