The Trinity: A Guide for the Perplexed (1)

The Trinity: A Guide for the Perplexed

Author: Paul M. Collins

Paperback: 194 pages

Publisher: T & T Clark International (December 2008)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0567031853

ISBN-13: 978-0567031853
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With thanks to the kind folks at Continuum for this review copy!

Paul M. Collins is a priest in the Church of England and a Reader in Theology at the University of Chichester, UK. The Trinity: A Guide for the Perplexed is an intermediate level work designed with the expressed intention of getting students of Trinitarian theology to think. Collins says that his “intention in writing this guide is not so much to provide answers as to equip the reader in framing good questions of Scripture and tradition and of those who seek to interpret them.” (p. 5)

In chapter 1 Collins’ driving question is “Why Trinity at all?” In seeking to answer this he examines certain NT passages which gave rise to the doctrine of the Trinity, the Church’s worship, and the mystical theology of various theologians, ancient and contemporary. He concludes of the NT that “later Trinitarian reflection is neither an aberration nor inauthentic,” and that it “secur[es] the Apostles’ experience of Christ… rather than a radical misunderstanding. (p. 16) And while the shape of the Church’s worship is decidedly Trinitarian Collins correctly notes that this doesn’t “necessarily guarantee any explicit Trinitarian understanding or devotion among members of a congregation.” (p. 16) Yet it’s the Church’s experience of “God in the Christ event and the event of Pentecost” (p. 25) that forms the root of the doctrine of the Trinity. Ancient writers such as Dionysius the Areopagite sought to speak of God apophatically which gave rise to later theologians asking if it is possible to know God, and if so to what extent. Rahner contends that that “human beings ‘know’ God by knowing themselves in relation to the mystery of being alive.” (p. 24)  One wonders how much of a ‘mystery’ being alive actually is though. 

In chapter 2 Collins turns his attention to four ‘moments’ throughout the Church’s history that have had serious impacts on Trinitarian hermeneutics. In reverse chronological order he begins with “de Régnon’s paradigm” and the influence it has had on modern social Trinitarianism. Essentially the “paradigm” is a caricature that says the Eastern fathers started with God’s threeness while the Western fathers started with God’s oneness. Taking this as their point of departure modern social Trinitarians opt for the Eastern model and focus on relationality by conceiving God as a society of persons in communion. This reading of the Eastern fathers (i.e., the Cappadocians, esp. Gregory of Nyssa) has been challenged recently by scholars such as Sara Coakley who argues that social Trinitarians are misreading the sources which are actually more concerned with “underscoring the unity of divine will in the Trinity.” (p. 34) Despite the critiques against social Trinitarianism Collins believes that it can be defended on the basis of what Rowan Williams calls an appeal to the “world of particulars” (see p. 37, 38). “Such an appeal would focus on Christology, as rooted in an understanding of the concrete events of revelation in the economy.” (p. 38)  Such a reading is alleged to be superior to essentialist readings that focus on God’s ontology. 

Next he examines the role that Socinianism played in shaping Trinitarian theology from the 16th to 19th centuries.  In short, the orthodox theologians saw the doctrine of Socinus as akin to Arianism which called for a reexamination of the ante-Nicene faith.  Certain orthodox theologians concluded that the ante-Nicene fathers were more in line with Arianism while other orthodox theologians came to radically different conclusions and saw Athanasius as the more faithful interpreter of the faith that preceded him.  From here he continues back in time to the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western Church.  Of course a brief treatment of the filioque controversy follows but Collins is quick to note that this wasn’t the only, or even the main factor in the split.  “Rather, it can be argued that the main differences between East and West concern their epistemological approaches and ontological affirmations about the being and nature of God.” (p. 45)  Taking Gregory Palamas and Thomas Aquinas as the medieval representatives of Eastern and Western theology respectively, Collins highlights the differences in their understanding of God’s essence and energies.  For Palamas God’s essence is “utterly inaccessible and unknowable for human beings” while Aquinas “argued that  the divine essence might be known through the habitus (habit or state) of created grace, enabling the human mind to perceive divine truth.” (p. 45)  Collins is sure to note the similarities between the two theologians and the theologies they represent though in the belief that “even a redeemed human being does not actually know or participate in the very being of God.” (p. 45)

