Ask Bil Anything

Greg asks,

Why are you so down on the Trinity?

You’re right, Greg: I am down on the idea of a Trinity. I have never understood it. Early in my ministry, a priest suggested that many aspects of the church are a mystery, and the Trinity is one of them.

Because I was a young priest, I dismissed it as a mystery. As I matured, I discovered that the term mysteries typically signify some of the church’s way-out nonsensical beliefs (for example, immaculate conception).

The idea of a Trinity is not mentioned in the Old or New Testament but may be implied—sort of. Augustine (354–430 CE) pushed the concept and made it part of the church’s theology. Because the earth was flat and God lived up there, the idea of the Trinity kind of worked.

Today, the fact that up to two trillion galaxies exist in the universe negates any idea that some god lives up there and has his son come for visits while the Holy Ghost is down here, scaring folks into believing this nonsense.

Here are some more of my issues with the Trinity. The first problem is, Who is God? I suspect there are at least a million answers, maybe even more. I gave up on using that word and trying to define what or who God is. I settled for Creation, which is pretty nebulous because people who try to define God are wasting their time. So I don’t.

The second problem is calling God a father. When women were property and second-class citizens, the church was able to get away with that garbage. Not now! God isn’t a father or a mother or a transgender, nonbinary, gay, or lesbian being. My concept of Creation is totally inclusive, and I couldn’t care less about your crotch or sexual preference.

That’s why I like the concept of Creation: no gender, no judging, no son to send, still creating, still evolving, and existing in every living thing.

Because God isn’t a man or even a human being, there can’t be a son. For me, Jesus is a fellow human being, albeit a special one because of his message and insights into humanity. But I do believe his mom was Mary and am open to the idea that he could have been illegitimate because it makes no difference to me, thanks to agape and unconditional love.

That leaves the third problem: the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, in my youth. Who or what is it? As a child, I associated the Holy Ghost with Halloween, as did many others. Then, in about the 1960s, Ghost became Spirit, but it still fell into the mystery category because it was so convoluted.

When God became Creation and Jesus was a fellow human, it became clear to me that the Holy Spirit was like OG (Original Goodness)—the goodness that is in every human being. However, because of our Free Will, the Holy Spirit stays dormant until all human beings decide they want to live their lives centered around OG.

The idea of the Trinity being three-in-one went out with the horse and buggy. For those not in higher math (that’s me), the Trinity is still three and a useless mystery.

I hope I made you think about this because the decision is entirely yours. I just share what has worked so well for me.

PeaceLoveJoyHopeKindness

Bil

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P.S. People often ask me provocative questions about current events, both religious and secular. I have found that some of these questions are being asked universally. I’ll be periodically alternating regular articles with one of those questions and my answer. I invite you to send me your question to bilaulenbach@yahoo.com.