Constitution writers were Christians

An interesting factoid, derived from a posting by Bill Federer in "The Moral LIberal" blog. The religious composition of the 55 writers of the U.S. Constitution was:

• 26 Episcopalians
• 11 Presbyterians
• 7 Congregationalists
• 2 Lutherans
• 2 Dutch Reformed Christians
• 2 Methodists
• 2 Quakers
• 2 Roman Catholics
• 1 Deist Christian – Dr. Franklin, who called for prayer during the Constitutional Convention, June 28, 1787.

The Trinity

Christians of all sorts believe in the Trinity, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (aka Holy Ghost). But the word "Trinity" is not specifically mentioned in scripture and the concept was not used until years after Jesus' Ascension. This has led to all sorts of "takes" on the concept.

Nazarites point to a pagan origin and say that the Torah does not mention the Trinity. Skeptics claim that the term was invented. Some claim that the concept was needed in the early church but that it is now an anachronism that is no longer needed.

Some even point to the term "Spirit" being feminine gender ("her") in Aramaic, the language that Jesus used. In Greek, the word in neuter gender ("it"). Only in Latin is the term masculine gender ("he").

I look at the concept of the Trinity as a way we try to understand God. We fallible mortals can never understand God perfectly, but the concept of the Trinity helps us get closer to an understanding.

What's your take? Is the word "persons" in "God in three persons" a mental stumbling block? Would a word such as "aspects" convey the concept better?

Related links

• United Methodist Articles of Religion - Article 1, the Trinity from the 2004 "Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church"
• Meaning of the Trinity, St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church (PDF)
• Holy Trinity is a mystery (Catholic); second, personal page
• Catholics, Methodist agree on Trinity
• Evidence of the Trinity in the Old Testament (Catholic)
• Trinity concept no longer needed
• Is the Holy Spirit feminine?
• Ode 36 of Solomon uses feminine gender for "Spirit"
• There is no Trinity (Nazarite)
• Holy Trinity invented (a skeptic)

Lent and Passover

Before Lent heads into the final week, you may want to read "Muskrat love." No, it's not the song. It's a Catholic Online article about Michiganders who abstain from meat on Fridays yet have a tradition of eating muskrat on Fridays (and why).

You may want to bone up on Holy Week and Passover...

• Holy Week
• Holy Week (Wikipedia)
• Palm Sunday
• Maundy Thursday
• Good Friday
• Holy Saturday
• Pesach (Passover) Basics
• Preparing for Passover (PBS)
• Passover through archeology and rare documents (Flash)

Pope not infallible

There seems to be not just a hue and cry about the negative comments about Islam by Catholic Pope Benedict XVII. The FaithFul Progressive blog says that this is also the second lapse of judgement by the Pope and the second religion he has offended. The Pope also got it wrong in his Auschwitz address, the Faithful Progressive says.

Some call the "infallibility"of the Pope into question. But those who do so may misunderstand the meaning of papal infallibility. Every act of the Pope is not considered infallible, only his ex cathedra teachings. So Popes as well as Presidents can "blow it" and show lack of good judgement. "Is the Pope Infallible?" asks Daniel Enberger's article in Slate magazine. "Only when he says he is", the subhead reads.

Other comments to "Pope 'Deeply Sorry' for His Offensive Remarks" point out that the Pope's remarks, no matter how well intended, were poorly chosen and serve only to encourage the extreme religious right in their mistaken belief that Islam is more violent than Christianity.

Europe experienced religious wars, the Crusades were by Catholics, and millions have been killed in the Americas in the name of religion. The blog postings even point to morally bankrupt practices of early California missions.

Pope John Paul called evolution "sound"

During a recent conference, physicist Stephen Hawking reminded the audience that Pope John Paul in 1996 said that Darwin's theory of evolution was "sound" and that it was more than a hypothesis.

So ... creationists disagree with Pope John Paul, it seems.