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[Newbie]

There's a joke in Christianity, that if you think you understand the Trinity, you really don't understand the Trinity. Is it possible that the Trinity violates the Laws of Logic (Law of Non Contradiction), and that is the reason why no one can understand it?

I will grant someone the premise that it is impossible for God to create a circle with four corners, because it violates the Law of Non-Contradiction, because God cannot lie, as it is against his nature to lie.

Is the Trinity analogous to a squared circle? If so, how do you feel about the consequences of this?

[jimwalton]

The Trinity is not example of the law of non-contradiction because of the idea of paradox. While some things seem to be self-contradictory, there are both possible and logical ways to reconcile the alleged variance. For instance, we know that light exhibits the characteristics of a particle and of a wave. So while it is a single entity (substance), it manifests itself in various ways. A violation of the law of non-contradiction? Not at all.

Another way to look at it is this: Suppose I write a book, and I put myself in it. The character "me" says what I would say and does what I would do. It's ME in the book. He's exactly as I am. Now, is the character in the book different from the me outside of the book? Of course he is. But is it me? Of course it is. He's all me, but he's all a separate character. I can easily be both the author and a character without compromising either. A square circle? Not at all.

Some people view human beings as unified entities, that we have no soul or spirit, but we just ARE—all of me is all there is of me. Some people, however, view humans as bipartite—a body and a mind. Is that a contradiction, to think that the "mind" of me is somehow a separate entity of the "body" of me, and yet I am "me," a unified whole? Not at all. It's possible. It's difficult to know the truth and reality of such things, but it's both possible and possibly reasonable. Is this just a laughable joke? Not one bit.

In the Bible, the Trinity distinguishes between the principle of divine action and the subject of divine action. The principle of all divine action is the one undivided divine essence, But the subject of divine action is either Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. The Father can send the Son according to his power, and the Son can be incarnated according to his nature without dividing the divine essence (light, person, nature, in my 3 analogies).