Trinity Forum Readers,

If you are interested in some new ideas on religious pluralism in relation to the Trinity, please check out my website at www.religiouspluralism.ca, and give me your thoughts on improving content and presentation.

My thesis is that an abstract version of the Trinity could be Christianity’s answer to the world need for a framework of pluralistic theology.

In a rational pluralistic worldview, major religions may be said to reflect the psychology of One God in three basic personalities, unified in spirit and universal in mind – analogous to the orthodox definition of the Trinity. In fact, there is much evidence that the psychologies of world religions reflect the unity of One God in an absolute Trinity.

In a constructive worldview: east, west, and far-east religions present a threefold understanding of One God manifest primarily in Muslim and Hebrew intuition of the Deity Absolute, Christian and Krishnan Hindu conception of the Universal Absolute Supreme Being; and Shaivite Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist apprehension of the Destroyer (meaning also Consummator), Unconditioned Absolute, or Spirit of All That Is and is not. Together with their variations and combinations in other major religions, these religious ideas reflect and express our collective understanding of God, in an expanded concept of the Holy Trinity.

The Trinity Absolute is portrayed in the logic of world religions, as follows:

1. Muslims and Jews may be said to worship only the first person of the Trinity, i.e. the existential Deity Absolute Creator, known as Allah or Yhwh, Abba or Father (as Jesus called him), Brahma, and other names; represented by Gabriel (Executive Archangel), Muhammad and Moses (mighty messenger prophets), and others.

2. Christians and Krishnan Hindus may be said to worship the first person through a second person, i.e. the experiential Universe or "Universal” Absolute Supreme Being (Allsoul or Supersoul), called Son/Christ or Vishnu/Krishna; represented by Michael (Supreme Archangel), Jesus (teacher and savior of souls), and others. The Allsoul is that gestalt of personal human consciousness, which we expect will be the "body of Christ" (Mahdi, Messiah, Kalki or Maitreya) in the second coming – personified in history by Muhammad, Jesus Christ, Buddha (9th incarnation of Vishnu), and others.

3. Shaivite Hindus, Buddhists, and Confucian-Taoists seem to venerate the synthesis of the first and second persons in a third person or appearance, ie. the Destiny Consummator of ultimate reality – unqualified Nirvana consciousness – associative Tao of All That Is – the absonite* Unconditioned Absolute Spirit “Synthesis of Source and Synthesis,”** who/which is logically expected to be Allah/Abba/Brahma glorified in and by union with the Supreme Being – represented in religions by Gabriel, Michael, and other Archangels, Mahadevas, Spiritpersons, etc., who may be included within the mysterious Holy Ghost.

Other strains of religion seem to be psychological variations on the third person, or possibly combinations and permutations of the members of the Trinity – all just different personality perspectives on the Same God. Taken together, the world’s major religions give us at least two insights into the first person of this thrice-personal One God, two perceptions of the second person, and at least three glimpses of the third.

* The ever-mysterious Holy Ghost or Unconditioned Spirit is neither absolutely infinite, nor absolutely finite, but absonite; meaning neither existential nor experiential, but their ultimate consummation; neither fully ideal nor totally real, but a middle path and grand synthesis of the superconscious and the conscious, in consciousness of the unconscious.

** This conception is so strong because somewhat as the Absonite Spirit is a synthesis of the spirit of the Absolute and the spirit of the Supreme, so it would seem that the evolving Supreme Being may himself also be a synthesis or “gestalt” of humanity with itself, in an Almighty Universe Allperson or Supersoul. Thus ultimately, the Absonite is their Unconditioned Absolute Coordinate Identity – the Spirit Synthesis of Source and Synthesis – the metaphysical Destiny Consummator of All That Is.

After the Hindu and Buddhist conceptions, perhaps the most subtle expression and comprehensive symbol of the 3rd person of the Trinity is the Tao (see book cover); involving the harmonization of “yin and yang” (great opposing ideas indentified in positive and negative, or otherwise contrasting terms). In the Taoist icon of yin and yang, the s-shaped line separating the black and white spaces may be interpreted as the Unconditioned “Middle Path” between condition and conditioned opposites, while the circle that encompasses them both suggests their synthesis in the Spirit of the “Great Way” or Tao of All That Is.

If the small black and white circles or “eyes” are taken to represent a nucleus of truth in both yin and yang, then the metaphysics of this symbolism fits nicely with the paradoxical mystery of the Christian Holy Ghost; who is neither the spirit of the one nor the spirit of the other, but the Glorified Spirit proceeding from both, taken altogether – as one entity – personally distinct from his co-equal, co-eternal and fully coordinate co-sponsors, who differentiate from him, as well as mingle and meld in him.

For more details, please see: www.religiouspluralism.ca

Samuel Stuart Maynes



(Previously written)

I think we must have a lot in common if you are interested enough to join this discussion. I hope you will find that my Trinity research compliments your own.

