An Apology to a Muslim Friend

Have written an apology (i.e. defence) of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Thought that some of you bloggers might find it intresting. So here it is.



With regard to your question about the knowability of God. You must be correct in your assertion that if God is without space and Time there is a 'ditch' which the human mind cannot cross. All then we can ever know is God's action in space and time, which is not God only the action of God.

The message of Jesus, namely Christianity, teaches that God can be
known. It this possible? What the Christian scriptures teach is that 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.' (John 1 v 1). That is to say that Communication (dialogue)
is who God is. For dialogue and communication to be possible there
must be a distinction between the giver of and receiver of
information. There must be at least two 'free others' or as Christian
theology teaches at least two persons in the being of God.

At this point it is important to note that a Christian can in some
sense agree with the Islamic contention that God does not have a son.
For what the Christian is ultimately trying to say is that God IS
Father, Son and Spirit. God IS Tri-unity. Also it should be noted that
for a Christian to say that Jesus is the Son of God is not to say that
God had sexual intercourse with anyone let alone Mary. Rather the Son
has always been with the Father for God is Father, Son and Spirit.
Thus in the becoming human, the Son he does not become the Son for
he is, was, and always shall be the Son of God. We should not
ultimately let our human experience of father and son define our view
of God as Father and Son. Rather, we should let our view of God as
Father and Son define our view of human fathers and sons.

Returning now to the notion of 'free other' or person. This notion of
'free other' means that within God there must in a highly qualified
sense be 'space and time' within God. What the Great 20th Century
Christian theologian Karl Barth has called God-Space and God-Time.
This means that the Christian doctrine of the trinity is not an
obscure piece of theology. Rather, it is the life and soul of
Christianity. It is the belief that God in his nature has the capacity
for relationship. Dialogue is the essence of who God is, that is why
the Christian joyfully states that God is Love. For Love requires more
than one person and it means that communication is possible.

This is not to deny the existence of the impassable ditch between God
and Man. God is 'wholly other', God is not part of the Creation. Man
therefore cannot know God by any efforts of his own. The distance
between the Creator and the created is unbridgeable and infinite from
the perspective of Man. What the Christian contention is that
though from Man's side there is no way to know Who God is. There is
implicit within 'God-Space-time' the capacity for God to communicate to
Man. God can communicate with Man for communication far from being
alien to God is the essence of God. Though Man cannot step towards
God, God can step towards us.

Thus in the incarnation (becoming flesh) "The Word became flesh and
made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the
Only begotten, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
(John 1 v 18) Thus in the incarnation God reveals Who he is. God truly
communicates with man, in the language of man as man. This is possible
because relationship is the essence of God.

Further as you pointed out, in becoming man the Christian God dies. But he died as man, not so that he would cease to exist. Rather in taking our human death upon himself He gives to humanity His eternal life. This is the resurrection, God the Son has entered our death to bring us His own life. As one of my favourite theologians T. F Torrance states

"In Jesus God himself descends to the very bottom of our human existence where we are alienated and antagonistic, into the very hell of our godlessness and despair, laying fast hold of us and taking our cursed condition upon, himself, in order to embrace us for ever in his reconciling love.”

Your question of though if this was the case, how can God be knowable now for Jesus is not physically present. Though as the Christian doctrine teaches us The Son of God has not ceased to be Man. Nor will he ever cease to be man. Rather his assumption of humanity means that in him we have been borne to the throne room of God. This is the Christian belief that there is a unity of the whole of humanity due to its common ancestor - Adam. Christians believe that Christ assumed the place of Adam and so represents us all.

At this point it is important to bring to our mind the third and equally important person of the Divine Trinity, God the Holy Spirit. Christians believe that the relationship between the Father and the Son is mediated by the Holy Spirit. So in the same way (as Christ has taken our humanity) our relationship to God the Father and God the Son is mediated by the Holy Spirit. He is the Bond of Love. This is actualised by means of prayer, worship, scriptures, preaching and sacraments (Communion and Baptism) and many other ways. He makes what is real for Christ real to us and can do for you.