The Trinity (Guides to Theology

by Roger E. Olson, Christopher A. Hall

The premier volume in an exciting new series of guides to the core beliefs of the Christian faith, The Trinity provides beginning theology readers with a basic knowledge of the doctrine of God's triune nature. Concise, nontechnical, and up-to-date, the book offers a detailed historical and theological description of the doctrine of the Trinity, tracing its development from the first days of Christianity through the medieval and Reformation eras and into the modern age. Special attention is given to early church controversies and church fathers who helped carve out the doctrine of the triune God as well as to its twentieth-century renaissance. The second half of the book contains a detailed, annotated bibliography of all major books written about the Trinity.

Genres: Theology, Christian

164 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2002

About the author

Roger E. Olson (PhD, Rice University) is professor of theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University. He is a prolific author whose volumes include The Story of Christian Theology and The Mosaic of Christian Belief. He is also coauthor of 20th-Century Theology. Olsen identifies as an Arminian and a Baptist.

Reviews

[Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note, Sept. 19, 2023: I've just edited this review to correct a misspelling.

Virtually all modern-day Christian believers, and virtually all non-Christians who have any real exposure to Christian beliefs, are aware of the doctrine of the Trinity, accepted as a central tenet of faith (and in the estimation of some, THE central tenet of faith) by Catholics, the Orthodox churches, and the vast majority of Protestants alike. Acceptance of the doctrine is widely held to be essential for eternal salvation, despite the fact that it's generally poorly understood by many lay Christians (and in fact even many Trinitarian theologians profess not to completely understand it). The pervasive nature of the concept, and the importance attached to it, are remarkable, especially when one considers the fact (which is agreed on by both its supporters and critics) that it is not taught or presented in any coherent or recognizable form in either the Old or New Testaments. It developed in the second and third centuries A.D., and was finally laid down in creedal form in the fourth century. Both the Nicene and Athanasian creeds are recognized as authoritative and succinct summaries of the doctrine. (Neither one of these are reproduced in the book being reviewed here, and I think should have been; neither are very long, and they would give readers a basic, nut-shell explanation of the whole concept.)

Being raised in a conservative Lutheran church, I was always taught that Trinitarianism was an essential article of Christian faith. From the time that I was old enough to seriously study the Bible and church history, however, I always had some discomfort with that conclusion, even though I assented to it on the authority of the church. Over the decades, I explored some alternative ideas (and wound up decisively rejecting some of them!), and continued to study the Bible, which by now I've read in its entirety several times. My discomfort has deepened with time; but until now, I've actually never made a formal study focused on this doctrine. (Given the fact that I have an M.A. In Religion, that may seem anomalous, but it actually isn't; my degree concentrates in biblical studies, compared to which I have relatively little reading or training in systematic theology. Trinitarian theology is part of the latter discipline, and really doesn't arise much in inductive Bible study.) Now, at the age of nearly 70, I finally decided it was past time to remedy that lack and clarify my thinking, either to lay my doubts to rest or to confirm them.

The background of the doctrine, and of the controversy around it, is the distinctive monotheism (the belief that there is only one God) which is central to the faith of the Biblical writers, in both the Old and New Testaments. Both Testaments also present God as a speaking God who effects things by His Word –which the New Testament says “became flesh” (John 1:14) as Jesus-- and by His Spirit. The Biblical writers recognize that a great deal of mystery surrounds the nature and actions of God, which finite humans are not necessarily even capable of understanding; they do not attempt to precisely define the relationship of these three entities to each other, or to explain how they work in the world or how the incarnation was effected (except to note that Jesus was born to a virgin). But a natural human tendency is to want to speculate about these matters. Curiosity is more piqued if some New Testament verses are interpreted to teach that Jesus is God in the same sense that his Father is, and that the Spirit is not only personal but a distinct Person who is also God in the same sense as the Father is. Since the Bible itself does not gratify this curiosity, Trinitarian theology developed as a way of satisfying it through human intellectual reflection and speculation, often using terminology taken from Greek philosophy and Roman law (Tertullian, a major third-century architect of Trinitarian doctrine, was, not coincidentally, a Roman lawyer before his conversion).

