You may be wondering why I chose "The Trinity and the Kingdom" to begin with. Quite frankly, the Trinity is a topic that I think most people don't think about, even though it is probably one of the most fundamental doctrines in the Christian faith. To most people, it seems weird, unhelpful, confusing and completely irrelevant to their daily lives- which is why so many avoid thinking/reflecting on it. Perversely, I think this is why I'm interested in it.
Classically understood, the Trinity is a Christian doctrine, stating that God exists as three persons, or in the Greek "Hypostasis", but is one being. The persons are understood to exist as God the Father, God the Son (incarnate as Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. Trinitarianism, belief in the Trinity, is accepted as truth by the vast majority of churches throughout the world that claim Christianity as their heritage.
But the question remains, so what? Doesn't most of that sentence up above just sound like a bunch of gobbledy-gook? What is the big deal? Why is this important? Does it have any relevance to our theology let alone our lives today? How can we know or even experience God as a Trinity? And if we can why does it matter. This is the point where Moltmann (from this point on I'll refer to him as Molty) begins.
The first question he wrestles with is how do we experience the Trinity/God? Within modern thought, this question is very individualistic. How do I experience reality? This is inherently self-centered and limiting. The problem with this limited understanding is that all experience is shared. Just as I or others might have an experience of God, God also has an experience of us. Molty's contention is that God's experience in the world is one of suffering. God's most profound revelations (that is, God's interaction with the creation) come through suffering and pain- the cry of the captives of Israel or the death cry of Jesus on the cross. He states this in a Trinitarian formula "God Suffers with us- God suffers from us- God suffers for us." (pg. 4) He critique's our tendency to make everything about us. If we really believe that God is present and active in our lives and in our culture today, then it is important to take into our thoughts the idea that God is present in the history of events in the world today. Our experience as individuals must be brought into the larger context of God's experience of the world. In so doing we are freed from self-destructive and self-deceptive worship of the self.
I don't particularly disagree with of this but I've got a few questions about it. I'm not sure that suffering is the only way, or even maybe the primary way that God reveals God's self. There is the act of creation in Genesis, there is the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. These acts of creation and joy don't quite fit into the neat categories that Molty has set up. However, the critique of individualism and our own self-preoccupation is helpful. The hard truth of the matter is that often times our preoccupation with ourselves causes us to over-look suffering that we cause. Only by expanding our horizons of where God is beyond ourselves are we able to fully engage with the creation that God has made.
I don't know that the doctrine of the Trinity is the best way to engage this set of questions. Is suffering really the only way to think about God's action in our lives? And does this really reveal the importance of the Trinitarian nature of God? I'm not so sure.
Anyway, Peace
Jason
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3 comments:
You might want to have an example of God suffering from us, it is the only type missing and I think it is one of the most important for understanding God as suffering.
I think actually on the cross all three of those are present. Jesus being fully human, is in solidarity with all people who suffer, so in this moment, Christ suffers with us. Jesus becomes a victim of our violence and hatred on the cross and thus suffers from us. However for other examples of that, we could look at Hosea 11:1-9 which display's God's inner turmoil (which most of us would agree is a type of suffering) in the conflict between a desire for justice and wrath because of Israel's unfaithfulness and love and mercy because Israel is God's child. And, according to Paul, Christ suffers for us on the cross so that our sins might be forgiven.
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