Collins rounds the chapter out with a brief discussion on the reception of Nicene orthodoxy.  He focuses on Augustine and notes the manner in which he functionalized the doctrine.  “This did not entail a reformulation of the doctrine but its reception in ways which were novel and creative. [...] By appealing to the salvific, Augustine is able to remove the doctrine of the Trinity from merely being a rule by which to judge statements and turn it into something which has a functionality which is both existential and redemptive.” (p. 49-50)  He sees Augustine’s functionalization of the doctrine as “support of the contemporary appeal to relationality,” (p. 50) especially in the work of theologians such as John Zizioulas, but he also recognizes that such an approach might diverge from Eastern apophatic reflection on God.

To be continued…

B”H

The State of Jones

The good folks at Doubleday sent me a review copy of The State of Jones: The Small Southern County That Seceded from the Confederacy by Sally Jenkins and John Stauffer. It is available for pre-order now from WigWags Books and will be published on June 23rd.

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (June 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385525931
• ISBN-13: 978-0385525930
• Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches

This is the story of Newton Knight who was a Unionist living in Mississippi and strongly anti-slavery. The authors suggest that he was “the South’s strangest soldier.”

Some quick facts:

• In Jones County Mississippi, fifty-three men had not only fought as anti-Confederate guerrillas, but formally enlisted in the Union army in New Orleans
• Knight’s group of guerrillas “remained unconquered though surrounded by Confederate Armies from start to finish.”
• Jones was drafted into the Confederate army but refused to fight and eventually deserted.
• Knight had two families, one white and one black. His black family was with a slave named Rachel who was owned by his family and who helped him during the war. He acknowledged her children as his own.

I profess to getting behind in my reading for school because of this book. I promise to write a proper review after I’m finished reading it. I can say that it is VERY well written.

Newton Knight’s story is being made into a film currently in production. Filmmaker Gary Ross is writer, director, and  one of several producers.

Sally Jenkins is an award-winning journalist currently with the Washington Post. She has authored eight books, three of New York Times bestsellers.

John Stauffer is Professor of English and African American Studies and Chair of the Committee on Higher Degrees in the History of American Civilization.
His prior book, GIANTS: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, I mentioned in a previous post which you can read here.

Be the Surprise - Who . . . Me?

Author Terry Esau creates a second refreshing look into active Christianity, and the unexpected journey it can become. Be the Surprise is his second book, following God Surprise Me (2005). Terry’s writing style seemed a bit ADD-ish at first. His book is a collection of short stories, poems, song lyrics and anecdotes supporting the title, asking God to be active and make him the surprise in other people’s lives. After digging into his personal history, I discovered that before becoming an author, Terry wrote commercial jingles. His resulting adjunct writing style doesn’t detract from the book, but rather creates a fun and unexpected delivery, like a memorable bit advertising a new soda pop.

Terry’s theme revolves around giving and receiving. As Christ followers, while we are called to give to others, it seems we easily become focused on receiving. Terry calls giving and receiving Siamese twins, co-joined at the heart. You can’t fully have one without the other. As he talks about his journey from God Surprise Me to Be the Surprise Terry also makes a comparison to the natural process of breathing. A person inhales, which is like watching God work in your life. Exhaling completes the cycle as we take what god has given us, and give of the living waters to someone else. You can’t have one without the other.

The body of the book retells examples of those who chose to be the surprise, and the lessons Terry collected along the way. Almost living parables, Be the Surprise gives the reader uncomplicated illustration of how to be the surprise and unexpectedly give of God’s life. On p.22 Terry quotes one of the people he met along his journey. A woman in a restaurant who bussed tables and washed dishes said “You can’t do good without being good. And God is the good in me.” Through another incident, he was reminded that often Christ followers try too hard to be religious, and impress or influence others. Our goal should be to become transparent, and genuine. Ultimately we are the gift, Christ living in us. We can influence the world and build His kingdom: inhaling and exhaling, giving and receiving.

