Rev (Dr.) Cynthia Ramirez Lindenmeyer
After three years of monthly Zoom interaction, our Christian women’s Bible study finally gathered for hugs and discussion at Joanna’s retirement high-rise. The ladies were curious about how New Thought teaching explained the Trinity. Thinking I could correlate within a Christian theological paradigm, I opened the teaching saying,
“Science of Mind views a Threefold Nature of God. God is Spirit, Law, and Form.” As I unpacked that statement, the confused expressions on their faces communicated the depth of the proverbial hole I was digging, so I resorted to crayons and paper to illustrate. I drew Ernest’s classic seed, soil, and plant metaphor.
Alice, a lifelong Presbyterian, seemed excited.
“I get it—Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are the three in one. I’ve never understood that. I always thought they were three separate entities, but they are all gardeners, and our lives experience the journey of the seed!”
I felt like Spock, computing Science of Mind algorithms to verify this perspective. The others looked at me in hopeful anticipation as if Alice’s answer could possibly lead to clarification. I needed more time to think, so I employed the ultimate stalling phrase:
“Say more.”
Alice continued, “The Trinity is a unified process for everyone. We are also gardeners. We choose our own seeds, but the process which I understand as Trinity turns them into plants.”
Julie, a devout Methodist, cried out. “But that would mean we are God?”
Ug. I was trying to avoid this heretical concept, for I knew it was the most challenging New Thought principle for Christians to grasp. I had to choose my next words carefully, but then a voice came from the corner of the room.
“We are not God; we are evolutions of God.”
Our heads turned towards ninety-seven-year-old Joanna. The group was quiet, deep in thought. I wanted to speak, but thankfully Zoom’s mute button trained me realize the prosperity of silence. And in that moment, I was reminded how creative Spirit is, expressing through the one whose self-consciousness was nearing a century on this Earth plane.
