Sooooo.... on the last podcast we discussed a bit of Trinitarianism. The whole Person vs. Being thing that confuses the heck out of everyone and their brother. Plus, like we mentioned, if you're going to be a heretic, you're probably going to fall on this issue. So, we'd like to help you out a little.
What is Being? Being has to do with existence. It's something's "is-ness." Tables have being. So do cows, christmas trees, telephone poles, dogs, squirrels, and hygrometers (I like random. Random is fun.). So, being has nothing to do with Person. Something can have being without being a Person. Ideas, however, do not have being. Only "things" have being. So computer programs, the theory of relativity, or temperature (another random list) do not have being. Once again, Being has to do with existence, the state of "be-ing" (makes sense).
Person is a little more complex. Being a Person does not necessitate humanity, but it is does require some things that animals do not possess. Will, thought, power, determination, etc., are all requirements of person. So, animals don't qualify because they don't have a will. If you disagree, watch a few episodes of Cesar Milan. They run on instinct, top to bottom- and if you know how instinct operates, you can control them (you whisper to them).
So now that we've got some simple, working definitions, let's look at how to apply them in regards to common misunderstandings regarding the Trinity. I'm going to try my darnedest to exhaust every possible combination.
One person, no being- This isn't possible. Maybe an AI but without a body. Crazy sci-fi stuff.
One being, no person- This would be something like a table. It exists, but is not a person.
One being, one person- This is what we call Unitarianism. Human beings are Unitarian. We possess one existence, shared only by one person. Theologically, Arians, Unitarian Universalists, Modalistic Monarchians, and Muslims are all Unitarians.
One being, one person, split between multiple persons- Schizophrenia. This is where you have multiple minds within one mind. Theologically, this is represented by Modalism. In Modalism, God is One Being, One Person, but he manifests himself in three different ways- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Since this is the case, a Modalist can say de facto that Jesus is the Father. They're the same Person. This is also similar to, but not exactly, like the analogy of, "I'm a father, a son, and a brother, but only one person." That has to do with different roles played at different times.
Multiple beings, one person- Hive mentality. This would be something like bees or ants. They all (sorta) share the same mind, information is passed between all beings to reach a sort of equilibrium, but they don't share their existence.
One being, one person divided into multiple parts- Partialism. This would be like the Greek myth of Cerberus. In this, three separate persons divide the one person, and consciousness is not shared. This is different than schizophrenia described above in that the multiple parts all operate simultaneously without reference to each other. In schizophrenia, only one person manifests itself at a time, and therefore the being is subsumed by only a single person in turn. Partialism is like Cerberus in that there is one being, one person and the multiple persons sharing that person are like the multiple, living heads on Cerberus.
Then, finally, there's Trinitarianism. This is One Being, Three distinct, co-equal, co-eternal Persons. The Persons are not confused, intermingled, shared, or divisible. Since their Being is shared, the act of One Person can be attributed to all three, though responsibility terminates only on one member. They also are One in will, determination, and purpose via shared Being; however, distinction in Person allows for a distinction in role and/or participation. Shared Being and distinction in Person also allows for perfect relationship. A shared Being means that the multiple Persons can never be at odds with one another, yet a distinction in Person means that, well, they're not the same Person and so therefore can experience one another. Mind boggling.
Well, there you have it. Hope that helps a bit. Trinitarianism is a confusing subject, and its no surprise that so many people have a hard time with it. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to post in the comments section! If you happened to bump into this article on accident, follow the links on this page to listen in to our podcast!
God bless,
Mike Senders
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