To fairly study any idea, one needs to read the case for it as set forth by its proponents, not its critics. This book (which is part of Eerdmans' Guides to Theology series) is written by two evangelical Trinitarian scholars, Roger E. Olson and Christopher A. Hall, both faculty in prestigious schools, George W. Truett Theological Seminary and Eastern Univ., respectively. The series of which it is a part is intended to provide short overviews of theological concepts, for interested and intelligent laity and for undergraduate students. In keeping with this aim, the book has just 115 pages of actual text, followed by a bit over 30 pages of annotated bibliography (the annotations are pretty substantial!) of selected theological works on the Trinity available in English, divided by historical period, and a 5 1/2 page index. After a “Brief Introduction,” of a bit over nine pages, to the subject, mostly devoted to “The Trinity in the Bible” (that section is followed by its own page of bibliography, not annotated, of other works available in English that approach the subject from a biblical studies standpoint) the main body of the text traces the historical development of thinking about the doctrine of God's nature, from the second-century Apostolic Fathers down to the present. IMO, this is a very good approach to a doctrine that's evolved over time. It also allowed me to make this a more serious study by interspersing re-readings of relevant material from A History of Christianity by Kenneth Scott Latourette, which I read about 50 years ago. Latourette (who was a Baptist, former missionary, and a distinguished professor of church history at Yale) was also a Trinitarian; he devotes considerable attention to the historical development of Christian theology, and his detailed, fair and irenic treatment helpfully supplements Olson's and Hall's, and sometimes provides a different perspective. (Of course, I also made frequent reference to the Bible.) That's why it took me this long to read a 156-page book!

Our authors' scanty treatment of the biblical material might be viewed as a weakness; they try to summarize themes, but directly cite less than 20 verses/passages, and ignore several of the most relevant texts. (They do mention other Scripture references elsewhere, where these were cited by particular theologians in support of their arguments.) But this derives directly from the focus of the series; it's not intended as a Bible-study aid, but rather to introduce readers to concepts in theological thought. It's also intended primarily to explain a particular doctrine so readers can understand it, not to deal with arguments for and against it as such, so the authors touch only minimally on these. Despite (or perhaps because of!) the short length, it does succeed as well as possible in explaining a concept which, in Augustine's estimation, those who try to understand are in danger of losing their minds (p. 1). Even at no more length than this, I found some parts eye-glazing because of the convoluted logic, esoteric language, and hair-splitting distinctions, and I think most readers would as well. But I did learn things from the book that I didn't previously know, and gain a better grasp of the subject than I had before. I feel that this study did clarify (though ultimately not significantly change) my thinking.

Like all three of the book authors named above, this reviewer holds the traditional Protestant view of the written Bible: that it is the sole source of objective binding divine revelation for Christian belief and life. Neither decrees of church councils nor human reason are independent sources of binding new revelations over and above the Bible. (From that standpoint, accepting any idea willy-nilly simply on the authority of the church can't be justified.) For me personally, though, that point is the rock on which the Trinitarian theology and some of its alternatives, such as Modalism, Arianism, and Adoptionism, all ultimately founder, because they either add considerably to and/or contradict what I understand the Bible itself to state. Christians must affirm of God, of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit all that the Bible affirms of them, including the facts that the Word of God who became flesh as Jesus is “divine” (as John 1:1 declares), and that the Spirit acts in personal ways, not as an impersonal force or energy. If it is conceded that the Biblical writers did not understand their own statements in the light of theological frameworks that developed centuries later, then the task of theological reflection is nothing more or less than to determine how they DID understand their words, and to line our thinking up with theirs (not the other way around). And all of that reflection needs to be done in an attitude of personal and intellectual humility, love for one's fellow Christians, a realization that for finite humans dealing with ineffable mysteries the words “I don't know” belong in our vocabulary, and a recognition that we're saved not by acceptance of or knowledge about theological formulations, but by acceptance of a Person (Jesus) as our Savior from sin and our resurrected Lord.

[Samcwright · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best summaries of the historical development of Trinitarian theology. Very accessible.

[Rebecca Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 16 of 2020. Olson and Hall briefly trace the major contributions to the doctrine of the trinity throughout church history and share a large annotated biography of primary sources. I was reading this as background reading to help start off a research project and it was exactly what I needed

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#theology #bookstagram #books #theunreadshelfproject2020

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A incredibly helpful book on the topic of the trinity

This book was incredibly helpful and insightful into the historical development of the doctrine of the trinity. The authors take time to cover scripture and every major era of church history, highlighting the key people and ideas that have spoken into the nature of God’s being. However, even as the book covers a breadth of history, the authors do a good job of not getting too bogged down, and so the book has a nice pace to it that is engaging to the reader and helpful in seeing the scope of the issues. I also particularly found it helpful how they trace the major ideas and show how later theologians interacted with, critiqued, and built upon those ideas. Through the this they help to show some of the major issues surrounding the doctrine that continue on today. Overall, I would highly recommend this book for anyone studying this doctrine. The bibliography alone is worth the cost of the book and provides a helpful resource to both layperson, pastor, and scholar alike.

