As leaders in youth ministry, there are times when we all probably have to address the Trinity with the kids. It may come up while we’re teaching the lesson, or a child may ask a question about it. This video is a great little funny cartoon put out by “Lutheran Satire” and features 2 Irish characters Donall and Conall talking with St. Patrick about the Trinity. Even though it is a cute and funny little video, it teaches a great message, and as leaders, encourages us not to use these bad (heretical) analogies for the Trinity. I think the video is appropriate for showing to kids – especially in the 3rd to 6th grade age range (it has some big words). Here are the bad analogies featured in the cartoon:
| Analogy for the Trinity | Heresy of this Analogy |
| Like Water (3 forms: Liquid, Ice, Vapor) | Modalism |
| Like the Sun (the star, the light and the heat) | Arianism |
| Like 3 leaf clover (shamrock) | Partialism |
| Like 1 man who is husband, father, employer at the same time | Modalism |
| Like 3 layers of an apple (or hard-boiled egg) | Partialism |
Have you used any of these analogies? I know I have, but I won’t anymore!
Here is the video (3 min 49 seconds):
So, the recommendation is that we should just stick to the definition of the Trinity – 1 God, revealed in 3 Persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. If it was “1 God in 3 Gods” or “1 Person in 3 Persons”, that would be a contradiction. But the Trinity (1 God in 3 Persons) is a mystery, not a contradiction.
Blessings to you all
1 Peter 4:12-16 