Content

This unit will explore the controversial developments which led from early Christian proclamation of Jesus as Messiah and 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: CT9009P

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

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.

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

3.

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

4.

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

5.

Evaluate the key ideas of one significant contemporary text on the Trinity

6.

Assess the contributions of this doctrine to the church’s encounter with one or more of modern atheism, religious pluralism or politics

Unit sequence

Either CT8000P:Faith, Belief and Doctrine) or CT8010P: Culture, Belief and Theology

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

1500 word online blog journal on set readings

0 25.0
Essay

1500 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, 2014

Unit record last updated: 2020-10-28 14:50:32 +1100