What Is The Trinity? (R.C. Sproul)
An Enlightening Little Gem (and Bargain)
[My 5-star Amazon review (NDA) of “What is the Trinity” by R.C. Sproul.]
I downloaded this free Kindle mini-book, not expecting much from a short treatise on the Trinity from a mainstream Christian scholar. But as I quickly realized, Dr. R.C. Sproul, though not a Christian mystic (as I am), is an impressive thinker and a fine writer. At the same time I read this book, I also read a few other highly rated texts on the Trinity – and there was no comparison; Sproul’s book was far better, and free!
Sproul begins by providing a history of human religion – how it evolved from animism to polytheism to henotheism, and then to monotheism. And beyond monotheism came Trinitarianism, which though monotheistic, provides a nuanced model/explanation of the single God in both a transcendent and immanent context.
Sproul makes it clear that the Trinity does not contradict a single God. He explains how the Three Persons are consubstantial (or coessential) and how the terms “Persons” came to be used to describe the Three “Dimensions” (my term) of the single Living Reality.
Because Sproul is steeped in Aristotelian logic (meaning that contradictions are anathema to him), he is a pleasure to read. He explains the differences between the terms “contradiction,” “paradox,” and “mystery,” and emphasizes that although “paradox “and “mystery” pertain to the Trinity, “contradiction” does not. In other words, the Three-in-One God (Father, Word/Logos, Holy Spirit) is described in the Bible and does not contradict monotheism.
Dr. Sproul provides a brief history of early Church controversies regarding heresy and orthodoxy, and the nature of the Divinity. He discusses The Council of Nicea and the very important Council of Chalcedon, which produced the Chalcedon Creed (AD 451), which elucidated the divine nature of Jesus Christ and, in effect, gives cridance to the concept of the Trinity.
Dr. Sproul concludes his text by describing the Trinity as “a valuable shibboleth.” I agree with his conclusion. In other words, what is alluded to in the Bible needed to be made explicit, and a Trinitarian doctrine does that.
As a mystic, my view of the Trinity differs significantly from Dr. Sproul’s, which reflects conventional Christian theology. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this little text as a fine primer on the history of, and rationale for, the doctrine of Trinitarianism.
[My 5-star Amazon review (NDA) of “What is the Trinity” by R.C. Sproul.]
I downloaded this free Kindle mini-book, not expecting much from a short treatise on the Trinity from a mainstream Christian scholar. But as I quickly realized, Dr. R.C. Sproul, though not a Christian mystic (as I am), is an impressive thinker and a fine writer. At the same time I read this book, I also read a few other highly rated texts on the Trinity – and there was no comparison; Sproul’s book was far better, and free!
Sproul begins by providing a history of human religion – how it evolved from animism to polytheism to henotheism, and then to monotheism. And beyond monotheism came Trinitarianism, which though monotheistic, provides a nuanced model/explanation of the single God in both a transcendent and immanent context.
Sproul makes it clear that the Trinity does not contradict a single God. He explains how the Three Persons are consubstantial (or coessential) and how the terms “Persons” came to be used to describe the Three “Dimensions” (my term) of the single Living Reality.
Because Sproul is steeped in Aristotelian logic (meaning that contradictions are anathema to him), he is a pleasure to read. He explains the differences between the terms “contradiction,” “paradox,” and “mystery,” and emphasizes that although “paradox “and “mystery” pertain to the Trinity, “contradiction” does not. In other words, the Three-in-One God (Father, Word/Logos, Holy Spirit) is described in the Bible and does not contradict monotheism.
Dr. Sproul provides a brief history of early Church controversies regarding heresy and orthodoxy, and the nature of the Divinity. He discusses The Council of Nicea and the very important Council of Chalcedon, which produced the Chalcedon Creed (AD 451), which elucidated the divine nature of Jesus Christ and, in effect, gives cridance to the concept of the Trinity.
Dr. Sproul concludes his text by describing the Trinity as “a valuable shibboleth.” I agree with his conclusion. In other words, what is alluded to in the Bible needed to be made explicit, and a Trinitarian doctrine does that.
As a mystic, my view of the Trinity differs significantly from Dr. Sproul’s, which reflects conventional Christian theology. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this little text as a fine primer on the history of, and rationale for, the doctrine of Trinitarianism.
