Why is the Trinity in any way a "practical" dogma.

Just as a breif note: sorry about the length of time between posts. It's been a little crazy. Anyway, here's my offering.

As I was reading this section, I realized that I'm running into a problem.

Some authors are smarter than I am.

Take for instance my last post where I asked the question, "How can we know or even experience God as a Trinity? And if we can why does it matter?" Well Molty address this in this section. He writes that the second set of objections that is frequently raised is the one that had been dwelling in my mind- what are the practical applications of such a doctrine?

Within modern thought, we tend to focus on results. That is how we determine what is worthwhile and what is not. So what is the result or outcome of theology from a modern standpoint? Well according to Kant (a German enlightenment philosopher) the practical result of theology should be morality (what one believes is right or wrong) and politics (how one implements what is right or wrong). Which in all honesty is often how I tend to evaluate things. I believe strongly that my faith must be something that I can enact and live out. But how do I live out a doctrine of God as three-in-one? It doesn't make much sense, so this doctrine probably isn't that important.

Except, says good old Molty, that this practical side of me is only half of what I, the believer, have to give. He does not dispute the importance of this side, but it is only half. He states that Christian love is not just a motivation to do action and accomplish God's work. "Faith lives in meditation and prayer as well as practice." (7) Without faith, we become captive to a type of pragmatism that is only open to what we think can happen, rather than being open to what God imagines the world to be. Without the practice of prayer, contemplation and meditation we cut ourselves off from the ground that gives us the strength to watch it.

In addition to this, knowledge, writes Molty, in our modern context is about control. Most of us have heard and believe, "Knowledge is power". However Molty states that in the ancient world, knowledge is more about intimacy that invokes wonder and awe. (A prime example "Adam knew Eve and she concieved and bore a son Seth.") Thus, knowledge about God and the nature of God is not about practical application in the modern sense, but about inspiring in us wonder and awe about God.

I appreciate Molty's warning about viewing things only in light of their utility. How many of us would say that something like Michelangelo's Pieta is useful? But is it valuable and leads us toward a greater understanding of the humanity and tragedy of the crucifixion and thus increase our wonder of God in our lives? Absolutely. (At least it does for me.) So perhaps the doctrine of the Trinity should be considered more as a piece of doctrinal artwork rather than something that must be adhered to and defined so strictly that there is no wonder or awe left.