The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship by Robert Letham. P&R Publishing, 2004. 551 pp. $24.99.
Our Triune God
 As Robert Letham observes in his new book, "For the vast majority of
Christians, including most ministers and theological students, the
Trinity is still a mathematical conundrum, full of imposing
philosophical jargon, relegated to an obscure alcove, remote from daily
life" (p. 1). In 1967, the Roman Catholic theologian Karl Rahner made a
now famous comment along similar lines, saying, "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" (cited in Letham, p. 291). This widespread lack of
attention to the doctrine of the Trinity has led to serious problems in
the church. As an example, most Western Christians today are, in
effect, practical modalists (understanding the Father, Son, and the
Holy Spirit to be three modes or forms of one divine person) with
little or no understanding of the orthodox biblical doctrine of the
Trinity (p. 5-6). In The Holy Trinity , Letham seeks to address and correct these problems.
Robert Letham is a Lecturer in Systematic and Historical Theology at Wales Evangelical School of Theology. Prior to accepting this position, he was the senior minister of Emmanuel Orthodox Presbyterian
Church in Wilmington, Delaware.
He is an adjunct professor of
systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary and is the
author of several books, including The Work of Christ, The Lord's Supper: Eternal Word in Broken Bread, and Through Western Eyes.  His recent volume, The Holy Trinity,
is an attempt to recover the doctrine of the Trinity "at ground level,
the level of the ordinary minister and believer." Letham believes that
such a recovery will "revitalize the life of the church and, in turn,
its witness in the world" (p. 7).
Letham divides his book into four main parts. Part One is entitled
"Biblical Foundations" and includes three chapters on the relevant
biblical texts. Part Two is entitled "Historical Development" and
includes nine chapters tracing the development of the doctrine of the
Trinity from the Apostolic Fathers to John Calvin. Part Three is
entitled "Modern Discussion" and includes four chapters that discuss
the Trinitarian theology of Karl Barth, Karl Rahner, Jürgen Moltmann,
Wolfhart Pannenberg, Sergius Bulgakov, Vladimir Lossky, Dumitru
Staniloae, and Thomas F. Torrance. Part Four is entitled "Critical
Issues" and includes four chapters dealing with the Trinity in relation
to such issues as the Incarnation, Worship, Prayer, Missions, and Union
with Christ.
Part One is a careful look at the biblical evidence for the doctrine of
the Trinity. The Old Testament, according to Letham, does not teach an
explicit Trinitarianism, but the doctrine is implicit, and the Old
Testament "does provide the essential foundation without which the full
Christian doctrine of God could not exist (p. 32). In the New
Testament, what was only implicit in the Old becomes explicit. "Jesus
as Son claims a relation to the Father of great personal intimacy,
exclusive and unique, which is marked by full and willing obedience to
the Father" (p. 39). Jesus "is distinct from the Father, and yet one
with him" (p. 39). Throughout the New Testament, the deity of Christ is
explicitly affirmed (e.g. Rom. 9:5; Titus 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:1). Because of
this biblical testimony, Christians "pray to Jesus, worship him, and
sing praises to him as God" (p. 50). The church, however, "understood
its worship of Jesus as within the boundaries of OT monotheism" (p.
52). The Holy Spirit is "active at every stage of redemption,
especially in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, from conception to
ascension" (p. 56). The New Testament, "while never explicitly calling
the Holy Spirit 'God,' ascribes to him divine characteristics" (p. 56).
Letham notes the numerous triadic patters in the New Testament. These
include most obviously, the baptismal formula (Matt. 28:19), but the
New Testament includes many others as well (e.g. 1 Cor. 12:4-6; Gal.
4:4-6; Eph. 4:4-6).
Once the biblical foundations for the doctrine of the Trinity have been
established, Letham proceeds to examine the historical development of
the doctrine in Part Two. After outlining the contributions of early
Christian writers such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen, he devotes
several chapters to the Arian controversy, its aftermath, and the
orthodox response at the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople and then
turns to a detailed discussion of the Trinitarian theology of
Augustine. He then examines the ongoing filioque
controversy. The original text of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed
declared that the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father." Due to a
continuing Arian threat in Spain, local liturgies began to add the term
filioque so that the Creed then read, "from the Father and the Son." The filioque
was adopted by the local Council of Toledo in 589 and was eventually
declared to be dogma by the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of
Lyons in 1274. The Eastern Church objected to the addition of this term
on both procedural and theological grounds and continues to use the
original version of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed to this day.
Letham provides a helpful examination of the various arguments used on
both sides of this debate.
Letham turns next to the contributions of several medieval Western and
Eastern theologians. He chooses Anselm, Richard of St. Victor, and
Thomas Aquinas from the West and John of Damascus, Photius, and Gregory
Palamas from the East and offers helpful critical discussions of each.
