Traditionally, at this place in theology, we should address the divine attributes in relation to the divine being/essence. Otto Weber (1902–66) challenged this approach by arguing that because Scripture reveals God first of all as Triune and his attributes in the light of his Triune being, that we ought to proceed along those lines. We should follow Gregory of Naziansus (c. 320–90 AD), who wrote, “as soon as we consider the One, we are forced to think of the three.” As humans, as finite creatures, we must begin somewhere and it seems like a good idea to begin not with a generic idea of God but with the concrete self-revelation of God in Scripture as the God who is one in three persons. This is the ecumenical (catholic or universal) Christian faith confessed in the ecumenical creeds and believed by all Christians in all times and places. It is not a second blessing for the illuminati nor immaterial to the faith (contra Schleiermacher) but essential to our understanding of Scripture and for our salvation (Athanasian Creed).
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Show Notes
- The Athanasian Creed
- The Greatest Creed You Have Never Read
- The Catholic (ecumenical) Creeds
- The Reformed Confessions
- Ursinus On the Distinction Between Persons And Essence
- Ursinus On the Persons, Works, and Unity Of The Trinity
- May We Pray to All Three Members of The Trinity?
- Liam Golligher: Clarity On The Trinity
- Liam Golligher: In This Trinity None Is Afore Or After
- Bavinck: Our Knowledge Of The Trinity Is Grounded In Scripture
- The Mystery And Necessity Of The Trinity
- The Mormon Denial Of The Trinity
- Why Analogies Of The Trinity Fail
- Todd Pruitt: We Are Not Merely Discussing The Economic Trinity
- Richard Muller: What I Haven’t Learned From Karl Barth