This book presents a bold venture in theology, combining a presentation, explanation, analysis, and reinterpretation of trinitarian language. Rejecting the assumption that traditional trinitarian discourse is useless in an age of cults and sects, Jenson points to a profound and provocative renewal of trinitarian piety and reflection understood as a remedy for spiritual desolation and powerlessness. Proceeding on the premise that any radical analysis of the formula ÒFather, Son, and Holy SpiritÓ must work from biblical statements, Jenson investigates the significance of two biblical identifications of God: ÒGod is whoever freed us from EgyptÓ and ÒGod is whoever raised Jesus from the deadÓ. In opposition to the notion that God is to be understood simply as timeless being, Jenson shows how the memory of God's acts and the presence of God in Christ leads to a hope for the future based on the promise of the spirit.
Many believers struggle with assurance of salvation, tending to approach obedience to God out of either guilt or legalism. We exist to display God's glory, declare God's gospel, and disciple for God's Great Commission. Instead of embracing these truths, many Christians have believed the lie that their identity in Christ does not affect how they live their lives in obedience to him. The gospel tells us that “being” (identity) comes before “doing” (obedience). This lack of understanding our gospel identity frequently results in either legalistic pride or frustrating guilt. The purpose of this book is to help believers understand their identity in the three persons of the Trinity and then joyfully serve God with gospel obedience. The gospel indicatives in the Bible serve as the fountain and power for obeying the moral imperatives in the Bible. The gospel roots our assurance of salvation and motivation to obey God in our identity, not in moralism, which elevates our performance instead of exalting the finished work of Christ.
In this book Gordon Mikoski examines how the sacrament of baptism, the doctrine of the Trinity, and the practice of Christian education together constitute a dynamic nexus that has the potential to foster congregations marked by the formation of both deep Christian identity and creative engagement in public arenas for the common good. / After establishing the necessity of holding baptism, Trinity, and ecclesial pedagogy together through his careful study of both Gregory of Nyssa and John Calvin, Mikoski outlines how this nexus can function for contemporary Christian communities as they carry out the work of educational ministry. He then explores the dynamics of faith formation in the contemporary American context, concluding with a suggestive treatment of implications of the baptism-Trinity-pedagogy nexus for the educational ministry of a given congregation.
There has been a recent revival of interest in the doctrine of divine simplicity in systematic and philosophical theology, following decades of intense reflection on the tri-personhood of the Christian God. While recent studies have produced a greater appreciation of patristic and scholastic theologies, they have not yet engaged in dialogue with proponents of the trinitarian revival that emerged in the latter half of the twentieth century in anything other than polemical terms. This book offers a theological defense of the doctrine of divine simplicity through careful reading of both exemplary historical theologians and Robert W. Jenson, an important American contributor to the trinitarian revival. After tracing continuities and discontinuities amongst select historical theologians, the book approaches Jenson with a multivalent account of divine simplicity. The result is a more nuanced interpretation of Jenson’s theology, an account of divine simplicity that responds to perceived problems, and new constructive proposals for divine simplicity in trinitarian theology.
Have you ever wondered how to maintain an understanding of monotheism in light of the Christian understanding of the triune Godhead? Have you ever wondered about the identity of “YHWH” in the Old Testament? Have you identified YHWH as the first person of the Trinity as many in the Christian tradition have? If so, this book is for you. Many of the early Trinitarian heresies stemmed from a misunderstanding of YHWH in the Old Testament, especially identifying YHWH as one person and not multiple persons. This book addresses issues relating to the identity of YHWH in the Old Testament and makes the bold claim that YHWH is multiple persons in the OT and therefore, Father is YHWH, Jesus is YHWH, and the Holy Spirit is YHWH. This conclusion is based on sound exegesis of OT/NT passages, the early Christian understanding of God in the Old Testament, and the New Testament’s identification of Jesus in the identity of YHWH. If identified thus, a Christian reading of the entirety of Scripture will take on new meaning, resulting in a robust Trinitarian interpretation of Scripture.
