To readers who aren’t philosophers – thanks for your patience! We philosophers feel compelled to pick through these things at a slow pace. Stay tuned for less exploratory and technical stuff. In my last post, I tried to answer the quesion “What is modalism about the Trinity?” The basic idea is that there are things, and there are modes of things, or ways those things… Read More »What is “modalism”? – Part 2
What, precisely, is “modalism,” and what, if anything, is wrong with it? I find the theological and historical literature to be depressingly unclear about this. Why? Partly it’s the sparseness and obscurity of the original sources. Partly it’s the habit of simply repeating the same lore over and over, couched in the same (sometimes unhelpful) terms, starring the same (not too well drawn) heroes and… Read More »What is Modalism?
How many times have you seen one of these offered as an explanation or illustration of the doctrine of the Trinity? There’s a good article about these here, complete with some links to real medieval examples. Basically, this sort of Shield of Faith (Latin: scutum fidei) diagram seems to have originated in the high middle ages, with the intention of illustrating the doctrine. In general,… Read More »Ye Olde Trinity Diagram: The Shield of Faith
In this recent piece in Books & Culture, I think Prof. Jacobs makes a lot of excellent points. Can this blog be an exception? (As this blog is, as well as this one.) I hope so! Specifically, I hope that the following factors can minimize the problems Jacobs discusses: posting at a decent pace (no Instapundit-like continuous flow) leaving the comments open occasional weeding out… Read More »Linkage: blogs an “enemy of thought”
In Part 1 I explained how vague it is to say that there are three divine Persons “in” God. In Part 2, I described some different things one might mean by “Persons”. In this third part, I’ll explain some of many things it might mean to say that the three persons are one “substance” (Greek: ousia, Latin: substantia). But before I do that, it is… Read More »“the” Trinity doctrine – Part 3
I have a hard time taking stuff like this seriously. No doubt they think they’re striking a blow for women’s rights or status or both. But I will say this: isn’t God related to us more like an ideal human father, than like an ideal human mother? For one thing, we have a physical, bodily bond with our mothers. And isn’t it odd to address… Read More »Linkage: Trinity updated by PCUSA: Mother, Child, & Womb
Faithful readers: Please share your favorite quotes relating to the Trinity with the rest of us! They can be pro- or con-, insightful or silly. Classic, or recent. Everyone together now: Cut… Paste…
There’s a standard answer to the question posed at the end of the last post: the doctrine of the Trinity is the claim that the Christian God is three “persons” (Greek: hypostases, Latin: personae) in one “essence” or “being” (Greek: ousia, Latin: substantia). Case closed, right? How I wish! Again, ambiguities abound. Take “persons”. Ordinarily, a “person” is a kind of thing (individual entity). You’re… Read More »“the” Trinity doctrine – Part 2
The traditional Christian doctrine of the Trinity is commonly expressed as the claim that the one God “exists as” Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or as the claim that there are three divine persons “in” God, or as the claim that God “exists in three Persons”. I have to say: this drives me nuts. The “exists as” formula strongly suggests modalism, the idea that Father,… Read More »“the” Trinity doctrine – Part 1
Hello, and welcome! This is a blog about doctrines of the Trinity. Yes, there’s more than one such doctrine, as we’ll see. See here for more about this blog, and about me. Please be patient – this is my first blog, and I’ll probably be tweaking things for awhile!
