As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“What is the cause of this? There’s probably not one single answer to that question. Some of it is… overreaction to the retrieval of classical theism and Thomas Aquinas in Reformed circles.” - Ref21
“It is this tendency to adjustment among evangelicals that is responsible for the call to return to a classical theism defined in strongly Thomistic terms. Along with the onset of Enlightenment rationalism, it must be understood if the Trinity Wars are to be understood.” - Word by Word
“as I explained the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to the children, the more curious each child grew. Before I knew it, I was inundated with questions about the Trinity” - Word by Word
“His approach to the Filioque is like that of the many other Trinitarian topics he tackles—ecumenical, fair, and nuanced. He distinguishes between hills to die on and hills to build bridges to, demonstrating why all of these subjects are ripe for critical conversation and reflection.” - C.Today
Read Part 1.
God can seem impersonal and heartless. Who has not begged God for relief, even if no more than for a few drops of water on a parched tongue, only to hear the silence of heaven? Maybe the deists are right. Maybe God wound up the clock of this world and walked away. Maybe no one answers because no one is there.
In the 1833 New Hampshire Confession of Faith, in the article discussing “the true God,” the text says: “in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct and harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.”
“While some may claim that eternal generation is an extra-biblical doctrine without scriptural warrant, Charles Lee Irons and Matthew Barrett demonstrate that the concept is seen throughout Scripture through familial imagery and other significant metaphors.” - Credo
“The following theses are from Craig Carter’s new book, Contemplating God with the Great Tradition: Recovering Trinitarian Classical Theism (Baker Academic, 2021). These theses are a corrective to the relational theism so prevalent in Protestantism, and serve to help evangelicals today return to the biblical, classical, and Nicene doctrine of God.” - Credo
James R. Gordon argues against the Eternal Functional Subordination view of Ware and Grudem and in favor of the “doctrine of divine simpicity.” - Credo
“Taking its cue from social redefinitions of the Trinity, evangelicals have redefined the Trinity as a society, one in which each person has his own center of consciousness and will. As a result, a core doctrine like inseparable operations is foreign to many and sometimes held in disregard.” - Credo
Discussion