Terry’s book is a wonderful example of how a Christian’s faith can influence the world, and I recommend it highly. We aren’t called to be blow torches setting the world on fire, or theatrical search lights piercing the night sky in front of some retailer’s sale of the decade. Christ followers are a light set on a table, a city on a hill by which others can find their way home.

Todd Oldham - Bedrock City

Copyright of Todd Oldham and AMMO Books, 2008

Driving along US Interstate 40 across the Western U.S., I might have seen the signs announcing the opportunity to visit Bedrock City and my thoughts would have drifted off to one of the many Flintstones cartoons I enjoyed as a child. Or perhaps you had a car load of kids driving along this same endless stretch of road, and upon seeing the signs, they began to bedevil you during the ensuing drive, for just a quick stop to stop and see and THEN everyone promises to be good. Todd Oldham, a designer and photographer, did visit Bedrock City many years ago, and has now returned to provide a whimsical and insightful take on this ageless, but aging memory.

In one regard, this book is a documentary of an amusement park, which was developed in the high desert of Arizona, some 35 years ago. The site is a twenty acre re-creation of the Flintstones cartoon home of Bedrock City, a cartoon series developed by Hanna-Barrera studios. It is located off the beaten track, North of Williams en-route to the Grand Canyon. Not exactly near any large cities, and not a destination in its own right, such as a family visit to Disneyland.

I think that Oldham captures the tacky essence of this side attraction, the bright, fully saturated cartoon colors, the silly signs, the crude representations of the animals and unsophisticated characters of this cartoon series. He photographs these larger than life structures, which represents a fictional time and place.  When I try to think of these photographs with the eyes of my grandson,  I think that he would go off the wall with delight. As a child, he would look beyond much of the surface content and allow his imagination to go wild.  

And he would probably be bugging us for a long time to go visit Bedrock City.

I am struck by the absence of people in Oldham’s photographs, although I can detect the traces of their presence in the footsteps in the dirt. It is a bit odd to have a documentary of an amusement park, a place for people but without the direct presence of anyone. As a result this forces me to see the infrastructure and design of the buildings and components of the park itself.  I become more aware of its surroundings, see the high desert terrain and open landscape in which it is situated. The effect makes me feel more isolated, a contradiction in what this light hearted attraction is supposedly about.

In one sense this book is about our youth, to have wild fantasies, and while remembering the cartoon series, it provides romanticized thoughts about ideal family relationships. A time of fun, joy, and escape.  In another sense, it is about the hard edge of adult realities that are looming in the near distance of  childlike innocence. The potential hard landscape of adulthood, which can become dry and desolate, such as that lurking in the far distance within his photographs.

The photographs show that this attraction is old, dated, and representational, with worn, crude construction.  You see glimpses of the inner structure peeking out and holding up the facade.  The cartoon characters are crudely constructed, hard and inanimate, and they seem to project little or no warmth for me. Oldham’s photographs of this place also puts me on edge, because as an adult, I see beyond the best intentions of the place and the crude infrastructure that is lurking in the edges of the frame.

On the surface, this is a lighthearted body of work, but I find it have a subtle cynical edge to it.

The book has a few very whimisical and unusual elements for a photographic book, such as the 3 postcards located inside the back cover that you can detach the perforations and mail. Much like the post cards you would obtain at the souvinor shop, and oh yes, they are that tacky. Very cool.

 The book’s dust cover can be easily removed and morphs into a fun two-sided poster, with one side loaded with Bedrock City trivia. The printed stiff cover book is 8 1/2″ x 11″, 60 pages with one perforated gate fold. The Introduction is provided by Oldham and includes an article about the book written by Michael Graves, another noted Designer.

By Douglas Stockdale

Masters of Deceit

During a recent cleaning of my garage floor, I noticed J. Edgar Hoover’s Masters of Deceit under a stack of flooring tools. Although this book is over fifty years old, I decided that it might be interesting enough to give it a read. The Soviet Union and communism have always intrigued me, and I figured a person with Hoover’s status could offer some information and perspective I did not possess. Although this book was written in a much different historical period and the information was somewhat dated, it was new to me and kept me reading. Hoover’s writing on communist history, part life, and underground tactics was informative.

