Trinitarian Theology beyond Participation: Augustine's De Trinitate and Contemporary Theology

Description

Presents a critique of main trends in contemporary theology through a re-reading of Augustine's De Trinitate.

Dr. Maarten Wisse is Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and a Research Fellow at KU Leuven, Belgium.

'Wisse's superb study of the Augustinian doctrine of the Trinity both returns the modern reader to a sound interpretation of Augustine's teachings and presents a significant challenge to recent theologies and Christian philosophies that have used social metaphors to press trinitarianism into so-called relational or participational ontologies and have attempted to use the doctrine as a universal tool-kit for the reconstruction of Christian doctrine. Wisse offers a cogent critique of these modern alternatives and then effectively interprets Augustine, showing that most of the contemporary critiques of his doctrine have missed their mark, and going on to develop an Augustinian trinitarian theology that emphasizes both the mystery of God's triunity and the necessary distinction between God and world at the same time that it builds a full-orbed approach to Christology, Christian anthropology, epistemology, and soteriology on a trinitarian foundation.' - Richard A. Muller, Calvin Theological Seminary, USA. -- Richard A. Muller