The Trinity is supposed to be the central, foundational doctrine of our entire Christian belief system, yet the word Trinity is not found in the New Testament. In fact, it wasn’t until the third century that early Christian father Tertullian coined it—but the idea of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was present in Jesus’ life and teachings and from the very beginning of the Christian experience.
In the pages of this book, internationally recognised teacher Richard Rohr circles around this most paradoxical idea as he explores the nature of God. Early Christians who came to be known as the ‘Desert Mothers and Fathers’ applied the Greek verb perichoresis to the mystery of the Trinity. The best translation of this odd-sounding word is dancing. Although these early Christians gave us some highly conceptualised thinking on the life of the Trinity, the best they could say, again and again, was, Whatever is going on in God is a flow — it’s like a dance.
But God is not a dancer — He is the dance itself.
In the pages of this book, internationally recognised teacher Richard Rohr circles around this most paradoxical idea as he explores the nature of God. Early Christians who came to be known as the ‘Desert Mothers and Fathers’ applied the Greek verb perichoresis to the mystery of the Trinity. The best translation of this odd-sounding word is dancing. Although these early Christians gave us some highly conceptualised thinking on the life of the Trinity, the best they could say, again and again, was, Whatever is going on in God is a flow — it’s like a dance.
But God is not a dancer — He is the dance itself.