The traditional view of God that has been held by Christians for the last 2,000 years is that he exists as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit (1) - not that there are three separate Gods, nor that he is one God wearing three different hats (traditionally called Modalism) - but that there is only one God who exists as three distinct Persons. This view has its roots in the Bible and was spelled out in credal form by the church of the fourth century.

It is not surprising that this view of God is confusing to many! Are Christians required to live as the White Queen did in Alice Through the Looking Glass, who made it a practice to believe six impossible things before breakfast? It doesn't fit our understanding of mathematics, nor our sense of logic. The Athanasian Creed, named after Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria in the fourth century, who fought for the views it expresses, has these words, "The Father incomprehensible, The Son incomprehensible and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible... Not three incomprehensibles... but... one incomprehensible." As theologian Alister McGrath points out, many are sorely tempted to add, "The whole thing incomprehensible!" Actually, the word "incomprehensible" in this creed does not mean that they cannot be understood at all, but rather that they cannot be grasped by mere unaided human intelligence. They cannot be pinned down by mere mortals.

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(1) Though I will use male terms for the Persons of the Trinity throughout this booklet, as the Bible does, this does not mean that God himself is male. God encompasses all the characteristics of male and female as we understand them. The emphasis is not on his gender, but on his personhood and the relationships that flow from that. Unfortunately we don't have a personal pronoun that expresses one without the other.