The Perfectly Simple Triune God

The Perfectly Simple Triune God challenges the reading of Aquinas that presumes independent treaties of the one God and the Trinity. D. Stephen Long posits that the two are not independent but rather are inextricably related and entail one another. In this, Long provides a constructive rereading of Aquinas, the patristic tradition and the Reformers. Long's constructive interpretation of Aquinas also takes into account challenges to the classical tradition posed by modern and contemporary theology and philosophy to offer a fresh, rich articulation of divine Trinitarian agency for a contemporary age. Book jacket.

A particularly nettlesome question is that around the relationship of the confession of God as a simple yet threefold being—the treatises of the one God and the Trinity. Although God as simple and Triune was widely accepted for over a millennium, simplicity has been widely critiqued and rejected by modern theology. The purported error is in conceiving God’s unity prior to the Triune persons, an error begun by Augustine and crystallized in Aquinas. The Perfectly Simple Triune God challenges this critique and reading of Aquinas as a misunderstanding of his doctrine of God. By refusing to begin theology with God’s oneness, who God is collapses into who God is for us, a loss of the biblical and dramatic character of God for us. D. Stephen Long posits that the two treatises were never independent, but inextricably related and entailing one another. Long provides a constructive rereading of Thomas Aquinas, tracing antecedents to Aquinas in the patristic tradition, and readings of him through to the Reformers, taking into account challenges to the classical tradition posed by modern and contemporary theology and philosophy to offer a robust articulation of divine Trinitarian agency for a contemporary age that adheres to broadly considered orthodox and ecumenical parameters.

What if the Trinity we've been taught is not the Trinity of the Bible? In this groundbreaking book, Matthew Barrett reveals a shocking discovery: we have manipulated the Trinity, recreating the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in our own image. With clarity and creativity, Barrett mines the Scriptures as well as the creeds and confessions of the faith to help you rediscover the beauty, simplicity, and majesty of our Triune God. You will be surprised to learn that what you believe about the Trinity has untold consequences for salvation and the Christian life. To truly know God, you must meet the One who is simply Trinity.

Most contemporary presentations of the Christian God focus on either his 'oneness' or his 'relationality'. These are often assumed to contradict one another, and language about God's love and relationality often settles into a comforting but ultimately shallow and unreliable gesture towards bland niceness. Peter Sanlon offers a fresh, stimulating examination of the triune God who is love. He guides us through the classical theological tradition of Augustine, Anselm and Aquinas - aiming to help us think and speak more faithfully about God. In Part One, Sanlon introduces the vital concept of 'simplicity', without which it is impossible fully to affirm all the Bible teaches about God. Part Two examines the relationality of God's love in Scripture. The author considers the importance of God's simplicity for the atonement, and concludes with some reflections on how Christians will be better equipped to engage with contemporary culture if they remain sensitive to both God's simplicity and his relationality.

Now reissued in hardback, this classic uses an apple to effectively explain the Holy Trinity to young children. Children learn that God is three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--but is one God. Features refreshed artwork.

In this brief and winsome book, Michael Reeves presents an introduction to the Christian faith that is rooted in the triune God. He takes cues from preachers and teachers down through the ages, setting key doctrines of creation, the person and work of Christ, and life in the Spirit into a simple framework of the Christian life.

This edited work of John Owen helps modern-day believers understand the timeless truths of the Trinity.

Discussion about God's work of creation are often overwhelmed by questions such as the age of the earth and the relationship between divine creation and evolution. Without completely ignoring these issues, this rigorously grounded theological interpretation of Genesis 1 engages thinkers like Plato, Martin Luther, and Karl Barth.

Describing Jesus as an “agent” of divine actions, or as one who possesses human “agency,” is commonplace in christological discussions. Yet these discussions often wade in a shallow understanding of the terms' meanings and the theological implications of such claims. For example, while many theologians who are committed to the definition of Chalcedon consider Jesus one agent, we might ask if this implies that the triune God comprises “three agents?” Or, if Christ possesses “singular agency,” how are his divinity and humanity operative in his actions? In response, this work draws from the theology of John Owen and advancements in philosophy of action in order to offer an account of divine and human agency in christological action from within the Reformed tradition. It provides clarity to the christological and trinitarian uses of the language of “agent/agency” in Christ and attends to the theological (esp. trinitarian) entailments therein. While at first glance there may appear to be internal inconsistencies with accounts that subscribe to classical trinitarianism and Reformed Christological agency, this book argues that Owen helps us recover an understanding of christological agency that is internally coherent and theologically prudent. As such the Reformed tradition can articulate Christological “agency” in a way that is coherent with the testimony of Scripture, the ecumenical councils, and classical trinitarianism while contributing to contemporary theological discussions. The case not only provides terminological clarity and theological coherence, but also inclines Christians to appreciate the trinitarian love of God in Christ's action and the human sympathy of Christ for his people.

Pro Ecclesia is a quarterly journal of theology published by the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology.