scholarly journals EVANGELICAL REFORMULATIONS OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY AND CALVIN ON THE FULL EQUALITY OF ALL PERSONS OF THE TRINITY

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-84
Author(s):  
DOUGLAS F. KELLY

In the context of Evangelical reformulations of the Trinity in a new sub-ordinationism, the article reasserts the traditional assertion of the full equality of all persons of the Trinity. To that end, the author exposits John Calvin’s formulation of the Trinity and that of the church fathers, which anticipates Calvin’s doctrine. Crucial to a proper understanding are the distinctions between essence and persons and between the ontological Trinity and each person’s role in redemption. The historical survey concludes with B. B. Warfield’s and Thomas F. Torrance’s assessments of Calvin’s contribution. Finally, three implications linked to our doctrine of God—knowledge, forgiveness, and love—are considered.

2021 ◽  
pp. 117-132
Author(s):  
Gilles Dorival

The role of the Septuagint in the building of the Christian identity during the first Christian centuries is more important than it is generally said. The word ‘testament’ or ‘covenant’, for example, comes from the Septuagint, via the New Testament. The Greek and Latin liturgies are filled with references to the Septuagint. The same is true in the case of the Christian spirituality: for instance, the concept of the Christian life as a migration comes from the Septuagint. The Christian hermeneutics is indebted to the Greek Bible: even if knowledge of the allegorical method comes from the Greek philosophers (and Philo), support could be found for it in the verses of the Greek Bible. Finally, the theological vocabulary of the Christians was founded upon the Greek Bible. For instance, in the case of the doctrine of the Trinity, the word ‘person’ comes from the Septuagint. Furthermore, some passages of the Greek translation gave rise to theological interpretations which are not possible on the grounds of the Hebrew text. In Gen 1:2, the Septuagint reads ‘the earth was invisible and unorganized’ and this came to be quoted both in support of the creation of matter ex nihilo. In Exod 17:16, where the Hebrew has a difficult hapax legomenon, the Greek speaks about the ‘hidden hand’ with which the Lord makes war against Amalek; this ‘hidden hand’ played a role in the Christian doctrine of the Logos, which is hidden in the Old Testament.


2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandar S. Santrac

This article examines the origins of the traditional or orthodox Trinitarian formula. The main objective is to clarify to what extent the traditional Christian doctrine of the Trinity (Nicene formula) has been influenced by Greek philosophy. Through contemporary theological dialogue on this issue, the research focuses on the comparison between the traditional formulation of the doctrine of Trinity, influenced by Greek philosophy and the biblical revelation of the godhead. The conclusion is that the trinitarian formula might not be a dogmatic teaching, but a mystery (a dehellenisation of the concept of Trinity) and that the Church fathers and the post-Nicene church used the Greek philosophical-theological expressions for Trinity, already present in Scriptures in its doxological and liturgical form, primarily for the purpose of contextualisation.Hierdie artikel ondersoek die oorsprong van die tradisionele of ortodokse trinitariese leerstuk. Die hoofdoel is om uit te vind tot watter mate die tradisioneel Christelike leer oor die Drie-eenheid (Niceense formule) deur die Griekse filosofie beïnvloed is. Deur die hedendaagse teologiese debat oor hierdie onderwerp na te gaan, fokus die navorsing op ’n vergelyking tussen die tradisionele formulering van die leer van die Drie-eenheid soos beïnvloed deur die ortodokse Griekse filosofie en deur die bybelse openbaring van die godheid. Die slotsom waartoe gekom word, is dat die trinitariese formule moontlik nie ’n dogmatiese leerstuk was nie, maar ’n misterie (’n dehellenisering van die Drie-eenheidsbegrip). Die kerkvaders en die post-Niceense kerk het die Griekse filosofies-teologiese uitdrukkings vir die Drie-eenheid, wat alreeds in die Skrif in sy doksologiese en liturgiese vorm voorgekom het, moontlik slegs vir die doel van kontekstualisering gebruik.


2020 ◽  
pp. 27-98
Author(s):  
Thomas H. McCall ◽  
Keith D. Stanglin

Chapter 2 begins the account of Arminian theology after Arminius, turning attention to the complexities of the continental Remonstrant and English Arminian theologies as they took shape in the seventeenth century. After a historical overview of the controversies surrounding the Synod of Dordt (including the British involvement in the Dutch controversies), we provide an account of the theology of Dutch Remonstrantism. After examining the relationship between Scripture and reason, we then turn attention to the doctrine of God, theological anthropology, and the doctrines of salvation. Moving across the North Sea, we then explore the development of doctrine within the English variants of Arminian theology, describing issues related to the doctrine of the Trinity, the proper understanding of the divine attributes, the extent of the atonement, and the doctrine of justification and its relation to good works.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-76
Author(s):  
Minggus Minarto Pranoto

