The internet, the Trinity and the meaning of life

No one predicted the popularity or power of the internet. That hard to describe easy to use ever changing sea of data was not predicted by a single science fiction writer. And while some computer science experts saw its usefulness years ago as Arpanet and other early versions went online, they too never predicted the ubiquity of the World Wide Web.

            Whatever else may be behind the booming popularity of the internet, part of the attraction is the interconnectedness it offers. Email, Instant Messenger, and sites connecting friends like Live Journal and My Space offer more ways for people to stay in touch.

This idea of connection is at the heart of the search for meaning and purpose in our lives. The Bible teaches about the essential connectedness of all that God has made. The New Testament, originally written in Greek, uses the Greek word “koinonia” (pronounced koy-no-nee-uh) to describe this sense of connection. The word is sometimes translated “fellowship,” but its means much more. Koinonia is a close connection. To have koinonia with something or someone is to participate with it and in it. A better translation for koinonia is “communion.”

The Bible reveals God as three persons who are completely interconnected as one God. This three equals one equation does not fit with math as we learned it and leaves many mystified at why the Church bothers. It is worth noting that the early Christians saw no contradiction between their belief in God, who they described as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and their belief that God is one.

The Austrian philosopher Wittgenstein said that we should not be surprised when our language falls short in the task of describing God. He noted that human words are completely incapable of describing something as mundane as the aroma of coffee. How much more difficult is it to describe God in our own words.

St. Patrick is still noted each March for his illustration of the shamrock, with its three distinct leaves, in one leaf. Some have also described the Trinity using the example of H₂0 in the forms of water, ice, and steam. When all three exist at once, they remain the same exact substance, but each is very distinct from the other.

The search for a proper analogy for understanding God as revealed in scripture has come more recently from an unlikely source—Quantum Physics. As physicists dove under the layers of the visible world to explore subatomic particles, they found in their mathematic equations an interconnectedness that surprised and sometimes frightened them.

In the Quantum universe, relationships are more important to study than the particles themselves. We once saw the world as filled with more than 90% dark matter, or the absence of stuff. But now scientists can find and show connections between particles where no matter connects the two. There is an essential connectedness among all things. This revelation from the natural world fits with our understanding of the Trinity.

God is three persons so completely interconnected as to be one. And we, who are made in the image of God, long to be part of that interconnectedness, that koinonia. This is why St. Augustine said that our hearts are restless until they find rest in God.

We who are created in the image of God’s communion are also created for a meaningful connection with God and with others. God calls us to join in koinonia that is the Trinity and, through that relationship; we can experience a deeper connectedness with other people.

So now for the big question: “What is the meaning of life?” The answer is that our lives gain meaning and purpose though connection to God and to each other. It comes in realizing that by our very natures we are connected to all of creation. We were created for this connection to God and one another and so it is through this connectedness that we discover the meaning and purpose of our lives.

When we understand that connectedness to each other as well as to God is what we were designed for, then perhaps the internet is not so surprising. By design, we humans always look for ways to connect. Of course, this is not to suggest that the internet is inherently godly, as a check of popular search terms at Google would quickly reveal this not to be the case. The point is that the rise of the internet was a natural phenomenon as we long for a sense of connection. The challenge is to make the relationships we have with others godly and meaningful.

Jesus put it like this in his summary of the Law of Moses, we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves. That love of God, neighbor and self, is the path to keep our connectedness in proper balance and it is also the way to live into the very meaning of your life.

(The Rev. Frank Logue is pastor of King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland and is found online at www.kingofpeace.org and http://kingofpeace.blogspot.com)

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