Trinity

This is my experience: sometimes during prayer and reflection it is as if the heavens open, and God fills the heart with 'joy inexpressible'.

Well I had one of those times today.

I've been reading John Franke's The Character of Theology recently, and his summary of modern theological discourse concerning the trinity was a glass of cool fresh water to a thirsty soul. It wasn't new information, nor skilled rhetoric, but the words nevertheless became, for me, a window into the beauty of God.

"Throughout all eternity, the divine life of the Triune God is aptly characterized by the word love, which, when viewed in light of relationality, signifies the reciprocal self-dedication of the trinitarian members to one another. Indeed, there is no God other than the Father, Son, and Spirit bound together in love throughout eternity … when viewed theologically, the statement 'God is love' refers primarily to the eternal, relational, intratrinitarian fellowship among Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who together are the one God" (p.67)

And it also strikes me that a renewed focus on the importance of trinitarian theologising and worship may help to rescue much evangelicalism from its largely shallow engagement with the rich history of Christian theology and scholarship. It will open many of us up to discover afresh the value of the early church councils, the works of medieval theologians, as well as give new reason to gratefully appreciate the works of Barth, Rahner, and more recently Jüngel, Moltmann, Jenson, Pannenberg and Grenz. Not only that, it would help to cast doubt on the 'proof-texting' tactic of much pop-evangelical teaching and theologising, and encourage a more thorough handling of the biblical narrative.