I believe that God is one in spirit, and universal in mind, but threefold in personality. Each of these persons is conscious of himself as part of one consciousness unified in conscience and reason, but having the personality prerogative of freewill within the bounds of necessary Trinity cooperation.

The will of each person of the Trinity is not identical, but is integrated in an almost musical procession of exquisite "perichoresis" or dancing around of Trinity coordination, forever supporting their divine union in One God. Theoretically, each could walk away with his portion of the kingdom, as the Qur'an puts it, but they don't because of the catastrophic consequences of such a disintegration, as well as the overwhelming goodness of their systematic unity.

Please take a look at my new book "Religious Pluralism and the Trinity Absolute: a Constructive Interpretation of World Religions and a Metaphysical Blueprint for Peace" currently previewing on the web at www.religiouspluralism.ca.

The thesis is that Muslims worship only the first person of the Trinity, i.e. the Deity Absolute Prime Creator. Christians and some Hindus worship the first person through the second person, i.e. the Universe Absolute Supreme Being or Oversoul. And many Hindus and some Buddhists venerate the synthesis of the first and second persons in a third person, i.e. the Unconditioned Absolute Spirit of All That Is.

It is argued that world religions reflect the systematic unity of One God in Trinity manifestations, which become almost universal when you consider that some flavours of Buddhism, Confucian-Taoism, and other major religions seem to be psychological permutations or combinations of the first three – all just different personality perspectives on the same God.

It is argued that that a spark of that one spirit of Trinity indwells the soul of all humans, together with a small portion of the universal mind, and a personal will or character. The human soul is thus modelled on the Trinity as its only adequate metaphysical vehicle, but also in a “perichoresis” of the psychological coordinates of consciousness – the threefold human soul – personality/mind/spirit.

If the purpose of life is to find God and be like him, then the way to do the will of God is to let him live your life with you, helping fuse your personality and spirit in your immortal soul. That immortality may be achieved through participation in the Universe Absolute Oversoul, of which Jesus Christ seems to be the head representative, and it might also be a merging of consciousness with the Unconditioned Absolute Spirit of All That Is, as well as an amplification of personal connection with the Deity Absolute.

At the same time, in considering the Universe Supreme Being, Muslims would insist on including Muhammad, and Hindus might suggest Buddha (9th incarnation of Vishnu), etc. At the supposed spirit level of the universe, we can speculate that the corresponding supreme leaders might be Michael, Gabriel, and some unidentified angel(s).

Similarly and likewise, Allah, Abba (or Father, as Jesus called him), and Brahma may be regarded as a representation of the first person of the Trinity Absolute in three major world religions - Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism – with hybrid psychologies represented by Buddha, Confucius, and others.

My questions are: Do you see how closely the psychology of the major religions maps onto the Trinity Absolute, as I have described it on my website? What do you think of religious pluralism? Can I not still be a good Christian without being exclusive?

Please see my www.religiouspluralism.ca website Contact page, and give me a comment for the Bulletin Board.

Samuel Stuart Maynes
www.religiouspluralism.ca

Trinity Forum Readers,

In the Foreword to my book "Religious Pluralism and the Trinity Absolute: A Constructive Interpretation of World Religions," I conclude that Kant’s argument from moral duty in allegiance to one “categorical imperative” (the Golden Rule) is a universal absolute value of goodwill, warranting and entitling belief in the three postulates of practical reason: freedom, God, and immortality. Because it is universal, this conception becomes indubitable knowledge – not an empty illusion by any means, but a glorious inevitable construction of reason, on which to stake our lives.

Triune relationships are not only ubiquitous, but some of them are basic to space, time, energy, matter, human psychology, world religions, and One God, as is shown in my book. The Trinity Absolute is an idea that has been "hiding in plain sight" - a concept so compelling that it creates its own existence - the one inevitability.

Nevertheless, new ideas (or old ideas in new garb) are difficult for people to absorb. You can write a book and think you are finished, but you're not. You've got to tell people what you've told them, over and over before it sinks in. As Carlos Castaneda put it, "Everything new in our lives... must be repeated to us to point of exhaustion before we open ourselves to it. You hear my statements, and you certainly understand what I mean, but your awareness prefers to deal with an unfamiliar concept as if it were an empty ideal."

I think that the systematic unity of the Trinity Absolute is probably the only adequate metaphysical vehicle of creation. A multi-dimensional triangular relationship is the metaphysical basis of all that is, without which there would be nothing, and with which there is anything and everything. Like logic and reason itself, it just is, and no one knows why - other than something very like it must exist, or there would be no basis for reason itself.

Samuel Stuart Maynes

www.religiouspluralism.ca

Dattaswami,

What a nice surprise. You found the above message and replied on my website. I'm trying to get back to you directly, but in the meantime, I will leave this here.

