Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Trinity

One God in Three Persons: Unity of Essence, Distinction of Persons, Implications for Life

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In 2008 I live-blogged a debate at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School between (a) Bruce Ware and Wayne Grudem and (b) Tom McCall and Keith Yandell. They debated this question: “Do relations of authority and submission exist eternally among the Persons of the Godhead?”

TrinityThis week Crossway is releasing a book on that issue:

Bruce A. Ware and John Starke, eds. One God in Three Persons: Unity of Essence, Distinction of Persons, Implications for Life. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015.

This 49-page sample PDF includes the front matter and Wayne Grudem’s opening chapter.

Phil Gons and I coauthored chapter 9: “An Examination of Three Recent Philosophical Arguments against Hierarchy in the Immanent Trinity” (pp. 197–215).

Update on 5/22/2015: Crossway gave me permission to share a PDF of the Gons-Naselli chapter.

Update on 2/6/2019: In this panel on the Triune God, I state that I do not hold to EFS (but neither do I think it is heresy).

In Praise of Paradox

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K. Scott Oliphint, God with Us: Divine Condescension and the Attributes of God  (Wheaton: Crossway, 2012), 225–26:

In Praise of Paradox

I mentioned in the introduction that we must get used to the idea that antinomy and paradox will inevitably surround discussions such as this one. But the appeal to antinomy, paradox, and mystery is oftentimes troubling to those sympathetic to a less-than-Reformed understanding of God’s character and decree. In an attempted refutation of Calvinism and the “problem” of divine sovereignty, Jack Cottrell complains: [Read more…] about In Praise of Paradox

Letham Reviews Giles on Subordinationism

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Robert Letham reviews Kevin Giles’s The Trinity and Subordinationism (Downers Grove: IVP, 2002) in this eight-page appendix:

Robert Letham. “Appendix 2: Kevin Giles on Subordinationism.” Pages 489–96 in The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 2004.

Letham explains,

Kevin Giles, vicar of St. Michael’s Church in North Carlton, Australia, has for thirty years contended for the ordination of women. . . .

He targets conservative evangelicals who maintain a hierarchical view of the sexes on the basis of a presumed hierarchy of being, function, or role in the Trinity. By subordinationism he means the idea that the Son is eternally set under the Father. . . . All forms of subordinationism [Giles argues] are ruled out, both by Scripture and church tradition. From this it follows that arguments for the subordination of women cannot be buttressed by appeal to the Trinity.

Letham disagrees with Giles for three major reasons: [Read more…] about Letham Reviews Giles on Subordinationism

Sympathetic Evangelicalism

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Fred Sanders, The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), 15–19 (numbering added):

[Th]e most strategic decision we ever make is the decision of what to emphasize.

Evangelicalism has always been concerned to underline certain elements of the Christian message.

  1. We have a lot to say about God’s revelation, but we emphasize the business end of it, where God’s voice is heard normatively: the Bible.
  2. We know that everything Jesus did has power for salvation in it, but we emphasize the one event that is literally crucial: the cross.
  3. We know that God is at work on his people through the full journey of their lives, from the earliest glimmers of awareness to the ups and downs of the spiritual life, but we emphasize the hinge of all spiritual experience: conversion.
  4. We know there are countless benefits that flow from being joined to Christ, but we emphasize the big one: heaven.

Bible, cross, conversion, heaven. These are the right things to emphasize. But in order to emphasize anything, you must presuppose a larger body of truth to select from. . . . [Read more…] about Sympathetic Evangelicalism

Trinity Debate: Ware-Grudem vs. McCall-Yandell

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Tonight I live-blogged a Trinity Debate between Bruce Ware and Wayne Grudem vs. Tom McCall and Keith Yandell on this question: “Do relations of authority and submission exist eternally among the Persons of the Godhead?”

During the Q&A, I asked a question from Phil Gons, who was watching the debate via live streaming and emailed me the question. I was disappointed in Dr. Yandell’s answer. Basically, he made fun of the question, apparently because it did not compute with his metaphysical system. Frustrating. Phil shares and explains his penetrating question more here and here.