Of particular interest to Reformed readers will be Letham's discussion
of the Trinitarian doctrine of John Calvin. He observes that some
scholars have considered Calvin to be an innovator in terms of his
Trinitarianism (p. 252). Letham, however, convincingly demonstrates
that Calvin's doctrine of the Trinity is very conservative. His
differences are with some of the speculations of late medieval
theologians, not with orthodox Nicene Trinitarian doctrine.
In Part Three, Letham turns to the contributions of important modern
theologians who have written extensively on the doctrine of the
Trinity. He devotes an entire chapter to Karl Barth saying, "it is from
him that the recent revival of interest in the doctrine of the Trinity
has its genesis" (p. 272). Letham notes that Barth has often been
charged with modalism, but as Letham demonstrates, "Barth continues to
oppose modalism at every opportunity" (p. 288). Yet the criticisms are
not entirely unwarranted, because at the heart of Barth's doctrine is
the constant refrain that "in God there is but one subject, not three"
(p. 289) -- a refrain that leaves him open to the charge of
unipersonality.
Letham then proceeds to an examination of the teachings of Karl Rahner,
Jürgen Moltmann, and Wolfhart Pannenberg. Karl Rahner was one of the
most significant Roman Catholic theologians of the twentieth century,
and his work on the doctrine of the Trinity has been very influential,
not only among Roman Catholics, but also among many Protestants as
well. While appreciative of Rahner's contributions, Letham observes
serious weaknesses in his doctrine.
With Rahner, since human experience is the yardstick, situated in
history, the immanent Trinity is collapsed into the economic Trinity,
which in turn is founded on the human experience of limits and
transcendence. History is absolutized and general human experience is
the basis for an understanding of God. Either a monistic modalism or a
social doctrine of the Trinity that veers into tritheism follows. In
turn, this merges the Creator and the creature into one cosmic process.
God is as dependent on the world as the world is on God. The result is
pantheism or panentheism (p. 298).
Letham is also critical of Jürgen Moltmann's doctrine of the Trinity.
As Letham demonstrates, Moltmann's doctrine is unmistakably
panentheistic (p. 301). His doctrine also "drifts uncomfortably close
to tritheism" (p. 308). According to Letham, Wolfhart Pannenberg's
doctrine is similar to Moltmann's. "If he does not go quite as far as
Moltmann, he heads in the same direction" (p. 312). Like Moltmann,
Pannenberg "makes God dependent on history and thus on his creation"
(p. 319). And like Moltmann, he also comes dangerously close to
tritheism (p. 320).
Following his discussion of three modern Western theologians, Letham
discusses the contributions of three modern Eastern theologians. The
first, Sergius Bulgakov, was a professor at the University of Moscow.
According to Letham, Bulgakov's doctrine, while brilliant in many
respects, has numerous weaknesses including panentheistic tendencies
(p. 338). Turning to Vladimir Lossky, Letham notes that the center of
his theology is "the axiom that God is unknowable in his essence and
transcends his revelation" (p. 339). Lossky, therefore, affirms an
apophatic approach to theology -- we are to know God primarily through
mystical contemplation. Letham observes that Lossky so emphasizes this
approach that his theology reduces to total agnosticism (p. 346).
Letham is also critical of Lossky's distinction (following Palamas)
between God's essence and his energies. As Letham observes, it
introduces a problematic division in the being of God that is not found
in classic Trinitarian dogma (p. 346). Letham next turns to Dumitru
Staniloae who he considers to be "more moderate, nuanced, qualified,
and balanced than Lossky" (p. 349). According to Staniloae, rational
knowledge of God is not to be renounced, it is to be deepened by
apophatic knowledge, and "apophatic knowledge must come to expression
in rational terms" (p. 349). Letham concludes this chapter by observing
that while certain emphases in the Eastern doctrine of the Trinity
cause difficulties, the East also has criticisms of the West that need
to be heard.
The final chapter of Part Three is devoted to a discussion of the
Trinitarian theology of Thomas F. Torrance. Letham believes that
Torrance is "arguably the most significant theologian in the
English-speaking world of the past fifty years or more" (p. 356).
Letham quotes Torrance as saying that the Trinity "is both the ultimate ground of our salvation and knowledge of God and the basic grammar
of Christian theology" p. 359). There is thus an integral connection
between theology and worship. Letham carefully examines Torrance's
doctrine concluding that it is essentially orthodox despite having a
slight tendency to stress the one being of God without equally
stressing the irreducible distinctions of the persons. In spite of
this, Letham believes that "Torrance's treatment of the Trinity is
probably the best one to date" (p. 373).
