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Alan wrote:

Hi, guys —

Lately I've been thinking about the God proved by philosophical arguments and the God of Israel.

  • How can I prove to someone with logical, philosophical arguments or Scripture verses that the God whose existence is demonstrated in Aristotelian and Aquinian philosophy is the same being as the God of Israel, who revealed himself to Abraham and promised him descendants that would eventually become the Church? 

I think one could probably make an argument with historic continuity, possibly, as well as appeal to the uniqueness of the Israelites.

Also, the doctrine of the Trinity is very confusing. I was reading this article about Trinitarian philosophy: 

It's quite confusing, and it appears that most of this confusion is caused by terminology. I'd like to know your thoughts on the article. To me, it seems like if the Persons of the Trinity are distinct only by relation to the others, then there must be an infinite number of persons. Here's why: Catholic Answers says that the love of the Father and Son spirate the Holy Spirit: 

  • Magazine: Explaining the Trinity by Tim Staples • 6/20/2014
  • But why doesn't the love between the Father and Holy Spirit, or between the Holy Spirit and the Son, spirate a fourth Person?

For we know from philosophy that all of God's attributes are identical to his nature, or essence; so it doesn't seem illogical to me that the love between the Holy Spirit and another Person would spirate a fourth Person. And if this is possible, then a fourth Person's love for the other Persons would spirate a fifth Person, and there would be a "web" of spirated Persons loving all the other Persons.

Obviously, this web would be infinite because of the infinite amount of Persons simultaneously existing in Eternity. If God the Fathers image of himself is the Son, then it also seems like the Holy Spirit's image of himself would be his "Son", another divine Person, which would again cause the infinite web.

Please find a flaw in my reasoning! There must be something I'm missing — I suspect it's something about my understanding of divine personhood.

  • What is a Person in the Trinity?
  • What does it mean to call the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit "Persons", specifically? 

The reason I'm concerned about the doctrine of the Trinity is that it seems that it would help to show that the God of philosophy is both essentially love and three Persons, which would lead a disbeliever to conclude that only the Christian God is worth believing in.

  • How can I prove to someone with logical philosophical arguments or scripture verses that the God whose existence is demonstrated in Aristotelian and Aquinian philosophy is the same being as the God of Israel; and
  • Where is the flaw in my reasoning on the Trinity?

Alan

  { How can I prove God's existence is verified in these philosophies and where is my Trinitarian flaw? }

Paul replied:

Alan,

One way we can understand the conundrum of God understood by Catholic philosophers being the same as God understood by Old Testament writers, is that God can be in both realms of reality at once: the eternal and the temporal. In other words, the unchanging God who transcends time and space can interact with His creation, played out in time. In God's perspective, one can surmise that all is one in the 'eternal now' of His perfection. The two realms (temporal and eternal) work together in harmony, as an author who writes himself into his own novel. With the people of the Old Testament, this means God communicating with an ancient people mired in the effects of original sin. The first order of business was to wean them off the false idols of their time.

As for the Trinity, I don't know why you see it as logically necessary for there being an infinite regress of spirations of divine Persons. Consider the analogy that the Holy Spirit is the love-life between the Father and the Son as a child is the life-love between his Father and mother. As Eve proceeds from Adam's side (Genesis 2:22), a wife proceeds from her husband's heart; and the love-life between them is the child. Just like it's unreasonable to believe the child should unite with either parent to create another person, so too is it unreasonable to think the Holy Spirit would do the same with the Father or the Son. In human nature this would be called incest. Similarly, it also contradicts God's nature. The Father is the eternal Source of God. The Son is eternally begotten of Him as His Mind/Logos, and the Spirit proceeds from their union as Love-life. The nature of the family reflects God's eternal essence as Trinity.

One of the more popular definitions of 'person' in history is an individual substance of a rational nature (Boetheus). A similar definition could be a subject with intellect and will. Persons are rational and relational by nature. Humans are persons, angels are persons, and God is three Persons. Each divine Person has intellect and will and is distinct in their processions, relations, and revealed roles in the creation and salvation of the world. The universe is created by the Father, through the Son, and with the Holy Spirit. It returns to the Father, through the Son, with the Spirit.

The dogma of the Trinity is the greatest and most central mystery of Christianity. To apprehend a grasp of it, one must understand the difference between the concepts of being, nature, and person. God is one Being, has one Nature, and is three Persons. Christ as the second Person of God assuming a human nature, is one being, has two natures, and is one Person.

The Catholic encyclopedia has a good exposition of the topic. And for a simpler more condensed version, try the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Peace and God bless,

Paul
Beneath the Surface at www.Paulmurano.com – where faith and reason meet.
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