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 PrintableVersion Trinitarian theology for the churchScripture, community, worshipNot totally in the right directionTRINITARIAN THEOLOGY FOR THE CHURCH This book is comprised of select essays from the 2008 Wheaton College Theology Conference and explores the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity for evangelical theology. It is a very worthwhile volume. The editors provide a clear introduction which first situates trinitarian theology generally, before helping us to know where to locate this book in the wealth of trinitarian publications appearing all the time. The book is well laid out with each of its three parts corresponding to the three parts of its subtitle: we are treated to the relevance of the Trinity for our reading of Scripture, our life as community, and the ministry and mission of the church. It is true that the doctrine of the Trinity is in vogue as the content and method of academic theology (as the introduction to this book suggests); it is also true that ‘doing theology for the church’ is increasingly fashionable in academia (as the title of this book reveals). Often this noble aim remains idealised and abstract with little or no contact with the realities of preaching, praying, and pastoring. Does this volume have the potential to make a genuine difference? The answer is yes — if carefully digested. Some care is required because not every essay points in the right direction. John Franke’s social trinitarianism is strong on ‘social’ and weak on ‘trinitarianism’, although it is followed by the implicit critique of Mark Husbands’s chapter. He does a nice job of showing the problems with the Trinity conceived in this way, even if his own exposition might be queried here and there (on Barth, for instance). Some digesting is required because the essays are written at altitude and operate a fair distance above pew-level. Not every paper given at the conference is included here and it is a shame that Fred Sanders’s paper on how evangelicalism is often tacitly, not explicitly, trinitarian was left out. His chapter might have bridged the gap a little. Nevertheless, there are helpful contributions on the Trinity in relation to world religions (a very fine chapter), preaching, sacraments, mission, and even a chapter on the tangible difference trinitarian enthusiasm might make to what we do on Sundays. So there is plenty here for preachers and teachers to think about and to benefit from. The jewel in the set is the sparkling two-part essay by Kevin Vanhoozer: ‘Triune Discourse: Theological reflections on the claim that God speaks’. In the end, his conclusions are fairly traditional but the chapters are a model of rigour, elegance, and charity. They helped me to see old things in a new way. Other readers may find at least some of the chapters doing the same for them. David Gibson, © Evangelicals Now - December 2009 |
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