Trinity And History

The second volume of Robert M. Doran’s magisterial The Trinity in History continues his exploration of the Trinitarian theology of Bernard Lonergan, focusing now on the notions of relations and persons and connecting the systematic proposals with the so-called "Third Quest for the Historical Jesus." Doran not only interprets Lonergan’s major work in Trinitarian theology and Christology but also suggests at least a twofold advance: a new version of the psychological analogy for understanding Trinitarian doctrine and a new starting point for the whole of systematic theology. He links these theological concerns with René Girard’s mimetic theory, proposes a theory of history based in Lonergan’s scale of values, and creates a link between exegetical and historical scholarship and systematic theology.

The Trinity in History is the first volume in a new series by Robert M. Doran that uses the thought of Bernard Lonergan to develop a unified field structure for systematic work in theology. Building on his successful and thought-provoking Theology and the Dialectics of History and What Is Systematic Theology?, Doran works out a starting point for a contemporary theology of history and proposes a new application of the ‘psychological analogy’ for understanding the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Advancing the work of Lonergan, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas, The Trinity in History also enters into conversation with contemporary philosophical emphases, especially with the mimetic theory of noted anthropological philosopher René Girard. Doran suggests several refinements of Lonergan’s notion of functional specialization – developing a perspective for including the data of various religious traditions in theological construction, and establishing this theory’s relevance for contemporary interreligious dialogue.

In this creative approach to the doctrine of the Trinity, author Veli-Matti Karkkainen focuses on keeping a dynamic balance between the intellectual-doctrinal and spiritual-charismatic approaches as parallel avenues towards theological understanding. His narrative approach draws on direct quotations from key historical theologians to increase appreciation of their theological wisdom and to encourage students to “dig further into this rich spiritual wellspring.” Throughout the two-thousand year span of Christian history, believers in Jesus have sought to articulate their faith and their understanding of how God works in the world. How do we, as we examine the vast and varied output of those who came before us, understand the unity and the diversity of their thinking? How do we make sense of our own thought in light of theirs? The Christian Understandings series is an exciting new series that seeks to illuminate precisely these questions. The short, concise volumes in the Christian Understandings series orient and ‘fill in the gaps’ for readers as they dive into the exciting and stimulating story of Christian thought.

Franz Dünzl gives an account of the formation of the doctrine of the Trinity in a narrative based on contemporary sources: as he remarks in the preface, he wants to describe the human struggle over the truth of the Christian image of God and as far as possible let the early Christians speak for themselves. His main concern is to describe the dynamic of the disputes over the theology of the Trinity in a vivid way which is easy to follow, pointing out the foundations of the doctrine and the decisive shifts in its development. He tries to see the often bitter discussion not as a barren dispute but as an evolutionary process in which the rivalry is a necessary and positive factor in moving the debate forward. After an introduction to the problem, the book describes the beginning of christology and the first models of the relationship between 'Father' and 'Son': it then describes the controversies leading up to the Council of Nicaea, which are discussed at length, going on to show how Nicaea didn't settle the question and continuing the account up to the Council of Constantinople in 381. It brings out the political influences which governed this second stage of the discussion in an illuminating way. A survey and bibliography round the book off.

Robert Letham's award-winning The Holy Trinity receives a well-considered update in this revised and expanded new edition. Letham examines the doctrine of the Trinity's biblical foundations and traces its historical development through the twentieth century before engaging four critical issues: the Trinity and (1) the incarnation, (2) worship and prayer, (3) creation and missions, and (4) persons. The new edition addresses developments in Augustine studies, teaching on the Trinity and election in Barth studies, and contemporary evangelical disputes on the relation of the Son to the Father.

Paul C. H. Lim offers an insightful examination of the polemical debates about the doctrine of the Trinity in seventeenth-century England, showing that this philosophical and theological re-configuration significantly impacted the politics of religion in the early modern period. Through analysis of these heated polemics, Lim shows how Trinitarian God-Talk became untenable in many ecclesiastical and philosophical circles, which led to the emergence of Unitarianism. He also demonstrates that those who continued to embrace Trinitarian doctrine articulated their piety and theological perspectives in an increasingly secularized culture of discourse. Drawing on both unexplored manuscripts and well-known treatises of Continental and English provenance, he unearths the complex layers of the polemic: from biblical exegesis to reception history of patristic authorities, from popular religious radicalism during the Civil War to Puritan spirituality, from Continental Socinians to English anti-trinitarians who avowed their relative independent theological identity, from the notion of the Platonic captivity of primitive Christianity to that of Plato as "Moses Atticus." Among this book's surprising conclusions are the findings that Anti-Trinitarian sentiment arose from a Puritan ambience, in which Biblical literalism overcame rationalistic presuppositions, and that theology and philosophy were not as unconnected during this period as previously thought. Mystery Unveiled will fill a significant lacuna in early modern English intellectual history.

ÒA primary condition for fresh thinking on the Trinity is an accurate, objective account of past and present thoughtÓ wrote one reviewer when The Triune God first appeared in 1972. ÒThis [is what] Fortman has presented sensitively, accurately, and compactly.Ó The author sets out Òto trace the historical development of Trinitarian doctrine from its written beginnings to its contemporary status.Ó Thus he treats the biblical witness, the Council of Nicea, Augustine, the Middle Ages, and the development of this doctrine from the fifteenth century to the present in the Protestant, Orthodox, and Catholic traditions.

The doctrine of the Trinity was settled in the fourth century, and maintained, with only very minor disagreement or development, by all strands of the church--Western and Eastern, Protestant and Catholic--until the modern period. In the twentieth century, there arose a sense that the doctrine had been neglected and stood in need of recovery. In The Quest for the Trinity, Holmes takes us on a remarkable journey through 2,000 years of the Christian doctrine of God. We witness the church s discovery of the Trinity from the biblical testimony, its crucial patristic developments, and medieval and Reformation continuity. We are also confronted with the questioning of traditional dogma during the Enlightenment, and asked to consider anew the character of the modern Trinitarian revival. Holmes s controversial conclusion is that the explosion of theological work in recent decades claiming to recapture the heart of Christian theology in fact deeply misunderstands and misappropriates the traditional doctrine of the Trinity. Yet his aim is constructive: to grasp the wisdom of the past and, ultimately, to bring a clearer understanding of the meaning of the present.