Offsite Review: The Quest for the Trinity by Stephen Holmes

The Quest for the Trinity: The Doctrine of God in Scripture, History and ModernityI have been reading books about the Trinity this past year.  I think I am going to extend this reading project another year because I am not really happy with the books I have read so far.  One of the books on my ‘to read’ list for my Trinity project is The Quest for The Trinity.  I have not picked it up yet because it is not out in kindle format yet.  I have heard it should be available sometime after the new year.

Naomi Noguchi Reese reviewed Quest for the Trinity: The Doctrine of God in Scripture, History and Modernity by Stephen Holmes for Cloud of Witnesses yesterday.  I am a little hesitant to start with Quest for the Trinity because it is reacting against some of the modern theology of the Trinity and I am not completely comfortable with what modern theology of the Trinity is, but this is a helpful review. (Would love some reading suggestions about the Trinity if anyone has some to share.)

I recently attended a session on the doctrine of the Trinity. As we walked out of the classroom, one student, confused and frustrated, said, “œCan anyone tell me what “˜person’ means?” The doctrine of the Trinity is undoubtedly one of the most challenging doctrines for Christians. The dense concepts of the doctrine such as diversity-in-unity and unity-in-diversity or the classical language of Greek ontology (e.g., ousia and hypostasis) present challenges to many Christians who want to understand this doctrine. As a result, the doctrine of the Trinity has often been eclipsed by the doctrine of God. Indeed, the doctrine was perceived as illogical and useless, especially during the 19th century. Yet, the significance of the doctrine of the Trinity is immense because it is the basis of our Christian belief and has implications for all other doctrines of Christianity.

continue reading this review at Cloud of Witnesses

 

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