"Trinity" emphasizes the idea that "Father" and "Son" are metaphorical
Hi, there. Just a quick correction. What I've quoted of your post is not, for many or maybe most Christians, the standard interpretation of the Holy Trinity, at least not according to the Nicene Creed. Some, like the Pentecostals, do emphasize God's oneness, but this view is actually very close to a heresy condemned by the early Church: Sabellianism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabellianism). You yourself may hold this interpretation, and if so, I completely respect it. My impression of other Christians is that they are fuzzy on the Trinity and possibly prefer it that way.
As a Roman Catholic, I subscribe to the ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas, that the Trinity is how God relates to Himself. See the spoiler for a quick summary.
Start with the premise that there's a God. God is infinite and all powerful: he exists outside time, and thus has no beginning or end. As a result His actions happen all at once, always and everywhere.
But logically speaking, some actions come before others. So, pretend that God has a first moment of consciousness. What's the first thing he does?
He understands Himself. And because God is so powerful, His understanding of Himself is so powerful that the understanding takes on a life of its own. This is what we call the Son.
What's the second thing God does?
Once He understands himself, then He loves himself. And because God is so powerful, His love of Himself is so powerful that it takes on a life of its own. This is what we term the Holy Spirit.
In relation to these Two, the Father is the source, or font, of these relationships.
There is only one God because there is only one divine substance. But God is also Three because He is not some solitary power; there is a real family within Him.
In the end, the Holy Trinity is a mystery. But I believe this is a good and true way of understanding it. The metaphorical interpretation doesn't fully account for the literal way in which the Gospels speak of the Persons of the Trinity, such as the end of Matthew or the first chapter of John.
But logically speaking, some actions come before others. So, pretend that God has a first moment of consciousness. What's the first thing he does?
He understands Himself. And because God is so powerful, His understanding of Himself is so powerful that the understanding takes on a life of its own. This is what we call the Son.
What's the second thing God does?
Once He understands himself, then He loves himself. And because God is so powerful, His love of Himself is so powerful that it takes on a life of its own. This is what we term the Holy Spirit.
In relation to these Two, the Father is the source, or font, of these relationships.
There is only one God because there is only one divine substance. But God is also Three because He is not some solitary power; there is a real family within Him.
In the end, the Holy Trinity is a mystery. But I believe this is a good and true way of understanding it. The metaphorical interpretation doesn't fully account for the literal way in which the Gospels speak of the Persons of the Trinity, such as the end of Matthew or the first chapter of John.
But I agree with everything else you wrote.