"Three in One" (William David Spencer)

TITLE: Three in One: Analogies of the Trinity
AUTHOR: William David Spencer
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2022, (248 pages).
 

One of the most foundational dogmas in the Christian Church is the doctrine of the Trinity. This distinguishes the Christian faith from all other religions, especially unitarians who could not comprehend how God is one but yet three. Through the ages, this has been a challenge which our forefathers had faced and boldly addressed in many creeds to aid our understanding of what we believe. Creeds such as the Apostles Creed; Athanasian Creed; the Nicene Creed; and modern confessions like the Anglican's 39 Articles, Westminster Confession of Faith, or the Lausanne Covenant, all proclaimed God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Statements are one thing. Understanding what they mean is yet another. Who is God in Three Persons? How do we understand the Holy Trinity? How can we possibly believe in something that we cannot understand? These questions can often be a stumbling block in both the teaching as well as the defense of the faith. This book aims to tackle the challenges of trying to describe who the Trinity is. The author acknowledges the impossibility of the taste and hopes to use this book to help us discern the flaws of the human analogies as well as to push the limits of theological application. For author William  David Spencer, this book is essentially about pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of some of the most common illustrations used to describe the Trinity. He begins by anchoring the discussion on the "Eternal Trinity Position," which is the Trinity as One God in Three Persons, forever equal, united, and co-existing. Spencer gives a substantial introduction that looks at the theology and historical treatment of the Trinitarian doctrine. This is not to be skipped. He then moves on to discuss the various images and words used throughout history. Words like "perichoresis" and "aseity" describe God as equal dance partners and self-existing Persons. Analogies using images of music, nature, light, water, and other common objects are then put to the test. Generally, there is a pattern that the Eastern mindset prefers to treat the Trinity as a mystery to behold while the Western mindset tries to analyze and deconstruct the theology for clarity. Spencer's model is to adopt Jesus' use of imagery to describe the things of God. 

On the use of light, the author insists that it is not the images or metaphors that are the problem. It is the way theological arguments are made to the objects. Some heresies arise out of such theological misapplication. He also points out some of the ways groups like Apollinarians, Christian Science, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, etc, using light in a dualistic manner, such as to distinguish from darkness as if darkness has an identity in itself. After discussing the platonic images, Spencer moves on to talk about images depicting movement and change, such as wind (different directions), roles (husband-father-student), changing states (ice, liquid, gas), spirit, (breath, wind, spirit) or different versions. The problem with roles is the link to modalism while the problem with changing states is the anti-thesis of God as Immutable (unchanging). The best that we can do with these images is to acknowledge what it represents and point out what it is lacking. In other words, acknowledge the limited application. On static images, Spencer looks at the egg, shamrock, tools with three parts. totem poles, Mount Rushmore, etc, pointing out that despite their flaws, they can still be useful illustrations as long as we understand the limits. Other analogies include static human images like God as Club/Society, Three Muskiteers, Three branches of Government, Army, Business, Divine Family, and so on. Of all the analogies, as far as the author is concerned, God as Community is the preferred one.

My Thoughts

Is it possible to describe the Trinity? Yes, partially. The rest we have to leave it as a mystery yet to be fully revealed. This is a good balanced position to be at, both philosophically and theologically. Philosophically, we might even wonder how on earth can imperfect humans ever describe a perfect God? Philosophically, if God is Perfect and we are not, any illustrations we use will obviously be imperfect. That is why it is entirely realistic to acknowledge the flaws of any of our metaphors in a humble manner. Explain it to people but also highlight the limits of our explanations. It is only when we become arrogant, anything can become heretic. I read somewhere that heresies mostly arise out of careless applications and illustrations of the Word. Applications make theological truths more relevant for our times but they could also present an incomplete picture of Truth. Illustrations can bring clarity but they too could compromise on other aspects of Truth. When thinking about the Trinity, many people have tried to explain the Trinity with everyday symbols such as water in three states or an egg with three layers. All of them have their flaws and imperfections. Worse, they are theologically inaccurate. 

I applaud the author for writing this book that not only brings together the popular metaphors used to describe the Trinity, he also gives us a well-researched resource to acknowledge the strengths and to critique the weaknesses of each model. This is what education is all about. Even our professors in school are not perfect. The best scholars are those who know the limitations of what they know. The best teachers are also the best students. The best students are humble ones. Humble ones are people who will be blessed with much understanding. May the study of the Trinity and the use of metaphors be humbly applied. It is indeed much better not to squeeze our theology into the images that we use. Instead, let the metaphors be like the "reflection in the mirror" as in 1 Corinthians 13:12. When the time comes, God will show us the fuller Truth of whatever we know "in part."

William David Spencer (ThD, Boston University School of Theology) is distinguished adjunct professor of theology and the arts at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary’s Boston campus (Center for Urban Ministerial Education). He has authored, coauthored, or coedited eighteen books, including The Global God: Multicultural Evangelical Views of God and Global Voices on Biblical Equality: Women and Men Serving Together in the Church, as well as hundreds of publications in journals and periodicals. He has served in urban ministry for fifty-five years.

Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Kregel Academic without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.