CALVIN, CLASSICAL TRINITARIANISM, & THE ASEITY OF THE SON CLOTH

by Ellis

For much of his career as a Reformer John Calvin was involved in trinitarian controversy. Not only did these controversies span his career, but his opponents ranged across the spectrum of theological approaches-from staunch traditionalists to radical antitrinitarians. Remarkably, the heart of Calvin's argument, and the heart of others' criticism, remained the same Calvin claimed that the only-begotten Son of the Father is also, as the one true God, 'of himself'.

Brannon Ellis investigates the various Reformation and post-Reformation responses to Calvin's affirmation of the Son's aseity (or essential self-existence), a significant episode in the history of theology that is often ignored or misunderstood. Calvin neither rejected eternal generation, nor merely toed the line of classical exposition. As such, these debates turned on the crucial pivot between simple unity and ordered plurality-the relationship between the processions and consubstantiality-at the heart of the doctrine of the Trinity. Ellis's aim is to explain the historical significance and explore the theological implications of Calvin's complex solidarity with the classical tradition in his approach to thinking and speaking of the Triune God. He contends that Calvin's approach, rather than an alternative to classical trinitarianism, is actually more consistent with this tradition's fundamental commitments regarding the ineffable generation of God from God than its own received
exposition.

Genres: Theology, History, Church History

260 pages, Hardcover

First published June 28, 2012

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calvin's autothean view was ably summarised by Macovius (leaning on William Perkins) as, “The Son is from the Father with respect to mode of subsistence in the essence, not with respect to the essence.” Hence the Father is God, not because he proceeds from no one but because he is God. And the Son is God, not because he proceeds from the Father, but because he is himself God (Jn 8:58). And thus the Holy Spirit, not as proceeding from the Father and Son, but as God, he is God. However, this does not undermine the processions, as the processions are real. A “mode of subsistence” uniquely describes the relations of the persons to one another within the one essence of the one God. Thus, “essence does not beget essence. Persons beget persons.”(209)

Brandon Ellis summarises and explains Calvin’s doctrine of the Aseity of the Son (Chaps 1 and 2) and places it firmly as a development within the Classical Trinitarian tradition. Calvin offers a variant, not a new Trinitarian theology. But, Ellis then posits that out of Calvin’s view a ”minority report” developed which was not followed by the majority (Beza et al) and was represented by lesser known figures such as Trelcatius, Keckermann and Maccovius (Chap. 6). In between (Chaps 3-5) there were a variety of responses from Roman Catholic (Bellarmine), Arminius and the Remonstrants, Lutheran theologians, and a different variant from the Reformed after Calvin (the “Majority Report”).

[Graham Shearer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second time through. Some excellent historical work on Calvin and his successors, and their critics, exploring their understanding of the Son. Ellis' thesis, that Calvin puts his finger on a tension within the classical tradition, is well-made yet ultimately, to me, unconvincing. The final chapter, where Ellis seeks to show the theological implications of his Calvinian take on the Trinity is disappointing, it is hard to see why someone who holds the more traditional view could not say much the same things as Ellis does. Historically, Ellis argues that his view, that affirms Eternal Generation but denies that the Communication of Essence is its mode, went into eclipse after the mid-eighteenth century. Yet, in 1829, Charles Hodge would write an essay, cited by Ellis, on the Sonship of Christ that argues for what looks very much like Ellis' position. Ellis does not trace Calvin, or Hodge's, influence in modern trinitarianism but my sense is that, through Princeton, the rather spare account that Calvin gave of the trinitarian relations set the tone for 20th Century Reformed reflection on the Triunity of God. Nevertheless, Ellis' book is fascinating, illuminating and well worth reading for anyone who wishes to understand the contours of Reformed thought on the Trinity.

[Zach Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explores Calvin’s understanding of the aseity of the Son. The strength of this book lies in the varied repetition. I say “varied” because he looks at the same issue through many different lens - controversy, clarification, and competition; “repetition” because he repeats the same theological emphasis over and over. The repetition helps cement the truths of how to properly speak of God.

Dense, but worth the read.

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like almost all dissertations or books based on them, the setup takes a long time. It's a fascinating subject. There are apparently a number of scholars who disagree with his thesis and argue that Calvin was not innovating, but I haven't been able to read much of them. Only for the extremely nerdy.

[Christian Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant work on Calvin’s autotheos. Aptly summarizes the important historical debates surrounding the issues. While he comes down affirming Calvin’s assertion, anyone interested in the subject needs to read this book.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ellis is at his most compelling when discussing Calvin's views and how he interacted with his detractors, and how those who followed him both supported and modified his position, that the second person of the trinity possesses aseity, that is to say, he is divine of his own accord, independent of the first person of the trinity. Unfortunately, those parts only comprise roughly half the book. The rest is much less helpful, while simultaneously being much harder to follow. Sometimes it almost seems intentionally verbose. Nevertheless, the work is helpful in forcing the reader to think through the "inner-workings" of the trinity. Of course, keep in mind that it's merely all speculation, for Scripture itself says very little on the topic.