Hymn inspired by Romans 5 - God of consistency - Suitable for Aldersgate Sunday
1 God of consistency, love without limits,
ground of all being and all that will be,
compass us round with compassionate kindness,
higher than mountains, as deep as the sea.
2 God of all graciousness, walking beside us,
there at our birthing, yet on beyond death,
God of transcendence, unrivalled, majestic,
God beyond knowledge, yet closer than breath.
3 God in all being, yet ground of existence,
God beyond grasping, unbounded by law,
while we are moved to sing loud alleluias,
here would we worship in silence and awe.
Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2014 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd
Metre: 11 10 11 10
Tune: STEWARDSHIP (Ruddle)
Tag: transcendence
The Trinity – some thoughts – nothing fixed or final of course…
On Twitter recently there has been some conversation about the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Traditionally Christians believe that God is manifest in a transcendent form = creator, often called Father.
Additionally God has become incarnate, made flesh in the person of Jesus = Saviour often called the Son.
Finally Christians belove that God continues to be manifest in the life of Christians = the Holy Spirit.
The problem is that the Trinity is not specifically defined in Scripture though the names of the ‘persons’ of the Trinity are provided. Trying to put the ‘persons’ together involves mental gymnastics if we believe in Monotheism. Even the term ‘person’ is problematic as it defines an existent being.
An analogy might help:
Resonance, in chemistry, refers to contexts in which one or more electrons contribute to more than one bond in a molecule. A most common example is found in the resonant bonds between the carbon atoms of benzene rings. The molecule appears to be two things at the same time. Now if that is over-complicated it could be you’re not a chemist. No shame in that. But…
The Trinity says the same of God. God is three ‘persons’ at the same time. If we express this in familial terms we make analogies which are contradictory, don’t work. Anthropomorphising language makes it less intelligible. God is outside our human language and categories and means of expression.
What we name ‘God’ transcends time, space, language, understanding. God is not part of creation or an alternative creation. Ground of being (after Paul Tillich) best expresses this. So let’s just leave ‘God’ as mystery. Forget explanation and practise LOVE?
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