The Triune God, together with the forthcoming second volume, The Works of God, develops a compendious statement of Christian theology in the tradition of a medieval summa, or of such modern works as those of Schleiermacher and Barth. Theology, as it is understood here, is the Christian church's continuing discourse concerning her specific communal purpose; it is the hermeneutic and critical reflection internal to the church's task of speaking the gospel, to the world as message and to God in petition and praise. This volume and its successor are thus dedicated to the service of the one church of the creeds; it is for no particular denomination or confession. The interlocutors of this work's analyses and proposals are drawn from wherever in the ecumenical tradition a question may lead: to theologians and traditions ancient, medieval, or modern; Eastern or Western; Catholic or Protestant.
There has been a recent revival of interest in the doctrine of divine simplicity in systematic and philosophical theology, following decades of intense reflection on the tri-personhood of the Christian God. While recent studies have produced a greater appreciation of patristic and scholastic theologies, they have not yet engaged in dialogue with proponents of the trinitarian revival that emerged in the latter half of the twentieth century in anything other than polemical terms. This book offers a theological defense of the doctrine of divine simplicity through careful reading of both exemplary historical theologians and Robert W. Jenson, an important American contributor to the trinitarian revival. After tracing continuities and discontinuities amongst select historical theologians, the book approaches Jenson with a multivalent account of divine simplicity. The result is a more nuanced interpretation of Jenson’s theology, an account of divine simplicity that responds to perceived problems, and new constructive proposals for divine simplicity in trinitarian theology.
In this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume, Richard Lints argues that "idol" language in the Bible is a conceptual inversion of the "image" language of Genesis 1. He shows how the narrative of human identity runs from creation to fall to redemption in Christ, and examines the recent renaissance of interest in idolatry with its conceptual power to explain the "culture of desire."
What does God actually want for us? What is his dream for you, or for me? Is it that we would become just a little nicer? More "moral"? A little more religious? Could it be that there's something else he's after? Many books engage the life of the Trinity at an academic level, focusing simply on fine points of theological distinction. In All Flame, Andrew Arndt drills down, with mystical power and missional energy, to the dream of the God revealed in three Persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--showing how the Triune God is not far but near, already in touch with your life, already present to you, already at work in and through your circumstances to make you the kind of person he desires you to be: ALL FLAME.
Worship and Christian Identity argues that sacramental and liturgical practices are the central means by which a church shapes the faith, character, and consciousness of its members. Consequently, for any church to set aside such practices as outdated or irrelevant is to set aside the means by which the church nurtures and sustains its theological identity. From this perspective, Anderson explores the following questions: What is the relationship between worship and belief? What is the relationship between corporate worship and the formation of Christian persons and communities? What is the relationship between worship and our knowledge of ourselves, our world, and God? How might our attention to the reform and renewal of worship and sacramental practice provide a framework for theological, evangelical, and sacramental renewal? Questions of sacramental practice, inclusive or transformative language, and the renewal of congregational hymnody have been largely displaced by marketing questions and conflicts between "traditional" and "contemporary" worship. The hour of worship is subdivided now into increasingly specialized "target audiences" of singles, seekers, boomers, and "X-ers" with worship carefully packaged as "traditional" or "contemporary." What at various points has been understood as a "means of grace" is now seen primarily as a "means of numerical growth." Missing in the conflict between "traditional" and "contemporary" worship is significant discussion of what is at stake for the identity of Christian persons and communities in the shape and practice of worship. Perhaps more surprising, discussion of the theological shape and practice of worship also has been absent in discussions concerning theological standards. These absences suggest that for many in the church today, worship is a means for expressing a community's belief but has little to do with the shape and character of that belief. The assumption that worship is only or primarily a pragmatic means for expressing a community's belief stands in sharp contrast to the Christian tradition. This assumption also contrasts with the insights provided by recent work in ritual studies, psychology, and faith development. Worship and Christian Identity is an important book for faculty and students in seminary and graduate programs in liturgical studies and religious education, particularly those interested in the relationships between liturgical studies and practical theology, ritual studies and liturgical theology, as well as the role of worship in Christian formation. Chapters are "Making Claims About Worship," "Worship as Ritual Knowledge," "Worship as Ritual Practice," "Trinitarian Grammar and the Christian Self," "Trinitarian Grammar and Liturgical Practice," and "A Vision of Christian Life."
