Would we say that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Have at least some different characteristics? And if so, are they not three individuals? When the three are referred to as persona as described above, then we have the "oneness" doctrine which seems obviously false (was there no one "home" when Jesus prayed?). But it seems to me that if God is three persona simultaneously the problem is solved (or nearly so).Person comes from the Greek word persona which means the mask of an actor. In old times an actor used to play more than a single character, and to switch roles, he just used a mask which gave birth to persona. This word was incorporated in English language and gave birth to personality and person. The concept of person is even more primitive than those of mind and body. A person is an entity that walks and thinks (it is not the mind that thinks or the body that walks). Again, a person is a live entity. We do call someone who dies a dead person, but see the addition of the word dead before person. A person is not an island that survives alone. He is a social being, and lives and communicates with others. He has feelings that he shares with others.
This is where the concept of individual comes in. In a society full of persons, we have individuals that display different characteristics. A crowd is composed of individuals but each individual is also a person. The word individual is used in the sense of conveying unique properties or characteristics of a person. People who know a celebrity from close quarters often use the word individual to describe him as a person.
The scriptures are clear there is only one God, and Jesus indicated God alone is to be worshiped. In the following description of monotheism does the Trinity doctrine fall under exclusive monotheism or inclusive monotheism?
Paidion, if you read this could you explain how your idea of the relationship of Father and Son would not fit the definition of Henotheism? (One other deity in your case.)Monotheism is defined by the Encyclopædia Britannica as belief in the existence of one god or in the oneness of God. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church gives a more restricted definition: "belief in one personal and transcendent God", as opposed to polytheism and pantheism. A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, and both inclusive monotheism and pluriform monotheism which, while recognising many distinct gods, postulate some underlying unity.
Henotheism (Greek εἷς θεός heis theos "one god") is the belief in and worship of a single God while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities that may also be worshipped.