Upcoming Books on the Trinity
In my last post I looked at Sarah Coakley's typology of Three "Waves" of Trinitarian theology. The Third Wave, as it went, is being perpetuated mainly by Patristic and Medieval specialists who also have an interest in systematic theology. They question certain prevalent but quite faulty tropes that are not only latent within contemporary Trinitarian theology but also serve as flash points for the resultant constructive theological moves made. At the end of the article I noted that it is slightly frustrating that for the most part the Third Wave has been engaged only in a negative or deconstructive enterprise, leaving us with a bit of an "ok, so what now?" situation. While it certainly remains to be seen whether that will be rectified, nonetheless several books are coming out that engage the "Third Wave" phenomenon in Trinitarian theology.
1.) Oliver Crisp and Fred Sanders, Advancing Trinitarian Theology: Explorations in Constructive Dogmatics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014)., 208pp. (November, 2014)
This is a compilation of lectures presented at the 2013 Los Angeles Theology Conference, and should be particularly interesting because the whole focus of the conference was precisely the themes that are encapsulated by "Third Wave" trinitarian theology. More than this, however, the aim of the conference was to ask the question of how to do theology constructively after the East-West binary (and its concomitant stereotypes) have been deconstructed. Given the quality of its two editors, Oliver Crisp (a very nuanced proponent of Analytic theology) and Fred Sanders (a very tradition-minded Evangelical) along with many other contributors (if I remember correctly both Karen Kilby and Aristotle Papanikolau will also contribute to this volume, but I may be mistaken) this is looking to be quite a gem.
2.) Stephen Holmes, Paul Molnar, Thomas McCall, Paul Fides, contr., Two Views on the Doctrine of the Trinity (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014) 240pp. (September, 2014).
One of the major points of contention that emerges out of the Third Wave movement regards the historical impetus backing the turn to so-called "Social Trinitarianism." For, if Augustine, Aquinas, and indeed the West at large did not in fact emphasize something called "substance metaphysics" at the expense of more personal, relational, and historical categories, then the turn to social trinitarianism can only ever be a hopeless and dangerous overcorrection. Moreover, if the historiographical categories and the subsequent distinctions contained in the rubric "Eastern vs. Western trinitarianism," is deconstructed, then the supposed Eastern precedent for proto-Social trinitarianism is itself undermined. In this volume the debate surrounds the viability of social models of the Trinity, with Stephen Holmes and Paul Molnar denying its viability and thus representing a more conservative force, and Thomas McCall and Paul Fides defending a social doctrine. What excites me in particular about this volume is how the two views are most likely going to be defended in drastically different ways. Holmes will undoubtedly go the more traditional route, displaying the complexities of the tradition against the more recent emergence of social Trinitarianism, while Molnar will do much the same from a primarily Barthian perspective. McCall will undoubtedly defend a Social doctrine of the Trinity from an Analytic Theology perspective along the lines of what he did recently in his Which Trinity? Whose Monotheism? while Paul Fiddes will, I presume, approach the topic more from God's relatedness to us, and his "creative suffering."
3.) Christophe Chalamet and Marc Vial, eds., Recent Developments in Trinitarian Theology: An International Symposium (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014), 224pp. (Released July 1, 2014).
This looks like an interesting mix of third- and second-wave concerns. Kilby and Papanikolau will undoubtedly be their usually perspicacious selves, but I am most interested in Schwobel's introductory essay, precisely because Schwobel was a whole-hearted participant and promoter of the Second Wave in all its glory and all of its (now apparent) mistakes. I am incredibly curious to see how Schwobel reacts (or if he even does). It is truly tragic that both Gunton and LaCugna both passed before the Third Wave hit (though given their current presence with the Lord, I doubt they are too concerned!) because it would have been a sight to behold these heavyweights interact with the very serious historical and theological criticisms of aspects of their work. Though Schwobel is not quite in either Gunton or LaCugna's weight class (so to speak) he nonetheless is very astute, and at least theoretically to my mind could serve as a sort of barometer or case study where second and third wave concerns conflict and interact.
This is a compilation of lectures presented at the 2013 Los Angeles Theology Conference, and should be particularly interesting because the whole focus of the conference was precisely the themes that are encapsulated by "Third Wave" trinitarian theology. More than this, however, the aim of the conference was to ask the question of how to do theology constructively after the East-West binary (and its concomitant stereotypes) have been deconstructed. Given the quality of its two editors, Oliver Crisp (a very nuanced proponent of Analytic theology) and Fred Sanders (a very tradition-minded Evangelical) along with many other contributors (if I remember correctly both Karen Kilby and Aristotle Papanikolau will also contribute to this volume, but I may be mistaken) this is looking to be quite a gem.
One of the major points of contention that emerges out of the Third Wave movement regards the historical impetus backing the turn to so-called "Social Trinitarianism." For, if Augustine, Aquinas, and indeed the West at large did not in fact emphasize something called "substance metaphysics" at the expense of more personal, relational, and historical categories, then the turn to social trinitarianism can only ever be a hopeless and dangerous overcorrection. Moreover, if the historiographical categories and the subsequent distinctions contained in the rubric "Eastern vs. Western trinitarianism," is deconstructed, then the supposed Eastern precedent for proto-Social trinitarianism is itself undermined. In this volume the debate surrounds the viability of social models of the Trinity, with Stephen Holmes and Paul Molnar denying its viability and thus representing a more conservative force, and Thomas McCall and Paul Fides defending a social doctrine. What excites me in particular about this volume is how the two views are most likely going to be defended in drastically different ways. Holmes will undoubtedly go the more traditional route, displaying the complexities of the tradition against the more recent emergence of social Trinitarianism, while Molnar will do much the same from a primarily Barthian perspective. McCall will undoubtedly defend a Social doctrine of the Trinity from an Analytic Theology perspective along the lines of what he did recently in his Which Trinity? Whose Monotheism? while Paul Fiddes will, I presume, approach the topic more from God's relatedness to us, and his "creative suffering."
This looks like an interesting mix of third- and second-wave concerns. Kilby and Papanikolau will undoubtedly be their usually perspicacious selves, but I am most interested in Schwobel's introductory essay, precisely because Schwobel was a whole-hearted participant and promoter of the Second Wave in all its glory and all of its (now apparent) mistakes. I am incredibly curious to see how Schwobel reacts (or if he even does). It is truly tragic that both Gunton and LaCugna both passed before the Third Wave hit (though given their current presence with the Lord, I doubt they are too concerned!) because it would have been a sight to behold these heavyweights interact with the very serious historical and theological criticisms of aspects of their work. Though Schwobel is not quite in either Gunton or LaCugna's weight class (so to speak) he nonetheless is very astute, and at least theoretically to my mind could serve as a sort of barometer or case study where second and third wave concerns conflict and interact.
Comments