Trinity [Paperback]

Joseph F. Girzone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 2004

Bestselling author Joseph Girzone returns to the reflections on his personal spirituality typical of Never Alone and A Portrait of Jesus, his most popular books since the original Joshua.

With Trinity, Joseph Girzone guides readers to a deeper understanding of this foundational concept, explaining why it is not antiquated theological dogma, but a living expression of the very essence of God. He offers support and clarity to those who already believe in God, and invites those who profess not to believe on a journey to find “an image of a God who is believable, and perhaps, even lovable.”

For centuries, Christians have struggled to understand the nature of God as three persons in one. But with grace similar to that which allowed Saint Patrick to explain the Trinity by using a shamrock, Girzone takes a step back from the most arcane explanations to offer a simple, useful understanding. He begins by showing the ways God was perceived by the ancient Hebrews and reveals how Jesus forever changed that image of God. As he chronicles the growth from the time of Jesus and the early Church, writing about the challenges Christianity faced from both within and without, Girzone elucidates the mysterious ways the Trinity works in the world and especially, in the Church, as an extension of Jesus’ presence in history. Writing with passion and insight, he helps readers understand how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit work within individuals as well, guiding them as they struggle along the pathways of life on Earth.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This book marks a new direction for Girzone, the septuagenarian retired priest whose parable Joshua catapulted him to the top of bestseller lists in the 1980s. Here he attempts to turn theologian, tackling one of traditional Christianity's most perplexing and controversial doctrines: that God, though one, is also three. Beginning with anecdotes affirming God's compassion, Girzone then looks at portrayals of God in the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. In four breathless chapters, he whizzes through 16 centuries of theological disputes before settling back into territory that, for him, is far more comfortable: how to have a personal relationship with a loving God. The concluding three chapters provide a simple, beguiling introduction to contemplative prayer and the mystical pathway to God, but they are not worth the wait. Not only do the biblical and historical sections fail to inspire, they also reveal an author wandering through unfamiliar territory. There are factual errors; for example, Girzone claims that Origen and Eusebius were contemporaries, and incorrectly asserts that Ignatius of Antioch, who died around A.D. 107, "was one of the original disciples of Jesus, who knew Jesus well while he was on the earth." Such a claim is highly unlikely given both the constraints of chronology (Jesus was crucified in A.D. 33) and geography (Ignatius lived in Syria). There are also surprising omissions. Why, for example, is Chalcedon-a definitive fifth-century church council on Jesus' nature and the Trinity-never mentioned? Overall, this book is a disappointment.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

"I love to tell the story," says a popular American revival hymn, "to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love." In his books about Joshua, a contemporary Jesus figure, Father Girzone has told that story to great popular acclaim. Now he takes up the concept by virtue of which Jesus is considered divine. Unfortunately, while he says "those who already believe in God" constitute his audience, he pronounces immediately thereafter that the Trinity "is the very nature of God," which may drive Jews and Muslims, for whom God is prima facie unitary, from that God-believing potential readership. Indeed, considering the book's incidental thumbnail-clipping account of church history, it seems that Girzone is really addressing just other Catholics. Nothing wrong with that, for Catholics suffer no less than other monotheists from the misconception of God--namely, that His nature can be understood by analogy with human nature--that Girzone repeatedly and saliently decries. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Image (February 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385504586
• ISBN-13: 978-0385504584
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.3 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #533,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "An Exceptional Book on...the Trinity", October 31, 2002

By 

Johannes Platonicus (South Bend, Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Trinity: A New Living Spirituality (Hardcover)

Father Girzone, who is now retired from the active priesthood, has written an exceptional book on a mysterious and often misunderstood concept, the Trinity. He approaches the subject of the Trinity not as someone tackling its theological nature, but as someone who wishes to demonstrate how the Trinity actively works in the lives of individuals and in the affairs of the world. This is a great piece of literature for the layman who wishes to steer clear of any intricate theological speculation or logic chopping. Girzone's "Trinity" will also make its mark on the scholar hoping to find a simple explanation for the wonderful and ineffable nature and works of the Holy Trinity.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Girzone makes a difficult concept much clearer., March 8, 2007

By 

L. Phillips - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trinity (Paperback)

I've always found the idea of the Holy Trinity to be a difficult one to understand. Girzone explains in a simple, straightforward way what is expected of us as God's children when relating to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This book is an easy, worthwhile read.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Exploration of the Trinity, March 19, 2006

By 

JMack (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Trinity: A New Living Spirituality (Hardcover)

In the initial pages of the book, Girzone likens the Holy Trinity to a lamp. "There is the bulb, there is the light coming from the bulb, there is the heat coming through the light that comes from the bulb. They are all different, but you can't separate them. They're all together as one." This simple yet effective tool for the task of explaining what is impossible for the human mind to comprehend, the Holy Trinity.

While the book begins promisingly, Girzone seems to deviate from his focus at times. After beginning with the origins of the Holy Spirit and Jesus in the Bible, Grizone explains the relationship between each person of the Trinity. Much of the remainder of the book focuses on the Holy Spirit as it is most present in our lives and the lives of others throughout history. The Holy Spirit, also known as The Comforter, Paraclete, and Consoler, acts as a guide on our spiritual journey. It is the same role the Holy Spirit fulfilled for Jesus during his Earthly ministry.

Those who are going into this book expecting to understand the Trinity will be disappointed. Readers will not gain a complete understanding, but they will gain a better understanding. One can not expect a single book to have all of the answers to one of the great mysteries of the faith.