[Josiah Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book provided a great historical survey. The surveys the development of the trinity starting with the 2nd century and ending with the 20th century. Interestingly, we do not find a fully synthesized doctrine of the trinity until the fourth century but as Olson states,
[We] do not find the developed trinitarian language or theology that will blossom from the
fourth century on. We do, however, uncover evidence that early second-century writers were
already noticing, analyzing, and struggling with the apostolic testimony, and the church worship
in their attempt to understand God's nature and work (16).
Put simply, while the doctrine of trinity might be fully developed in the second-century, that does not mean it was not there. In fact, we get a lot of interesting references from church father such as Clement where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all participate in the apostolic mission (1 Clement 42, 46:6). In the Didache, you have the trinity included in the baptismal formula (Didache 7:3). In Ignatius, he asserts that Christ is the "mind of the Father (Eph. 1:30); our savior (1:1); and "our inseparable life (1:3).

[Glenn Crouch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This small book on the Trinity does quite a good job of explaining the theology behind the Trinity by examining how the concept was handled (or mishandled) throughout the centuries. I enjoy Church History, so I did enjoy this approach - and probably not a bad way to introduce many of the key players throughout Church History...

This is not the short book you would pick up if you wanted to learn about the Trinity; rather it is if you want to learn about what was thought about the Trinity. I just think it could be a bit misleading for some.

One of the big pluses is an extensive Bibliography - which is often missing from shorter works...

[Tim Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to the development of the doctrine.
Going through most of the major contributors to the development going through history.

Felt a bit overly positive about Moltman.

Has a pretty nice list of books throughout history if one wants to go deeper, even including books critiquing trinitarian theology.

Would've liked a bit more on the biblical underpinning of the doctrine.

[Edem Morny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good, brief historical and theological survey of the Trinity

A good survey of the development of the doctrine of the Trinity over the centuries. The Trinity is central to the Christian life, and a recovery if it within Protestant circles is long overdue

[Adam Shields]

I spent a year or so reading about the trinity about five or so years ago. I thought I would be interested in picking up another book on the trinity. I really wasn't. So even though it is a short book I am just not interested in finishing.

[Paul Batz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well organized introduction to the doctrine of the Trinity. The authors first start with identifying particular trinitarian texts within the Bible. This is brief, but important. Olson and Hall argue that "the biblical God is Triune," and then begin from this point (10).

From this point, the authors continue chronologically with a discussion of the pre-Nicene or "Ante-Nicene" contributions. The authors give a brief summary of the important bits from figures like Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp. Next come the Apologists such as Justin and then the early Alexandrian contributions. Both the Apologists and Alexandrians push forward in the direction of Trinitarian thought yet it is not until individuals such as Irenaeus and Tertullian do we encounter the more formal language used in reference to the Trinity. These Western contributions are crucial in the development of the doctrine. Before concluding the first section of the book, Olson and Hall end with a standard introduction to eastern figures such as Athanasius and the Cappadocian fathers.

The second section of the book deals with Medieval, Reformation, and Modern Contributions. After reading other various introductions to the Trinity, I am shocked that the authors were able to condense so much into so few pages. This is a warning to anyone hoping for in-depth analysis on, say, Luther's approach to the Trinity; readers are only given a taste.

This is a solid book. I'm sure I'll reference it in the future and deeply appreciate the annotated bibliography at the end of the book. That being said, I was a bit surprised at the abrupt ending. Really, there is no conclusion to this book. Olson and Hall finish with a discussion of Zizioulas' approach to the Trinity and offer a single paragraph as a conclusion. I would appreciated some overarching thoughts from the author's own perspectives as a opposed to exclusively addressing what others have to say.

[Sarah McCoy Isaacs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick yet surprisingly thorough treatment of the major players in the doctrine of the Trinity, from the earliest church fathers who fleshed out (over about 500 years) the nature of the Father, the Son and the Spirit on up to the more contemporary theologians who are more concerned with the economy of salvation.

Extremely helpful in putting all of the names which you may be familiar with in a linear timeline.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

At least I'm not the only one confused by the "trinity"! This book helpfully explains the complex development and varied understanding of this concept that is central to Christianity. There seem to be nearly as many interpretations as there are denominations. It's a surprisingly easy read given the subject matter.

[Jeremiah P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro to this important doctrine. Overviews its historical development all the way up to recent years. I didn't realize before reading this how important Zizioulas' book Being as Communion was for Trinitarian theology. Also noteworthy is the prevalence of the Augustinian model (psychological) in Western theology while the Cappadocian model (social) has been rarely seen until recent years.

[G Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprisingly good book. I say this not because of the authors, but rather because it is so slender a volume. Short and brief, but yet still a very well done (succinct) overview. Especially helpful by way of bibliography. Good primer for the subject. Worthy of owning and engaging.