I found myself in a couple of quandaries while reading this book, the first of which was what to do with the claims made by Hoover. While understanding the age of the text, I still had a hard time accepting the lack of sources to back up his claims. Although I understand his position as F.B.I. director probably made him privy to classified information, Hoover rarely mentioned any sources to back up his claims. Of course, this assumes that Hoover wrote the book, which brings me to my second quandary. There are apparently some questions about whether Hoover did his own writing or if he used F.B.I. ghostwriters. Not wanting to dive into a massive research project on Hoover, I’m willing to throw him a bone and honor his claims as credible and believe he was the author.

After checking my historical privilege on what actually happened to Soviet communism, I was able to see how Hoover walked a fine line between exposing the actual threat of Soviet communism and manufacturing paranoia to create obedient fear among the U.S. citizenry. The following is a typical example of this manufactured paranoia.

Through the use of Aesopian language he [Nikita Khruschchev] is seeking to induce the Western world to relax its guard until the time when the communist world is ready to launch its offensive and hopes to chant the “funeral dirge” over the free world. (287)

Many modern right-wingers surely have read Hoover’s works and learned from them how to incite fear and paranoia through the written word. The terror attacks on September 11, 2001 have ushered in a new target for the scared conservatives: Islam. Scores of books, speeches, and conservative radio talk-shows have ranted about how “Islamic Terrorists” are seeking to destroy the U.S. Minnesota’s own Gayle Quinnell is a product of this McCarthy-like paranoia against Islam.

Unfortunately, many modern right-wing commentators fail to heed Hoover’s other warning.

For this reason we must be absolutely certain that our fight is waged with full regard for the historic liberties of this great nation. This is a fundamental premise of any attack against communism.

Too often I have seen cased where loyal and patriotic but misguided Americans have thought they were “fighting communism” by slapping the label of “Red” or “communist” on anybody who happened to be different from them or to have ideas with which they did not agree.

Smears, character assassinations, and the scattering of irresponsible charges have no place in this nation. They create division, suspicion, and distrust among loyal Americans—just what the communists want—and hinder rather than aid the fight against communism. (290)

If only the so-called patriotic right would listen to the entire message coming from one of their revered historical figures, we might not have as much fear and hate mongering about Islam in the U.S. today.

Book Chat: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

This is my last title for the Book Awards Challenge (and just in the nick of time!)

Winner of the National Book Award, published by Little, Brown Young Readers

As I continue my foray into young adult literature (YA), I’m finding that my usual approach to reviews doesn’t quite fit. So I’m going to do something a little different.

A description from the publisher:

In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author’s own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character’s art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

After The Book Thief, I didn’t really know where to go in YA, so I polled a few colleagues and clients, and several of them recommended The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Then I overheard a few middle school teachers trying to decide whether they should add this to their summer reading list, so, being the nosy book lady that I am, I butted right in and asked why they were uncertain.  Turns out this book has been challenged and banned a couple times. So let’s talk about that first.

The Ban

As far as I can tell, the hubbub about this book started when a 14-year-old student at an Oregon school located not to far from where the book is set in Spokane, Washington, brought it home as required reading. His father read a few pages and decided that it “had a lot of references that [he] didn’t feel comfortable with,” so he went straight to the school board. Over references to what?  Masturbation. Here’s what Junior has to say about it.

I spend hours in the bathroom with a magazine that has one thousand pictures of naked movie stars:

Naked woman + right hand = happy happy joy joy

Yep, that’s right, I admit that I masturbate.

I’m proud of it.

I’m good at it.

I’m ambidextrous.

If there were a Professional Masturbators League, I’d get drafted number one and make millions of dollars.

And maybe you’re thinking, “Well, you really shouldn’t be talking about masturbation in public.”

Well, tough, I’m going to talk about it because EVERYBODY does it. And EVERYBODY likes it.

And if God hadn’t wanted us to masturbate, then God wouldn’t have given us thumbs.

The father who complained about this book said he didn’t think it was an appropriate assignment for a 14-year-old, but hello, what is the number one hobby of adolescent boys everywhere?  Puh-leeze. This father also said he understood that “there are people who agree with the book and think it’s OK to talk about this stuff openly, and I really don’t.”Now, he’s entitled to his opinion, and maybe he should have requested an alternate assignment for his son—who, I guarantee you, already knew about masturbation in the first place—but an all-school ban just seems a bit, well, extreme.

