Paradox and Truth: Rethinking Van Til on the Trinity
Overview
More than 1,500 years after the foundational church councils, the doctrine of the Trinity is still as central and as puzzling to theologians as ever. Reformed theology has seen increasing calls for the Trinity to live at the center of Christian confession, prompting the need for a fuller biblical and practical understanding of the subject. In recent Reformed thought, Cornelius Van Til and Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. have proposed important Trinitarian theologies. Ralph Smith assesses these views and, filling out a Van Tilian perspective with Kuyper’s lesser-known covenantal view, he provides a refreshing biblical, historical, and applicable perspective on this key Christian reality.
Top Highlights
“Augustine’s first source is the Bible, especially the Gospel of John. Here Augustine finds and faithfully reproduces a doctrine of God in which there are three persons who each has ‘his own memory, intelligence, and will; or memory, understanding, and love.’” (Page 24)
“Second, on the meaning and importance of the notion of perichoresis, the two seem to take essentially the same position.” (Page 61)
“He asserts very clearly that the threeness of God is equally ultimate with the oneness of God.” (Page 42)
“Barth offered the controversial answer that God’s threeness consisted in ‘modes of being.’” (Page 20)
“Contrary to Plantinga, Van Til seems to revel in the appearance of contradiction.” (Page 41)
- Title: Paradox and Truth: Rethinking Van Til on the Trinity
- Author: Ralph Smith
- Publisher: Canon Press
- Publication Date: 2002
- Pages: 144