Hi Keith,
although my views on the Trinity are not exactly the same as mopac, they are quite similar.
And I also hear your sigh of giving up understanding the Trinity a long time ago. Many have done so. In fact no one except God really understands the Trinity - which incidentally is one of the reasons why I take the view that the Trinity makes sense. God is a mystery - so for God either to be one only or simply many individual gods, it would be relatively more easy to understand. The entire notion of God being one and three is itself so anti-human reason it fits within what I think is a mystery. This concept sits well besides - Jesus, fully man and fully God. It also sits well next to the Scriptures - fully authored by God and yet fully written - not dictated - by men.
Indeed, if the Trinity was easy to sort out, and Jesus was easy to sort out, and the Scriptures were easy to sort out, I think that all would clearly be the products of humanity alone. Not being able to work something out does not make something divine - or even mysterious per se - but it does mean that attempting to relegate such things to human hands alone is more difficult. Fore example, they might simply be the products of a crazy mind. Yet, given that many people who are not crazy can accept these things for whatever reason makes that not very plausible.
Personally, I think the Trinitarian idea of the one and the many is brilliant. the tension between the absolute on the one hand and the many on the other is part of our life and clearly permeates every idea afoot without some even being aware of it. Take a simple example of legality. Gun laws. On the one hand the tension exists between the individual and the society. both have legitimate rights - but who will take priority. Consider our typical left wing v right wing politics - the individual v the whole. Who is to have the greater right? Are the rights of the society as a whole more important than the rights of the individual? Many would say yes - and many would say no. Trinitarian thinkers would say - it is not that simple.
In the West we focus on the individual more and more. In Asian countries there is a focus on the community. The Orthodox tends to take an oriental view - while the Catholics tended to take more of Individual view. Yet the Trinity says - clearly at the same time - God is ONE and God is three. Which takes precedence?
I think it is worthwhile not necessarily coming to grips with the nuances of the Trinity - no one will ever do that. Yet, from a philosophical position alone - it can enable a framework to see things quite differently in our world. Just think of the question such as free will v determinism. Or the question of economics - free enterprise v socialism. Or theological, mono religion v poly-theistic. (interestingly atheism falls within the poly-theistic worldview - despite the intriguing repetition that atheists don't believe in a god - the effect and outcome of their belief or non-belief is that everyone is a god - hence many gods - making it fall more towards Hinduism and directed to multi-cultural and relativistic beliefs)
Still, a matter for you.