Teologi Patristik atau teologi bapa-bapa gereja muncul di masa-masa awal dalam sejarah perkembangan gereja. Namun demikian pemikiran teologi Patristik masih terus relevan berhadapan dengan persoalan-persoalan kehidupan sekarang ini. Teologi Patristik merupakan warisan berharga teologi Kristen yang tidak pernah membeku dan menjadi fosil di masa lalu, sebaliknya teologi Patristik mengalami kebangkitan dalam topik-topik kajiannya dan mempunyai daya dorong yang kuat untuk mendasari praksis transformasional pelayanan Kristen di masa sekarang ini. Kebangkitan studi teologi Patristik menunjukkan bahwa teologi Patristik memiliki ruang yang luas untuk diaplikasikan dalam berbagai isu kehidupan. Teologi Patristik setia terhadap kerygma rasul-rasul dan tujuannya agar kehidupan orang percaya memuliakan Allah dan berjuang melakukan praksis transformasional pelayanan Kristen. Doktrin Trinitas (perikhoresis), yang telah diformulasikan dalam teologi Patristik, merupakan salah satu doktrin yang begitu luas didiskusikan dan dikembangkan dalam wacana berteologi sekarang ini. Abstract: Patristic theology or theology of the Church Fathers emerged in the early days in the history of the development of the Church. However, the thought of Patristic theology continues to be relevant in dealing with the problems of life today. Patristic theology is a valuable legacy of Christian theology that has never been frozen and fossilized in the past, instead Patristic theology experienced a revival in its study topics and has a strong impetus to underpin the transformational praxis of Christian service in the present. The revival of the study of Patristic theology shows that Patristic theology has ample scope to be applied in various issues of life. Patristic theology is faithful to the apostolic faith and its purpose so that the lives of believers glorify God and strive to carry out transformational praxis of Christian service. The doctrine of the Trinity (perikhoresis), which has been formulated in Patristic theology, is one of the doctrines that is so widely discussed and developed in current theological discourse.


Pro Ecclesia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-265
Author(s):  
Raymond C. Van Leeuwen

Seitz’s new book is a “ Summa” of his decades-long work of theological exegesis which shows the theological “pressure” that the Old Testament inherently exerts towards the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. His focus is not just the “economic” Trinity—God in God’s historical works—but the “ontological Trinity”: God in God’s very self. His exegesis mines theological insights from the church fathers to the great Reformers, Luther and Calvin. An unfortunate weakness in the book is its copy editing and proofreading.


Author(s):  
Kyle C. Strobel

Commonly recognized as fundamental to his thought as a whole, Edwards’s doctrine of the Trinity has, nonetheless, been the subject of much discord in the secondary literature. After initially mapping the various perspectives (or ‘instincts’) on the issue, this chapter turns to the notion of personalism to explain the inner logic of Edwards’s account. This unique feature of Edwards’s doctrine explains how he can utilize traditional theological machinery in his doctrine of God (i.e. psychological imagery, simplicity, actus purus, filioque, and divine blessedness), to establish his idiosyncratic development of perichoresis and the divine attributes. What this reading of Edwards’s doctrine helps establish is how he articulates human speech about God, and various rules for how that speech functions (e.g. talk about God is to talk about person(s); God’s self-giving is funded by, rather than diminished by, God’s perfection).


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-290
Author(s):  
Adam McIntosh

Although Karl Barth is widely recognised as the initiator of the renewal of trinitarian theology in the twentieth century, his theology of the Church Dogmatics has been strongly criticised for its inadequate account of the work of the Holy Spirit. This author argues that the putative weakness of Barth's pneumatology should be reconsidered in light of his doctrine of appropriation. Barth employs the doctrine of appropriation as a hermeneutical procedure, within his doctrine of the Trinity, for bringing to speech the persons of the Trinity in their inseparable distinctiveness. It is argued that the doctrine of appropriation provides a sound interpretative framework for his pneumatology of the Church Dogmatics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teddy C. Sakupapa

This contribution offers a survey of the modern African theological discourse on the Trinity as a distinctive Christian doctrine of God. It is a systematic narrative review of primary literature on the doctrine of the Trinity in modern African theology with a view to identify main trends, key concepts and major proponents. It is argued that the contemporary African Trinitarian Hermeneutics cannot be understood in isolation from African debates on translatability of concepts of God framed first in terms of the reinterpretation of the theological significance of pre-Christian African concepts of God and subsequently as an outcome of African Christological reflection. The article affirms an apophatic resistance to any tendency to take God for granted as recently advanced by Ernst Conradie and Teddy Sakupapa.


Author(s):  
Geertjan Zuijdwegt

Richard Whately (1787-1863) is an intriguing figure in John Henry Newman’s development. Through his mentoring and academic support, he taught the gifted young Newman to think for himself. But intellectual independence came at a price. After a close relationship in the mid-1820s, Newman began to steer a course of his own. In the tumultuous early 1830s, their friendship foundered, as they clashed over key theological issues: the authority of the church, the doctrine of the Trinity, the nature of revelation, and the reasonableness of religious belief. Newman had come to think that Whately's theology endangered orthodox Christianity. This conviction shaped his later opposition to other Oriel Noetics, who thought like Whately. Despite their conflicts, Newman drew on Whately's work in logic and rhetoric to formulate his own theory of the relation between faith and reason.


2006 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon S. Mikoski

This paper elucidates the connections in Gregory of Nyssa's thought between the rite of baptism, the doctrine of God as Trinity, and practices of ecclesial pedagogy. These components formed a dynamic and differentiated whole for Gregory. To consider one element in isolation from the others runs the risk of interpretive distortion of Gregory's work. This means that the current tendency to harvest Gregory's trinitarian ideas abstracted or disembodied from the rite of baptism and practices of ecclesial pedagogy perpetuates the false notion that the doctrine of the Trinity can be adequately treated apart from liturgical and pedagogical concerns.


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