lpetrich

However, these trinities can easily be separate inventions; I'm sure that that is the case for the Hindu one.

Amos

They are not inventions at all. They are just descriptions of the functions of the human mind.

Jonte

Here’s how it really happened:

Constantine: “How’s that Nicea thing going? Those bloody Bishops behaving themselves?”

Senator for Religion: “Sire, I’m beginning to think this Christianity thing was a bad idea. It seemed such a cute plan to switch over and persecute Paganism instead of Christianity. It’s saved a fortune – the Pagans are so much less stubborn. But that’s the problem, put two Christians together in a room and before you can say “praise the Lord” you’ve got your first schism.”

Constantine: “Sounds worrying, tell me about it.”

SfR: “Well basically one faction holds that there’s just one unitary God, the other faction insists that God the Father and God the Son are two separate, but equal entities. They’ve argued this black and blue for months and neither faction will budge – there’s even been violence for goodness sake!”

Constantine paces up and down getting more and more angry.

Constantine: “There can be God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy ****ing Ghost for all I care. The whole point of this Christianity stuff was to unite the empire! These bishops are tearing things apart with their pointless hair-splitting!”

The Senator gets pensive:

SfR: “Sire, you may have something there. We’ve been trying to fudge the issue by saying that there’s God the Father and God the Son, but they are really aspects of the same single entity. That didn’t hold, because each faction just emphasised their own interpretation and claimed victory. But if we introduce a new factor into the equation, say your “Holy Ghost”, neither side can claim that was their initial position. Then, in some mysterious kind of way (these guys really love mysteries) the third bit glues the other two together so that, in one sense, they’re really one. Yes, the headline result’s not one and it’s not two, it’s three – a trinity! Brilliant sire!”

Constantine suddenly cracks a smile.

Constantine: “O.K. Give it a try! Just don’t call the new entity the “Holy Ghost” – that would be too ridiculous even for that lot! No, why not have some fun and see if they’ll buy it! If we get away with it it’ll give someone a good laugh in about 2000 year’s time when they’ll surely have figured out how to run society without all this ridiculous mumbo-jumbo!”

Llyricist

Jonte,

Sounds plausible (more so than many other hypotheses I've seen)

[ November 19, 2002: Message edited by: Llyricist ]</p>

Biff the unclean

That sounds like one of those many truths I've heard so much about, which are said in jest.

Sojourner553

If it is your mind we are speaking of, they must be the "id" portion.

[ November 20, 2002: Message edited by: Sojourner553 ]</p>

Amos

Notice I wrote the "human mind" wherein we are divided between the TOK and the TOL and the HS bestows graces from the TOL to the TOK.

Sojourner553

The "id" would imply a human brain, if you study up on Sigmund Freud.

Of course I am not sure you are not a random computer program... Maybe you are just deceiving yourself you are a human...

SLD

No, no, Biff. You misunderstood. I meant that I hadn't heard of Paul's conversion being a copycat before. My bad. And yes I have heard of Euripides plays before, but confess I never read them. I was a math geek in college - not a literature one.

In any event, I read part of the play at the link you gave me and did a google search to help me understand it. It's a little difficult to follow, but I thought that Pentheus is not converted and that's why Dionysus has his followers kill him? Perhaps I missed something. I did however see the "Kick against the goads" quote. I had never known that before and will definitely bring that up with my fundy friends the next time I can work it into conversation.