Paper 104 Overview: Growth of the Trinity Concept

This paper explains how people have understood the idea of three gods working together over time. Many early civilizations had groups of three gods, but these were not the same as the Paradise Trinity. The Urantia Book explains how the concept of the Trinity was first taught on our planet and how different religions understood it in different ways.

The narrative also describes several complex relationships between divine beings. It explains the difference between trinities and triunities, which are different kinds of divine relationships. Finally, it shows how the Trinity concept has developed in human understanding throughout history.

The Trinity concept from revealed religion should not be confused with the triad beliefs of evolving religions. The idea of triads came from everyday observations like the three joints of fingers or the way three legs can support a stool. Many natural things come in threes, like yesterday, today, and tomorrow, or father, mother, and child.

Early humans often thought in groups of three, which influenced early religions. Eventually, the Persians, Hindus, Greeks, Egyptians, Babylonians, Romans, and Scandinavians all had triad gods. These were natural developments and were different from the true Trinity. Sometimes, the ideas of evolved triads became mixed with the revealed Trinity concept.

The first teaching about the Paradise Trinity on Urantia was given by Prince Caligastia's staff about half a million years ago. This knowledge was lost after the planetary rebellion. Adam and Eve taught about the Trinity in the first and second gardens, and these teachings lasted for many thousands of years in some places.

Machiventa Melchizedek gave the third presentation of the Trinity, using three concentric circles as a symbol. He had trouble teaching the Bedouins about the Universal Father, Eternal Son, and Infinite Spirit. His missionaries spread Trinity teachings throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Different religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity all had different understandings of the Trinity concept.

Monotheism (belief in one god) developed as a protest against polytheism (belief in many gods). It started with organizing gods into departments, then making one god more important than others, and finally accepting only one God. This happened in many different cultures.

Trinity belief grows when people try to understand how one God can relate to the universe. The Trinity concept helps humans grasp the connection between love and law in creation. The Paradise Trinity is a real entity that works together as a unit, not just three separate beings working together. The Trinity performs functions that are unique and different from what the Father, Son, and Spirit do individually.

While humans sometimes understand the Trinity of three persons of Deity, they need to see that there are relationships between all seven Absolutes. A triunity is different from a trinity, though they may be similar in some ways. A trinity and a triunity are not the same kind of relationship.

Human cosmic philosophy must grow as our understanding expands. Despite believing in cosmic unity, we see diversity in existence. The eternal completeness of infinity must be reconciled with the time-growth of evolving universes. The First Source and Center relates to six coordinate Absolutes, and all seven together form the circle of infinity throughout eternity.

The Universal Father is the first member of each triunity. He is the First Universal Father-Source, Absolute Center, Primal Cause, and many other titles. He is the personal cause of all the Absolutes and is himself infinite.

The paper describes seven different triunities in detail. These include the personal-purposive triunity (the three Paradise personalities), the power-pattern triunity (involving Paradise Isle), the spirit-evolutional triunity, the energy infinity triunity, the triunity of reactive infinity, the triunity of cosmic-associated Deity, and the triunity of infinite unity. Each serves a specific purpose in cosmic reality.

There are other three-way relationships that do not include the Father. These are not true triunities and are called triodities. They are called variously, associate triunities, co-ordinate triunities, and triodities. They are the result of triunities and are different from them.

The paper explains two main triodities: the Triodity of Actuality and the Triodity of Potentiality. The first consists of the Eternal Son, Paradise Isle, and Conjoint Actor. The second consists of the Deity Absolute, Universal Absolute, and Unqualified Absolute. Together, these relationships help to organize the potential and actual aspects of reality throughout creation.