Trinity as model for church...and computers

(cartoon credit, link)

Nowadays, when the emphasis is more on conversation and culture than doctrine;
it almost sounds old school to some to call for a renewed focus on the doctrine of the Trinity..

..but those of us who "believe" this doctrine definitely assume it's not just that,
but life and relationship..
..and somehow foundational to everything else we do, say and pray.

>Having been moved for years by Moltmann's "The Trinity and the Kingdom,"

>and captured in recent years by Eugene Peterson's writings

"Trinity is the most comprehensive and integrative framework that we have for understanding and participating in the Christian life."

>and Capon's clever take (often comparing the Trinity to three Jewish guys in conversation):

"Before anything was made, it was all already done within the Trinity. The whole thing was accomplished before it started... Pure monotheism is dangerous. The doctrine of the Trinity embraces the paradox of mutuality in God himself without violating the unity of God—because it can only be presented as a paradox and a mystery. Paradox can take you on trips that religion can’t even buy a ticket for." link

...and look what I just found by googling: a 1975 (!)article in People Magazine (!!) which applies the concept of Trinity to Capon himself (!!!):
"Father Capon Is a Talented Trinity: Writer, Priest and Gourmet Chef"

>and Steve Seamands'most recent book, which allows us to see Trinity as practical theology

"The doctrine of the Trinity with its seeming logical contradiction that God is one being in three persons, invites those of us in ministry not to resolve the tension but to live with paradox….Approaching life and ministry as a mystery to be entered instead of a problem to be solved opens us to hidden meanings…beyond our categories and calculations”

...leads me to


>>Len Hjalmarson's recent helpful posts on Trinity related to Frost and Hirsch's "ReJesus"
here

>>and these two ranadom and unrelated (yeah, right!) quotes:

1)"Theologian Kevin Giles..says that the Trinity 'is the model on which ecclesiology should be formulated. On this premise, the inner life of the Trinity provides a pattern, a model, an echo, or an icon of the Christian communal existence in the world.'

Simply put , the Trinity is the paradigm for the church's native expression."
-Frank Viola, "Reimagining Church," p. 36

and

2)"William McLaughlin, an astrophysicist..., says..'The doctrine of the Trinity represents a revolutionary form of logic which is ideal for new forms of computer systems.'...Instead of one master control chip, a Trinity computer would have three...(such) would be adept at intuition... non hierarchical authority...and lateral thinking, otherwise known as fuzzy logic, where the solution to a problem lies outside the system being studied."
-Adrian Berry, "Galileo and the Dolphins," 172-174.