Are any of us surprised that a male teenage character likes to masturbate? Would this father have complained if the book presented a negative or shaming message about masturbation? Personally, I would much rather have horny teenage boys masturbating happily away rather than inflicting their awkward, horny teenage selves onto equally awkward teenage girls. And it’s not like they don’t try that, anyway. I didn’t find Junior’s

The paragraph I quoted above is the only reference to masturbation and by far the most blatant reference to sexuality in the entire book, and it is just one of a slew of (mostly benign) statements that make Junior likeable, relatable, and a very real, believable character.

The Illustrations

Junior tells us early on that he loves to draw cartoons.

I draw because words are too unpredictable.

I draw because words are too limited.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is filled with illustrations that really let us in on Junior’s sense of humor and his understanding of himself. He is self-deprecating, insightful, sarcastic, and every bit a thirteen-year-old boy trying to figure out where he fits in in two very different environments. Junior’s words often made me smile or smirk; his illustrations made me laugh out loud. For me, they were the most special feature of this book and one of the things that made it truly unique.

The Message

What sets this book apart from the YA lit masses is that the author manages to tell a great story and explore themes about identity and culture that many authors shy away from. Junior is like a man without a country. He is too smart to choose to continue living on the impoverished reservation where everyone knows him, his family, and all of their secrets, but he sticks out like a sore thumb at the affluent all-white school, and he can’t really imagine how he’s going to make a future in the white world.

Junior’s struggle to develop his cultural and personal identities, to navigate the choppy waters of adolescence, and to separate from his family enough to look at them with a little perspective will resonate with readers from privileged and minority groups alike. His alternating confidence and self-doubt will be familiar terrain, and the lessons he learns, whether you’re hearing them for the first time or the thousandth, will remind you of what it’s like to be a teenager, or, if you are still one, will give you hope that life really does become more bearable.

The Bottom Line

I really enjoyed reading this book, and while I can understand that the bit about masturbation might not appeal to some readers, I think the vast majority of Junior’s story is uncontroversial and definitely worth checking out. Alexie treats his characters with kindness, insight, and great humor, and I will definitely be recommending The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian to teen readers (and reassuring their parents when necessary).

Tides from the New Worlds: Shoah Sry

Tides from the New Worlds: Shoah Sry by Tobias Buckell with Ilsa J. Bick

Installment 6

In this collaboration with Ilsa J. Bick, Buckell touches on very traditional themes in Feminist Science Fiction, but in an interesting way. We are introduced to a future that is made up entirely of women, with men mysteriously going extinct at some point in history.

Instead of a utopia where women live together in sisterhood, there are desperately fighting factions. In a world where children are reproduced through cloning and genetic manipulation, one faction, the Talorans, wish to look for male genetic material in order to bring the other half of our species back. The other faction, the Imperialists, wish to suppress this material and bring all women under their thumbs. The title refers to the Taloran’s word for this material, and for the person that the material will help them create.

On a secret mission to a distant planet thought to contain the fabled genetic material, two women from the Taloran faction crash land and must escape from the Imperial Inquisitor coming to kill them. Dinah, the one that holds the key to the revitalization of the race, is sent off, while the other stays to fight. But as Dinah tries to escape, she slowly begins to change, and also begins to realize that her sisters do not always have her best interests at heart.

This story is fascinating to read. There are so many themes packed into it. Why are the women fighting so hard to bring Man back into the picture? Is the integrity and dignity of the individual more important than the mission? Can you trust someone who has been raised as your enemy? Does the freedom to make a choice, instead of the forcing of that choice, change the outcome? Are you forever bound by what is contained within your genes?

I truly liked this story, and I plan to pick up some of Ilsa J. Bick’s other work to see how it compares. I think this collaboration brought up some very interesting questions from the two authors, and I hope they’ll do something again someday.

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You can check out Tobias Buckell on his website, or follow him on Twitter @tobiasbuckell

The master post can be found here, Tides from the New Worlds