{"id":43139,"date":"2021-03-08T21:33:31","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T03:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/?p=43139"},"modified":"2021-03-08T21:33:37","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T03:33:37","slug":"podcast-322-review-of-ericksons-making-sense-of-the-trinity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-322-review-of-ericksons-making-sense-of-the-trinity\/","title":{"rendered":"podcast 322 &#8211; Review of Erickson&#8217;s Making Sense of the Trinity"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_9914\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-43139-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/trinities\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/podcast\/trinities322.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/trinities\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/podcast\/trinities322.mp3\">http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/trinities\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/podcast\/trinities322.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/trinities\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/podcast\/trinities322.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/?powerpress_pinw=43139-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/trinities\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/podcast\/trinities322.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"trinities322.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/7FuUF9DZM3zhtN41n6RJ6l\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_spotify\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe on Spotify\" rel=\"nofollow\">Spotify<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/subscribebyemail.com\/trinities.org\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe by Email\" rel=\"nofollow\">Email<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Erickson-Making-Sense-of-the-Trinity.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43144\" width=\"238\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Erickson-Making-Sense-of-the-Trinity.jpg 324w, https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Erickson-Making-Sense-of-the-Trinity-292x450.jpg 292w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this episode, my review of Dr. Millard Erickson&#8217;s <em><a aria-label=\"Making Sense of the Trinity (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Making-Sense-Trinity-Crucial-Questions\/dp\/080106287X\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">Making Sense of the Trinity<\/a><\/em>. How many <a aria-label=\"questions about &quot;the Trinity&quot; (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-314-10-fundamental-questions-about-the-trinity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">questions about &#8220;the Trinity&#8221;<\/a> does this short and often-recommended book clearly answer? The author is very learned, and is not afraid to admit some difficult points for trinitarians, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>[The doctrine of the Trinity] does not appear to be taught in Scripture<\/strong>, which is the Christian&#8217;s supreme authority in faith and practice. And it presents an obstacle to faith for those who otherwise might be inclined to accept the Christian faith. <\/p><cite><em>Making Sense of the Trinity<\/em>, p. 13<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8230;most attempts to explain the Trinity have fallen into two major types&#8230;[those which] tend toward modalism, that is, the view that God is simply one person, with three different modes of existence&#8230;on the other hand [other attempts] tend toward tritheism, that is, the belief in three Gods. I have observed that in practice <strong>many Christians tend to alternate between these two positions<\/strong>, and something of this alternation may be a practical necessity.<\/p><cite>p. 45<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>There is no evidence in the New Testament, either in instructions or in practice, of worship and prayer directed to the Holy Spirit. <\/strong>There is, however, considerable indication of a growing practice, as early as the third and fourth centuries. This became more firmly established as time went on.<\/p><cite>p. 83<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I understand him to be suggesting <strong>a four-self Trinity theory<\/strong> in this book, on which each &#8220;Person&#8221; of the Trinity is a self, and so is the Trinity. Any of those four can and should be objects of prayer and of worship, in his view. Topics discussed in this podcast include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Several <strong>positive features<\/strong> of this book, and some of his deep insights.<\/li><li>How this book strongly reflects the intellectual fashions of its time (2000).<\/li><li>His peculiar view<strong> that each Person of the Trinity depends on each of the other two <\/strong>for his existence and deity, and his denial of tradition &#8220;divine processions&#8221; speculations. <\/li><li>How the book reveals <strong>four &#8220;dirty little secrets&#8221; <\/strong>of present-day academic theologians. <\/li><li><strong>Which <a aria-label=\"questions about &quot;the Trinity&quot; (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-314-10-fundamental-questions-about-the-trinity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">questions about the Trinity<\/a> this book answers and which it fails to answer. <\/strong><\/li><li>The strong and weak points of this book&#8217;s treatment of early Christian views on the Father, Son, and Spirit.<\/li><li>How this 2000 book differs from Erickson&#8217;s 1995 book <em>God in Three Persons<\/em> on <strong>the question of whether or not there is a Trinity doctrine taught in Scripture<\/strong>.<\/li><li>How Erickson&#8217;s approach to &#8220;the Trinity&#8221; is more Protestant than that of many others.<\/li><li>How this book answers seven of the nine applicable Advanced Questions about &#8220;the Trinity.&#8221;<\/li><li>The minimal use Erickson makes of appeal to &#8220;mystery&#8221; in this book.<\/li><li><strong>What sorts of people I think would or would not significantly benefit from this book.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Links for this episode:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-314-10-fundamental-questions-about-the-trinity\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"podcast 314 \u2013 10 Fundamental Questions about the Trinity (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">podcast 314 \u2013 10 Fundamental Questions about the Trinity<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Millard_Erickson\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Millard J. Erickson (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">Millard J. Erickson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"250\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Erickson-1995-God-in-Three-Persons.