Would you not agree that the Supreme (Preserver) Son is different in personality, but the same in spirit as the Deity Absolute Father (Creator)? But Vishnu/Krishna and the Unconditioned Absolute (Consummator) Spirit of All That Is are coordinte cocreators. Therefore, they are different persons, and their metaphysical roles are different, but none are necessarily "smaller" than the others. It is more respectful to call them primary, secondary, and tertiary when you need a label, rather than major, minor, and other complex combinations.

"Absolute God" is not unimaginable. The whole human race have been trying to imagine him for ages, and some progress has been made in recent years. Granted that this is still a work in progress, we now have an operative hypothesis - a coherent abstract vision of the not unimaginable God - that can be turned into a blueprint for peace.

Samuel Stuart Maynes

www.religiouspluralism.ca

Trinity Forum Readers

I hope you will be interested in a further elaboration on the definition of the Trinity Absolute - One God in three persons - one in spirit, universal in reason, and unified in will - saying, I am:

1. Deity Absolute Prime Creator - Father/Benefactor,
2. Universe or "Universal" Absolute Supreme Being/Son - Christ almighty supreme oversoul of all humankind,
3. Unconditioned Absolute Spirit Synthesis of Source and Synthesis - All That Is.

Notice that the Trinity is not just the Supreme Being. The Trinity is not one person, but three persons, so technically, the Trinity cannot say "I am" (that would be pre-Trinity thinking). Nevertheless, such a forgiveable distortion tends to occur in shrinking the three persons into one, more simplified, concept of God as one person - the I am.

This leads into speculation on the original condition of the Father, before he begot the Son. But at that purely hypothetical time, he would have been All That Is or was then, which some Zen Buddhists call the great "emptiness." The Spirit of All That Is certainly includes and proceeds partly from, but is not only, the spirit of the Prime Creator (Allah/Abba/Brahma).

By definition of the words themselves, there never was a time before the Creator was Father of the Son. Furthermore, the Deity's primordial act of creation, which makes him the Primogenitor, involved also their Spirit as well as his Son, as co-creators. He is first of the three co-equal persons of the Trinity, but purely by definition of necessary reason.

There could not have been a time when there was nothing, or there would be nothing now. All That Is would not be who he is, if there was something pre-Trinity. It is doubtful that the Trinity itself appeared out of nothing, and by definition, All That Is knows no other. More likely the Trinity has always existed, like reason itself, 'hiding in plain sight.'

TRINITY: THE ONE INEVITABILITY

The ‘Absolute’ is an expression that has been used with various shades of meaning by many philosophers, but its modern definition and signification are due to the great idealist philosopher Georg Hegel.

“In philosophy, the Highest is called the Absolute, the Idea… that which we call the Absolute has a meaning identical with the expression God.” – Hegel quoted in Philosophy of Religion – J. E. Smith. P.107.

“(Hegel also held that)… the totality of all things… is the Absolute Idea.” Four Philosophies – J. D. Butler. P.135.

Hegel held that the Absolute is the Highest, the Absolute Idea is the “totality of all things,” and that which we call Absolute is God. But experientially, the totality of all things is the Universe Absolute, and this is the antithesis of the existential Absolute God or the Deity Absolute. On the other hand, if by “the totality,” Hegel means both the mundane and the divine, then he is referring to the Unconditioned Absolute, or totality of “All That Is,” which is not the one, nor the other, but the synthesis or fusion of both.

Making things even more confusing, it must be noted that in addition to the totality of the Universe and the totality of the Unconditioned “All That Is,” there might be said to be also the totality of the Trinity Absolute as a corporate entity – not one person, but a ‘gestalt’ of personal consciousness in a systematic unity – One multi-dimensional God.

Regardless of conceptual intricacies, it is impossible to over-emphasize the importance of the dichotomy of existential versus experiential consciousness, and their synthesis. By many and fair-seeming arguments, for convenience of speaking, and because reason demands a beginning and a Creator; we contrast the thesis of the Deity Absolute with the equally specious argument that science demands no absolute beginning – only universal contingency – which is the Universe Absolute scientific antithesis of theology. Then, by the laws of dialectical logic, we construct a third argument – the Unconditioned Absolute synthesis, which is ultimately based on the other two, and finally incorporated in the Trinity of all three.

Whereas some philosophers emphasized duality as the foundation of metaphysics, Hegel saw through the dialectic of duality to the triad of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis as the necessary fundamental creative equation. Thus, in terms of the Absolute, we arrive at the philosophical inevitability of the Trinity of the three Absolutes of Creation, i.e. thesis: the transcendent Deity Absolute; antithesis: the immanent Universe or “Universal” Absolute; and synthesis: the ultimate Unconditioned Absolute.

Trinity Absolute is the Prime Paradigm and a metaphysical starting point for a General Theory of Everything. Trinity Absolute is the first systematic unity of theology, cience, and all that is. Trinity is a logical inevitability.

For more details see www.religiouspluralism.ca.

Samuel Stuart Maynes