I was thinking the other day about the reasons I became Catholic. I have been Catholic for almost four years now, and have been interested in liturgical Christianity since about 1999. One thing that attracted me to liturgical Christianity and Catholicism is how Trinitarian our life, worship, and theology really is.
Growing up, I was fascinated with the Trinity and took it upon myself to defend the deity of Christ against its critics (like Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc). When I returned to my faith in college, I once again became interested in the Trinity. However, in both evangelical settings I found that the Trinity was usually only mentioned when we started talking about apologetics or Christian distinctives. Our everyday worship and education was not overly Trinitarian, although the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all mentioned, although not really in an orthodox Trinitarian framework. It wasn’t that the references to the Father, Son, and Spirit were purposefully heretical, it is just that often the three persons were not connected in any meaningful fashion. The Trinity was especially absent at the “contemporary” church I attended in college. There was no Trinitarian Creed, no Trinitarian hymns, no Church Year, no real catechesis about the Trinity beyond what may have come up in Bible Study, and no prayers that ended with …”who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God…” Perhaps a sermon or two throughout the year might mention the Trinity, but you couldn’t even count on that. Had you asked the leaders of that church if the Trinity was important, they would have said, “Oh, of course!” However, you wouldn’t have known it from the worship.
When I began studying Catholicism and Orthodoxy I found two Churches that were immersed in Trinitarian theology, that not only helped formulate the doctrine at Nicaea, but that also looked to the Trinity to shape their ethics and practices. Even the most basic Catholic/Orthodox prayer, the sign of the cross, was deeply Trinitarian. Upon attending liturgical services for the first time, I remember thinking, “wow, this is very Trinitarian!”
David Bennett
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Dave Hartline
May 12, 2008 at 1:17 pm |
And for me, being raised in a non-charismatic evangelical environment, prayer to Holy Spirit was as foreign as prayer to Mary.
November 19, 2009 at 3:19 am |
love to hear your thoughts on this post and video:
http://loga-abdullah.blogspot.com/2009/11/10-reasons.html
May 12, 2008 at 1:53 pm |
Bless you for sharing, David.
:-)
May 12, 2008 at 4:47 pm |
Yeah, indeed, amen and amen! This has certainly been my experience, as well. Even now, hymns, prayers, etc. that even tangentially mention the Trinity get me excited. When in seminary, I took a course on just the Trinity. FAR above my head, but such a beautiful course because of its beautiful subject.
Blessings, indeed!
BJ
BJ
Stupid Scholar
Daily Bible Reflections
May 12, 2008 at 4:51 pm |
Indeed it is. An interesting situation has arisen in Protestant circles, namely the misunderstanding of orthodox Trinitarianism. Written by an Anglican scholar, Kevin Giles (Jesus and the Father, Modern Evangelicals Reinvent the Doctrine of the Trinity) makes for a sad but fascinating read.
I review and comment on the book at my blog, regulafide@blogspot.com
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R.E. Aguirre
“itaque fratres state et tenete traditiones quas didicistis sive per sermonem sive per epistulam nostram.”
May 12, 2008 at 6:25 pm |
your link is bad; it’s an email link.
May 12, 2008 at 10:13 pm |
Chad,
I remember thinking growing up that we Methodists prayed to the Father, non-denominationals I knew prayed to Jesus, and the Pentecostals prayed to the Holy Spirit…if we could have just combined the three!
May 20, 2008 at 5:39 pm |
David,
You will be pleased to know that I used your quote on Sunday when I taught on the Trinitarian basis of the Anglican liturgy!
David