Metaphysics and the Tri-Personal God

Abstract

Since about 1950 there has been a remarkable outpouring of theological work on the doctrine of the Trinity. There has also been, in recent decades, important progress in scholarship concerning the formation of the doctrine in the fourth century. Still more recently, analytic philosophers of religion have probed the “three-in-oneness” problem of the Trinity, attempting to state with greater precision exactly what is meant by saying God is three Persons in one divine Nature. This book represents an attempt to bring these threads together, placing the philosophical work in a broader theological context and also taking account of the recent gains in historical scholarship on the Trinity. Part I surveys the outcome of the fourth-century developments as seen in the “pro-Nicene” theologies of Gregory of Nyssa and Augustine. Part II considers a number of contemporary proposals, including those by theologians Barth, Rahner, Moltmann, and Zizioulas, and philosophers including Leftow, van Inwagen, Craig, and Swinburne. The final part draws upon the earlier parts and builds up, step by step, a carefully articulated Social doctrine of the Trinity that is intelligible, logically coherent, and faithful to scripture and tradition.

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