“The Trinity” by Olson and Hall
Book Review: The Trinity, Roger E. Olson and Christopher A. Hall, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002.
I finished the rest of the book over the weekend and would recommend this little volume for further study of the Trinity. It is basically a book which traces the doctrine of the Trinity from the early Church to the end of the 20th century. It does so in a historical manner first and shows the changes, and challenges, throughout the last two thousand years.
They break down the history by time period. First, the early church fathers set out to build boundaries around the doctrine. They set the boundaries in two areas. God is one, or a unity, and He is diverse, as a Trinity of persons. These boundaries have, and continue to, determined orthodoxy. Stay with in the bounds and we can fellowship, step outside and your a heretic. Sometimes the fathers came down strongly in one area because they saw a need to do so, due to an overemphasis, or under emphasis, in either the unity or diversity side. Yet for the most part, they maintained the unity/diversity distinction, which they declared to be a mystery.
Later theologians, during the renaissance, were more inclined to write from neo-platonist view, due to the revival of Plato’s teaching. This “scholastic” movement was more speculative than previously.
Amazingly, during the Reformation, the major Reformers (Luther, Calvin and others) refused to revisit the Trinity. They held to the catholic understanding of the Trinity and would not revisit the issue. Luther might take on the cannon, but not the Trinity. But this did not stop others from the time period from rejecting the Trinity.
The book finishes up with an all to brief survey of the twentieth century. This period is more focused on how the doctrine of the Trinity is to be applied within society. For instance, personhood implies relationship and communion. The church is then a reflection of the Trinity in its communion. Liberation Theology is also discussed in this vein as are the works of Karl Barth’s christocentric theology.
From a historical unfolding of the doctrine of the Trinity, this is a very good book. Maybe the best part of the book is related to index of the books of the major trinitarian theologians at the back of the book. The authors and their books are listed, along with a brief synopsis of their works. I highly recommend this book to add to your library.
Steve Johnson