The Trinity in German Thought
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: January 8, 2001
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9780521781961
Subjects: Christian theology; Nature & existence of God; Theology; History; Religion - Theology; Religion; Trinity; Christian Theology - General; Christianity - General; Religion / Christianity; Germany
First sentence: It is one of the oddest facts of Christian history that Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon have been claimed as precursors both by theologians and religious philosophers with no use for the doctrine of the Trinity and by those with a profound respect for the doctrine.
Description: "The Trinity in German Thought describes the three ideas that govern modern German Trinitarian thought: the ideas of reflective selfhood, of revelation, and of history. "Reflective selfhood" designates the attempt at finding an analogy between the Trinity and the structure of the human self. Such attempts, following the lead of Augustine, typically see the structure of self-consciousness as an especially apt analogy of the Trinity. "Revelation" points to two questions: what is the Word of God? and can the idea of the Trinity be derived from the Word? From Martin Luther to the present, Trinitarian thought has depended on the way in which theologians conceived of the Word. "History" designates the impact that historical modes of thought have had on Trinitarian thought. For some, "history" has meant a critical approach to Scripture and creeds; for others, it has meant God's own participation in history."--Jacket.