Content

This unit will explore the controversial developments which led from the biblical witness to Jesus as Lord to the later trinitarian doctrine of God as one substance in three persons. The foundations of this development and the controversies which accompanied it will be studied. Against this historical background, the re-emergence of the doctrine of the Trinity in the twentieth century will be explored through reference to several contemporary texts. Attention will be paid to the role which this doctrine is playing in the church’s encounter with modern atheism, religious pluralism and theological politics.

Unit code: CT3009P

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 3

Unit discipline: Systematic Theology

Delivery Mode: Online

Proposing College: Pilgrim Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Identify the key developments in the emergence of the doctrine of the Trinity

2.

Articulate the sense(s) in which the doctrine can be described as ‘biblical’

3.

Understand the different trajectories of the doctrine in the Eastern and Western traditions of Christianity

4.

Summarise the reasons for the re-emergence of the doctrine in the twentieth century

5.

Explain the potential contributions of this doctrine to the church’s dialogue with one or more of modern atheism, religious pluralism or politics

Unit sequence

Either CT1000P Faith, Theology and Doctrines or CT1010P: Culture, Beliefs and Theology and one level 2 CT or CH unit.

Pedagogy

online guided reading materials, tutorial forums

Indicative Bibliography

  • Boff, Leonardo. Trinity and Society. Maryknoll:Orbis, 1988.
  • Coakley, Sarah. God, Sexuality and the Self: An Essay ‘On the Trinity’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
  • D’Costa, Gavin. The Meeting of the Trinity and the Religions. New York: Orbis 2000.
  • Emery, Giles and Matthew Levering (eds). The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity. Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2011.
  • Gunton, Colin. The Promise of Trinitarian Theology. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1991.
  • Holmes, Stephen R. The Quest for the Trinity: The Doctrine of God in Scripture, History and Modernity. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2012. (recommended for purchase)
  • Hunt, Anne. The Trinity: Insights from the Mystics. The Liturgical Press, 2010.
  • Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. The Trinity: Global Perspectives. Louisville: WJKP, 2007.
  • LaCugna, Catherine Mowry. God For Us: The Trinity and Christian Life. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991.
  • O’Collins, The Tri-personal God: Understanding and Intepreting the Trinity. 2nd edn. New York: Paulist, 2014.
  • Moltmann, Jürgen. The Trinity and the Kingdom of God: The Doctrine of God. London: SCM, 1981.
  • Pannikar, Raimundo. The Trinity and the Religious Experience of Man. New York: Orbis, 1973.
  • Phan, Peter C. The Cambridge Companion to the Trinity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
  • Rahner, Karl. The Trinity. Translated by Joseph Donceel. Introduction by Catherine Mowry Lacugna. New York: Herder and Herder, 2005.
  • Rusch, William G. (ed and trans). The Trinitarian Controversy. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980.
  • Volf, Miroslav. After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

3000 word essay or annotated sermon on the contribution of doctrine of the Trinity to Christianity’s encounter with one or more of atheism, religious pluralism or politics.

0 50.0
Blog

1000 word online blog journal on set readings

0 25.0
Essay

1000 word essay or group study resource on the biblical origins of the doctrine of the Trinity or the patristic trinitarian debates.

0 25.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 3 Aug, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-04 09:54:50 +1100