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Chapter Two: Trinity
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Two Trinity One of the striking features of contemporary systematic theology is the remarkable renaissance of the theology of the Trinity. Both Catholic and Protestant theologians have contributed to the retrieval of what is commonly confessed to be the heart of the Christian faith but is often rather a dead weight within theology and spirituality alike. Most of the time, traditional or classical theology of the Trinity is blamed for this irrelevancy of the Trinity. Classical theology is blamed, first, for turning its attention from the role of Father, Son, and Spirit in the history of salvation, the socalled economic Trinity, to the inner life of the Trinity, the so-called immanent Trinity. A second criticism is that this predominant attention to the immanent Trinity is couched in an abstract language. And to make matters worse, concepts used for the immanent Trinity (such as “person”) have undergone in modern times a development different from the original (theological) meaning.That increasingly creates more questions and problems than insight and understanding. A somewhat different point of criticism concerns the place of the theology of the Trinity. Due to developments in modern philosophy, the oneness of God has become central in discussions about the proofs for the existence of God or about the problem of evil. But this “theistic” approach, using a general conception of God and not a trinitarian one, and its atheistic reaction are also based on or furthered by internal theo logical developments. In the standard Catholic theology manuals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the oneness of God (de Deo Uno) is treated before and dissociated from the Trinity (de Deo Trino), turning the Trinity into an optional appendix. An additional point of criticism is that classical theology appeals to the rule that in God’s dealing with creation, salvation, and fulfillment, the three persons act as one.This appeal means that a mockery is made of distinct roles of Father, Son, and Spirit in the history of salvation. When this tragic development into irrelevancy is mentioned, Thomas Aquinas figures prominently. He is portrayed as an example of this classical theology and denounced as a crucial influence on its development. Given these circumstances , a presentation and a discussion of Aquinas’ theology of the Trinity cannot consist in an easy and obvious exposition—certainly not if one wants to consider him, as I do, as a theologian who does not merely have some historical or antiquarian importance, but who can, and as doctor of the Church should, contribute to the continuing reflection on the mystery of our God. A complex presentation and discussion is called for, containing both an assessment of that common criticism and a presentation of Aquinas’ views, as determined by the positive insights and the genuine concerns that characterize the current debate on the Trinity. But a complete discussion would be too lengthy for this volume. In this essay I shall concentrate on the contribution Aquinas can make to the current renaissance of the theology of the Trinity.1 Can Aquinas provide us with insights that will help us in our further reflections on the mystery of our God? It seems to me that on at least three points, he can. The first two are concerned with content and the third with style. The first point is related to the Trinity acting in our history, and the second to an important aspect of that activity: the inhabitation of the Spirit in us.The way Aquinas deals with these topics shows his style of doing theology, and I will make a few comments about this more technical aspect in my conclusion. The Current Debate In the current debate on the theology of the Trinity, theologians, supposedly in reaction to classical theology, stress the importance of the economic Trinity over and against the immanent Trinity. An implication of this reversal of interest is that the distinct roles of Father, Son, and Spirit within the history of salvation receive (or should receive) attention.The terms “immanent” and “economic” are somewhat confusing, since they might suggest two Trinities. It is better to use the distinction theologia-oikonomia, indicating that two different perspectives are used to talk about the same reality. Trinity [34.230.84.106] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 03:07 GMT) The consensus among contemporary theologians—that the theology of the Trinity should in the first place be about the Father, the Son, and the Spirit acting “for us and for our salvation”—seems to me...