In Part Four of his book, Letham turns to a discussion of several
critical issues related to Trinitarian theology. The first of these
issues is the Trinity and the Incarnation. Letham begins by summarizing
the weaknesses of both the Eastern and Western doctrines of the Trinity:
The East, from the fourth century, has held that the person of the
Father is the center of divine unity. The main danger of this is a
subordinationist tendency. If the Father is the guarantor of unity in
the Godhead, it is only a short step to the Son and the Holy Spirit
having a derivative status. On the other hand, the West since Augustine
has begun with the divine essence. It has had difficulty accounting for
the real eternal distinctions between the persons. With the essence
prior to the persons, a less than fully personal view of God has
resulted. The bias here is in a modalist direction. Seeing this, some
in the West, like Moltmann, have argued that the Trinity is a community
of three equal persons. However, since they lack a full doctrine of the
immanent Trinity and correlate the Trinity with human history and
experience, their conclusions veer toward tritheism and pantheism,
often being explicitly panentheistic. On the other hand, T.F. Torrance,
going back behind the Cappadocians and Augustine and following clues
from Athanasius and Gregory Nazianzen, argues that the monarchy is to
be seen as the whole Trinity, understood in a homoousial and
perichoretic manner. However, he does not give equivalent emphasis to
the distinctiveness of the three persons (p. 377).
As Letham observes, "we need to preserve both the unity and identity of
the one indivisible being of God and, at the same time, the irreducible
differences among the three persons" (p. 378). Letham then sets forth
what he considers to be the vital parameters of an orthodox doctrine of
the Trinity. First, "we need to recognize the equal ultimacy of the
being of God and the three persons" (p. 381). Second, the three persons
are homoousios -- "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are
identical in being" (p. 382). Third, the three persons "mutually
indwell one another in a dynamic communion" (p. 382). This is the
doctrine of perichoresis. Fourth, the three persons "are irreducibly
different from one another" (p. 382). Fifth, there is "an order among
the persons" (p. 383). This does not mean that there is a difference in
rank or that there is a hierarchy. It is a recognition that the Father
sends the Son, but the Son does not send the Father. The Holy Spirit,
likewise, proceeds from the Father, but the Father does not proceed
from the Holy Spirit or the Son.
A doctrine of the Trinity that is to be faithful to the Bible from
which it emerges must give equivalent expression to each of the above
parameters. These parameters are mutually defining. The three
persons are irreducibly different, and they are one identical being.
There is an order among them, and they mutually indwell each other, are
equal in status, and are one in being. They mutually indwell one
another, and they are irreducibly different. And so on and so forth (p.
383).
Letham continues by exploring a number of important questions related
to the Trinity and the Incarnation of the Son such as eternal
generation, the obedience of Christ, subordinationism, and the work of
Christ. In chapter 18, Letham explores the way in which the
Christian doctrine of the Trinity should impact our prayer and our
worship. He accurately observes that Trinitarian theology has had a
much greater impact on the worship of the Eastern church and argues
that it must impact the Western church as well. He offers a number of
practical suggestions to help accomplish this goal (pp. 421-24). Letham
turns his attention next to the way in which the Christian doctrine of
the Trinity should impact our understanding of creation and of
missions. In particular, he notes how the Christian doctrine of the
Trinity is especially needful in approaching the two major challenges
to the Christian faith today: Islam and postmodernity. In his final
chapter, Letham discusses how the doctrine of the Trinity informs our
understanding of the nature of persons. The chapter includes an
especially helpful discussion of the doctrine of union with Christ. The
book concludes with two appendices in which Letham responds to the
teaching of Gilbert Bilezikian and Kevin Giles respectively.
The Holy Trinity includes a glossary of theological terms with
which some readers may be unfamiliar. The definitions given in the
glossary are clear and concise. In addition, there is a good
bibliography as well as an index of Scripture and a subject and name
index. All of these add to the practical value and usefulness of this
volume.
Letham has done the church of Christ an enormous service with this
volume. My reservations about the book are few and are concerned
primarily with Part Two. I am unsure, for example, why the historical
overview stops with John Calvin and then moves directly to modern
theologians of the twentieth century. I am also unsure why John Calvin
is the only Reformer to be discussed. In my estimation, it would have
been helpful had the book discussed the Trinitarian theology of all the
major Reformers, or at least Luther and Calvin. A discussion of the
Trinitarian theology of Reformed Orthodoxy in the Post-Reformation era
would have also been beneficial (For those who are interested, volume 4
of Richard Muller's Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics
covers this topic in detail). A more systematic overview of the
Trinitarian theology of major Reformed theologians and confessions
between the Reformation and today may also have been of interest to
readers. Of course these additions would have expanded an already
lengthy book, but in my estimation, the additions would have improved
that section of the work.
These minor criticisms aside, this is an outstanding volume that models
theology the way theology should be written. With a topic such as this
one, that has spawned so much deep theological discussion, it would be
easy to get caught up and lost in the fine philosophical abstractions.
Yet, while Letham shows a definite grasp of these issues, he does not
forget that he is writing about the God we worship. Many of the
chapters and sections end with prayers. And the book itself ends with
chapters on the impact the doctrine of the Trinity should have on
personal and corporate piety. It is both intellectually thought
provoking and spiritually edifying -- a rare combination in theological
works today. Robert Letham has made a significant contribution with
this volume, a contribution I recommend enthusiastically.
*****
For more book reviews, click here.
|
Respond to this Blog
Though we do not post comments, we would like to hear from you and may take your comments into consideration in a future article.