The Trinity Issue

Union and Communion with the Triune God

Truth should be practical, and the doctrine of the Trinity, being utterly true, surely ought to show itself practical in some way. “Sound knowledge,” said James Ussher (1581-1656), is “knowledge which sinketh from the brain into the heart, and from thence breaketh forth into action, setting head, heart, hand and all a-work.” This is especially […]

From Jerusalem to Nicaea

In its earliest years, the Christian church was a Jewish sect, preoccupied with the challenge of bringing the gospel to Jerusalem and Judea. Soon, however, it entered the Gentile world’first through the Diaspora (that is, Jews scattered throughout the Roman Empire). In the process, the gospel encountered different objections and challenges. On the popular level, […]

The Trinity Chart

“Through a Screen Darkly: Popular Culture, Public Diplomacy, and America’s Image Abroad” by Martha Bayles

In the first dozen pages of Through a Screen Darkly, Martha Bayles explores the foreboding feelings many have about the United States’s soured image abroad as pop-culture exporters. Bayles should be thanked for her cultural analysis and wake-up call to America’s citizens and policymakers. But her elucidation of this complex problem, and the reader’s subsequent […]

“Word versus Deed: Resetting the Scales to a Biblical Balance” by Duane Litfin

In most areas of our lives, balance is key. My transition from the single life of microwavable pizzas and Doritos to the healthy home-cooking of my wife taught me the importance of a balanced diet. My belt size is proof. A biblical balance is precisely what Duane Litfin (president emeritus of Wheaton College) aims for […]

“The Eternal Generation of the Son: Maintaining Orthodoxy in Trinitarian Theology” by Kevin N. Giles

In the introduction to his magisterial Nicaea and Its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology (Oxford University Press, 2004), Lewis Ayres observes that despite the revival of “Trinitarian theology,” many theologians have engaged the legacy of Nicaea “at a fairly shallow level, frequently relying on assumptions about Nicene theology that are historically indefensible.” If […]