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43145\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Making-Sense-Trinity-Crucial-Questions\/dp\/080106287X\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Making Sense of the Trinity: Three Crucial Questions (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\"><strong>Making Sense of the Trinity: Three Crucial Questions<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/God-Three-Persons-Contemporary-Interpretation\/dp\/0801032296\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"God in Three Persons: A Contemporary Interpretation of the Trinity (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">God in Three Persons: A Contemporary Interpretation of the Trinity<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/evolution-of-the-trinity-with-bill-schlegel\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Evolution of the Trinity \u2013 with Bill Schlegel (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">Evolution of the Trinity \u2013 with Bill Schlegel<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-167-lamsons-history-of-the-unitarian-congregationalists\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"podcast 167 \u2013 Lamson\u2019s History of The Unitarian Congregationalists (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">podcast 167 \u2013 Lamson\u2019s History of The Unitarian Congregationalists<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;<a aria-label=\"Trinity (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/trinity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">Trinity<\/a>&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/index.html\">Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/trinity\/#FuncPer\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"McIntosh's Four-Self Trinity theory (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">McIntosh&#8217;s Four-Self Trinity theory<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-78-mr-chad-mcintosh-on-the-trinity-as-a-functional-person\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"podcast 78 \u2013 Mr. Chad McIntosh on the Trinity as a Functional Person (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\"><strong>podcast 78 \u2013 Mr. Chad McIntosh on the Trinity as a Functional Person<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a aria-label=\"podcast 44 \u2013 The Spiritual Journey of Sir Anthony Buzzard (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-44-the-spiritual-journey-of-sir-anthony-buzzard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">podcast 44 \u2013 The Spiritual Journey of Sir Anthony Buzzard<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/new-co-authored-paper-dormant-dispositions-agent-value-and-the-trinity\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"new co-authored paper: \u201cDormant Dispositions, Agent Value, and the Trinity\u201d (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">new co-authored paper: \u201cDormant Dispositions, Agent Value, and the Trinity\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.academia.edu\/2557851\/On_the_Possibility_of_a_Single_Perfect_Person_in_Festschrift_for_Stephen_T_Davis_ed_Colin_Ruloff_published_by_the_University_of_Notre_Dame_Press_forthcoming\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"&quot;On the Possibility of a Single Perfect Person&quot; (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\"><strong>&#8220;On the Possibility of a Single Perfect Person&#8221;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.tdl.org\/jat\/index.php\/jat\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Journal of Analytic Theology (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\"><em>Journal of Analytic Theology<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-58-we-cant-prove-the-trinity-by-reason-alone\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"podcast 58 \u2013 We can\u2019t prove the Trinity by reason alone (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">podcast 58 \u2013 We can\u2019t prove the Trinity by reason alone<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-189-the-unfinished-business-of-the-reformation\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"podcast 189 \u2013 The unfinished business of the Reformation (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">podcast 189 \u2013 The unfinished business of the Reformation<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.academia.edu\/44018047\/The_Unfinished_Business_of_the_Reformation\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"published book chapter (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">published book chapter<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/10-steps-towards-getting-less-confused-about-the-trinity-6-get-a-date-part-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"10 steps towards getting less confused about the Trinity \u2013 #6 get a date \u2013 part 2 (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">10 steps towards getting less confused about the Trinity \u2013 #6 get a date \u2013 part 2<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-260-how-to-argue-that-the-bible-is-trinitarian\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"podcast 260 \u2013 How to Argue that the Bible is Trinitarian (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\"><strong>podcast 260 \u2013 How to Argue that the Bible is Trinitarian<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-248-how-trinity-theories-conflict-with-the-bible\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"podcast 248 \u2013 How Trinity theories conflict with the Bible (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">podcast 248 \u2013 How Trinity theories conflict with the Bible<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-191-wares-outline-of-the-testimony-of-scripture-against-the-trinity\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"podcast 191 \u2013 Ware\u2019s Outline of the Testimony of Scripture Against the Trinity (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">podcast 191 \u2013 Ware\u2019s Outline of the Testimony of Scripture Against the Trinity<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/iep.utm.edu\/reli-div\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Theories of Religious Diversity (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">Theories of Religious Diversity<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-308-channings-unitarian-christianity-part-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"podcast 308 \u2013 Channing\u2019s \u201cUnitarian Christianity\u201d \u2013 Part 1 (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">podcast 308 \u2013 Channing\u2019s \u201cUnitarian Christianity\u201d \u2013 Part 1<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/podcast-302-the-stages-of-trinitarian-commitment\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"podcast 302 \u2013 The Stages of Trinitarian Commitment (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\"><strong>podcast 302 \u2013 The Stages of Trinitarian Commitment<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This week&#8217;s thinking music is &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/freemusicarchive.org\/music\/Little_Glass_Men\/Spontaneous_Album_Sampler\/Dream_Blaze\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Dream Blaze (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">Dream Blaze<\/a>&#8221; by Little Glass Men. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Review of a learned and insightful yet deeply flawed book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,16,6,58,14,55,9,57,77,7,3,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apologetics","category-books","category-complaints","category-creeds","category-history","category-holy-spirit","category-philosophy","category-podcast","category-protestant","category-quotes","category-theories","category-worship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43139"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43153,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43139\/revisions\/43153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trinities.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}