Showing posts with label Trinity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trinity. Show all posts
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Quote of the Day
"I cannot think on the one without quickly being encircled by the splendor of the three; nor can I discern the three without being straightway carried back to the one." -Gregory of Nazianzus
Thursday, January 30, 2014
the Trinity:Mathematical Conundrum or Ontological Necessity?
"There is a twofold mode of truth in what we profess about God. Some truths about God exceed all the ability of the human reason. Such is the truth that God is triune." -Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, Book One
Here in lies a common understanding that we hear everyday, in fact I just hear it this week. "The trinity is unknowable" seems to be an axiomatic claim which is why it's so popular and the reason we hear it all the time. While I disagree that it is unknowable, I do understand why people say it. After all how is it possible to rationalize the numerical quantities 3 and 1? May I suggest a different way of thinking about this?
Rather than ponder the mathematical conundrum resulting from joining numerical quantities of 3 and 1. Let us understand God as He is depicted from the Scriptures as the Being in whom we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). Thus from this perspective God is an ontological necessity and the basis upon which we have our being.
As always tell me your thoughts.
Here in lies a common understanding that we hear everyday, in fact I just hear it this week. "The trinity is unknowable" seems to be an axiomatic claim which is why it's so popular and the reason we hear it all the time. While I disagree that it is unknowable, I do understand why people say it. After all how is it possible to rationalize the numerical quantities 3 and 1? May I suggest a different way of thinking about this?
Rather than ponder the mathematical conundrum resulting from joining numerical quantities of 3 and 1. Let us understand God as He is depicted from the Scriptures as the Being in whom we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). Thus from this perspective God is an ontological necessity and the basis upon which we have our being.
As always tell me your thoughts.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Quote Of The Day
Worship is not activity in which we contemplate or observe a being who is over against us - though in a sense God is that also - but it is relational, something that happens between persons. And the happening between persons is worship in the Son and through the Spirit. -Colin Gunton The Promise of Trinitarian Theology pg.6
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Quote of the Day: Collin Gunton on the Trinity
Friday, January 25, 2013
Are Christians Monotheists in Their Practical Life?
Its been some time since I posted, ironically before the holidays. But, i'm back in the saddle to amuse, entertain, and confound mostly myself of this blog. So no more delay.
I was laying in bed tonight wanting to get some sleep and I kept thinking about a trinitarian theology of justice (I realize that's strange but its perfectly normal for me). So rather than lay there fretting over it I decided to get up and look at one of the locus communis on this topic The Trinity by Karl Rahner. One caveat before I go any further. If you are new to the Christian faith or still learning about the faith I don't recommend Rahner as a source. Rather than Rahner drop me a line and i'll provide you with other sources. As I was reading away I came across something interesting he said and it got my attention viola! a blog post was born.
So here is what Rahner had to say.
“Despite their orthodox confession of the Trinity, Christians are, in their practical life, almost mere ‘monotheists’. We must be willing to admit that, should the doctrine of the Trinity have to be dropped as false, the major part of religious literature could well remain virtually unchanged”.
“We may hope that any material could be pressed into service in the attempt to destroy once and for all the false conception that a ‘speculative’ doctrine of the immanent Trinity may perhaps be conceivable today, that it is a completely idle and irrelevant undertaking, possessing neither spiritual nor religious interest to the modern Christian and theologian”
Now I am curious, does anyone believe this might be true? I will even settle for a feeling. Does anyone feel that there is a possible hint of truth here? And the reason I ask is quite legitimate. From my perspective, as I look around at Churches today especially contemporary evangelical types, I do see Rahner's thesis being demonstrated practically. Now I am not saying that contemporary evangelicals are self consciously Modern in their theology. But, I do get the impression they view the trinity as "something we we believe" but not to be central to or inculcated in the life of the church.
Am I being too harsh? It's not intentional. I raise this question out of genuine concern. Moreover, I believe many of the ecclesial problems evangelicals experience today can be answered with a return to a healthy understanding of the ontological trinity. What says you?
I was laying in bed tonight wanting to get some sleep and I kept thinking about a trinitarian theology of justice (I realize that's strange but its perfectly normal for me). So rather than lay there fretting over it I decided to get up and look at one of the locus communis on this topic The Trinity by Karl Rahner. One caveat before I go any further. If you are new to the Christian faith or still learning about the faith I don't recommend Rahner as a source. Rather than Rahner drop me a line and i'll provide you with other sources. As I was reading away I came across something interesting he said and it got my attention viola! a blog post was born.
So here is what Rahner had to say.
“Despite their orthodox confession of the Trinity, Christians are, in their practical life, almost mere ‘monotheists’. We must be willing to admit that, should the doctrine of the Trinity have to be dropped as false, the major part of religious literature could well remain virtually unchanged”.
“We may hope that any material could be pressed into service in the attempt to destroy once and for all the false conception that a ‘speculative’ doctrine of the immanent Trinity may perhaps be conceivable today, that it is a completely idle and irrelevant undertaking, possessing neither spiritual nor religious interest to the modern Christian and theologian”
Now I am curious, does anyone believe this might be true? I will even settle for a feeling. Does anyone feel that there is a possible hint of truth here? And the reason I ask is quite legitimate. From my perspective, as I look around at Churches today especially contemporary evangelical types, I do see Rahner's thesis being demonstrated practically. Now I am not saying that contemporary evangelicals are self consciously Modern in their theology. But, I do get the impression they view the trinity as "something we we believe" but not to be central to or inculcated in the life of the church.
Am I being too harsh? It's not intentional. I raise this question out of genuine concern. Moreover, I believe many of the ecclesial problems evangelicals experience today can be answered with a return to a healthy understanding of the ontological trinity. What says you?
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