How do you explain the Trinity to kids?

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With young children, I like to use a jellied doughnut. God is the solid that holds it together, Jesus is the sweetness in the middle and the Holy Spirit is the icing sugar that goes everywhere. And of course, you have to have jellied doughnuts to share.
 
chansen said:
What do you do if you slip up and give an explanation where a man is a son, a husband, a father, and an uncle? If you get carried away and go with four things, have you blown the Trinity?

I'm reminded of Douglas Adams, and "The fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy".
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There are a thousand different ways to refer to God.
 
Seeler said:
There are a thousand different ways to refer to God.
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9_billion_names_of_God.jpg
 
When I was baptized in Winnipeg at age 11 before 1,500 people, one of the reasons I was given for baptism is my need to be "circumcised in the Spirit." Of course, it was wrongly taken for granted that I knew what circumcision was. I was also told I needed justification, sanctification, and propitiaton for my sins, all of which created excruciation in my perplexed mind and made me suspicious of any words that ended in "iation." All 12 of the others were adults and I was the only one who couldn't give a personal testimony.Nervous, confused, and embarrassed, I was just eager to get the baptism over with. Then something bizarre happened that transformed my ordeal into one of the most sacred experiences of my life. In the corner of the huge tank, I had a vision of Jesus radiating love and smiling at me, as if to say, "This has been mishandled and is laughable, but I wanted you to know I love you and to have a truly sacred experience. So sometimes God's grace can even shine through inappropriate jargon.
 
Studmuffin said:
When I was baptized in Winnipeg at age 11 before 1,500 people, one of the reasons I was given for baptism is my need to be "circumcised in the Spirit." Of course, it was wrongly taken for granted that I knew what circumcision was. I was also told I needed justification, sanctification, and propitiaton for my sins, all of which created excruciation in my perplexed mind and made me suspicious of any words that ended in "iation." All 12 of the others were adults and I was the only one who couldn't give a personal testimony.Nervous, confused, and embarrassed, I was just eager to get the baptism over with. Then something bizarre happened that transformed my ordeal into one of the most sacred experiences of my life. In the corner of the huge tank, I had a vision of Jesus radiating love and smiling at me, as if to say, "This has been mishandled and is laughable, but I wanted you to know I love you and to have a truly sacred experience. So sometimes God's grace can even shine through inappropriate jargon.
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Religious jargon is likely one of the things that is a barrier to people engaging with religion, just as tech jargon is a barrier for some people in using tech. Some of it comes across as downright cruel or savage, others are just obscure. It took me a long time to get Premillenialism and postmillenial ism sorted out in my head (not that I had to other than to know what people who talk about those things were saying). The simpler and more jargon free you can be, the more likely it is people will understand you and get interested in what you are saying.
 
Make sure to use a very very complicated explanation. That way they are more likely to become atheists. Trinity is probably the best saving face act in human history.
 
Whatever language used when in relationship with young imaginations, the spirit animating that language, the speaker's inward disposition specific to God and Neighbour, is the determining element.

Whatever the form of your speech, let its substance be love for the children present to you as opportunity and responsibility.

We are not called to the definition of one correct doctrine. That way leads to animosity and conflict. We are called to the practice of love by which all fear of difference is overcome. This way leads to reconciliation and renewal.

George
 
The best language is the one that is understood by the people we talk to. If we want to be understood by other people, we have to speak to them on their level of understanding, not ours.

Language is largely metaphorical. When communicating in metaphors, it is important that the metaphors have agreed-on meanings. Otherwise we talk past each other rather than to each other.
 
Waterfall said:
I'm not a big fan of the trinity but how do you figure it's saving face?
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I think it's more about "bulls**t baffles brains". It's just something that sounds profound and impressive, explained with the expectation that the listener will nod intently to make you think he or she understands, while privately, they don't have an effing clue what you're talking about, but don't want to admit it.
 
Thanks for all the thoughful - and entertaining - responses! So last week I went to work for a day & my thread about words in a hymn devolved into a discussion about food - and this week, it's an epistle on geometry that shows up! And when I do meet revjohn at Conference AGM next month, I will make sure to introduce myself as Patrick & see what happens :cool:

I appreciate all the thoughtful discussion ... it's an interesting challenge to understand what all this means to me personally in my adult years, and to consider how to convey it to kids.

And paradox3 - we can't forget that prayer shawl pattern - knit 3, purl 3 ... Trinitarian for sure :-)
 
i wonder how trinitarians are going to explain it to kids who already know how to program an AI, will know calculus & particle theory in elementary school, will be able to talk to their friends on Aldebaran, who will be able to swap bodies at will and who have learned how to save money at geico?

*thinking of alec guiness & leo mckern*

hey, maybe get your kids plastered and see what comes up?

'mommy, i can see through time'

'here, have some more shrooms'
 
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